ATHABASCA - Town of Athabasca councillors will be adding the town's voice to the growing list of municipalities speaking out against Bill 20 after they directed Mayor Rob Balay to send a letter to Premier Danielle Smith recommending her government rescind or amend the bill.
Much has been made of the provincial government’s announcement regarding Bill 20, The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, with critics saying the bill gives too much power to the province.
“The ability for the provincial government to dismiss elected municipal officials, including mayors and councillors, is very much against the ideas of democracy that we are built on,” said Coun. Sara Graling. “Whether you like what a government is doing or not, at any level, they’re elected.”
Balay brought the topic forward to his fellow councillors alongside a package from Alberta Municipalities (ABMunis), which highlighted the group's recent advocacy on behalf of the province’s municipalities.
“I was really shocked to see how many ads Alberta Municipalities has had on this issue,” said Coun. Ida Edwards — ABMunis purchased five different ads on YouTube, which reached 500,000 impressions as of May 8. “They presented some very good comparisons to what it is and what (the province) is proposing to change.
“I think the biggest concern is having collaborative and trust-based consultation to update this. I think that’s important, and I don’t think it’s in place.”
ABMunis highlighted four major concerns with the bill: it believes the bill will bring big money and tax inequity into local elections, increase partisanship instead of fostering respect, increase accountability to political parties instead of residents, and increase councillor accountability to the provincial cabinet instead of accountability to residents.
Yes to this, no to that
Bill 20 would amend both the Municipal Government Act (MGA) and the Local Authorities Elections Act (LAEA) in a variety of ways, including allowing the introduction of provincial parties to local politics, allowing the removal of a councillor if deemed “in the public interest,” and allowing corporations and unions to contribute to local election campaigns.
Since its April 25 announcement, local politicians and ABMunis have repeatedly said that the bill does have good elements.
A requirement for councillors to take orientation training, multi-year residential tax incentives, and a clause that would enable the municipal affairs minister to define circumstances for a local election to be postponed in emergencies, including natural disasters, have all been identified as positives.
Graling also highlighted the lack of discussion with municipalities as an issue — on May 2 Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver put out a statement acknowledging the need for certain amendments, but Athabasca council was still in the dark on what those may be.
The day after their meeting, Bill 20 was due to be amended by the provincial legislature before it was tabled due to time constraints.
“There’s lots of things to this bill,” said Balay. “I think we have to give kudos to ABMunis; they’ve done a very good job with their lobbying efforts and collecting data.
“At the end the government still has the ability to do what they want to do, but we have to make sure our voice was heard.”
Amendments address concerns
The province made two May 23 amendments to the bill after municipalities spoke out. Instead of unilaterally removing councillors, the province will be able to call for a vote, similar to existing recall legislation.
“One of my biggest concerns was that it would be the minister or the government that would remove a council or a mayor, but with the amendment they made now, it has to be the electors,” said Balay in a May 30 interview. “They could direct the CAO to hold a plebiscite or a referendum to remove the councillor or mayor in question.
“At least than it’s the people who elected the individual having the final say on if they want to keep them.”
The second amendment proposes a set of conditions that would have to be in place before the province could repeal a municipality’s bylaw, including if the province believes it exceeds the scope of the MGA, conflicts with the MGA, or conflicts with the Constitution.
