Bill 8: A Summary of Significant Amendments€¦ · an amalgamation to give written notice of the...
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1 Bill 8: A Summary of Significant Amendments • Bill 8 solidifies the Province’s commitment to environmental stewardship at all levels, adding to the purposes of a municipality set out in s. 3, the need “to foster the well-being of the environment”. • Minor amendments to s. 63 regarding the revision and consolidation of bylaws clarify that a Council can make changes to a bylaw which do not materially affect the bylaw in principle or substance without having to advertise or hold a public hearing with respect to the revised bylaw. • Amendments to s. 103 require a municipality initiating an amalgamation to give written notice of the proposed amalgamation to the one or more municipalities with which it intends to amalgamate, the Minister and all local authorities having jurisdiction to operate or provide services in the initiating municipality or in any municipality with which it proposes to amalgamate. Local authorities include municipalities, regional health authorities, regional services commissions, and school boards. • Similar amendments are made to s. 116. A municipality initiates the annexation of land by giving written notice of the proposed annexation to the one or more municipalities from which the land is to be annexed, the Minister, the Municipal Government Board, and any local authorities having jurisdiction to operate or provide services in the initiating municipality or in any municipality from which land is proposed to be annexed. • Amendments to s. 224 make it clear the petition must have attached to it an affidavit or affidavits verifying that to the best of the person’s knowledge the signatures witnessed are those of person entitled to sign the petition in order for each signature to be counted. By-Law Bill 8: A Summary of Significant Amendments .......................................... P 1 - 2 Part 17: Planning and Development ........................................................... P 3 - 4 Bill 8 Continues the Major Changes in Property Assessment ..................... P 5 - 6 Bylaws Respecting Maternity and Parental Leave for Councillors ................... P 7 The Municipal Government Act and Bill 8 Special Bulletin: Bill 8, An Act to Strengthen Municipal Government, received Royal Assent on June 7, 2017. Bill 8 contains the third round of amendments to the Municipal Government Act, which are in addition to those contained in Bill 20, Municipal Government Amendment Act, and Bill 21, Modernized Municipal Government Act. Municipal Affairs has indicated that all amendments to the Municipal Government Act will be complete and come into force prior to Fall 2017. By Kelsey Becker Brookes & Sean Ward Summer 2017
Transcript of Bill 8: A Summary of Significant Amendments€¦ · an amalgamation to give written notice of the...
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Bill 8: A Summary of Significant Amendments
• Bill 8 solidifies the Province’s commitment to environmental stewardship at all levels, adding to the purposes of a municipality set out in s. 3, the need “to foster the well-being of the environment”.
• Minor amendments to s. 63 regarding the revision and consolidation of bylaws clarify that a Council can make changes to a bylaw which do not materially affect the bylaw in principle or substance without having to advertise or hold a public hearing with respect to the revised bylaw.
• Amendments to s. 103 require a municipality initiating an amalgamation to give written notice of the proposed amalgamation to the one or more municipalities with which it intends to amalgamate, the Minister and all local authorities having jurisdiction to operate or provide services in the initiating municipality or in any municipality with which it proposes to amalgamate. Local authorities include municipalities, regional
health authorities, regional services commissions, and school boards.
• Similar amendments are made to s. 116. A municipality initiates the annexation of land by giving written notice of the proposed annexation to the one or more municipalities from which the land is to be annexed, the Minister, the Municipal Government Board, and any local authorities having jurisdiction to operate or provide services in the initiating municipality or in any municipality from which land is proposed to be annexed.
• Amendments to s. 224 make it clear the petition must have attached to it an affidavit or affidavits verifying that to the best of the person’s knowledge the signatures witnessed are those of person entitled to sign the petition in order for each signature to be counted.
By-LawBill 8: A Summary of Significant Amendments ..........................................P 1 - 2
Part 17: Planning and Development ...........................................................P 3 - 4
Bill 8 Continues the Major Changes in Property Assessment .....................P 5 - 6
Bylaws Respecting Maternity and Parental Leave for Councillors ................... P 7 The Municipal Government Act and Bill 8Special Bulletin:
Bill 8, An Act to Strengthen Municipal Government, received Royal Assent on June 7, 2017. Bill 8 contains the third round of amendments to the Municipal Government Act, which are in addition to those contained in Bill 20, Municipal Government Amendment Act, and Bill 21, Modernized Municipal Government Act. Municipal Affairs has indicated that all amendments to the Municipal Government Act will be complete and come into force prior to Fall 2017.
