LATEST NEWS

RMA and AUMA have updated the ICF Workbook to include current ICF and IDP requirements based on changes made in Bill 25

In 2018, RMA and AUMA, with support from Alberta Municipal Affairs, collaborated to develop an Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework Workbook to support Alberta municipalities in completing ICFs and IDPs that were mandatory based on amendments to the Municipal Government Act (MGA).

In late 2019, the Government of Alberta passed Bill 25: Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act, which included several amendments to the MGA, including significant changes to the ICF and IDP process. A summary of all changes made to the MGA through Bill 25 is available here.

To support municipalities in completing ICFs and IDPs prior to the April 1, 2020 deadline, RMA and AUMA have released an updated version of the ICF toolkit that reflects all changes made to the process through Bill 25. Click here to access the updated toolkit.

For enquiries, please contact:

Wyatt Skovron
Senior Policy Advisor
wyatt@RMAlberta.com

Tasha Blumenthal
Director of External Relations & Advocacy
tasha@RMAlberta.com

Western municipal leaders are on the front lines of economic uncertainty. Every day, people in our communities are losing their livelihoods, their homes, and their hopes for the future. As the governments closest to daily life, municipalities are working to find solutions.

That’s why the RMA is pleased to represent rural Alberta on the Western Economic Solutions Taskforce (WEST)—launched by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities after the federal election. WEST is comprised of municipal leaders from across Western Canada who are bringing western voices straight to Ottawa.

WEST is exploring a full range of short, medium, and long-term solutions to support struggling communities. That means solutions on everything from getting resources to market, to economic diversification, to energy and climate policy.  Solutions that municipal leaders can press the federal government to adopt. And solutions that communities—rural and urban—can build on themselves.

With a federal budget coming soon, WEST has already put forward fast-action proposals that can make an immediate difference for communities of all sizes:

• Create a federal program to support faster reclamation of abandoned oil and gas wells without relieving industry of its responsibilities - to create jobs in the near term.


• Compensate farmers for the cost of carbon pricing on grain drying - boosting a sector that has been hit hard by trade disputes, transportation issues, and extreme weather.


• Immediately implement the federal commitment to create a new infrastructure fund to support priority projects in communities in oil and gas regions.

Those proposals came out of a full-day summit that WEST held last month in Leduc County. Throughout the day, WEST representatives met directly with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, other federal ministers, and opposition Members of Parliament. A priority of WEST is to make sure those municipal-federal conversations continue.

At the same time, WEST needs to hear from you about how rural municipalities, through RMA and FCM, can work with the federal government to address economic challenges in your municipality. Please share your ideas through the online form at fcm.ca/west or by emailing west@fcm.ca.

For enquiries, please contact:

Al Kemmere
President, RMA and Co Vice-Chair, WEST
akemmere@RMAlberta.com

AnnLisa Jensen
Councillor, Parkland County and FCM Board Member
annlisa.jensen@parklandcounty.com

Tasha Blumenthal
Director of External Relations & Advocacy
tasha@RMAlberta.com

 

Service Alberta is undertaking a stakeholder consultation to explore the possibility of introducing amendments to the Builders Lien Act to address issues with delayed payment in Alberta’s construction industry. This initiative will continue through Spring 2020 and seeks to obtain information from industry stakeholders through a number of channels. In addition to face-to-face meetings and written submissions, an online survey has been prepared.  A link to the survey can be found here. If you wish to participate, the survey will remain open through March 20, 2020.

About the Survey

• The survey is online and can be completed using a web browser of your choice. It can also be completed using a mobile device; however, it has been optimized to be completed at a desktop and this is recommended.


• The prompt payment online survey takes about an hour to complete and covers a wide array of issues with respect to addressing prompt payment in the construction industry.


• You do not need to complete the survey in one session.


• The survey contains specific questions, which in some cases may not be applicable to all survey participants. It is therefore not necessary to provide feedback on all the questions in the survey.


