Bill 18 requires provincial approval for federal funding agreements

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Seeking to follow in Quebec's footsteps, the Alberta government on Wednesday introduced new legislation that would require municipalities, universities, school boards and other “provincial entities” to get approval from the province before signing funding agreements with the federal government.

Premier Daniel Smith says Bill 18 – the Provincial Priorities Act – seeks to challenge the federal government's devolution of provincial jurisdiction. At a press conference before the bill was introduced into the legislature, he said the legislation would ensure that agreements between the federal government and Alberta cities or other government agencies do not conflict with provincial priorities and investments.

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“Albertans are not interested in the goodness that comes from Ottawa and the springs that come with it,” he said. “We are interested in a fair share of federal funding to advance our priorities on roads, infrastructure and housing.”

The new bill comes shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent announcements about federal funding, some of which is intended to support municipal housing.

If passed, the Provincial Priorities Act would apply to all Alberta government agencies, municipalities, crown entities, post-secondary institutions, school boards, regional health authorities, health agreements and their subsidiaries.

Smith focuses on the “interference” of the federal government

Smith said the legislation would prevent taxpayer dollars from being spent on duplicative programs in areas such as dental care or school lunch programs.

As an example of the federal government's “interference” with the province's constitutional jurisdiction, Smith cited Calgary's receipt of $325 million in federal funding last year to electrify the city's public transportation fleet. He argued that Ottawa's funding for “unreliable and impractical electric buses” bypassed the Alberta government's constitutional authority.

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Those funds would be better spent on the province's individual priorities, Smith said, such as improving roads, investing in intercity rail to the Calgary airport or advancing the province's hydrogen strategy as an alternative source of clean energy transportation.

Other examples of federal overreach, the prime minister said, include grants for solar projects, access to safe medication and funding from the Housing Acceleration Fund that comes in “ideological ways,” such as warning municipalities to end special zoning policies.

“We know that the federal government has a view that is diametrically opposed to what we want to do on certain issues, so we're not going down those lines,” he said.

The wedding is expected this summer

Alberta will be the second province to implement such legislation, known as the Respect for the Minister Act, following in the footsteps of a similar law in Quebec.

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Under Alberta's new bill, the federal government must advise the province of any funding agreement it wishes to enter into with a provincial entity. According to Smith, any agreement that does not receive provincial approval is void and amounts to a violation of the law.

The legislation will not be retroactive, meaning that the province will not have the power to overturn existing federal agreements it deems contrary to its interests.

Stakeholder engagement will be held this summer to define the regulatory framework, establish an approval process, and identify any exceptions to the legislation. The bill will go into effect in early 2025, after finalizing the regulations.

Smith denied that Bill 18 would add red tape or red tape, saying it was simply “an extra layer of red tape”.

Gondek answers

Although not confirmed until Wednesday, the legislation was announced last Friday by Jason Nixon, the Minister for Seniors, Communities and Social Services.

“The federal government needs to stay the course,” he said. “We've been talking about this for a while, especially housing, but also other issues in the province. “The prime minister has made it clear that we are prepared to follow the path that Quebec went down, which is to pass legislation that would end the federal government's ability to (directly) fund municipalities.”

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When asked about Nixon's comments during media coverage Tuesday, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the city felt like it was caught between two warring parents.

He said the city has long advocated for a better infrastructure funding program, and those efforts have fallen on deaf ears in the past and are finally starting to pay off.

“We recently had an announcement last week that $6 billion will be available to us,” he said, referring to the federal housing finance program announced on April 2 by federal housing minister Sean Fraser.

“All our campaigning, all our work as mayors of big cities is paying off and we have a province that wants to take it down,” he said. “My question was, are you willing to step in and pay for everything?” Are you willing to build a relationship to make sure the money comes to us? Because I don't see that happening.”

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