By Kristine Jean
Westlock News Staff
WESTLOCK — The Town of Westlock is joining other municipalities in expressing concerns about Bill 20, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, introduced last month.
After discussing the proposed bill at the May 13 regular council meeting and hearing from administration on some of the details and concerns expressed by Alberta Municipalities, councillors directed administration to draft a letter of invitation to Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken to discuss Bill 20. The MLA has since agreed to meet with the town in June.
Bill 20 will amend the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) and Municipal Government Act (MGA) when it receives royal assent in the legislature later this summer.
Councillors expressed dismay and concern over Bill 20 during their discussion on May 13.
“We’ve always been the child of the province, but this is taking it to an extreme that I feel doesn’t make any sense,” said Coun. David Truckey. “We’re elected by the people of our community, as every council is across the province … To be controlled, manipulated or beholden to the province to this degree seems an overreach that’s beyond.”
Coun. Abby Keyes said it was a “very scary future” in Alberta, not just for elected officials, but for the province as a whole.
“I feel like the Conservative Party, a party that’s all about freedoms, is taking those away from municipalities,” she said.
Coun. Randy Wold echoed what other councillors said as he noted his stance against Bill 20.
“It’s another power grab by a provincial government … they’re taking more and more power away from us …” he said.
Referring to a recent incident in Chestermere where the mayor and half of the municipal council were fired, Coun. Laura Morie said one bad experience does not warrant such changes and called Bill 20 “an erosion of democracy.”
Town of Westlock CAO Simone Wiley said the bill is big and complicated and has significant ramifications on the LAEA as well as the MGA.
“There was no formal consultation with the municipalities in Alberta or municipalities as a group.”
Wiley pointed out three areas of the bill that Alberta Municipalities has identified as issues. They include keeping big money out of local elections, fostering respect, not partisanship, and respecting local decision-making and duly elected local officials.
“The province is pushing ahead as they’ve been talking about with municipal political parties, despite the opposition of Albertans,” said Wiley. “That has the potential to create some very significant divisiveness among councils if councils are voting on municipal party lines.”
McIver said he listened and heard the concerns of municipalities in recent discussions and in response, tabled two amendments to Bill 20 in the legislature May 23 that pertain to the recall of councillors and the repeal of bylaws.
Previously, Bill 20 gave Premier Danielle Smith’s cabinet the ability to fire councillors at will, behind closed doors.
The amendments mean cabinet could only oust locally elected officials by ordering a recall vote – a change from what was previously proposed in the legislation.
As well, the cabinet can now only overturn bylaws that go against the Canadian Constitution or step outside legal municipal jurisdiction.
“Since tabling Bill 20, I’ve had conversations with Rural Municipalities of Alberta, Alberta Municipalities and mid-sized city mayors and other municipalities across Alberta,” McIver told the legislature. “Through these conversations they’ve indicated to me more clarity is needed around specific parts of the legislation — this includes the ability of cabinet to dismiss a councillor and the ability of cabinet to require a municipality to amend or appeal a bylaw.”
He noted that the province has always had “the ability to remove a councillor through a ministerial process.”
“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 a public breach of trust and potential harm to the community,” said McIver, adding that the province will retain “the ability for cabinet to order a vote of the electors to remove a councillor,” a process similar to the recall petition process that can be launched by a resident.
“We’re also amending the draft bill to clarify that this is about councillors who are unwilling or refuse to do the job of a councillor,” said McIver.
He also clarified that as part of the decision, “they will consider illegal or unethical behaviour by that councillor (but) ultimately, the decision rests with voters of the municipality.”
Municipalities also requested that the government clarify under what circumstances cabinet would amend or repeal a bylaw, which include several different circumstances.
These circumstances include if a municipality passes a bylaw that exceeds the scope outlined in the MGA, if a municipal bylaw exceeds the authority granted to a municipality either under the MGA or any other statute, if a municipal bylaw contravenes the constitution of Canada, if a municipal bylaw is in conflict with the MGA or any other provincial statute, and if a municipal bylaw is contrary to provincial policy.
“These amendments keep the intent of these sections, while also responding to what our municipal stakeholders have told us. These changes make it clearer when the province can use this authority, which … I expect to be rare,” he said.
As an example, McIver cited the City of Edmonton’s decision to keep their mask bylaw in place in 2022.
The Alberta government tabled Bill 4, the Municipal Government Face Mask and Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination Bylaw Amendment Act, and said it was necessary because the “City of Edmonton chose to act like the provincial health department and that could not be let to stand.”
Such examples where municipalities have gone “really out of their lane and gone beyond their authority … put us in the position where we need to strengthen the laws that are in place now, to make sure that if these similar circumstances crop up in the future we’ll have the ability to more expediently deal with what’s necessary.”
McIver noted several byelections are currently underway in the province and requested a later date for royal assent of the bill.
“We will look to proclaim Bill 20 later in the summer after those byelections are complete,” said McIver.
