Municipal Government Act changes

Overview

The Municipal Government Act (MGA) is the guide to how municipalities operate, and is one of the most significant and far-reaching statutes in Alberta. The MGA affects everyone in Alberta, the private sector and every ministry in the Government of Alberta.

Beginning in 2012, the Government of Alberta worked with municipalities, industry and citizens to determine what changes were needed to modernize the act. This review resulted in a number of amendments, which have transformed and updated the MGA to better reflect the current needs of municipalities and people of Alberta.

Changes to the act

Checklists

The legislative checklist outlines all recent changes to the MGA, and lists when new requirements under the act need to be completed.

• Municipal Government Act Amendments - Legislative Checklist

Governance

• Advertisement Bylaw - Public Notification Methods
  • Please see Public Participation Policies and Public Notification: A Guide for Municipalities for information and templates on this topic.
• Code of Conduct for Elected Officials
  • Please see Councillor Code of Conduct: A Guide for Municipalities for information and templates on this topic.
• Collaboration with Indigenous People
• Council and Council Committee Meetings
  • Additional guidance on closed meetings can be found in Municipal Affairs’ Closed Meetings of Council (In-Camera) document.
• Council Petitioning Process
  • Additional guidance on petitions can be found on Petition Information for Electors.
• Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks
• Municipal Corporate Planning
  • A Guide to the New Legislative Requirements for Municipal Financial & Capital Plans and accompanying templates were developed by Municipal Affairs to assist municipalities with the development of multi-year corporate plans.
• Municipally Controlled Corporations
• Ombudsman
  • The Alberta Ombudsman has published some frequently asked questions and answers to provide additional information to municipalities about the Alberta Ombudsman’s role in the future.
• Orientation Training
• Preamble
• Public Participation Policy
  • Public Participation Policies and Public Notification: A Guide for Municipalities was jointly developed by the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
• Role of Administration
  • Additional guidance on roles and responsibilities of municipal officials can be found on the Municipal Affairs website.

Planning

• Conservation Reserve
• Decision Making Timelines
• Environmental Reserve
• Hierarchy and Relationship of Plans
• Impartiality of Appeal Boards
• Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks
• Intermunicipal Development Plans
• Jointly Initiated Amalgamations
• Land-Use Policies
• Listing and Publishing of Policies
• Municipal Development Plans
  • The Guidebook for Preparing a Municipal Development Plan (MDP) was developed by Municipal Affairs to assist municipalities with developing MDPs that meet the requirements in the MGA.
• Off-site Levies
• Subdivision Development and Appeals Board (SDAB) Training Requirements
  • The SDAB Training Curriculum Order and the SDAB Training Reporting Order were established to assist municipalities with developing and delivering SDAB training that meets the requirements in the MGA.
  • The SDAB Training Guidebook and the SDAB fact sheet series support learning required for Clerk and Members hearing appeals from decisions made by the municipality’s subdivision and development authority. SDAB decisions shape a community and affect the lives of residents, neighbours, businesses and developers.

Assessment and taxation

• Access to Information for Assessors and Property Owners (Matters Relating to Assessment and Taxation or MRAT)
• Assessment Complaints (Matters Relating to Assessment Complaints or MRAC)
• Assessment of Farmland Intended for Development (MRAT)
• Incenting Brownfield Development
• Linking Residential and Non-Residential Tax Rates (MRAT)
• Sub-classing the Non-Residential Property Class

Contact

Connect with Municipal Affairs:

Phone: 780-427-2225
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: lgsmail@gov.ab.ca