With controversial changes to municipal governance on the horizon, municipal elected officials are speaking out.
"I don't see Bill 20 as improving accountability or transparency or effectiveness of municipal government in any way," said Okotoks Mayor Tanya Thorn, who represents Towns South on the Alberta Municipalities board.
Introduced by the Government of Alberta on April 25, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act brings forward major changes to municipal governance — including giving the provincial government increased control over elected officials and introducing political parties at the municipal level.
"There has been survey after survey after survey, including their own survey, that Albertans do not want political parties," said Thorn, echoing sentiments shared by Foothills County Reeve Delilah Miller and Diamond Valley Mayor Barry Crane.
"I don't see the value of that at the municipal level. You know, road infrastructure, community planning, these aren't political party issues. These are just maintaining a municipality and making quality of life good in your community."
The changes proposed by the bill are a danger to the democratic process, said Thorn, who has been vocal about her opposition to the bill.
"There's lots of opportunity for people to provide input from the community into [bylaw amendments]," said Thorn. "But now we're just saying if it doesn't align, not only with the public interest, but now if it doesn't align with provincial mandates or provincial direction, they can come in and amend and change it.
"You know, the last time I checked, there's 330-some-odd municipalities. Everybody's got a little bit of a different lens of how they approach things, how they approach the environment, how they approach public safety, so now if we don't do it exactly how the province does, they're going to come in and change that in municipalities, and they have the ultimate say, not the residents that voted or participated in any of that public discussion."
According to Thorn, these changes interfere with a municipality's ability to effectively serve the community.
"I'm not sure they actually completely understand the implications of what they're doing," she said. "Yes, municipalities are children of the province, if you want to call it that. We're not a recognized level of government, but we are democratically elected.
"And right now, in my opinion, the province is taking away that democratic right from the citizens of our communities, and that is wrong."
She acknowledged that some elements of the bill are beneficial.
"For a councillor disqualification, we no longer have to go to the courts to have a councillor disqualified," said Thorn. "So now it flips the switch. Councillors have to prove why they shouldn't be disqualified. The onus is on them to prove that instead of the municipality."
She added that the province handling recall position verification and requiring criminal record checks for candidates are additional steps in the right direction.
"So those three things, I think, are good in the bill, but those other pieces significantly outweigh the benefits," said Thorn.
