Alberta government promises amendments in wake of Bill 20 backlash

In the wake of significant backlash from mayors and councillors across Alberta, the province is promising amendments to proposed legislation to give itself major new powers over municipalities.

In a statement Thursday, Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said he's planning to work with municipalities to assuage their concerns about the legislation, and that amendments will be made. 

Introduced in the legislature a week ago, Bill 20 would give the Alberta cabinet the power to dismiss councillors and mayors in any municipality and to repeal or amend local bylaws.

The legislation would also allow for the creation of municipal political parties in Edmonton and Calgary as a pilot project. 

The bill, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, would amend both the Local Authorities Election Act and the Municipal Government Act.

In his statement Thursday, McIver maintained that the proposed legislation will make local elections more transparent and local elected officials more accountable.

But he said he does plan to work with municipalities on changes to the bill to reassure them that cabinet would only remove local politicians as a "last resort" and that changing or or repealing bylaws would not be done "lightly."

"The role of an elected official is one with tremendous responsibility and expectations. The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act will strengthen the accountability of locally elected officials and councils while balancing the need to support local autonomy in areas of municipal oversight," McIver said.

A spokesperson for the minister said he is not available for interviews this week.

Bill 20's announcement prompted significant backlash from municipal officials and political experts earlier this week.

Tyler Gandam, president of Alberta Municipalities, called it a "power grab", and Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi deemed it an "attack on local democracy."

On Thursday, Sohi told reporters that despite the promise of amendments, he still believes Bill 20 should be scrapped altogether.

"We don't need political parties at a local level – let people decide who they elect – and then let the local elected people make decisions on behalf of the constituents who have elected us," the mayor said. 

Sohi said that if the government insists on wielding control over locally elected officials, that power should be used only in the rarest of cases, and such decisions should be determined within the legislature – not by cabinet.

"Cabinet is not accountable to constituents. Cabinet makes secret decisions," Sohi said.

"There's no rationale behind those decisions, and there's no ability for the public to engage directly with Cabinet."

St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron is skeptical that there will be meaningful consultation, but hopes it happens.

She said the proposed legislation feels like an assault on municipalities. She doesn't think it's ever appropriate for the province to be able to repeal a bylaw, and said there are already mechanisms in place to remove municipal officials under certain circumstances.

"I think the province needs to do a better job of explaining what problem they're trying to solve through all this, and so I'll cross my fingers that they're very genuine about that statement," she said, but added that she feels the legislation is driven by ideology. 

Rural Municipalities of Alberta president Paul McLauchlin said he's glad there will be an opportunity to work on the bill with the minister. 

McLauchlin said Bill 20 has some good parts that will help modernize the election act. However, he remains concerned about under what circumstances Cabinet would be able to revoke a bylaw or remove an elected municipal official.

"What we really want to make sure is that we have a lane to be in, and we want to create bylaws that allow us on a daily basis to do the job we do and not have the fear of being rescinded," McLauchlin said Thursday.

"This stuff can be weaponized quite quickly. We're in a pretty volatile post-COVID world. We have a very volatile electorate right now."