The City of Cold Lake council has expressed significant concerns regarding Bill 20, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2024. On May 3, the council received a request from Scott Cyr, MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul, seeking the community’s feedback on the proposed legislation. In response, the council unanimously agreed to request Cyr’s attendance at a future council meeting to discuss the bill and its potential impact on the community.
During the May 14 regular council meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Nagoya introduced the discussion, emphasizing the importance of voicing the council’s concern directly to the MLA.
Councilor Chris Vining provided a detailed perspective, drawing parallels to past legislative actions. “I was reading and kind of getting justifications from MLAs that were very upset and were really having a time with the government bringing in legislation that they didn’t campaign on and didn’t take out for consultation until after it was put in, and with a very short time window to get into consultation before it was passed,” Vining remarked.
Reflecting on a similar situation from 2015, Vining compared Bill 20 to Bill 6, the NDP’s Farm Safety Act, which faced strong opposition from Wildrose MLAs. “At that time, our MLA was absolutely apoplectic that a government would bring in a bill that would fundamentally change how institutions would operate with no forewarning, without campaigning on it, and then without an expanded scope to take in consultations before passing a bill,” Vinning recalled.
Vining stressed the necessity of direct communications with MLA Cyr, expressing his desire to invite Cyr to the council to discuss his stance on Bill 20 and how he plans to represent their concerns when it is back in the House. He further expressed his frustration with the government’s approach, describing it as quite disturbing.
Mayor Craig Copeland agreed with Vining’s points, commenting on the thoroughness of the council’s feedback detailed in the letter sent to MLA Cyr. “I think it summarizes everything pretty good,” Copeland said.
The council’s letter highlighted the principle that local government should listen to its people directly to make decisions. “We have based our feedback on our principle that local government should respond directly to the electorate and that local decision-making should be robust, democratic, and respected by residents and the province as an expression of the local electorate’s will,” the letter stated.
The letter also underscored specific concerns, such as the proposed changes that would allow the provincial government to overturn municipal bylaws, potentially undermining local governance. “In some cases, we feel that proposed changes threaten to weaken the status of local government or, at best, to involve Members of the Legislature in local decision-making,” it continued.
One issue raised was the proposed ability for Cabinet to overturn municipal bylaws, which could encourage residents unhappy with local decisions about land use, zoning issues, or even dangerous pets to bypass local authorities and appeal directly to their MLA.
The city of Cold Lake council remains firm in its stance, seeking to ensure that local governance is respected and residents’ voices are heard. They have agreed to request MLA Cyr’s presence at a future meeting to discuss Bill 20 and its implications further.
