In her letter, the Premier outlines her expectations that Albertans can rely on good governance that improves their lives and helps the province realize its potential, and asks Minister McIver to deliver on a platform commitment to, in cooperation with the Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, who is the lead, contribute up to $330 million towards road and bridge construction, LRT connection, site utilities, site reclamation and other supportive infrastructure to support the Calgary arena and entertainment district project and create a new 1,000-seat community arena neighbouring the main arena that will serve youth and amateur hockey.
The Premier also tasks Minister McIver with:
-
Working with municipalities and local businesses to benchmark, measure and reduce the time it takes to approve permits to create a more attractive business investment environment.
-
Continuing to monitor the Calgary and Edmonton metropolitan region boards to ensure they are serving the needs of their urban and rural residents effectively and fairly without unnecessarily interfering with the autonomy of small and mid-sized municipalities.
-
Continuing to improve the delivery of stable, predictable funding through the Local Government Fiscal Framework.
-
As lead, collaborating with the Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, and Minister of Affordability and Utilities, and informed by on-the-ground municipal realities, to develop appropriate incentives and benchmarks to significantly reduce municipal approval times for housing and business park developments.
-
Protecting the province’s constitutional right to oversee the governance of Alberta’s municipalities without federal interference.
-
Maintaining and building relationships of trust, partnership and open dialogue with municipal leaders across the province and bringing feedback and solutions from these discussions with municipal leaders to Caucus and Cabinet for timely consideration and action.
-
Teaming with the Minister of Energy and Minerals, who is lead, to ensure the government’s new policy on making wellsite transfers contingent on payment of outstanding property taxes is implemented and enforced.
-
In collaboration with the Minister of Justice, reviewing the Local Authorities Election Act and making recommendations for any necessary amendments to strengthen public trust in and the integrity of Alberta’s municipal election laws.
-
Working with the Minister of Education and the President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance to review the feasibility of amending the Education Property Tax to assist municipalities with retaining more funding for local priorities.
“I am committed to supporting accountable and effective local government for Albertans. Together, we will build vibrant neighbourhoods, support local priorities and increase the quality of municipal governance in communities across our province.”