To improve reporting on resolution advocacy, the RMA is releasing a bi-annual bulletin highlighting recent actions undertaken on expiring resolutions.
The Expiring Resolution Update Bulletin is a way of routinely highlighting expiring resolutions, offering members a more detailed insight into the work being carried out on their behalf. Although expiring resolutions will continue to inform RMA’s approach to advocacy on related issues, the bulletin will be RMA’s final official reporting on a resolution. For the latest formal statuses and reactions to all resolutions, view the RMA’s Resolutions Database.
Resolution 8-22S: Reversing Changes to Aerodrome Standards Implemented by Transport Canada
In 2017, Transport Canada introduced changes to aerodrome standards to align with the international standards reflected in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The proposed changes created more onerous requirements for physical characteristics of aerodrome runways as compared to those introduced in 2015; at that time, Transport Canada had not completed an impact assessment to determine how the proposed requirements may impact aerodromes across Canada, including those dotted across rural Alberta.
Aerodromes that were unable to meet the required physical characteristics cannot obtain a minimum elevation threshold lower than 500 feet, and as a result, will not be accessible by aircraft for approximately 14 days per year given Alberta’s climate. As this affected all aircraft, including the air ambulance services relied on by most rural communities in Alberta, members were concerned that air ambulances may be prohibited to land at a non-certified aerodrome that has not obtained a minimum lower than 500 feet if the weather conditions are not appropriate, impacting access to health care, remote resource sites, or businesses dependent on tourism.
In response to this resolution, RMA engaged with Transport Canada, the Alberta Aviation Council (AAC), and Canadian Operators and Pilots Association (COPA). While COPA and the AAC are aware of the impacts that these changes will have on local airports, since the changes fall within international standards, they are unlikely to be reversed or modified and efforts would be best utilized advocating for mitigation strategies rather than advocating for the reversal of the changes. In response to the resolution, Transport Canada stated that the changes were intended to enhance safety measures at Canadian airports that support instrument approach procedures (IAPs) and were required in order to establish a standard and recognized level of safety for all instrument approaches across Canada; their response indicated no intention to reverse the implemented amendment, and it has not been reversed as of Spring 2025.
Therefore, Resolution 8-22S will expire with a status of Intent Not Met.
Resolution 2-22S: Negative Impact of Carbon Tax on Rural Albertans
This resolution highlights some of the long-standing concerns with the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, also known as the Carbon Tax. In Resolution 2-22S, RMA members advocate for amendments to the carbon tax that would allow for exemptions on the rural communities in Alberta and across the country that are disproportionately dependent on taxable fuel. As the resolution notes, advocacy on this point is somewhat difficult as comprehensive and meaningful data did not exist at the time to challenge aspects of the Carbon Tax that may affect rural Albertans the most. As such, Resolution 2-22S also calls for RMA to conduct a rural impact analysis to determine and quantify the potential disproportionate impacts to rural Albertans and municipalities.
In October 2023, the RMA shared the results of the impact analysis with the key findings as follows:
- There are two key pathways through which the federal carbon pricing policy is expected to impact rural municipalities in Alberta:
- Increasing the prices faced by municipalities on goods that are directly and indirectly impacted by the carbon tax such as fuel, heating, and electricity, or indirectly impacted by the carbon tax (i.e., emissions-intensive goods).
- Influencing the long-term viability of key industries (e.g., oil and gas extraction and processing) that constitute a meaningful portion of a municipality’s assessment base, thereby impacting the value of assets available for taxation. Rural municipalities tend to host the majority of heavy industry associated with resource extraction and processing that underpin a considerable portion of the provincial economy.
The report also examines impacts on rural households and includes the following key findings:
- Direct costs of the carbon tax are relatively similar between urban and rural households in Alberta. When revenue recycling is considered, the average household in both urban and rural Alberta is not currently impacted by direct carbon tax payments.
