Alberta’s rural municipalities are teeing off on a trilogy of provincial bills they say erode trust and attack local authority.
Paul McLauchlin, head of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, says proposed legislation giving the province the ability to take control of local emergency responses isn’t salvageable.
He says Premier Danielle Smith’s government hasn’t offered a clear explanation as to how this change will do anything other than confuse and complicate critical situations.
“They never really listened to what we wanted, which was better financial clarity as it relates to disasters — more certainly financially when it comes to disasters — and increased communication,” McLauchlin said in an interview.
The emergencies bill is one of three pieces of proposed legislation introduced in the spring sitting that sparked concern Smith’s United Conservatives are making a gratuitous, unnecessary power grab.
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One bill would give the province gatekeeping power to veto federal funding deals with cities and towns while another …