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By Ian Gustafson

Potential policy

Blackfalds town council orders review of facility rentals after concerns about political event

Jan 29, 2026 | 3:16 PM

Blackfalds town council has asked its administration to look at the feasibility of extending an ‘Acceptable Usage Policy,’ applying only to the Abbey Centre, to all public facilities.

In addition, admin will develop a new policy around rental spaces and who can use them, for council’s review at a later date.

This stems from a motion brought forward by Mayor Laura Svab on Jan. 27, 2026, which was in response to a letter council received from a concerned citizen.

The resident, Margaret Baker, asked in her letter — seen below — that council consider a review of the political use of town facilities.

(Image Credit: Town of Blackfalds council agenda)

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Mayor Laura Svab elaborated during the meeting last Tuesday, saying they’ve received a lot of complaints about a booking which was set to occur at the Blackfalds Community Centre on Saturday, Jan. 31.

“Council, as well as the town, has been receiving emails and phone calls regarding town facilities being used for political events,” she said. “We’ve had a resident reach out to us regarding the policy, and I believe that the seven of us represent our residents and that this policy should be brought forward to council for us to review.”

The event itself was not named.

Initially, Svab had motioned for admin to develop a new policy, but Councillor Ryan Brown moved to amend the motion, by adding in that they look into the feasibility of extending the existing Abbey Centre-only usage policy.

The amendment was approved by a 7-1 vote, with Councillor Shane Hanson opposed; then, the amended motion was approved by an identical tally.

Again, a new policy was not adopted; council simply approved asking administration to look into these matters and report back.

Councillor Hanson explained that he understands the concerns raised, but doesn’t see the need for a policy to be put in place.

“A part of living in the country that we do is they’re free to organize. It’s not for us to say who should and should not. That’s a slippery slope,” he said.

Councillor Cory Twerdoclib agreed with Hanson, referencing an event held by “the opposing group” who were set up outside the Abbey Centre last summer.

“I witnessed what was going on, and some conversations took place between two opposing points of view. It was cordial, respectful, and they agreed to disagree,” he said. “I don’t think we want to be silencing voices in the community. I think residents have the right to make their decisions on their own.”

Meantime, Councillor Aaron Hoyte said what being politically neutral means to him is providing everyone the opportunity to rent space.

“We’re not saying, ‘Oh, you believe this, therefore you can’t.’ It’s just, let the people use that space,” he said.

“Our spaces should be there to bring people together. It’s just, what does that mean? I don’t disagree with the premise of the letter, it’s just how do we implement those kinds of things? Maybe it’s good to have a policy, not necessarily dictating who can or can’t rent it, but for the sake of having a policy that at least allows groups to have clarity on all the things surrounding renting the space.”

Councillor Brenda Dennis questioned that if a policy is put in place, who’s going to enforce it?

“That’s going to be a pretty tough situation to handle, having a policy. Are we going to have 100 different types of events that we can have? It could be an administrative nightmare.”

Council was also cautioned about wading into matters involving free speech, which is something they’ll have to consider when the matter returns to the agenda.