Central Alberta municipal leaders have joined the chorus critical of new legislation giving the province sweeping new powers.
Rural Municipalities of Alberta president Paul McLauchlin said the changes included in Bill 20 would degrade municipal autonomy by giving the province new powers to intervene and reverse local decisions or even remove elected municipal representatives.
“Bill 20 is another step in the province’s quest to exert more control over municipalities and centralize local decision-making,” said McLauchlin, who is reeve of Ponoka County.
McLauchlin said on Tuesday that giving the province the power to reverse decisions and fire municipal councillors they disagree with is “not only an affront to municipalities, but also an affront to democracy in Alberta.”
He mused how the province would react if the federal government assumed the same powers to pick and choose which provincial policies and representatives it favoured.
“Something tells me the provincial response would be one of anger, so it is no surprise that ours is the same when such over-the-top control is directed to local councillors.”
Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston said his first reaction to the legislation was confusion over the province’s motives.
“I don’t know where the gap is, where the problem is that the province is trying to solve,” he said.
The Municipal Government Act, council codes of conduct and the authority given to the Minister of Municipal Affairs all provide guidelines and guardrails to ensure municipal governments run smoothly.
“Where are we somehow remiss in how we’re governing ourselves?”
Johnston said municipal councillors are the “experts on the ground” and he questions why the provincial government is seeking more authority to overturn their decisions.
Democratically elected councillors are accountable for those decisions based on the best information they have and usually with significant public input, he added.
The mayor also does not see why the province wants to allow political parties in municipal politics – at least in Calgary and Edmonton – when Albertans have clearly expressed their opposition to the notion.
Alberta Municipalities president Tyler Gandam warned in a news conference on Monday that the legislation will undermine the power of local voters and intimidate and silence elected officials critical of the provincial government.
In a news release accompanying Gandam’s news conference, Bill-20 is called “an attempt by the provincial government to grab more power and wield more control over how people choose to live in their communities.”
ABMunis also strongly opposes the introduction of political parties into municipal politics — which will be tested out in Calgary and Edmonton.
Premier Danielle Smith said the legislation is meant to ensure municipalities do not pass policies out of step with provincial policies.
Earlier Monday, Smith said the aim of the proposed legislation is to ensure municipalities are not enacting policies that are out of step with provincial priorities or creep into provincial jurisdiction.
“We would use it very sparingly,” said Smith.