To improve reporting on resolution advocacy, RMA releases a monthly bulletin highlighting recent actions undertaken on select active resolutions
The Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin is a way of routinely highlighting a selection of the over 70 currently active resolutions, offering members a more detailed insight into the work being carried out on their behalf. For the latest formal statuses and reactions to all resolutions, view the RMA’s Resolutions Database.
The February 2026 edition of the Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin features the following resolutions:
Property Tax Accountability Strategy Update
Concerns over the accumulation of unpaid municipal taxes from oil and gas companies have grown steadily in recent years, prompting multiple RMA resolutions aimed at addressing the issue or associated challenges (including Resolution 6‑24S Interim Funding for Lost Oil and Gas Revenue, Resolution 3‑24F Collection of Unpaid Municipal Property Taxes by Way of Royalties, and Resolution 14‑25S Public Interest Oil and Gas Company, among others). In response to these ongoing concerns, the Government of Alberta and RMA jointly established the Property Tax Accountability Strategy (PTAS) Working Group to share, analyze, and interpret oil and gas property tax data to develop recommendations that aim to prevent continued property tax arrears.
The PTAS Working Group has undertaken extensive work including legislative and regulatory analysis, data review, and technical discussions. The group is now nearing completion of its mandate and is in the process of developing its final report. Participating members have reviewed and expressed general support for a full suite of recommendations informed by the Group’s work to date.
The PTAS Working Group is now focused on refining these recommendations and drafting the PTAS Report. This report will consolidate PTAS analysis and discussions to provide a transparent and publicly accessible document outlining the recommendations, implementation strategy, and monitoring framework that aims to support ongoing accountability and periodic review. The group plans to review the draft at the end of February, and is on track to publish the final report in early to mid‑2026.
RMA will continue to update members as this work progresses.
Resolution 8-24F: Reinforcing Railway Fire Mitigation Procedures & Resolution 11-24F: Enhanced Brushing Along Powerlines to Mitigate Wildfires
Resolutions 8-24F and 11-24F together highlight rural municipalities’ concerns with wildfire management and fire suppression in rural and remote forested areas. Resolution 8-24F calls various levels of government to work collaboratively with railway companies to expand fire suppression resources and strategies, especially given that railway activity has been identified as a contributor to wildfires, particularly in remote and densely forested regions. Resolution 11-24F calls for increased powerline brushing initiatives and procedures in remote regions and highly forested areas to help minimize wildfire risk and mitigate wildfires in rural communities.
There have been some positive recent advancements in railway fire suppression, particularly through CN’s expansion of their firefighting train fleet in 2024 and again in 2025. Furthermore, RMA is incorporating these resolutions into our Spring 2026 convention programming. The Convention workshop titled “Sparking Solutions: An Exploration of Industry Wildfire Mitigation Strategies” will be joined by representatives from CN, ATCO, AltaLink and FortisAlberta where each speaker will share more about their organization’s initiatives towards wildfire management, including wildfire suppression and ignition mitigation. Learn more about this workshop and the upcoming Spring 2026 Convention here.
RMA will continue to monitor developments in wildfire management related to each resolution to ensure the needs of rural municipalities are met.
Resolution 15-24F: Member Committee to Understand the Criminal Justice System
Resolution 15-24F calls on RMA to form a member committee to support rural municipalities’ understanding of rural crime and the criminal justice system from a rural municipal perspective. RMA has begun the groundwork for a municipally focused justice committee, including the development of a Terms of Reference with key objectives, member roles, and committee procedures, along with assembling background information on the criminal justice system to support the committee’s future work. The Criminal Justice Committee will examine and understand the challenges of addressing rural crime, improve members’ collective understanding of how the Canadian criminal justice system functions in relation to rural crime and community safety, and develop criminal justice system-focused recommendations that directly relate to enhancing safety in rural communities.
RMA will continue to share information on the committee’s work and the member committee application as it becomes available.
Stay tuned for future editions of the Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin, where RMA will continue to feature updates on selected resolutions.
Warren Noga
Manager of Policy and Research
825.319.2285
warren@rmalberta.com