The Alberta legislature building in Edmonton. (Photo 138910231 © Siegfried Schnepf | Dreamstime.com)

By Justin Goulet

Bill 20

Alberta’s government intends to make changes to proposed municipal affairs bill: Minister

May 2, 2024 | 11:13 AM

The Government of Alberta is taking a step back from legislation proposed last week.

Bill 20, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act 2024, proposes changes to two components of municipal-related legislation: the Municipal Government Act and the Local Authorities Election Act. It would give the provincial government power to take actions like removing city councillors and banning the use of machine counting in municipal elections in favour of hand-counted ballots.

The proposed legislation received mixed reaction from municipalities across Alberta.

READ MORE: Many questions remain on municipal election changes: Lethbridge mayor

On Thursday, Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver issued a statement outlining the government’s intent to amend Bill 20. His statement is as follows:

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“The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 will make local elections processes more transparent and local elected officials more accountable to the people they represent.

Albertans deserve to have faith in the local officials elected to represent them. When a councillor has betrayed the public trust and it’s in the public interest to remove them, swift action should be taken to remove them. As municipal councillors and mayors are locally elected by their constituents, Alberta’s government recognizes this authority should only be used as a last resort, which was always the intent of this legislation.

To ensure this is abundantly clear, we will be working with municipalities to propose amendments to the legislation and clarify that this would only be used in very limited circumstances.

Alberta’s government remains committed to fairness and due process and will continue working with local authorities to ensure Albertans have the effective local representation they deserve.

Additionally, this legislation sets out a process through cabinet to repeal or amend municipal bylaws. This is quite serious, and we would not do this lightly.

We will also be working with municipalities to propose amendments for the legislation and clarify that this would only be used in very limited circumstances related to areas that are primarily overseen by the province, like health care, education, the provincial economy or public safety.

The role of an elected official is one with tremendous responsibility and expectations. The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act will strengthen the accountability of locally elected officials and councils while balancing the need to support local autonomy in areas of municipal oversight.”

READ MORE: Alberta proposes councillor removal powers, electronic tabulator ban and more in city government revamp

NDP RESPONSE

Kyle Kasawski, the Alberta NDP Critic for Municipalities issued a response to Thursday’s announcement by the provincial government.

“After two days of backtracking, Danielle Smith and the UCP are feeling the heat from Albertans who’ve had enough of their ideological agenda. Yesterday, they backtracked on the cruel removal of support for low-income Albertans’ transit passes and today they’re backtracking on Bill 20.

The UCP’s gatekeeper-in-chief still wants the ability to fire municipal officials who have been elected by Albertans, and to repeal municipal bylaws if they don’t meet with her approval. Bill 20 is a threat to our democracy. The UCP needs to acknowledge that it is too flawed to amend and withdraw it entirely.

This bill is another example of Smith’s made-in-Alberta authoritarian approach to governing. The UCP wants to control everything, whether it be our universities, schools, health care, police force, pensions and now municipal councils.

Danielle Smith need to stop this distraction and focus on the priorities of Albertans like fixing our healthcare system, properly funding our schools, and addressing the affordability in our province.”