Rocky Mountain House Town Office (94.5 Rewind Radio)

By Jordan Rein | 94.5 Rewind Radio News

abmunis, ndp and minister mciver comment

Rocky Mountain House town council asks provincial government to scrap Bill 20

May 24, 2024 | 1:42 PM

Rocky Mountain House town council has unanimously passed a motion to send a letter to the Government of Alberta asking that it completely scrap its proposed Bill 20, officially known as the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act.

“Bill 20 has some parts that are good, don’t get me wrong,” Councillor Len Phillips said during council’s May 21 meeting. “There are some parts that are concerning. With the lack of consultation with municipalities, I think it’s prudent that we send this off so the province can look at this Bill 20, stop it, and start from scratch.”

The bill, which was introduced in the legislature in April, has proven to be contentious, with many municipalities claiming government overreach.

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The letter campaign, started by Tyler Gandam, president of Alberta Municipalities (ABmunis) and mayor of Wetaskiwin, encourages municipalities across the province to speak up on the matter.

The letter reads in part:

“Bill 20 proposes substantial and highly concerning changes to the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) and Municipal Government Act (MGA) that would change local democracy as we know it.

“During the (ABmunis) webinar, we conducted a poll where 76 per cent of those representing ABmunis member municipalities voted that ABmunis should advocate for Bill 20 to be rescinded.”

Gandam and the ABmunis board of directors issued a statement Thursday saying it’s disappointed that the province is not listening to Albertans, and is, “ploughing ahead with Bill 20.”

Gandam says numerous polls have shown Albertans don’t want:

• Political parties at the municipal level;
• Local elections influenced by corporations and unions;
• The provincial government to take away power from Alberta voters by being able to repeal municipal bylaws behind closed doors; and
• Their municipal taxes to go up because of the increase in costs to manually count election votes versus using an electronic counter.

“The proposed amendments to Bill 20 did not move the needle on these issues. None of the many solutions we shared with the provincial government over the past few months are reflected in these amendments,” says Gandam.

“Our hope is that the Minister of Municipal Affairs hosts meaningful and substantive stakeholder engagement with ABmunis representatives and its members. Our efforts to shape regulations will profoundly affect how this imperfect and hastily designed legislation shows up in communities of all sizes and locations across Alberta for years to come.”

Rocky Mountain House Town Councillor Tina Hutchinson says she observed much opposition to the bill by attendees at the Alberta Municipal Leadership Conference, particularly when it came to municipal political parties.

“Provincial politics differs quite a bit from municipal politics,” says Hutchinson. “The provincial parties don’t really care whether garbage gets picked up or snow gets plowed.”

Hutchinson adds delegates agreed that the introduction of municipal political parties could have a divisive effect on communities.

Councillors agreed, she says, that increased consultation with municipalities would be key if any such bill should be passed in the future.

Hutchinson points to a proposal in the bill outlining what she sees as vague guidelines for councillor disqualification, which, she points out, many municipalities already have their own rules for.

Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver addressed some of these concerns during a Committee of the Whole session on May 23, following second reading of Bill 20.

McIver said provisions in the bill limit the scope of municipal political parties.

“I have said to municipalities since their initial consultation, that local elections will remain local, but they certainly can be more transparent, and they will always remain voluntary. Albertans will not see a municipal UCP or a municipal NDP or a municipal Liberal Party or any municipal party affiliated with any provincial or national party in Canada, because we want local elections to stay local,” said McIver. “So there will be no direct connection with the federal or provincial parties, whether the same name or a different name, and we’re limiting these parties to Calgary and Edmonton.”

McIver stated his government is working with municipalities on the matter of councillor disqualification.

“The province has always had the ability to remove a councillor through a ministerial process – so this is definitely not a new power,” said McIver. “It was our intention to ensure that we were able to move more quickly in the exceedingly rare cases where a councillor needs to be removed due to public breach of trust and potential harm to the community. I recognize the concerns of our municipal partners, and I’ve listened, so today we are tabling an amendment which repeals the most expedited dismissal process for a councillor.”

The amendment repealed the government’s power to oust councillors unilaterally.

Along with certain provisions that would allow the Province to amend or repeal local bylaws, the bill would also ban electronic vote tabulators.

Kyle Kasawski, Alberta NDP Critic for Municipal Affairs, says the amendments are not nearly sufficient.

“The amendments proposed by the UCP on their authoritarian Bill 20 do not address Albertans’ many concerns about the bill,” says Kasawski. “Danielle Smith wants to control everything, everywhere, all at once, and she knows this legislation isn’t being well received by Albertans. The Premier must admit this legislation is too flawed and have her Minister of Municipal Affairs completely shred the bill.”

Third reading of Bill 20 is anticipated in the coming days.

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