Latest news with #MunicipalGovernmentAct
Edmonton Journal
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Changing lanes: Delton group invites Smith government to intervene in city bike lane project
Article content Rawling's day job is capital planning and procurement specialist for the Government of Alberta's ministry of forestry and parks and the wildfire division. Three weeks ago, he had no notion of being a spokesperson for fellow Delton residents. 'I decided that someone needed to give a voice to the voiceless, and although I hoped it wouldn't be me, it turned out to be me,' he said. Rawling likes bike lanes — in principle. 'I think they sound great, but the reality is that from what I see, most people who use bike lanes are like me — able-bodied, military age males,' Rawling said. 'I think sometimes bike lanes make sense,' he said, pointing to the ground-up Blatchford development where an east-west bike lane might be laid down without too much disruption. He's lobbying for something he admits is unprecedented — that the province's minister of municipal affairs will 'launch an investigation under the Municipal Government Act,' specifically Section 572.
Calgary Herald
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Changing lanes: Delton group invites Smith government to intervene in city bike lane project
In Edmonton's tiny Delton neighbourhood, what started as a clash between Edmonton's automobile and bicycle cultures is shaping up to be a head-on battle between provincial and municipal powers — and a burgeoning issue in the upcoming municipal election. Article content Article content At the centre of the controversy is the long-planned construction of bike lanes that saw jackhammers powered up two years ago. Article content Article content The multi-year 'bike plan' project involves repaving the roadway and replacing sidewalks, curbs and street lights, rolled into street renewal — coming with a price tag of $100 million of city funds to carve out 30 blocks of bike lanes on the north side, allowing cyclists, wheelchair users and scooter riders to travel in their own lane between 118 Avenue and Jasper Avenue. Article content Article content Additionally, some 50 individuals opposed to the plan showed up last Thursday for a community hall meeting, giving the opposition a mandate, said Rawling, who is critical of the city's claim of city-wide consultation before the project was underway. Article content 'They say that they consulted 11,000 people in 2019. How big is Edmonton? Almost a million. And they justify this with 11,000 people,' he said. Article content Article content Rawling's day job is capital planning and procurement specialist for the Government of Alberta's ministry of forestry and parks and the wildfire division. Article content Article content Three weeks ago, he had no notion of being a spokesperson for fellow Delton residents. Article content 'I decided that someone needed to give a voice to the voiceless, and although I hoped it wouldn't be me, it turned out to be me,' he said. Article content Rawling likes bike lanes — in principle. Article content 'I think they sound great, but the reality is that from what I see, most people who use bike lanes are like me — able-bodied, military age males,' Rawling said. Article content 'I think sometimes bike lanes make sense,' he said, pointing to the ground-up Blatchford development where an east-west bike lane might be laid down without too much disruption. Article content He's lobbying for something he admits is unprecedented — that the province's minister of municipal affairs will 'launch an investigation under the Municipal Government Act,' specifically Section 572.
Hamilton Spectator
30-04-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Court Ruling Exposes Canmore's Lack of Leadership, Creates $10 Million Budget Shortfall For the Town
CANMORE, Alberta, April 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a significant ruling yesterday, The Alberta Court of King's Bench determined that Canmore's implementation of a vacancy tax for the 2025 tax year was improper, forcing a one-year postponement of the controversial measure. This decisive ruling eliminates $10.3 million from Canmore's municipal budget – a staggering 21.8% of the town's 2025 tax revenue – impacting planned housing affordability initiatives. The financial implications of the Town's reckless drive to punish secondary homeowners means: 'Fair Future Canmore has consistently warned for over a year that the vacancy tax represented an unjust burden on select property owners while failing to address housing affordability through collaborative solutions,' said Stephen Ross, one of the appellants that appealed the vacancy tax. 'Unfortunately, Town Council pushed forward with this divisive measure and now finds itself without resources to address housing in 2025.' While the Court ruled it is reasonable to interpret the Municipal Government Act as permissive of vacancy taxes, Fair Future Canmore calls on the Town to use this postponement to scrap the vacancy tax and develop a truly collaborative housing strategy that includes residents, all homeowners, developers, and both the federal and provincial governments. 'The lack of leadership shown by Town Council and their willingness to pit residents against each other demonstrates a real need for change – either through Council's approach or through a new Council after the next election,' added Ross. 'Canmore deserves leadership that addresses pressing issues through collaboration, not division.' Fair Future Canmore will continue advocating for effective housing policies while intensifying efforts ahead of the fall municipal elections to ensure Canmore's future leadership brings neighbors together rather than driving them apart. Contact: Fair Future Canmore info@
CBC
09-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Alberta government moves to eliminate municipal codes of conduct
