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 June 2026 edition of the Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin features the following resolutions:
Resolution 2-26S: Provincial Bridge and Culvert Classifications
RMA members are calling on the Government of Alberta (GOA) to reduce the legislative, regulatory, and financial barriers that currently make bridge replacement, reclamation, and repair prohibitively expensive for rural municipalities. Members are specifically seeking common‑sense regulatory updates that remove outdated or unaligned language, reduce unnecessary liability exposure, and enable municipalities to adopt cost‑effective and appropriate solutions. This includes aligning Alberta’s bridge definition with national and federal practice, and advancing cost‑effective bridge replacement standards that reflect rural conditions and the real‑world consequences of failure.
RMA recently received a commitment from the Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors (TEC) to establish a working group focused on bridge and culvert classification and related cost‑drivers. This commitment aligns with RMA’s ongoing engagement with TEC on issues such as water and wastewater infrastructure, high‑load corridors, and the broader challenge of Alberta’s growing infrastructure deficit. RMA is optimistic that this collaborative approach will lead to practical legislative and policy changes that meaningfully reduce barriers and improve the efficiency of rural infrastructure development.
RMA will continue to advance solutions that reduce the cost of bridge repair and replacement. Findings from the Rural Municipal Infrastructure Deficit Project (RMIDP) show that, as of 2024, rural municipalities faced $2.29 billion in bridge repair costs alone – an amount that has only grown due to inflation, continued deterioration, and insufficient provincial funding. Bridges remain lifelines for rural communities and central to supporting resource sectors and economic growth. RMA urges the GOA to recognize their critical importance and respond with proportionate, aligned, and adequately funded measures that support long‑term sustainability across Alberta’s transportation network.
Resolution 7-24F: Improved Water License Approval and Compliance Processes
Resolution 7-24F highlights members’ concerns about freshwater use being prioritized for industry at the expense of municipalities. To help address this issue, the resolution calls for only Environment and Protected Areas to have deciding authority on water licenses, for Temporary Diversion License applications to follow the procedures and guidelines specified in legislation and for alternative sources of water for industry and fracking purposes to be prioritized before resorting to freshwater.
Throughout the GOA’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 Water Act engagements, RMA has provided input advocating on behalf of rural municipalities, primarily to help ensure that amendments to the Water Act will minimize freshwater consumption for industry at the expense of municipalities. RMA recognizes that new definitions for “return flows” and “water for reuse” have been developed that may encourage alternative water use and minimize freshwater use. However further clarity on practical applications of these new provisions is required to understand whether industrial freshwater consumption could increase as a result.
RMA has also developed a member resource on recent Water Act amendments and organized a webinar with Environment and Protected Areas for RMA members to learn more and ask about recent Water Act changes. RMA will continue stakeholder engagement and research to further understand the impacts to municipalities and new provisions are implemented and will participate in follow-up Water Act engagements scheduled for mid to late 2026.
Resolution 4-24F: Amend Municipal Government Act to Designate Police Funding Model Levy as Requisition
Under the Police Funding Model (PFM), municipalities who receive their policing through the Provincial Police Service Agreement (PPSA), must contribute to the cost of policing based on a formula that is unrelated to the level of local policing service they receive. In some municipalities, signficiant recent increases to PFM costs have resulted in tax rate increases, despite the fact that the PFM cost requirement is outside the control of municipalities.
RMA passed resolution 4-24F: Amend Municipal Government Act to Designate Police Funding Model Levy as Requisition which calls on the Government of Alberta to amend the Municipal Government Act to show the PFM as a requisition. Doing so would support ratepayers to have a clear understanding of how their tax dollars are distributed. Recent changes introduced in Bill 28 authorize municipalities to disclose the amount of the municipal tax that funds provincial policing costs. While an encouraging first step, this change falls short of collecting policing contributions as a requisition, which does not resolve transparency concerns for ratepayers.
In addition to advocacy on requisitioning, RMA is engaged in analyzing the financial and service impacts that the PFM has on rural member municipalities. Initial analysis shows that municipalities have experienced increased policing costs with no real improvements to police services. In 2025, RMA conducted a member survey to better understand members’ experiences and perspectives regarding the PFM. The results of the survey were used to support a submission to the Government of Alberta with 12 core recommendations. RMA also produced a member guide to support members’ participation in engagement sessions. RMA is finalizing a PFM impact analysis that will be released shortly.
Stay tuned for future editions of the Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin, where we will continue to feature updates on selected resolutions.
For more information, contact RMA’s Policy and Advocacy Team at advocacy@rmalberta.com or 825.319.2383.