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LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENT - BULLETIN No. 4, February 2000

The purpose of this bulletin service is to focus debate on the need to increase local self government in Canada and to help local communities achieve more autonomy. The local self government web site is http://www.localselfgovt.org

This bulletin prints out to four pages. It includes:

1) Alberta municipalities gain fuel tax revenue
2) Municipal charter: statement and responses
3) Reorganizing local government in Edmonton
4) Losing council seats in Newfoundland; and
5) A new book: Toronto – considering self government

1. Alberta municipalities gain fuel tax revenue

The Provincial Government in Alberta announced late last year that municipalities will receive revenue from gasoline sales equal to 5 cents a litre. It is not a new tax, but a transfer of revenues.

Technical details of how sales at the pump will be tracked and accounted for are still being developed, and may be announced when the provincial treasurer brings down the budget in the next few weeks. Councillors in Edmonton and Calgary believe their revenue will be based directly on gasoline sales within their municipalities, but different arrangements seem likely for smaller centers and rural communities.

As this new revenue stream kicks in, the provincial government will withdraw grants now provided for transportation infrastructure. In the case of Calgary, those are about $40 million per year. The revenue expected from the gas tax transfer is $85 million a year so the net gain to Calgary is at least $45 million. Councillor Bob Hawkesworth says this money will be used for, among other things, three new stations on the LRV line and new buses.

In Edmonton revenue from the transfer will be in the order of $65 million, less $35 million in current grants, for a net gain of $30 million.

The change, which many municipalities across the country have been advocating, occurred after four years of tough negotiations. But it does not stop the continuing provincial attack on the property tax base of Alberta municipalities. The province is continuing to increase its share of property tax revenue to pay education costs.

“From the point of view of municipalities,” says Hawkesworth, “the province has been muscling into our property tax room. One problem is the absolute increase in dollars going to education from the property tax – some fueled by growth in the assessment base, some by mill rate increase. Compounding this problem for some large cities and growing communities is the growing gap in property valuations which mean property tax dollars go out of their communities to subsidize education elsewhere in the province.”

2. Municipal charter: statement and responses

On March 21, the Alberta School Boards Case will be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada. That case attempts to gain recognition for a status that gives a reasonable degree of autonomy for local institutions including school boards and municipalities.

In the meantime the Alberta Urban Municipal Association has been pushing for better recognition from the Province of Alberta. It’s motion late last year requested the government “to recognize through a charter . . . that municipal governments are an independent, responsible and accountable order of government.”

The province refused to comply. In a guarded response provincial officials said, “The province values the input of municipalities and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. Any suggestions that will strengthen the relationship between the province and municipalities warrant consideration. Municipal Affairs officials are therefore prepared to review the concept of a provincial/municipal charter with both municipal associations. In this regard, Municipal Affairs would appreciate receiving additional information and details of the proposal to assist in further discussions.

“However, given current realities it may not be productive for AUMA to seek recognition of municipalities as an independent order of government. In addition, AUMA has already been advised that the likelihood of a constitutional amendment (through changes to the Alberta Act or otherwise) is remote.”

AUMA’s web site is http://www.auma.ab.ca

3. Reorganizing Local Government in Edmonton

A provincially-initiated process looking at reorganization of the 22 municipalities in the Edmonton area has been under way for just over a year. So far there have been no fireworks, but an important report is expected by the end of February from the Chair of the Alberta Capital Region Governments Review, Lou Hyndman, a former Cabinet minister in the Lougheed government.

The province has said it has no intention of imposing reorganization as Premier Mike Harris did in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Sudbury and several hundred small municipalities in Ontario. The pace of this review has been somewhat leisurely and it is now unclear what is driving the process or where it may be headed.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the City of Edmonton, with 650,000 people, is far larger than any of the 21 surrounding municipalities, which together have a population of 225,000. Several models have been looked at, including a volunteer regional government (as in Vancouver) and a consolidation into four or six municipalities. The idea of more powers flowing from the provincial to urban governments in Edmonton is not on the agenda.
The Review’s web site is http://www.acrgr.org

For some, the threat of arbitrary provincial action comes from the fact that a majority of Legislative Assembly members from the Edmonton area are in the opposition, so Premier Ralph Klein might decide (as Mike Harris has done in Ontario big cities where most MLAs are not Tories) to restructure for his political advantage. Under this scenario, restructuring would be done this year to be effective for municipal elections in the Fall 2001. Perhaps Hyndman’s report will chart a course.

4. Losing Council Seats in Newfoundland

It’s amazing how important performance is at the municipal level compared with other jurisdictions. Who would ever think of evicting an MLA for not paying taxes? Or a senator or MP for not showing up for meetings? Never. But it’s the rule for many councillors.

Newfoundland’s new Municipal Act, barely a year old, has caused many councillors to lose their seats.

There are about 300 municipal councils in Newfoundland, many of them small, without full-time staff. Serving on council is often a public duty, poorly rewarded, and some councillors have difficulty paying local taxes or, what with job opportunities in other communities, they might miss meetings for longer or shorter periods of time. The previous Municipal Act stated that local councils could unseat councillors delinquent on property taxes, or who had missed meetings. Most councils never liked taking such votes and so these sections of the act were rarely enforced.

Sections of the new Act that address these problems were created in consultation with municipal leaders. They stated that if taxes were not paid by the end of the year, or if the councillor had missed a certain number of meetings, then come January 1 that councillor would be automatically removed from office. This fate has befallen about 100 councillors in Newfoundland who didn’t realize the legislation would be exercised without warning. Negotiations are now under way with the provincial government about what steps should be taken to restore these councillors in the short term so that some other way of dealing with these problems can be found – such as providing notice before the removal takes place.

The next challenge is to enact such provisions provincially and nationally.

5. A new book

`Toronto – considering self-government’ was published this week by The Ginger Press of Owen Sound, Ontario. This 96 page book is a collection of ten essays by people such as Jane Jacobs, David Crombie, Richard Gilbert, Joe Berridge, and John Sewell, arguing that `In Canada, cities were initially dependent, minor subsidiaries of the province but their development can no longer be constrained by the tutelage of the past….To shed old dependencies in order to take on increased responsibilities is not a sign of failure of either parents or child. Rather, it is the most vital sign of success…’’

6. Subscribe to the bulletin, participate in online discussion

This bulletin is sent to more than 900 individuals involved directly or indirectly in local government in Canada. If you have not already done so, we invite you to subscribe to the bulletin: go to http://www.localselfgovt.org and follow the instructions. More information about the sponsors of the site, and members of the advisory group, may be found on the same website.

We also invite you to provide your comments in the discussion tab of the web site. We appreciate your comments, your feedback, and items of interest that you wish to share with those who visit the web site.