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 November 2025 edition of the Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin features the following resolutions:
Unpaid Oil and Gas Municipal Taxes
The issue of unpaid oil and gas municipal taxes has been an issue for municipalities in increasing numbers for the better part of a decade. Several resolutions – including Resolution 3-24F Collection of Unpaid Municipal Property Taxes by Way of Royalties, Resolution 6-24S Interim Funding for Lost Oil and Gas Revenue, and Resolution ER2-24S Municipal Taxes as Franchise Fees – address specific aspects of the continued failure of companies to pay what they owe. It is imperative that this issue is solved because oil and gas companies can’t continue to benefit from publicly owned natural resources while failing to pay the taxes that fund the very communities supporting their operations.
Through the Property Tax Accountability Strategy working group, RMA continues to work with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Ministry of Energy & Minerals to tackle this insistent issue. The three organizations plan to collectively release a series of evidence-based and effective recommendations in early 2026. In the meantime, RMA remains committed to advocating for practical and lasting solutions to address tax truancy and the growing burden of municipal tax arrears.
Resolution 5-23S: Access to Mobile Wireless (Cellular) Services
Resolution 5-23S: Access to Mobile Wireless (Cellular) Services highlights how rural residents often do not have reliable access to cellular services and calls on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to meaningfully address this issue. CRTC reporting is regularly not reflective of the on-the-ground reality for rural regions and this resolution encourages the commission to review and improve its reporting so that investment towards cellular coverage gaps are addressed accordingly. Reliable cellular coverage can mean all the difference for rural businesses and emergency services, and it is important to adequately invest in cellular network infrastructure and improved coverage reporting.
A response has not been received from the CRTC. In Fall 2025, the RMA provided input towards the CRTC’s National Public Alerting System engagement. Although much of the engagement’s discussion topics were not directly relevant to RMA’s positions and key advocacy issues, our participation represented an opportunity to advocate for the asks of this resolution. In our submission, RMA emphasized the impacts that poor cellular coverage has on rural communities and highlighted the coverage gaps related to reporting and map inaccuracy. RMA will continue seeking out further opportunities for advocacy to help improve cellular network access for rural Alberta communities.
Resolution 9-23F: Review of Affordable Housing Funding Programs
Resolution 9-23F included several operative clauses calling on the Government of Alberta to act to improve affordable housing in rural Alberta. Two operative clauses were centered around the Affordable Housing Partnership Program and the investment this program require of rural municipalities to complete an application. The third operative clause requests a housing design catalogue with scalable, replicable modular designs that rural municipalities and affordable housing developers could use to minimize the initial and upfront costs of affordable housing planning and funding requests.
Over the course of 2025, the Government of Canada worked on releasing an affordable housing design catalogue. The final technical design packages were released in October 2025. Read more and access the designs here. This is a positive step in fulfilling the resolution asks. RMA continues to advocate for rural affordable housing, including by collecting affordable housing data from members through two surveys. RMAs analysis and findings will be shared with the Government of Alberta and members in 2026.
Stay tuned for future editions of the Monthly Resolution Update Bulletin, where we will continue to feature updates on selected resolutions.
Warren Noga
Manager of Policy and Research
825.319.2285
warren@rmalberta.com