With the recent announcement of Bill 20, Mayor Jeff Genung shared his thoughts on the changes that this new bill which has the potential to impact Cochrane and other Alberta municipalities in a significant way.
Although local political parties will not yet be allowed outside Edmonton and Calgary, which are piloting the changes, in the upcoming election cycle for 2025.
Bill 20, The Municipal Affairs Statues Amendment Act, was brought to Alberta Legislature on April 25. It also includes several amendments to both the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) and the Municipal Government Act.
This would result in the in the adoption of political parties at the local level, alongside more influence by the province to bypass municipal bylaws and remove elected officials from office.
At first blush, Genung said he was disappointed, but after delving deeper in more detail, he acknowledges that it goes both ways.
“There’s some things in the bill that I think are a step in the right direction, but then there’s some I think that go in the wrong direction,” Genung said. “But the thing I’m the most disappointed in is the lack of consultation around this before they would roll out a bill of this nature.”
Genung said at the municipal level, he was always a proponent of staying neutral and not aligning with any political party.
“And I think that’s best at a municipal level,” Genung stated. “We have to work with whatever provincial government is brought into power, and having our party lines interfere with what’s best for our communities is really somewhat of a barrier.”
In a wider lens, Genung said if the legislation were to go through, individuals running for office would not need to declare their alignment with a party, and can just run as a neutral body.
“But I’m sure it will be a question that will be asked all the time, and I just think it gets in the way of the work that we’re trying to do on behalf of our communities,” Genung said.
Genung believes that one of the pros of the bill passing comes from recall legislation and addressing some of the problems it’s had in the past.
“I think them recognizing some of the barriers and issues that we as communities have encountered under that new legislation, when it came out last time, [and] rectifying it, clearing the path, and having the province directly deal with it, makes sense I think,” Genung said.
Although he didn’t examine it in detail with the rest of Cochrane council yet, Genung said there is a chance that some of the changes to the LAEA could impact the town at a financial level.
Key changes to the LAEA include allowing local political parties to appear on the ballot, prohibiting vote counting machines, requiring municipalities to create a permanent electors registry, limiting the use of vouching to the ability to vouch for a person's address only, and allowing unions and corporations to make contributions to candidates, with the same donation limit as personal contributions.
“Some of could actually have some financial implications for us if we’re having to recount or change some of the electronic voting practices, ex cetera,” Genung said.
Genung believes that the province consulted with municipalities, the outcome might have been different.
“Maybe that opportunity still exists, but I would hate that some of the unintended consequences of changing some of the things around the elections, while meant good in nature and they’re hoping to streamline things, that actually it’s going to make them harder and more costly for municipalities,” Genung said.
Genung stated that he has always strived to enhance, strengthen, and enable a healthy relationship with the province, especially through the work of the Mid-sized Cities Mayor’s Caucus.
“We understand our role, and the province’s jurisdiction in creating legislation for us to live within,” Genung said. “It’s just we would have appreciated a seat around the table in discussions, [and] in the creation of such.
“Perhaps they put this out, and now they will garner some feedback, but it would have been nice to have been in those conversations before something so broad was coming out.”
Right now, Genung said it’s too early to tell what may come out of Bill 20, and he is currently airing on the side of giving it more time before drawing conclusions.
He added that this shouldn’t be much of a surprise as political parties in municipal level, as it has always been a hot topic of conversation.
“To hear this now or see this in a bill is not a surprise,” Genung said. “Some of the changes to the Election Act are a bit surprising, and just the nature in which they’re diving into a lot of the inner workings of municipalities.
“I think it would have behooved them more to have a bit more conversation with us at that level. I think we just more time to soak in what it is they’re trying to achieve, what problems they’re trying to solve, and then perhaps as partners, we can get there together.
With a pilot launch of political parties added to the ballot of municipal elections in Calgary and Edmonton next year, Genung warns that this can possibly influence what happens in Cochrane.
“Having such close proximity to the City of Calgary, a lot of what happens over there influences what happens in our community,” he said. “It has the risk of, you know, interrupting or affecting our own municipal election in the same nature.”
He outlines that it remains to be seen, but based on what took place in the past, Genung said that whatever happens in Calgary, also happens in Cochrane.
“The recent change they made to single-use plastic bylaw in fast food restaurants had implications out here,” Genung said. “And I’m not saying that there were many, but I dud hear from people who were reacting what the City of Calgary was doing.
“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens.”
Local concerns about Bill 20
In his personal opinion, Genung said if Bill 20 does pass, it could affect many communities like Cochrane with the introduction of party politics at the local level.
“I think when we get into party politics, we immediately choose sides, we choose a colour, and it’s more about dividing than uniting,” he said. “What I fear is that at the end of the day, we’re going to be choosing individuals to represent our community based on a side, instead of a platform, a clear strategy, or a vision to better our community.
“And when you interfere with that, that’s my fear. The first question people are going to be asking is – What side do you want? Instead of – What do you stand for, and what are your thoughts on how to make Cochrane a better community?”
When asked about whether or not this gives the provincial government more influence at a local level, Genung said it’s a tough question to answer.
“It’s not like it hasn’t been done,” Genung said. “I’m not clear on where, but there are municipalities in B.C that have been doing political parties in municipal politics for years, and I’m not sure if that’s been positive or negative.”
Genung said it is still too early to predict any outcomes this may have on influence from the province. He understands that there is a fear of provincial influence, but he is unsure about how the province can affect the outcome of a municipal election in certain communities.
“At the end of the day, we all have our unique needs and issues,” Genung said. “I remain hopeful that our residents and electorate will choose the right individual at the end of the day, independent of their party colour.”
In closing, Genung said Bill 20 has been getting several reactions from across the province.
“I’ve had multiple calls about it this morning about it already,” Genung said. “Our mid-sized city mayor’s group is really activated around this [Calgary Regional Metropolitan Board], because we were talking about in on Friday.
“I hope it doesn’t distract us from the bigger picture stuff that we need to remained focused on. And that’s delivering infrastructure, and on the needs and issues in our communities.”