Social Sharing Alberta Municipal Affairs minister Ric McIver introduced a new bill Tuesday that would automatically repeal all municipal codes of conduct as soon as it is proclaimed into law. Bill 50, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, proposes changes to three existing laws: Local Authorities Election Act, the Municipal Government Act, and the New Home Buyer Protection Act. Amendments to the Municipal Government Act in early 2015 compelled municipal councils across Alberta to pass codes of conduct by 2018. But McIver said they have since become a tool for councillors to target other members of council. "Most municipalities get along just fine and behave well and serve their citizens without a whole bunch of interpersonal drama," he said at a news conference Tuesday. "But there's been more than enough instances of people using the bylaws as weapons, weaponizing them, if you will, and they're trying to silence people that disagree with them that are on council." McIver is proposing an external third party, like an ethics or integrity commissioner, become the arbiter of breaches but he wants to consult with municipalities first. Such a change would also relieve the chief administrative officers of municipalities of the responsibility of having to resolve disputes. McIver said the current situation puts these officials in an awkward position because they are hired, evaluated and can be fired by councillors. "It's not a fair position to put them in," he said. "So we're going to try to fix that too." Other measures in the bill include a change that would allow municipal political parties to share campaign funding with their candidates and compel them to disclose their donors before election day in October. The bill also proposes a temporary measure to allow Jasper residents to vote or run in the municipal election even while they are displaced by last summer's wildfire. The government plans to keep these amendments in place for the fall municipal election and through 2026 just in case there is a byelection. The provision is to expire by Dec. 31, 2026. Political donation disclosure The proposal to eliminate municipal codes of conduct follows some high-profile cases where councillors used the rules against another council member. Last year, Linnsie Clark, the mayor of Medicine Hat, was stripped of some of her powers and given a pay cut for failing to treat the city manager with "courtesy, dignity and respect" at a council meeting in 2023. A Court of King's Bench judge later ruled that the sanctions were not in proportion to her code of conduct breaches and reversed most of them. Last year, members of Alberta Municipalities passed a resolution moved by the Town of Rocky Mountain House to set up an independent office of integrity to investigate code of conduct breaches. Edmonton Coun. Andrew Knack is concerned that there will be a period of time between the repeal of the codes of conduct and the enactment of what replaces them. "I don't want to be closed-minded to it," he said. "If they have a good system that has clear standards across the province, then that might actually be a really good thing. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt on this particular issue." Knack is more concerned with the rules for candidate donation disclosures. While Bill 50 will require political parties to disclose their donations before the election, there isn't a similar provision for individual candidates or third-party advertisers. Knack said the new system imposed by the province hurts candidates who choose to run independently. He says political parties can still get more donations from corporations and numbered companies.
CBC
30-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Provincial funding hike to help P.E.I. municipalities, but amalgamation may be the long-term fix
Social Sharing The Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities says the provincial government's commitment to increasing funding for municipalities is a positive step, but a long-term solution is needed — one that could involve revisiting municipal amalgamation. In a speech delivered Tuesday in the P.E.I. legislature, the province committed to an interim agreement to increase funding to municipalities, pending the current review of the Municipal Government Act. Satya Sen, interim executive director of the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities, said he welcomes the two-year funding framework, noting that municipalities had seen no increases for the past three years. "Municipalities have been doing a lot more for a lot less. The resources they have are not adequate to provide services to Islanders and their municipal residents, so increased funding is absolutely a welcome step from the provincial government," Sen told CBC's Island Morning. Rising costs Stratford Mayor Steve Ogden also said the funding boost is welcome news for his town of approximately 12,500 residents, one of the fastest-growing municipalities in the province. Ogden said essential services, such as policing and fire protection, are becoming increasingly expensive for the town. Policing costs alone now exceed $1.3 million and continue to rise. In its 2025-26 budget, Stratford is raising municipal residential taxes by two cents. The hike is not unexpected; the town is in the middle year of a three-year plan to raise municipal residential taxes by two cents per year that was approved in last year's budget. Without provincial funding, tax increases would be necessary to maintain essential services. "This is very welcome, to have this funding available, and it is interim, but we look forward to being able to meet the costs of fire protection, for policing," Ogden said. In the throne speech, the Rob Lantz government also promised to create a municipal infrastructure bank, which will offer low-interest loans to build and refurbish community infrastructure. Ogden said he is waiting for more details, but hopes that can be another funding option for municipalities to support capital projects. He hopes it can help municipalities cover their traditional one-third contribution to project costs, noting that towns often struggle to fund capital projects since the Municipal Government Act won't let them run deficits. Another look at amalgamation? While the two-year interim funding agreement provides short-term relief, Sen said municipalities need a more permanent financial solution, and that could mean revisiting the idea of amalgamation. Although the topic has been controversial on P.E.I., Sen said the province has more than 57 municipalities serving a population of just 180,000 people. In comparison, Nova Scotia has 49 municipalities that are home to a population of about one million. "We can't have this fragmented governance system where you have, like, tiny municipalities who are doing whatever they could with the little resources they have, but they really need to, you know, expand and provide services like municipalities," he said. "For example, even the towns like Kensington are providing services to an area which goes far beyond their municipal boundaries." Sen pointed to another example: North Rustico, which has faced challenges trying to pay off debt on its rink, which was built to help host the Canada Games. "The rink is being used by a much larger population than the population of the Town of North Rustico. Now, who is paying for that? "Somebody has to pay for that, and municipal taxpayers are in some way subsidizing the cost of the services for a much larger population." Sen hopes the Municipal Government Act review will provide municipalities with an opportunity to address these challenges. He said the review should take into account the need to expand boundaries to make municipalities more viable, saying the current boundaries are outdated and based on school districts from the 1800s.
