Edmonton city councillors are looking for some autonomy from the provincial government, but the road to doing so appears legally complicated. A report from city administration presented to council on Tuesday was commissioned over the summer in the wake of perceived provincial intervention in city affairs. Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack was set to meet with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith the same day. He says they primarily discussed recent changes the province has instituted in the city which “impact the lives of Edmontonians.” Most pressing for him is an upcoming deadline to revert city zoning rules to the way they were before 2024 – as per the premier’s order last month. The city is also waiting on the transportation ministry to approve photo radar proposals in Edmonton, the likes of which were scrapped circa 2023. The province is also expected to table legislation on bike lanes this session, which may force the city to go back on its current construction plans. A council motion passed 9-3 on Tuesday directing city staff to propose a task force on municipal autonomy through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Alberta Municipalities in the hopes of collaborating with other towns and cities and lobbying for greater say in final decisions. Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvador said she voted for the motion because towns and cities across Canada are experiencing “similar challenges.” “We’re seeing a number of concerning interventions into what has historically been municipal jurisdiction. Whether it’s land use policy, transportation network, we’re seeing limitations placed on things like photo radar, which makes it harder to keep our streets safe. In Toronto, they’re seeing similar incursions,” she told CTV News on Tuesday. “Edmontonians elected their mayor and council with the understanding that they’ll be able to follow through on the mandate that they’ve been granted. If we’re being stripped of our ability to follow through … we’re doing a disservice to the people we were elected to represent.” Ward sipiwiyiniwak Coun. Thu Parmar, however, thinks not every provincial decision was made on a “whim.” “When I was door knocking, on almost every street in almost every community, we talked about infill and bike lanes. It was a very common concern that Edmontonians had,” she said. “I think that they did have a lot of people that went to them and talked about the infill concerns they had … Although I don’t appreciate that (the province) had to come in and make those changes, in some ways I’m relieved my constituents had somewhere to go because it wasn’t through me.” Avenues for more autonomy Dan Williams, the province’s municipal affairs minister, told CTV News that his office was looking for “collaborative, constructive solutions” to Edmonton’s grievances. “I want to work with the municipality to find those solutions.” The city has legislative, constitutional and judicial avenues to consider when it comes to its scope of power beyond the province. City staff told council on Tuesday that some of those avenues were non-starters. A Canadian province’s power is entrenched in the 1867 Constitution, for example, which gives exclusive law-making power over municipal institutions. That particular section was not altered when the Constitution was repatriated in 1982, according to city solicitor Michael Gunther’s presentation to council. Judicially, court decisions will typically favour the legal precedent when municipal challenges to provincial law pop up – meaning the city must have good cause if it ever wanted to take the province to court and win. There have been some legislative upgrades, however, that give cities and towns the powers you’re used to seeing today: The 1995 Municipal Government Act, for example, which gave cities new spheres of power over business licensing and pet laws. And in 2018, the Edmonton City Charter gave additional flexibility and authority to the city beyond the province’s scope; regulations outlined within that charter, however, are provincially authorized and can be amended or taken away with 60 days’ notice without legislative debate, Gunther explained. “There are paths that would allow us to enhance our municipal autonomy through advocacy, an effective approach to address issues that are of a pressing nature to the City of Edmonton,” he said. “But there is no clear path to simply implement municipal autonomy.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson
