Codes of conduct failed voters and municipalities, Alberta minister says

Codes of conduct created locally by and for municipal councils will cease to exist because they sometimes prevent elected representatives from serving their voters, the Alberta minister who tabled an omnibus bill earlier today said.

If passed the amendments will also make it less confusing and cumbersome for Albertans to build, sell and obtain warranty exemptions for their homes — which is particularly important for residents of rural and remote communities who often build without the involvement of a major developer, Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said. 

And neighbouring municipal districts may be able to remove work from their agendas. Because their shared services and facilities are often minimal, they will no longer be required to approve Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks.

Codes of conduct are sometimes weaponized for spats between elected officials and prevent necessary business from getting proper and timely attention, McIver said.

Members of rural and urban municipality associations booed McIver years ago when he said they didn’t need codes of conduct. “So I went back in six months and said, you guys want a conduct, you get one. And they got one,” he told The Macleod Gazette in an interview.

“And in some cases, it's worked fine. In way too many other cases, though, it's been used as a weapon to diminish other members of council, to take away their voices, to silence them, to even hurt them, like getting them off committees because of some position they take on some issue. That was never what it was intended for,” said McIver.

Bill 50 proposes amendments to modernize and streamline municipal processes in three different statutes, addressing activities like municipal elections and campaign finances, voting, home buying and warrantying, and municipal governance.

The Alberta government included a requirement for municipal codes of conduct in the Municipal Government Amendment Act, 2015. A regulation followed in 2017 that councils establish their codes by July 23, 2018.

But now the codes and the permission to create them die upon approval of Bill 50, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2025.

“This does not mean councils will have free reign to misbehave. Absolutely not,” McIver told a news conference earlier today. “It means we need a better, more impartial system to deal with conduct issues, one that can't be misused for political gain or personal rivalry.”

The province will work with municipalities to develop common procedures whose “primary focus” will be to handle council conflicts.

The amendments also allow for the creation of an independent ethics commissioner to deal with conduct issues. The way it works now, chief administrative officers often do the work.

“The poor CAO depends upon council to keep their job. It's just not fair to have that person forced to referee things among their bosses. So I think it's an obvious area of fairness,” McIver said.

The statues amended under Bill 50 are the Local Authorities Election Act, the Municipal Government Act and the New Home Buyer Protection Act.

In his Gazette interview, McIver said he’s particularly pleased his government is introducing voter assistance terminals for sight impaired voters and others with disabilities.

The need for terminals stems from the recently added requirement that municipalities hand-count ballots.

“No part of me has ever thought I’m perfect,” McIver said. “We heard from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. They said, what about us?”

The terminals will produce paper ballots from an electronic process that preserves the dignity and anonymity of voters with certain disabilities, he said.

The amendments if approved will also change campaign finance laws. In the case of Calgary and Edmonton, parties will be able to transfer dollars to candidates running under their banner. Candidates will also have to disclose donations in September, before the October 2025 election.

An amendment addresses the unique situation Jasper faces this municipal election year. Displaced citizens who intend to move back to Jasper will be able to vote in its election.

“Albertans should not lose their democratic right to vote due to such an extraordinary circumstance,” said McIver.