Alberta tables Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act [Video]

The Government of Alberta wants to change how municipalities handle elections and local politics.

Thursday, the province tabled Bill 20, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act.

If passed, it would give the Alberta government more control over local elections and locally elected officials, introduce political parties on municipal ballots and ban automated voting machines. 

The province said the bill aims to strengthen accountability and reduce “red tape,” but critics called it “shocking” and “heavy-handed.”

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The proposed changes would give ministers the power to remove elected municipal councillors “if it is in the public interest,” whether directly or by ordering a referendum.

Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver said current law only allows the removal of a sitting councillor through the municipal inspection process under “very specific circumstances.”

He did not offer specific situations that would warrant the removal of a councillor under the new legislation, saying “what’s …