On June 17, David Swann offered a bold new big cities agenda to delegates at the Mayors’ Caucuses of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
Good morning, and thank you for giving me and the Alberta Liberal leadership candidates the opportunity to share our views with you at this very important gathering.
Alberta is a modern, urban province. While we should take pride in our rural roots and our heritage of ranching and agriculture, the fact remains that Alberta has evolved into a largely metropolitan culture. But while our culture has evolved, our policies lag behind. Cities don’t get the respect, support or powers they deserve from the provincial government.
I believe that an Alberta Liberal government should negotiate a new deal for cities. Now, as you know, the Alberta Liberals are currently conducting a leadership race, which means that any policy proposals I offer today reflect only my own position and will quite likely be refined and amended by whichever candidate replaces me.
That being said, however, I feel confident that each candidate recognizes the importance of municipal government, and that we all feel Alberta’s cities need a better deal.
So if you’ll forgive me for that lengthy disclaimer, here’s how I believe we should move forward.
I’ve always felt that any public policy discussion should begin with a series of principles. When it comes to the place of municipalities in Alberta, here are our guiding principles:
Municipalities must have access to adequate revenue sources to meet their core obligations for the long term.
Municipalities should be recognized as an order of government within Alberta, and have their responsibilities and powers clearly defined and respected by the province.
Any new provincial funding arrangement for municipalities must be developed with their full participation, have their endorsement, and be entrenched in law.
Municipal-provincial relations must be based on mutual respect, consultation and cooperation, and municipalities must be treated as full and equal partners in dealings with the provincial government.
Municipalities must be consulted on any legislative changes that affect them before those reach the floor of the Legislative Assembly, be given the opportunity to raise concerns or recommend amendments, and have those given full consideration.
The province has an obligation to encourage and promote municipal autonomy and decision-making, and to grant municipalities adequate financial tools and control over the local tax base.
The province has an obligation to help ensure the long-term viability of Alberta’s municipalities.
With these principles in mind, a series of policy options unfold. First, we need to consider the provincial funding model for municipalities. It’s clear that the Municipal Sustainability Initiative isn’t working. The provincial government is short-changing municipalities by billions on promised MSI funding.
And so we have situations like the Calgary Airport Tunnel, where the provincial government leaves the city holding the bag for the full cost of a critical piece of infrastructure – infrastructure that serves not only Calgary, but the entire province. Other municipalities have had to delay equally important projects or take out loans to keep projects moving forward.
It’s not just funding that’s the issue. It’s the principle of local control. Look what a disaster centralized control of health care has been for Alberta. Since the government consolidated control with Alberta Health Services, costs have exploded and services have gotten worse. Our health policy calls for a return to regional health boards, because local people know local issues and have the information and experience necessary to do the job right.
It’s the same with municipal governments. No one understands better than you what your particular community needs. And in order to serve the citizens who elected you, you need more tools, including more control over your finances.
It’s been longstanding Alberta Liberal policy to reduce the education property tax, giving municipalities room to raise revenue locally. It doesn’t make sense for cities to collect education property taxes, ship those revenues to the Legislature only to have the provincial government turn around and return that money, or part of it, to the cities. Whoever winds up leading the Alberta Liberals might go even further, perhaps eliminating provincial collection of the education property tax and granting municipalities full control over your own tax base. Alternatively, the provincial government could grant a percentage of annual provincial revenues exclusively to municipalities.
A few years ago, former Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft developed what I thought was a very powerful and forward-thinking policy: Funding Alberta’s Future. The idea was to save a third of non-renewable resource revenues every year to grow the Heritage Fund and start a series of endowments. That way, should oil and gas revenues ever take a plunge, Alberta would have a source of sustainable revenue – the interest from the endowments – to replace the oil and gas money. In the medium to long term, we could build a Heritage Fund worth tens or hundreds of billions of dollars, and a portion of that money could be used to provide sustainable, regular, predictable funding for our cities.
Edmonton and Calgary, our two largest communities, contain most of Alberta’s population. Each city therefore presents a special case and deserves special consideration. This is why I believe an Alberta Liberal government should enact legislation to give each city its own charter, with autonomy and new powers sufficient to address their unique needs.
In collaboration with both cities, an Alberta Liberal government would develop the City of Edmonton Act and the City of Calgary Act, each tailored to its respective city. We would remove the arbitrary debt limit imposed on each of these cities by the PCs and grant them full authority over the community revitalization levy. Yes, I’m a Liberal, but I’ve never liked red tape, and I believe Edmonton and Calgary are mature enough to take full control of their own finances. And both acts would recognize our two core metropolises as orders of government within Alberta.
Any party that aspires to form the provincial government must recognize the importance and capabilities of local government. I’ve offered you some of the key points of our still-evolving platform on municipal affairs, and as our leadership races develop, I know that new ideas will emerge. The important thing is that we keep this dialogue open to develop the best possible deal.
Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity. As Alberta moves forward, the provincial and municipal governments must hammer out a new deal, a fair deal, for cities. We are an urban province, and Albertans living in our larger centres – the majority of our citizens – must be recognized. It’s time for a big cities agenda, and Alberta Liberals are ready to hammer it out with you.