Photos: City and County of Grande Prairie

By Shaun Penner

Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework

Not in full agreement: City, County moving to arbitration to complete ICF

May 6, 2021 | 4:24 PM

With the deadline to come to a resolution on their own to complete their Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework now passed, the City and County of Grande Prairie will now be heading to mandated arbitration to complete the agreement.

The two neighbours have been working at completing such an agreement since 2019. While both sides admit many areas of the framework have been agreed upon, there remain differing views on the regional sharing of municipal costs for certain services.

“The two of us, the city and the county, spent a significant amount of time looking at what the expenses are to operate (those), not necessarily what the costs are to deliver the services,” said County Reeve Leanne Beaupre. “I think that those are some of the items that were outstanding.”

The original deadline to complete the provincially mandated ICF was March 31, 2021, although the two municipalities were granted a one-month extension by the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

Under the Municipal Government Act, municipalities that share a boundary must negotiate a framework that is intended to provide agreements around areas like the delivery and funding of inter-municipal services.

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Though both sides had hoped to come to a solution themselves, City Mayor Jackie Clayton feels this next step is the best way to go.

“The city really believes seeking a third party is the best decision to continue a good working relationship, as we both focus on serving our constituents, and the region.”

Both Clayton and Beaupre say each municipality’s negotiating teams worked in good faith, and Beaupre suggests one potential hiccup in negotiations was caused by the impacts of COVID-19.

“Recognizing that in the absence of good data the last couple of years, because of COVID and other circumstances, working from incomplete data does not necessarily help either party.”

The two municipalities must now find a mutually agreed-upon third-party arbitrator by May 14. The arbitrator’s ruling will be binding for the completed ICF.