By Kelsey Becker Brookes & Sean Ward
Summer 2017
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• Pursuant to s. 243, the operating budget must now include the amount of expenditures and transfers needed to meet the municipality’s obligations as a member of a growth management board.
• The Business Revitalization Zone provisions have been replaced in their entirety with the establishment of Business Improvement Area and Business Improvement Area Tax provisions. Council may by bylaw establish a business improvement area for the purposes of improving and maintaining property in the business improvement area, developing and improving public parking in the business improvement area or promoting the business improvement area as a business or shopping area, and impose a business improvement area tax in respect of the business improvement area. A business improvement area is governed by a board consisting of members appointed by Council.
• Amendments to s. 575 allow the Minister the same authority currently available with respect to the inspection process for situations where, in the Minster’s opinion, a municipality has not complied with direction provided by an Official Administrator or by the Minister with respect to an inter-municipal dispute. With this authority, the Minster could suspend the authority of a council to make bylaws or resolutions in respect of a particular matter, exercise bylaw or resolution-making authority in the respect of a particular matter, or withhold money otherwise payable by the Government to the municipality pending compliance with an order of the Minister.
• The addition of s. 579.1 provides that an applicant seeking injunctive relief from a court against any order, decision or direction of the Minister under Part 14 must give the Minister at least ten days’ notice of the application. An order, decision or direction of the Minister under Part 14 is not stayed by an application for judicial review but remains in effect pending the court’s decision on the judicial review application.
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By Sheila McNaughtan & Daina Young
Part 17: Planning and Development
Bill 8 contains a number of amendments to Part 17 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), including amendments to provisions that were contained in or amended by Bills 20 and 21, passed in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Preparation of Statutory Plans
New requirements have been added with respect to the preparation of statutory plans.
When the land that is the subject of an area structure plan is within 1.6 kilometres of a provincial highway, the municipality must notify the Minister responsible for the Public Highways Development Act and provide opportunities for the Minister to make suggestions and representations.
Where the land that is the subject of an area structure or municipal development plan is adjacent to an Indian reserve or Metis settlement, the municipality must notify the band or settlement and provide opportunities for the band or settlement to make suggestions and representations.
Notice of Decisions on Development Permits and Stop Orders, and Appeals to the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board
Section 642(3) of the MGA will be amended to require the development authority to give the applicant for a development permit a copy of the decision and written notice of the date on which the decision was made. The decision is required to be given or sent to the applicant on the same day that it is made. Section 645(2) of the MGA will be similarly amended to require a Stop Order to specify the date of the Order, and that the Order be given or sent to the recipient on the date the Order is made. Notices under the amended s. 642(3) and
645(2) must contain any information required by yet to be enacted regulations.
The timeline for development appeals to the subdivision and development appeal board will be extended from fourteen to twenty-one days. For decisions on development permit applications and Stop Orders, the twenty-one day period begins to run from the date on which the decision or order is made.
Off-Site Levies
Section 648 of the MGA will be amended to clarify that off-site levies cannot be imposed on land owned by a school board if the land is to be developed for a school building project.
The scope of permissible off-site levies will be further expanded by Bill 8, subject to regulations. Off-site levies can now be imposed for “new or expanded transportation infrastructure required to connect, or to improve the connection of, municipal roads to provincial highways resulting from a subdivision or development”.
A new provision, s. 648.01, will be added to the MGA to authorize municipalities to provide for an off-site levy to be imposed on an intermunicipal basis. The benefitting area for the off-site levy may be comprised of any combination of land in the participating municipalities, which are required to enter into such agreements as are required to attain the purposes of the levy.
Joint Use and Planning Agreements
New provisions will be added to the MGA and the School Act, which apply to all school boards operating within the boundary of a municipality. The school board and the municipality are required to enter into a Joint Use
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and Planning Agreement within three years after the later of the provisions coming into force or the school board commencing operations in the municipality.
Joint Use and Planning Agreements must provide for the following:
• Processes for discussing matters relating to the planning, development and use of school sites on reserve lands, transfer of reserve lands, disposal of school sites, servicing of school sites on reserve lands, and use of school facilities, municipal facilities and playing fields on reserve lands (including matters related to maintenance of the facilities and fields and payment of fees and other associated liabilities);
• How the municipality and school board will work collaboratively;
• A process for resolving disputes; and
• A timeline for regular review of the agreement.
More than one municipality and more than one school board may be a party to a Joint Use and Planning Agreement.
