Community Conserve and the Environmental Law Centre are pleased to present the first in the Municipalities and Environmental Law Series titled “The Scope of Municipal Powers and the Environment” which is available here.
Municipal decision-making is increasingly vital to effective environmental management. Municipalities play a central role in developing human settlements and green spaces, managing water bodies, and regulating the ways in which these are impacted. In order to do so, they rely on several pieces of legislation, the most important of which is the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
Alberta municipalities derive most of their powers from the MGA. The Act provides municipalities with general powers to pass and enforce bylaws on a variety of issues, as well as more specific powers concerning land use and planning, the control and management of roads and water bodies, the authority to expropriate and annex land, and the power to raise revenues through taxation, among others. Municipalities are limited to exercising these powers for the select purposes set out in the MGA, which includes “to foster the well-being of the environment”.
Enquiries may be directed to:
Matt Dow
Policy Analyst
780.955.4085
Tasha Blumenthal
Director, External Relations & Advocacy
780.955.4094