- Non-price costs of the federal fuel charge, including impacts to households through wage reductions and unemployment, may have a more pronounced impact on rural households as compared to urban households, as rural communities in Alberta host a relatively larger proportion of the province’s labour force in carbon-intensive industries.
As RMA has completed the impact report but not received a response from the Government of Canada regarding the carbon levy on fuel, this resolution will expire with a status of Accepted in Part.
Beginning April 1st, 2025, the federal government has set the fuel charge rate of the consumer carbon tax to zero.
Resolution 6-22S: Responsiveness of Service Delivery by Quasi-independent Agencies in Alberta
In 2023, RMA formed the Quasi-Judicial Agencies Member Committee (QJAC) to examine the relationship between quasi–judicial agencies and municipalities in relation to approving provincially-regulated developments. The committee gathered municipal examples and perspectives related to the local impacts of provincially-regulated developments, the lack of consideration of municipal plans and perspectives in the approval process, and how this lack of a local lens impacts the ability of quasi-judicial agencies to make decisions in the public interest.
The QJAC report found several areas of concern that committee members directed to the Government of Alberta and regulators to address. Following the release of RMA’s QJAC report, the AUC launched an inquiry of electricity generation and an inquiry on renewable energy approval processes in 2023. Some of the recommendations presented in the QJAC report were considered and implemented by the AUC such as:
- Automatic standing for municipalities in the project approval process.
- Eligibility of municipalities for cost-recovery linked to approval hearing participation.
- The creation of a provincially-administered reclamation requirement for end-of-life management of renewable projects.
In 2025, the AUC continues to review and consult on various rules and policies; the most recent changes are included in the draft blackline version of Rule 007 which includes new sections related to agricultural land impacts and reclamation requirements in alignment with the new Electric Energy Land Use and Visual Assessment Regulation.
Although the AUC has considered and implemented some of the recommendations of the QJAC report, the other quasi-judicial agencies – the NRCB and the AER – have not been as responsive to the recommendations proposed. Resolution 6-22S expires with a status of Accepted in Part.
This resolution represents the severity and scale of the unpaid oil and gas issue that members and RMA have been voicing for several years. Over the years, several initiatives and measures have been undertaken attempting to address the issue. Special liens, implemented through Bill 77, amends the Municipal Government Act, allowing municipalities to apply charges to specific types of machinery and equipment. However, this measure does not go far enough to hold delinquent oil and gas companies accountable and help municipalities recover lost revenue.
In 2023, Ministerial Order (043/2023) was issued which requires the AER to require oil and gas companies to provide proof of full payment of municipal property taxes prior to issuing a new license to a company or allowing a company to sell or purchase and existing licenses.
In August 2024, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals signed Ministerial Order 96/2024 (MO 96/2024). The ministerial order provides exemptions to the conditions set out in MO 43/2023 whereby conditions do not apply when a given transferred asset has been designated as an orphan well. This regulation would better prevent producing assets from abandonment and reclamation due to their ownership by a company with tax arrears. Subsequently, instead of assets becoming the responsibility of the OWA, they would more often become the responsibility of the purchasing company. However, this diminishes the effectiveness of MO 43/2023 because the new exemptions allow the transfer of assets with outstanding taxes if these assets are designated as orphans. Furthermore, without the enforcement tool of a ministerial order, it is not clear if there is any mechanism to require the purchasing company to pay tax arrears.
Most recently, the results of RMA’s unpaid oil and gas survey were released which highlights that as of December 31, 2024, at least $253.9 million of municipal property taxes have gone unpaid by oil and gas companies. In this year’s report, RMA called for the creation of a working group (the Property Tax Accountability Strategy or PTAS) along with the Government of Alberta to jointly resolve the unpaid tax crisis. Although Resolution ER1-22S has expired with a status of Intent Not Met, the unpaid oil and gas issue has worsened and RMA looks forward to collaborating with the provincial government to resolve issues surrounding unrecovered taxes, prevent the closure of legislative and regulatory loopholes allowing non-payment, and restore a strong partnership between industry, rural municipalities, and government.