Funding Future Reserves
Bill 8 provides expanded authorities with respect to “reserve land assembly areas”. The addition of s. 670.2 will allow a municipality by bylaw to identify areas in respect of which the municipality expects a future need for reserve lands and for which it will require money to fund purchases of reserve lands within the area and to service the land. The bylaw must include an estimate of the cost of purchasing the lands in question.
If a combination of land and money is provided for municipal and school reserves, and the land in question is located within a reserve land assembly area, the municipality may, (provided the amount of money does not exceed 5% of the value of the land to be subdivided), either retain the money in a fund or allocate the money in accordance with an agreement between the municipality and the concerned school boards.
New provisions will also authorize the subdivision authority to require the owner of land that is the subject
of a proposed subdivision, and which is located within a reserve land assembly area to provide land in excess of that which could be taken as municipal or school reserve (i.e. 10 %); the municipality is required to pay compensation to the extent that the amount of land taken exceeds that which could otherwise be taken.
The funding of future reserves will be subject to ministerial regulations, including with respect to the determination of the value of lands for the purpose of determining compensation payable by the municipality.
Conservation Reserve Lands
The provisions of Bill 21 with respect to conservation reserve lands will be expanded to address the disposal of conservation reserve. A municipality may dispose of conservation reserve if its unique features are wholly or substantially destroyed by fire, flood or another event beyond the municipality`s control and as a result there is no remaining purpose for preserving or conserving the land.
Council must advertise and hold a public hearing prior to disposing of conservation reserve. Once a conservation reserve designation is removed, the municipality may sell, lease or otherwise dispose of the land, but the proceeds may be used only for enabling the municipality to protect and conserve land that has environmentally significant features or for a matter related to that purpose.
Indian Bands and Metis Settlements
There are other amendments to the MGA with respect to Indian bands and Metis settlements.
Section 54 of the MGA will be amended to confirm that municipalities may enter into an agreement to provide a service or thing, which the municipality provides in the whole or a part of the municipality, to an Indian band or Metis settlement.
Part 17.2 of the MGA (Intermunicipal Collaboration) will be amended to provide that municipalities that are parties to an Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework may invite an Indian band or Metis settlement to participate in the delivery and funding of services to be provided under the framework.
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Bill 8 Continues the Major Changes in Property AssessmentBy Carol Zukiwski
Bill 8 brings substantive changes in the assessment and taxation sections of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), including:
• A new procedure for sending assessment notices;
• A requirement that the assessor provide the Assessment Review Board (ARB) with a copy of an amended notice issued after a complaint has been filed;
• A section providing a municipality with a right to obtain information about the assessments of their designated industrial property from the provincial assessor;
• A section indicating there will be a regulation governing how a municipality with a tax ratio of greater than 5:1 reduces that ratio over time; and
• A section giving the Minister authority to define some key terms.
Bill 8 adds s. 308.1 which establishes the requirement for municipalities to set a notice of assessment date between January 1st and July 1st. Section 310 has been amended to require the sending of the assessment notices at least seven days prior to the notice of assessment date. A designated officer must certify the date on which the assessment notices are sent, and the certification is evidence that the notices have been sent. The date by which complaints must be filed is then sixty days after the notice of assessment date. These requirements need to be repeated for every amended and supplementary assessment.
Section 305 allows the assessor to correct an assessment when they discover an error, omission or mis-description in the information shown on the assessment roll. If the assessor makes a s. 305 correction after a complaint has been filed, the assessor must provide notice to the ARB, within the time prescribed by the regulations, (which
have not been released), and include a statement with the reason for the correction, what the correction was and how the correction affected the assessment. When the ARB receives this statement, the complaint is cancelled, the complaint fee refunded and the property owner has a new right of complaint on the amended assessment.
Section 358.1 is amended by the addition of a subsection which requires a municipality with a non-conforming tax ratio greater than 5:1 to reduce the ratio for subsequent years in accordance with the regulations, which have not been released.
Section 322 has been amended to allow the Minister to make regulations defining some key terms, one of which is the phrase “used in connection with”. This phrase appears in some of the exemption sections and in s. 291 which determines when newly constructed property is assessed for the first time. Another term which can be defined by regulation is the term ‘held by’, which is used in some of the exemption sections. The term “held by” is defined in the Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation (COPTER). COPTER is under review and the new proposed regulation is expected to be circulated for consultation shortly.
