EDMONTON – The Alberta government says it will now consider input from municipal leaders on Bill 28, following backlash to the introduction of the bill to take over regional planning.
Bill 28, the Modernizing Regional Governance Act, was introduced in the legislature on Monday. It passed Second Reading Wednesday evening. (Read the full Bill below).
“It’s absolutely an affront on the democratic process and on the autonomy on municipalities,” said NDP Municipal Affairs critic Deron Bilous.
“The regulation has been in place for six years, which was designed to create the Capital Region Board,” said Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths on Wednesday. “This legislation – if you read it – is a mirror image of that board. Our requirement is that, after a few years, we have to move from regulation to legislation, so we’re not changing anything, it’s been in existence for six years.”
He said that since the government is just moving regulation to legislation, consultation with municipal leaders was not necessary, and hadn’t been done.
“No, because, quite frankly, we’re moving it from regulation to legislation, nothing has changed.”
On Thursday, Premier Alison Redford countered that stance; saying the province would consult with municipal leaders on the bill.
“Our caucus met today and had the chance to carefully consider initial feedback from mayors, reeves and councillors,” said Redford in a news release.
“Given where Bill 28 is at in the Legislative process, the time is right to consult with municipal leaders to ensure the bill properly allows communities to work together, while maintaining local autonomy for the betterment of the people they serve.
“Our government caucus has decided that before this bill proceeds any further, the Minister of Municipal Affairs will strike a task force with the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC) to ensure meaningful consultation on the bill and its objectives. Caucus also decided to include an amendment to ensure a formal appeal process for municipalities is included in the Bill.”
The proposed legislation would give Redford’s cabinet the authority to set up growth boards to address the shared needs of municipalities clustered close together.
Cabinet would have the right to decide the geographic boundaries of the growth boards, who sits on them, who will run them, what the voting breakdown will be, and what their mandates will be.
Any bylaw decisions made by the growth boards must be approved by the municipal affairs minister.
The decisions of the growth boards would be binding, and no municipality would be allowed to pass laws or build anything that contravenes the board’s decisions.
Elected officials who refuse to co-operate and provide paperwork asked for by the boards would be subject to a maximum $10,000 fine or one year in jail.
On Wednesday, Griffiths said local politicians are OK with the rules and the penalties in the regulations already on the books governing regional planning in and around Edmonton.
“They have obligations to each other, so there are fines and penalties in there (but) none of them have ever been used because they (the politicians) all work very well together,” said Griffiths.
“But when it was being crafted that was what was determined would be the punishment, but I don’t anticipate we’ll ever need it.”
Edmonton’s new mayor isn’t concerned with Bill 28.
“Edmonton has been interested for a very long time in ensuring that we have good relations with our neighbours and ways to work together that advance the whole region,” said Don Iveson. “The fact that there’s a law saying we ought to do that, when it’s what we ought to be doing anyway, that doesn’t change anything for us.”
In Thursday’s news release, Redford said the intent of Bill 28 is to make sure municipalities have the resources they need to work together.
“Partnerships between our cities, towns and counties are part of what makes our great province even better. Whether it’s collaboration on projects like rural water treatment facilities or regional transportation plans, we want to ensure municipalities have the tools they need to continue developing effective partnerships – when and where they choose to.”
However, Wildrose leader Danielle Smith called the bill a blindside attack on municipal councils just getting down to business after recent elections.
“I think they’ve made an absolute blunder in this case and we’re going to be fighting it tooth and nail,” said Smith on Wednesday.
“The idea that mayors and reeves would be saying that they want to be told what to do by PC appointees on these councils that are unelected and that they also want to be fined or be forced to go to jail if they don’t comply with these plans or file the proper paperwork is simply beyond belief.
“From what we can tell, no municipalities were consulted, not even the big city mayors, the AUMA does not appear to have been consulted, the AAMDC does not appear to have been consulted. I do not know where this legislation came from, but it is the most draconian piece of municipal legislation I have ever seen.”
Liberal Leader Raj Sherman added he is very concerned about the tone of the bill, calling it very heavy-handed.
On Thursday, the Wildrose commended the Redford government for delaying the bill’s passage.
“I am delighted to see the Premier come around to our perspective on this legislation,” Smith said. “Wildrose strongly believes in the autonomy of local governments and the current Bill 28, would have undermined that independence. This reversal from the government is a victory for democracy, local autonomy, and all Albertans.”
With files from Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press
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