Alberta municipalities say proposed provincial law would create chill effect
“Bill 20 puts local governments up for sale to the highest bidder”
Story by The Canadian Press •
EDMONTON — The organization representing Alberta's cities, towns and villages says a bill that would grant the province sweeping new powers over local governments is creating an atmosphere of fear.
Tyler Gandam, president of Alberta Municipalities, said Monday his members are worried about potential repercussions if they disagree openly with the provincial government.
“Alberta Municipalities is concerned that the bill will intimidate and even silence legally-elected officials who dare to criticize the provincial government,” Gandam told reporters, adding the bill sets a dangerous precedent that could undermine the power of local voters.
The proposed law, introduced last week by Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party government, would give cabinet broad authority to dismiss councillors and overturn local bylaws.
Cabinet conversations are confidential and conventionally exempt from public disclosure. That means under the law, the public may not be privy to why a councillor is dismissed.
“The possibility of locally elected officials being removed at any time for any reason is deeply unsettling and likely to have a chilling effect," Gandam said.
Earlier Monday, Smith said the aim of the proposed legislation is to ensure municipalities are not enacting policies that are out of step with provincial priorities or creep into provincial jurisdiction.
Related video: Municipal governments face threat as Alberta asserts power over them in Bill 20 (Global News) Duration 2:20 View on Watch
Related video: Concerns over proposed Alberta bill that would give province powers over municipalities (cbc.ca) Duration 1:59 View on Watch
“We would use it very sparingly,” said Smith at an unrelated news conference in Calgary.
The bill would also allow political parties to run in municipal elections — for now in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta's two largest cities.
If passed, the law would also open the door to corporations and unions being able to donate in municipal elections, which was banned by the previous New Democrat government under former premier Rachel Notley.
Smith said the aim is balance, and existing rules on third-party advertisers have so far failed to bring proper oversight or discourage "big money" in local elections.
Still, Gandam said the bill proposes “almost nothing” to improve transparency over financial donations, and independent candidates risk being outspent and drowned out by party candidates who enjoy the financial backing of corporations and unions.
“Bill 20 puts local governments up for sale to the highest bidder,” said Gandam.
The bill came more than two weeks after Smith's government introduced other legislation that would give it the power to veto any deal between the federal government and provincial entities, including municipalities and post-secondary schools.
The Opposition NDP called Monday for the UCP to withdraw the municipal affairs bill from the legislature, echoing reaction last week from elected officials in Edmonton and Calgary, who called it an authoritarian overreach on local democracy.
NDP house leader Christina Gray said it would upend long-standing political norms.
"When people want change in municipal bylaws, do they — instead of talking to their city councillor — now go straight to Danielle Smith?"
Gray also disputed Smith's claim that corporate and union donations are currently flying under the radar.
“We're going to see a flood of money from corporations influencing our elections rather than what Albertans have asked for, which is to have the local voters be the ones who elect their governments," said Gray.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2024.
Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
'Who stands to benefit from Bill 20?': ABMunis speaks out against allowing union, corporate donations in local politics
Story by Matthew Black • Edmonton Journal
Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver introducing legislation to ammend the Local Authorities Election Act on April 25, 2024.© Provided by Edmonton Journal
The organization representing more than 250 Alberta municipalities accused the province Monday of ushering so-called “big money” back into local politics via its controversial Bill 20, something Premier Danielle Smith denied.
Bill 20 — the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 — was tabled in the legislature last Thursday.
It’s drawn criticism for potentially giving the cabinet new, unilateral powers to oust councillors or compel a city council to amend or repeal bylaws with any such decisions to be made in secret and with no apparent criteria.
It also reintroduces corporate and union donations to municipal candidates, something that wasn’t allowed at the last election cycle, and also is not permitted at the provincial level in Alberta or for elections at the federal level.
On Monday, Alberta Municipalities president, Wetaskiwin Mayor Tyler Gandam, said the new rules “put local governments up for sale to the highest bidder.”
“If the bill passes in its current form, local government elections will end up being about what influential corporations and unions want, not about what voters want,” he said, adding the bill “does almost nothing” to improve financial transparency.
“Independent candidates risk being outspent and drowned-out by party candidates who enjoy the financial backing of corporations and unions.”
“Who stands to benefit from Bill 20?”
Smith defended the legislation, telling reporters Monday that current rules around contributions to political action committees (PACs) are too weak and don’t provide enough transparency.
“I don’t think it’s worked,” she said of the system used in the last municipal election cycle that limited PAC contributions to $30,000, but only during the “campaign advertising period,” defined as May 1 of an election year to the date of the election.
Legislation introduced in 2021 updated those rules to include annual limits , but Smith said that still doesn’t go far enough.
