Is it merely a power grab as some have stated?
A threat to democracy? Perhaps even dangerous?
Or is it about municipal accountability as the Province has stated?
Changes proposed to the The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, (also known as Bill 20), would set the stage for local political parties, corporate and union fundraising, as well as provide the Province power to remove elected councils or officials by cabinet decree alone.
Many have spoken out against this legislation, perhaps most prominently Alberta Municipalities (ABmunis) which represents about 85 per cent of the province’s municipalities. ABmunis president Tyler Gandam drew a bleak picture this week of what the bill could mean to municipal elections and democracy as a whole.
"If the government has the power to just remove somebody,” Gandam said, “without any kind of public dialogue or sharing why they've been removed from council, it poses a threat against members of council. It poses a threat to democracy as a whole."
However, it’s also true the Province has really had this power all along. Since confederation provinces have always had final say over municipal government in cities, towns, counties and school boards to a degree our neighbour states in the south would find incomprehensible.
Essentially, municipalities under confederation were considered akin to provincial government “franchises” in modern day parlance with ultimate power resting with the Province.
So why seek to gather some of the power back to head office now?
Three words. Chestermere, Calgary, Edmonton.
Minister Ric McIver’s recent problems with councillors in his home community of Chestermere may have set the scene for this legislation, but folding in Calgary and Edmonton, which have increasingly been at odds with current and past conservative governments, and appear to be drifting even further away in recent elections, might just be the end game.