Under Bill 21 the Modernized Municipal Government Act, the province created the Office of Provincial Assessor and the new category of property called designated industrial property. The assessments for designated industrial property will be the responsibility of the Provincial Assessor, and municipalities have the right to file a complaint against the assessments for their designated industrial property. Some designated industrial property, (i.e. the equipment at well sites), is assessed using the regulated rates in the Machinery and Equipment Minister’s Guidelines, and the main concern for the Assessor is to ensure that they have an accurate inventory of the equipment from year to year. Other designated industrial property is assessed using the actual construction costs
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reported by the property owner, and analyzed for excluded costs using the Construction Cost Reporting Guide (CCRG).
Bill 8 includes a new s. 299.2, which gives a municipality the right to request “information in the Provincial Assessor’s possession at the time of the request, showing how the Provincial Assessor prepared the assessment of the designated industrial property”. There is reference to the Provincial Assessor complying with the request in accordance with the regulations, which have not been released.
Section 299.2 contains a provision which states that the Provincial Assessor is not required to comply with a request for information if a complaint has been filed. This means that it will be important for municipalities to closely monitor the preparation of the assessments of their designated industrial property. It will be important because the property owner might file a complaint, and if that were to happen, the municipality will be prevented from obtaining information and deciding whether or not to participate in the complaint. If a municipality is considering filing a complaint, they must make a request for information before doing so.
Section 322 has been amended to allow the Minister to make a regulation requiring a municipality and the Provincial Assessor to enter into a confidentiality agreement, and to include the terms of such an agreement, when the municipality asks for information about how the assessments of their designated industrial property has been prepared. This regulation has not been released.
During 2016, there was consultation on a number of key regulations:
• COPTER;
• The CCRG;
• The Matters Relating to Assessment and Taxation Regulation; and
• The Matters Relating to Assessment Complaints Regulation.
A draft regulation to replace the CCRG has been released for consultation, and this regulation is in the form of a Minister’s Guideline. The Regulated Industrial Property Assessment Minister’s Guidelines are available for consultation and comments until July 17, 2017. The other draft regulations have not been released for consultation.
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In a bid to increase the participation of women on municipal councils and in advance of the next election, the Provincial Government has recently made amendments to the Municipal Government Act (MGA) dedicated to improving the access to parental leave for councillors. These changes are part of a broader modernization to the MGA but also reflect the current government’s focus on equality and social justice issues.
Prior to the recent amendments to the MGA, a councillor could be disqualified for being absent from all regular council meetings held during any period of eight consecutive weeks unless the absence was authorized by a resolution of Council. This restriction created substantial difficulties for new parents or for people planning on starting families to act on Council. Many individuals require longer than eight weeks, particularly if parental leave is combined with medical leave before a child is born. In recent years, several provinces, including Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, have either proposed or have considered proposing changes to allow for parental leave for councillors.
The recent amendments to the MGA allow a municipality to pass a bylaw entitling councillors to take a leave prior to or after the birth or adoption of their child. Section 144.1 is permissive, meaning that a municipality can elect whether or not to adopt such a bylaw. If such a bylaw is adopted, the bylaw must contain provisions with respect to the length of the leave, and any terms and conditions of the leave entitlement, as well as, provisions addressing how the municipality will continue to be represented during the periods of leave. If a councillor takes a leave pursuant to such a bylaw, then they will not be disqualified for absences longer than eight weeks.
Municipalities considering adopting such a bylaw should ensure that all the requirements of s. 144.1 are included and also should consider ensuring that various alternatives are in place to maintain consistent and continuous representation of the Councillor’s constituents. Since such bylaws are relatively novel in not just Alberta but in Canada generally, it is useful to have any such bylaw reviewed by legal counsel.
Bylaws Respecting Maternity and Parental Leave for CouncillorsBy Anthony Purgas
Allan Farmer780.497.3360
William Barclay780.497.3379
Shauna Finlay780.497.3302
Daina Young780.497.3309
Sheila McNaughtan, Q.C.780.497.3362
Albert Lavergne780.497.3310
Matthew Woodley780.497.3307
Anthony Purgas780.497.3391
Randy McCreary780.497.3348
Cherisse Killick-Dzenick780.497.3372
Jeremy Taitinger780.497.3317
Tamara Korassa780.497.3326
Marco Poretti780.497.3325
Nick Parker780.497.3342
Mark Hildebrand780.497.3316
Breanne Schwanak780.497.3356
Carol Zukiwski780.497.3350
Kelsey Becker Brookes780.497.3304
Sean Ward780.497.3334
Matthew Blimke780.497.3352
Nicholas Trofimuk780.497.3398
Heidi Besuijen780.497.3327
Greg Weber780.497.3315
Mikkel Arnston780.497.3324
Robert McCarty780.497.3377
Tess Layton780.497.3305
Peter Buijs780.497.3311
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