'We expect cities to do their best': Bill 18 would cut federal funding for municipal priorities

The Alberta government introduced legislation to prevent the federal government from entering into agreements with municipalities, including the City of Calgary, and other provincial entities without approval from the Alberta government.

If passed, Bill 18 would be the second such law passed in the country, following similar legislation in Quebec.

Among the organizations that must receive prior provincial approval before receiving funding from the federal government are any government agencies of which there are 243 in Alberta, including crown corporations and public post-secondary institutions, in addition to school boards, regional health authorities. , health, municipal governments and governing bodies under the Alberta Housing Act.

Both government officials and United Conservative Party politicians, including Premier Danielle Smith, have said the bill is aimed at getting a “fair deal” from the federal government for federal funding for the province.

“Alberta's demand for justice from Ottawa is not unreasonable. They have shown time and time again that they put ideology above practicality to the detriment of Alberta families and our economy,” Premier Smith said.

The premier described federal funding to the province as counter to the province's political goals, saying, “Ottawa is neglecting its responsibilities and unnecessarily interfering with ours. Albertans don't want federal funding to show the world how good we are or polish Canada's halo internationally.”

This list includes federal housing agreements with Calgary and Edmonton, but not the same agreements with other Alberta municipalities.

“Alberta is so much more than Edmonton and Calgary. Municipalities across the province are struggling to address housing shortages in their communities. They are being ignored,” Municipal Affairs Minister Rick McIver said.

Premier Smith said the province should receive a fair amount of per capita funding for housing. The Alberta government has defended the bill, saying Alberta will only receive 2.5 per cent of per capita funding based on the federal government's summer 2023 housing announcements.

Over the entire funding periods of those agreements, federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser said per capita funding is 11.4 percent of total funding, compared to Alberta's 11.5 percent of the country's population.

Speaking about the bill ahead of its introduction to the legislature, provincial officials described it as a law that would ensure provincial priorities take precedence over federal priorities.

Concerns with the drafting of the legislation are that the federal government will impose priorities on municipalities without consulting the province.

The bill matches the federal government's promise of millions in housing finance

Premier Smith identified expanding land use, building clean homes and safe drinking places as the areas of greatest concern to him and his government regarding federal funding.

“What we don't like is when they manipulate municipalities, change their laws to get a little bit of funding, and then pit one region against another, big cities against small cities, and not give us ours. per capita share,” he said.

Minister McIver spoke in response to Mayor Gondek's statement on April 9 that he wanted an end to the conflicts between the provincial government and the federal government affecting municipalities.

“You don't need to be a constitutional lawyer to be elected to a province or a municipality. But the point is that its municipal power is 100 percent in the hands of the provincial governments. So mayors and municipal councilors should not be surprised that the province has put its oar in the water here.”

“We're working with Calgary in all the other municipalities to try to make sure that funding can be sent and applied to that municipality and other municipalities that we know have a great need for housing. We will always work to be a positive and helpful partner.

“But the fact is, we could have been invited to the table before this agreement, but we weren't.” And the natural consequences are now unfolding, and we're going to do all that and expect the city to do the same.”

The announcement of Bill 18 follows high-profile announcements about housing funding in Calgary, including by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ahead of the federal government's 2024 budget.

Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages ​​Minister Randy Boissonneau said in a speech on April 2 that the federal government will take a “Team Canada” approach to the housing crisis regardless of the circumstances.

“It's about Canadians needing more homes built now, and they need them today. I hope the provinces and territories will work with us to make sure that happens, and if they don't, we'll go directly to the municipalities,” he said.

Bill 18, if passed, could put obstacles in the way for the City of Calgary to receive any housing funding.

18 questions on the discussion of the draft law

Alberta government officials said agreements not signed before Bill 18's royal assent will not be affected by Bill 18's passage.

However, the consultation process for legislation and regulations leading to the adoption of legislation will change.

The Alberta government usually consults before legislation is passed, but Bill 18, if passed, comes ahead of planned consultations with municipalities and stakeholders over the summer.

Premier Smith accused Prime Minister Trudeau of not consulting with the province before negotiating funding agreements with Edmonton and Calgary.

Speaking at Calgary City Council Wednesday morning, representatives from Alberta municipalities said they were not consulted before the bill was announced.

In response to a question from Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Tyler Gundam, mayor of Westaskwin and president and chair of Alberta Municipalities, said the province can “legislate” without consultation, and we sit there scratching our heads and asking why and hoping. we can change what's happening.”

“All we can do is make suggestions about how it can work better. As I said before, it was about not creating more bureaucracy for the municipalities or making it better for the province to be a lever against the federal government,” Gundam said.

Despite Gundam's statement on Wednesday morning, Minister McIver said the government had consulted with municipalities.

“We did not consult in detail and did not consider everything in the legislation in a broad sense, we discussed with the municipalities. I have raised the possibility of this legislation in recent speeches in Alberta's rural municipalities.”

Government officials said the scope of the consultation before the bill asked for details on the agreements municipalities signed with the federal government in January.

Prime Minister Smith said that he was given the mandate through leadership, winning elections

Premier Smith justified the bill by saying Albertans gave the government power because of his election.

“We had a Fair Deal panel a few years ago, where tens of thousands of Albertans attended and talked about asserting our authority under the Constitution in many areas. I then won leadership on the basis of the promising and Alberta Sovereignty Act (UCP), which reaffirms our constitutional jurisdiction,” he said.

The province did not immediately respond to questions about how many agreements municipalities have with the federal government, instead 117 of 208 in the province responded to requests for information from Alberta ministries, while 91 did not. have agreements.

Government officials also denied that the bill would add red tape to state agencies and municipalities, saying they had no intention of delaying access to funding and that an approval process would be created once the bill is passed to allow applications to be processed more efficiently.