To improve reporting on resolution advocacy, the RMA is releasing 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 August 2024 edition of the Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin features the following resolutions:
Resolution ER1-23F: Limiting Third-Party Services in ICF Agreements
This resolution was drafted in response to the Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework (ICF) negotiations between Cardston County and the Town of Cardston in 2021, and Ministerial Order 090/21 excluding library services from their ICF. In brief, the Town and County disagreed over whether the library in the Town should be included in the ICF between the parties. The Minister of Municipal Affairs ultimately issued a Ministerial Order in October 2021 to expressly exclude third-party library services from the Cardston ICF, and the Court of King’s Bench upheld the Ministerial Order in December 2022.
The Court of King’s Bench recently rendered another decision in Woodlands (County) v Whitecourt (Town), 2024 ABKB 388 regarding the ICF between Woodlands County and the Town of Whitecourt. The Court followed Cardston and excluded third-party library services from the ICF, but upheld the remainder of the arbitrator’s ICF award, bringing the costs of providing and maintaining the library building within the scope of the ICF.
The RMA is currently reviewing the Court’s decision and the arbitrator’s award in Woodlands to better understand how they could affect future ICF negotiations and advocacy on this Resolution going forward. The RMA hopes to meet with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in the coming months to discuss this resolution and other aspects of the ICF process.
Resolution 8-24S: Support for the Export of Live Horses for Slaughter
This resolution came in response to the federal government’s policy and legislative changes on the export of live horses for slaughter. Alberta’s slaughter facilities already have a well-established global market and supply of livestock, and members are seeking fewer restrictions on the export of live horses to avoid negative impacts to the industry.
Following a two-month suspension, Bouvry Exports Calgary Ltd.’s SFC license was reinstated in April 2022. Then, Bill S-270 was dropped from the Senate Order Paper in March 2024, which would have prohibited the export of live horses for slaughter if passed. Despite these positive developments, Bill C-355 had its 2nd reading in the Senate on May 28, 2024. If passed, Bill C-355 would prohibit the export by air of horses for slaughter, require increased documentation, and enact strict punishments and fines. Furthermore, Bill C-355 would be implemented within 18 months, a transition time that has been criticized as unreasonably short during debates on the Bill in the senate.
Alberta’s Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation’s response to this resolution indicates an acknowledgment of the issues related to the export of live horses for slaughter but does not include clear commitments to advocate on behalf of rural Albertans to the federal government or make any progress on the issues specific to the requests of the resolution. The RMA will continue monitoring developments on Bill C-355 and continue advocating for the loosening of restrictions and prohibitions of the export of live horses for slaughter.
Resolution 5-21F: Seniors Foundation Requests
Resolution 12-22F: Restore Grants-in-Lieu of Taxes for Public Housing Management Authorities
Resolution 15-23S: Capital Funding Support for Housing Management Bodies
Resolution 9-23F: Review of Affordable Housing Funding Programs
Based on the high level of housing-related resolutions passed by members recently, the RMA is prioritizing housing as an emerging advocacy issue. The active resolutions identify several shared housing concerns, including a lack of provincial Capital Maintenance and Renewal (CMR) funding, uncertainty related to Housing Management Board requisitions, and the condition and availability of affordable housing in rural municipalities.
To better understand these issues, the RMA plans to survey members in the coming months on a range of housing topics. This information will be used to inform the RMA’s housing-related advocacy efforts, including the development of a report examining the state of affordable housing in rural Alberta.
The RMA’s initial research related to the resolutions listed above includes the following:
- The Government of Alberta has increased rent support but expressed no plans or intent to restore grants-in-lieu of taxes.
- The Government of Alberta does not have any plans to change the Alberta Housing Partnership Program or increase the amount of affordable housing managed by the Alberta Social Housing Corporation.
- Despite increases in CMR funding, the RMA has heard that funding remains inadequate for the realities of affordable housing in rural municipalities.
- Although the GOA has not expressed a willingness or intent to review the Alberta Housing Act, they have recently completed a review of the CMR application process. The RMA is attempting to obtain this document.
Stay tuned for future editions of the Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin, where we will continue to feature updates on selected resolutions.
Wyatt Skovron
General Manager of Policy & Advocacy
780.955.4096
wyatt@RMAlberta.com