With the Assembly not sitting last week, provincial representatives returned to their regular routine ready to introduce, discuss, and debate some of the more consequential Bills in recent memory.
Visitors to the Legislature this week included a delegation from the Scottish Parliament and representatives of the Canadian Hard-of-Hearing Association. All visitors and guests received the Legislature’s warm welcome.
Members’ Issues and Related Bills or Activities
Bill 49 – Public Safety and Emergency Services Statutes Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services
Bill 49 empowers government to take another step towards establishing a provincial police force and an independent police agency to govern the force. It also introduces changes to how emergencies are declared and managed in the province. Bill 49 amends several Acts, including the Police Act and the Emergency Management Act.
Bill 49 amends the Police Act to allow for the establishment of a new, independent, police service. Municipalities would have the option of replacing their current police service with a contract with the new independent service. The police force would be a Crown corporation, operating at arm’s length from the provincial government. The RCMP may still operate within Alberta, but municipalities would simply now have this as an additional option for local policing service delivery. The initial make-up of these police forces is expected to come from Alberta Sheriffs; sheriffs would be trained as police before providing services to the community. There is no indication that any sheriffs that leave would be replaced.
Bill 49 also places new requirements on the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services to consult with the Premier, Cabinet, or other designated elected officials before authorizing emergency orders. The Minister would also be required to communicate certain decisions to the public. The Bill also narrows what qualifies as an “emergency” to events that are sudden and temporary.
Bill 49 passed its first reading on Monday, April 8.
RMA is currently conducting a detailed analysis of Bill 49 and will provide members with more information in the near future.
Bill 50 – Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Ric McIver, Minister of Municipal Affairs
Bill 50 seeks to modify three pieces of legislation relevant to municipalities in Alberta: the Local Authorities Election Act, the Municipal Government Act, and the New Home Buyer Protection Act.
Bill 50 makes significant changes to the intermunicipal collaboration framework process, many of which reflect RMA’s advocacy positions on this issue in recent years. RMA is optimistic that the changes will provide more certainty as the scope of ICFs, create expectations that positions and decisions are data-driven, and limit much of the subjectivity in the previous process that allowed for instances of mis-use by some municipalities.
Bill 50 automatically repeals all municipal codes of conduct on proclamation. Minister McIver stated that while most municipalities “get along just fine” and serve their constituents well, there have been instances of weaponization of the codes of conduct to censure disagreement. According to the Minister, the changes seek to limit these instances.
Bill 50 also introduced changes that would allow municipal political parties to share campaign funding with their candidates and compel them to disclose their donors prior to election day. The Bill also proposes temporary measures that would allow Jaspeer residents to vote or run in the municipal election while they are displaced.
Bill 50 passed its first reading on Tuesday, April 8.
RMA is currently conducting a detailed analysis of Bill 50 and will provide members with more information in the near future.
Bill 51 – Education Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Demetrios Nicolades, Minister of Education
Bill 51 was introduced for its second reading on Tuesday, April 8. Working in concert with Bill 50, Bill 51 would restrict the ability to remove a school board trustee to that of a recall petition process, prevent duplicative reporting by eliminating the need to submit both a report and a complaint, and require ongoing complaints to be shared between school authorities.
The Bill also allows displaced Jasper resident to vote and be nominated in the upcoming municipal and school board elections. Additional amendments would support plans to expand Real Property Governance – Alberta’s centralized real property inventory – enabling the inventory to own new schools and lease them back to school boards. The Bill also would change the category of “private school” to “independent school.”
The Bill as proposed would also automatically exempt school boards from entering into joint use and planning agreements with exempt municipalities. Bill 51 passed its first reading on Tuesday, April 8.
Other Notable Legislative Action
Bill 45 – Critical Infrastructure Defence Amendment Act, 2025
Honourable Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice
Debate continued on Bill 45. The Bill is part of a collection overhauling Alberta’s privacy and data-sharing systems. Bill 45 would, in part, prevent federal employees from obtaining emissions data collected by the Province from designated facilities. The government considers the amendments necessary protect Alberta’s economy, while the opposition considers the prohibition to be an unconstitutional overreach.
Bill 209 – Reconciliation Implementation Act, 2024
Honourable Brooks Arcand-Paul, Member for Edmonton-West Henday
Bill 209 would require the Province to create and maintain policy designed to advance reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and the Government in the delivery of government services, including considering reconciliation principles and Calls to Action as outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report.
Standing and Select Special Committee Meetings
April 14:
Standing Committee on Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund
Ian Profiri
Policy & Research Analyst
825.319.2352
ian@rmalberta.com
Wyatt Skovron
General Manager of Policy & Advocacy
780.955.4096
wyatt@rmalberta.com