“The experiment of PACs hasn’t been overwhelmingly successful if you wanted to take big money out of politics.”
She hinted similar changes could be coming at the provincial level as well.
“We’re having a conversation about it.”
Bill 20 sets out a $5,00 per year per municipality limit on corporate and union donations to local candidates. It also limits donations to third-party advertisers and PACs to $5,000 per election period.
Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver told reporters last week the new rules will ensure unions and corporations do not have a “disproportionate influence” on municipal elections.
“The previous rules prohibited direct donations from unions and corporations; however, business owners and union members were still allowed to donate as individuals,” his office said in a statement Monday, going on to note those groups could also donate to third-party advertisers.
Edmonton Coun. Andrew Knack has expressed his concern with the timing of disclosure rules, which allow donations outside the local election year.
“Why not require people to disclose who has donated before people go vote?”
NDP Opposition house leader Christina Gray said she is “incredibly proud” of how her party banned corporate and union donations through its first bill as government in 2015.
“This was something that was widely supported by Albertans because of the strong desire to make sure that our democracy is protected, and that it is individual voters and Alberta citizens who decide elections and not big money politics,” she said.
University of Calgary political scientist Lisa Young said while the new rules may appear fair on the surface, they may also have an asymmetrical effect in favour of corporations.
“There are many corporations out there. And there are a relatively small number of unions,” she said.
“We’re going to see quite a bit of corporate money in the local elections, and a relatively small amount of union money.”
mblack@postmedia.com
Story by Matthew Black • Edmonton Journal
Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver introducing legislation to ammend the Local Authorities Election Act on April 25, 2024.© Provided by Edmonton Journal
The organization representing more than 250 Alberta municipalities accused the province Monday of ushering so-called “big money” back into local politics via its controversial Bill 20, something Premier Danielle Smith denied.
Bill 20 — the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 — was tabled in the legislature last Thursday.
It’s drawn criticism for potentially giving the cabinet new, unilateral powers to oust councillors or compel a city council to amend or repeal bylaws with any such decisions to be made in secret and with no apparent criteria.
It also reintroduces corporate and union donations to municipal candidates, something that wasn’t allowed at the last election cycle, and also is not permitted at the provincial level in Alberta or for elections at the federal level.
On Monday, Alberta Municipalities president, Wetaskiwin Mayor Tyler Gandam, said the new rules “put local governments up for sale to the highest bidder.”
“If the bill passes in its current form, local government elections will end up being about what influential corporations and unions want, not about what voters want,” he said, adding the bill “does almost nothing” to improve financial transparency.
“Independent candidates risk being outspent and drowned-out by party candidates who enjoy the financial backing of corporations and unions.”
“Who stands to benefit from Bill 20?”
Smith defended the legislation, telling reporters Monday that current rules around contributions to political action committees (PACs) are too weak and don’t provide enough transparency.
“I don’t think it’s worked,” she said of the system used in the last municipal election cycle that limited PAC contributions to $30,000, but only during the “campaign advertising period,” defined as May 1 of an election year to the date of the election.
Legislation introduced in 2021 updated those rules to include annual limits , but Smith said that still doesn’t go far enough.
“The experiment of PACs hasn’t been overwhelmingly successful if you wanted to take big money out of politics.”
She hinted similar changes could be coming at the provincial level as well.
“We’re having a conversation about it.”
Bill 20 sets out a $5,00 per year per municipality limit on corporate and union donations to local candidates. It also limits donations to third-party advertisers and PACs to $5,000 per election period.
Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver told reporters last week the new rules will ensure unions and corporations do not have a “disproportionate influence” on municipal elections.
“The previous rules prohibited direct donations from unions and corporations; however, business owners and union members were still allowed to donate as individuals,” his office said in a statement Monday, going on to note those groups could also donate to third-party advertisers.
Edmonton Coun. Andrew Knack has expressed his concern with the timing of disclosure rules, which allow donations outside the local election year.
“Why not require people to disclose who has donated before people go vote?”
NDP Opposition house leader Christina Gray said she is “incredibly proud” of how her party banned corporate and union donations through its first bill as government in 2015.
“This was something that was widely supported by Albertans because of the strong desire to make sure that our democracy is protected, and that it is individual voters and Alberta citizens who decide elections and not big money politics,” she said.
University of Calgary political scientist Lisa Young said while the new rules may appear fair on the surface, they may also have an asymmetrical effect in favour of corporations.
“There are many corporations out there. And there are a relatively small number of unions,” she said.
“We’re going to see quite a bit of corporate money in the local elections, and a relatively small amount of union money.”
mblack@postmedia.com
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