Special Virtual MLC recap
On October 28 and October 29, we held two meetings to discuss an advocacy priority: municipal autonomy. We asked our members for feedback on six principles that will guide our Local Decisions, Local Voices outreach.
We convened the meetings outside of our usual Municipal Leaders Caucus (MLC) cycle because of the cumulative erosion of local decisions. We have noted a trend across the country where higher levels of government have been infringing on municipal autonomy, and this is reaching a tipping point here in Alberta.
We used the sessions to outline the trends we’re seeing in governmental overreach. We discussed Bills 18, 20, 50, 51, and 28, and heard from Canmore about the struggles—and what successes they’ve found—in trying to implement a tax solution to their housing shortage. We then proposed six principles we’d like to use in our advocacy regarding respect for local democracy. We held a vote and each was approved with extremely high favourability. We also asked for written feedback, especially from those who voted against the principles. If you haven’t submitted anything (or did and have more to say, please email our advocacy [at] abmunis.ca (Advocacy Team))!
The principles are:
- Respect local democracy
- Consult before intervening
- Recognize local differences
- Ensure transparency and fairness
- Consider municipal impacts
- Work together for better outcomes
The Advocacy team will be taking your feedback and fine-tuning these principles, and we’ll be sharing key messages to you all in the coming weeks.
This campaign will be the number one focus for our advocacy, in combination with Property Taxes Reimagined and FCSS funding.
"Municipalities of all sizes and types are seeing their authorities rolled back. The issue isn't any one decision, but the cumulative impact of a large series of decisions which are removing municipal autonomy. Our membership has diverse views on any one policy, but I hope we can be united in making clear our support for the overriding principal that local voices need to be allowed to make local choices." – President Dylan Bressey
