Achi news desk-
Three weeks after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith drew attention to a letter raising concerns about the City of Edmonton, a Freedom of Information Request has failed to locate the document.
On March 27, Smith told reporters that she has various concerns about the City of Edmonton.
He did not get specifics other than to say the city is dealing with significant financial troubles, something Edmonton city council has been open about.
Smith said some of her concerns stemmed from hearing that a letter was being sent to the Minister for Municipal Affairs.
“I don’t want to prejudge what may or may not be in a letter that we were told we would receive,” the premier told reporters.
“And so I wouldn’t mind seeing the letter, talking to my civic affairs minister and seeing if there’s anything else we need to do.”
Smith would not elaborate on what she understood the letter to contain.
She said she and other complaints raised concerns and that the province was willing to step in and help Edmonton solve problems the document had identified.
That sparked criticism that the premier was trying to intervene in municipal governance without showing proof that intervention was necessary.
Shortly afterwards, the Minister for Urban Affairs confirmed that he had received the letter.
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“It’s not signed, so that’s not helpful,” Civic Affairs Minister Ric McIver told reporters.
“Anything signed by a concerned citizen rather than someone with a name and address is … less useful than a signature.”
He did not elaborate on what claims were made in the document.
Global News asked the minister how the premier knew the letter was coming – if it was from an anonymous Albertan.
“That’s just a great question. I don’t have an answer,” McIver said.
Global News filed a Freedom of Information Request over the letter. A response said “a thorough search by Urban Affairs staff did not yield any records that responded to your request.”
After three days of asking this week why that might be, Global News was sent a statement that did not address why a Freedom of Information search cannot find the letter.
The statement reads:
“Following a review by the ministry, Municipal Affairs determined that the borough should address the concerns outlined in the letter,” spokeswoman Heather Jenkins wrote Friday.
“The province regularly receives anonymous complaints or allegations that we cannot verify.”
Jenkins did not answer why the prime minister and the minister highlighted the letter before being able to verify his claims.
NDP Civic Affairs Critic Kyle Kasawski told Global News he would like to see the document.
“This is at the level of scandal in our state,” Kasawski said Friday.
“Now we have a gas-lighting premier based on a letter that doesn’t exist.”
He went on to say that if there are valid concerns about the City of Edmonton, there is something the government could do to help.
“If the premier wants to respond to a letter, she could respond to the letter written by the mayor and the council with, I think nine areas of finance that have been cut by her government.”
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi sent his own six-page letter to Smith on April 2, outlining nine ways the city could use financial support after provincial cuts.
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