Roundup: Danielle Smith’s municipal power grab

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The Alberta government tabled a bill yesterday that gives them sweeping new powers as it relates to municipalities in the province, leaving a lot of questions as to why. Constitutionally they do have this ability, as municipalities are creatures of the province, but the motivation is the real question. Among the changes are allowing political parties to run in municipal elections in Edmonton and Calgary, which I have to wonder if this isn’t for some kind of back-handed partisan purposes, so that they can point to how many counsellors identify as NDP, Liberals, or C/conservative as opposed to having to guess under the current system, but it’s a change nobody really asked for. I am of two minds with it, because it could provide more resources and better nomination processes…but it would also create expectations between the provincial party and the municipal party, and that is something I’m not sure anyone would really look to as being a good thing.

The bill also seeks to ban electronic tabulators in municipal elections (which I’m not wholly opposed to because I prefer hand-counting ballots whenever possible), but the real thrust has to do with the ability to terminate councillors, and with overturning bylaws, and this seems to be the big one, because they are particularly butthurt that certain municipalities have implemented single-use plastic bans, and that’s far too “woke” for this provincial government. Better to overrule the decisions that those elected officials made and will be accountable to their voters for, and just strike those bylaws entirely.

As for the ability to terminate sitting councillors, the minister insists this is only for extremely serious cases (of which I can’t think of any in Alberta—we’ve had a couple in Ontario and one in Ottawa particularly), but just who decides what that threshold is are the premier and Cabinet, so it’s not like there is much in the way of safeguards, and if you’re giving this power to premier and Cabinet, to overturn an election in a municipality, is asking for it to be abused—particularly when you have someone like Danielle Smith in charge of those powers. I foresee a future gong show, because this is Danielle Smith’s Alberta we’re talking about.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian shelling killed three in the Donetsk region, while a missile attack against the Kharkiv region hit a railway station, wounding ten. Another Russian missile damaged critical rail infrastructure in the central Cherkasy region. Meanwhile, while the soon-to-be arriving new tranche of US aid is going to help Ukraine rebuild its defences, it is unlikely to recover it enough to resume a counter-offensive anytime soon.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau was in Alliston, Ontario, to help announce a $5 billion investment in a Honda EV manufacturing facility and supply chain, with more from the province.
  • These investments come with more worries about foreign workers, even though it’s explained time and again that they are needed to install proprietary technology.
  • Trudeau was on the Freakonomics podcast, and spoke more about what he’s trying to accomplish with this budget, and being a social activist.
  • Canada is sanctioning Iran’s defence minister and others as part of measures taken with allies after the attack on Israel by Iran.
  • Steven Guilbeault says he is looking for options to protect an Ontario First Nation from benzene emission from a nearby styrene plant.
  • It looks like Bombardier got the same sanctions waiver as Airbus did to get certain parts made with titanium from Russia, because “Canadian jobs.”
  • The Ontario Court of Appeal overturned a superior court ruling on the NSICOP legislation, saying it is legal for Parliament to limit the privilege of MPs and senators.
  • Here’s a reality check on the claim that the capital gains changes are going to jeopardise the retirements of doctors.
  • Princess Anne is making a working visit to BC next month.
  • Anti-vaxxer Conservative MP Colin Carrie isn’t running again next election.
  • Alberta is appealing a court ruling ordering them to turn over internal documents around coal mining in the Rocky Mountains.

Odds and Ends:

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