Achi news desk-
The Alberta government is making changes to a bill that would give cabinet unfettered power to fire mayors and councilors and overturn bylaws.
Urban Affairs Minister Ric McIver says the government will introduce changes and implement rules on how and when the cabinet can overrule local governments.
The bill is before the legislature and has been criticized by municipal leaders as a serious overreach into matters of municipal government.
“What we would propose is not to proceed with Bill 20 at all. It’s not needed,” Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said Thursday.
Sohi said he was pleased to hear that McIver was responding to the criticism and concerns raised about the measure, and that he was open to discussing changes with those who had raised issues about it.
“If there is a problem they want to solve I think the best way to do that is to co-create legislation, not just impose legislation on municipalities,” said Sohi. “This has been kind of a one way street where we are told what they are going to do instead of listening to us and engaging with us.”
The president of Alberta Municipalities, Tyler Gandam, has said that members are concerned that the proposed law would intimidate and silence legally elected officials who dare to criticize the province.
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McIver says he wants to make it clear that the new powers in the bill would only be used as a last resort.
He says the power to repeal municipal bylaws should only be used when those bylaws fall under areas of shared responsibility, such as health care, education, the state’s economy or public safety.
Sohi went on to say that if the legislation goes ahead, he believes it should only be used in the rarest of circumstances. He also believes that any use of the bill should be discussed in the legislature, and not just in the cabinet.
“Cabinet decisions are not made in a transparent, open way and there is no accountability on the cabinet. There is accountability in the legislature where people can ask questions about why a council member is dismissed or why a by-law duly passed by a council is repealed by the province,” Sohi said.
He also believes that there is no need for political parties at municipal level.
“Let people decide who they elect, and then let the local elected people make decisions on behalf of the electors who have elected us.”
Alberta’s NDP critic for municipalities said instead of making reforms, the UCP needs to withdraw Bill 20 entirely.
“Bill 20 is a threat to our democracy,” Kyle Kasawski said in a statement.
“This bill is another example of Smith’s authoritarian style of governance done in Alberta. The UCP wants to control everything, be it our universities, schools, healthcare, police, pensions and now city councils.”
— with files from Caley Gibson, Global News
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