Resolution 3-22S: Attraction and Retention of Veterinarians to Rural Veterinary Practice
Resolution 3-22S calls on the Government of Alberta to improve access to veterinary medicine education programs, especially at the University of Calgary and especially for rural students, to have more rural influence on the admission committee, and that RMA investigate and support rural veterinary attraction and retention.
In the past year, RMA learned that the Government of Alberta introduced several initiatives that support the intent of the resolution:
- A new admission process to the University of Calgary’s Veterinary Medicine Faculty, which appears to include a focus on elements outside of academic achievement.
- A commitment to notable capital and program expansion funding to increase veterinary training seats at the University of Calgary. Budget 2024 forecast $23 million had been spent on the University of Calgary – Veterinary Medicine Expansion, with $37 million estimated in 2024-25 to complete the project. Construction began in December 2023.
- Alberta Immigration and Multiculturalism is playing a larger role in supporting the Alberta Veterinary Medicine Association and international credential recognitional for internationally educated veterinarians coming to Alberta.
In recent years, RMA participated on the Alberta Veterinary Medicine Association Working Group to discuss veterinary medicine labour force solutions and kept apprised of related government announcements. RMA met with the Alberta Veterinary Medicine Association and the University of Calgary to discuss labour force challenges around high work demands and broader, province. RMA learned that changing university admissions processes is a small piece of the puzzle. This resolution expires with the status of Accepted in Principle. RMA will continue to monitor members concerns around rural veterinarian attraction and retention.
Resolution 4-22S: Continued Support for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta
Resolution 4-22S describes rural Alberta’s high esteem for the value services the RCMP provide and their desire for the RCMP to continue to provide policing. Policing is an important issue for RMA and members, as demonstrated by other active related resolutions such as Resolution 8-23F: Implementation of a Provincial Police Advisory Board, Resolution 4-24F: Amend Municipal Government Act to Designate Police Funding Police Model as Requisition, and Resolution 12-24F: Accountability in the Establishment of an Independent Agency Police Service in Alberta.
The resolution 4-22S government responses RMA received indicate the Government of Alberta’s rationale as to why they’re considering an Alberta Provincial Police Service (APPS). RMA sits on the Alberta Interim Police Advisory Board (AIPAB), ending early in 2025, as the province transitions to a Provincial Police Advisory Board (PPAB) in March 2025. RMA will continue to advocate for increased local representation on PPAB.
RMA is closely engaged on work on the Police Funding Model, which determines municipal financial contributions to policing under the Provincial Police Service Agreement. RMA is preparing for engagement with municipal affairs in spring 2025.
As the Government of Alberta has not definitively indicated that they will not form an APPS, this resolution expires with a status of Intent Not Met. RMA will continue to oppose the creation of an APPS and to advocate for rural policing and RCMP support.
Resolution 7-22S: Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) Report Funding Recommendations
Rural municipalities want to see the Government of Alberta and Alberta Health Services further integrate critical care across the province, including providing consistent, sustainable funding for 50% of all provincial air ambulance provider’s operating costs. The resolution asks were designed to align with the Helicopter Emergency Services report recommendations. The Government of Alberta signed contracts with Helicopter Air Lift Operation (HALO) and Helicopter Emergency Response Organization (HERO) air ambulance services in 2022. The five year contracts will provide these services with $1 million per year.
As this funding announcement met the intent of Resolution 7-22S, this resolution expires with a status of Accepted. STARS air ambulance spoke at RMA’s Spring 2025 Convention. RMA continues to engage on work related to emergency medical services and will stay up to date on related air ambulance news for its impact on rural Alberta, including to ensure funding is renewed in 2027.
Stay tuned for the fall edition of the Expiring Resolution Update Bulletin. Concerned that a resolution with a pressing issue is expiring? Check RMA’s Resolutions Database for similar active resolutions and consider sponsoring a new resolution.
Warren Noga
Manager of Policy and Research
825.319.2285
warren@rmalberta.com