New Brunswick’s local government minister is firing back at what he called “misinformation” surrounding his powers to repeal or amend municipal bylaws.
Daniel Allain said that all requests to amend or scrap municipal bylaws based on unintended economic impact for property owners will be handled by the new local governance commission.
“We’re actually giving it to an independent commission, arms length from government, to review all these questions,” he told reporters Friday.
The Local Governance Commission Act is intended to create an overseeing body to help deal with issues that arise in local governance. The commission can study the redrawing of boundaries, disputes over the share of funding for regional facilities, as well as code of conduct and conflict of interest complaints.
But when it comes to the power to repeal or amend municipal bylaws, Liberal critic Jacques Leblanc says the minister’s explanation doesn’t hold water.
“Well, he needs to read it again. If you read the lines it’s black and white. It’s basically black and white if you read the bill, it’s giving him more power,” he said.
A section of the bill would appear to give the minister power to unilaterally axe bylaws should they impact the usage of property for “the purpose for which it was zoned” and if it is in the public interest.
Allain maintains that the power will only lie with the local governance commission, which would study the issue following the complaint of a property owner and make a recommendation to the minister. He says the power is necessary in order to ensure the inexperienced councils of new entities don’t implement bylaws that would effect the owners of farms or woodlot owners who weren’t previously subject to municipal bylaws.
But he was unable to provide reporters with any examples.
Green local governance critic Kevin Arseneau said the minister should trust municipalities to do the jobs they were elected to do.
“That’s the paternalistic kind of attitude that this government and this minister in particular always have, calling out people that have been working municipally for many years,” he said.
Municipal leaders have been quick to pan the bill with Fredericton mayor Kate Rodgers calling it “undemocratic.”
Executive Director of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick Dan Murphy says the bill needs to be further clarified to tighten how the powers are exerted.
“If this is specific to a land use issue then let’s have that in there and not leave it as broad as it is right now, because a future minister or a future administration could misconstrue that authority,” he said. “I think we just need to see what’s in writing and (the intent) needs to be the same, I think that’s what we’d be looking to see.”
The bill remains under study by the legislature’s economic policy committee, leaving little time for it to pass before the assembly rises for the summer in June.
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