Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said further amendments around the Bill 20 language are coming after the initial announcement of the Bill created a municipal furor.

Premier Smith made the comments upon media questions during an announcement on the expansion of the Alberta Newborn Screening Program on May 3.  She said that some of the immediate feedback they’d heard was that the legislation was too broad.

Bill 20 would have, among other things, given the province the ability to remove a municipal elected official and force the repeal or amendment of bylaws beyond those in land use and planning.

“The current way the legislation is written is if it is deemed in the public interest,” said Premier Smith.

“We were asked by the various municipal associations if we could just be more clear about what those terms would be. So we’re working on the language on that and we’ll be introducing amendments when we go back next week.”

In a media release on Thursday, Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said that when a councillor has betrayed the public trust, it’s in the public interest to remove them swiftly.  

“As municipal councillors and mayors are locally elected by their constituents, Alberta’s government recognizes this authority should only be used as a last resort, which was always the intent of this legislation,” Minister McIver’s statement read.

McIver also said that they would be working with municipalities to propose amendments for the legislation around the repeal of bylaws. It would also only be used in areas related to provincial jurisdiction like heathcare, education, the provincial economy or public safety.

“This is quite serious, and we would not do this lightly,” McIver said.

Clarification statements

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she’d spoken with Minister McIver on Bill 20, and she appreciated they were going to continue consulting with municipalities.

“I think municipalities in Alberta have been very clear with this government that this legislation is great overreach,” she said.

“It is not clear to anyone.”

Mayor Gondek referenced the province’s language around repealing bylaws related to things like public health. She said during COVID-19, municipalities were told to create bylaws, and then the Municipal Government Act was opened up to take that right away.

“I’m not really sure where we’re going with this. I hope to get some further clarification,” she said.

“But when you have to issue statements to explain what you’re trying to do, it should tell us that maybe they’re not clear.”

The mayor said that while potential clarifying amendments provide some sense of comfort, the legislation itself creates more questions than answers.

“I would hope that there are a couple of different engagement opportunities on this bill; face-to-face is going to be critical, especially with the big cities that are having parties imposed upon them,” she said.  

“I think it is going to be incredibly important for every municipality in this province to be able to weigh in on things.”