• The survey is not intended to be only available exclusively to particular stakeholder organizations and if representative organizations wish to distribute this to their members, they are free to do so. The purpose of the survey is to obtain feedback from all relevant stakeholders in the construction industry.


• By taking the survey, it is not necessary to provide any identifying information for any participants who wish to maintain their privacy

For enquiries, please contact:

Warren Noga
Policy Advisor
warren@RMAlberta.com

Tasha Blumenthal
Director of External Relations & Advocacy
tasha@RMAlberta.com

Information on tax deferrals for areas facing drought and flood conditions that negatively affect livestock producers now available

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has released a map showing the areas eligible for the 2019 Livestock Tax Deferral Provision. This list is now finalized for 2019. The Livestock Tax Deferral Provision allows farmers who sell part of their breeding herd due to drought or flooding in prescribed drought or flood regions to defer a portion of sale proceeds to the following year. When prescribed regions are identified, the list is announced publicly and posted to this web page.

The assessment process is multi-phased, and the map is only the initial assessment. Additional regions may be included based on information from final forage yields. For more information on how the assessment is completed, or the criteria used to evaluate drought or flood conditions, please contact aafc.taxdeferral-reportdelimpot.aac@canada.ca.

For more information on the Livestock Tax Deferral Provision, click here.

For enquiries, please contact:

Warren Noga
Policy Advisor
warren@RMAlberta.com

Tasha Blumenthal
Director of External Relations & Advocacy
tasha@RMAlberta.com

AUMA, RMA, and the Alberta Policy Coalition for Chronic Disease Prevention (APCCP) are pleased to host a series of educational webinars on using policy to support community health and well-being. The first webinar, Smoking and Vaping: Policy Options for Municipalities, took place on Thursday, February 13, with the following speakers:

• Kayla Atkey, Alberta Policy Coalition for Chronic Disease Prevention


• Les Hagen, Action on Smoking and Health

You can access the webinar recording and slides, as well as the following links and studies discussed in the webinar:

• Action on Smoking and Health’s Municipal Resource Hub (includes model smoking bylaw)


• Action on Smoking and Health’s School Board Resource Hub (includes model school board tobacco/smoking policy)


• Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs Survey showing that 400,000 students in grades 7 - 12 had vaped in the past 30 days in the 2018 / 2019 school year


• Study showing “one adult quitter for every 80 youth starters”


• Study showing “kids who vape are four times as likely to start smoking”

To help us improve future webinars and understand how we can support communities in policy development, please take this short, four-question survey.

The second webinar, Health In All Policies: The Importance and Impact of a Health-In-All-Policies Approach for Municipalities, takes place from 2:00 – 3:00 pm on Friday, March 13 (click on the link to register). You can also save the date for the next two webinars in the series:

• Active Travel – Wednesday, April 8, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm


• Healthy Eating – Friday, May 8, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm

Keep an on eye on Contact, as the links to registration for these webinars will be sent out later this month.

For enquiries, please contact:

Warren Noga
Policy Advisor
warren@RMAlberta.com

Tasha Blumenthal
Director of External Relations & Advocacy
tasha@RMAlberta.com

The Farmers’ Advocate Office (FAO) was established by Alberta Agriculture in 1973, and today serves as an advocate for rural Albertans. The FAO addresses issues related landowner rights, disputes between farmers and other individuals, rules for the sale of farm implements, and general advocacy for the concerns of rural landowners.

The FAO released four advisories over the past year regarding the concerns of farmers with oil and gas sites on their property. These advisories address situations where an oil or gas company has not paid their annual lease or is attempting to unilaterally reduce payments. The advisories can be found here:

• Landowner Rights for Annual Rental Payment


• Denying Access to a Wellsite


• Turning Off Power to Wells


• Surface Rights Review

To receive email updates from the FAO, click here.

For enquiries, please contact:

Warren Noga
Policy Advisor
warren@RMAlberta.com

Tasha Blumenthal
Director of External Relations & Advocacy
tasha@RMAlberta.com