Rural municipalities encouraged by Government of Alberta’s action on unpaid oil and gas property taxes
Nisku, AB, March 20, 2023 – As rural municipalities continue to face an escalating unpaid property tax burden from oil and gas companies, the RMA sees real promise in the action taken by the Government of Alberta to address the issue. Through the Ministerial Order issued by Energy Minister Pete Guthrie and supported by Municipal […]
RMA Seeking Member Participants for Quasi-Judicial Agency Review Committee
The member committee will help the RMA to better understand how development approvals and other decisions made by quasi-judicial agencies such as the AER and AUC impact rural municipalities Although a core responsibility of municipalities is to manage local land use planning and development decisions, provincial quasi-judicial agencies approve certain types of development (such as […]
Another year, another mountain of unpaid property taxes: As oil and gas industry booms, municipalities seek accountability
Nisku, AB, March 7, 2023 – The Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) has conducted a member survey identifying that as of December 31, 2022, approximately $268 million in property taxes currently owed to rural municipalities by oil and gas companies have gone unpaid. This represents a 6.1% increase from amounts reported for the 2021 tax […]
RMA Assigns Statuses to Several Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 Resolutions
Immediately after resolutions are endorsed by RMA members, the RMA sends the resolutions to the relevant provincial or federal ministry or organization for an initial response. Based on the response received, the RMA assigns the resolution a status and drafts an initial reaction. The RMA updates the resolutions database and issues bulletins with updates as […]
Alberta Budget 2023 – 2024: RMA Initial Analysis
The Government of Alberta has released Budget 2023: Securing Alberta’s Future and the 2023 – 2026 Fiscal Plan. RMA President Paul McLauchlin’s initial reaction to the 2023 – 2024 provincial budget is as follows: Budget 2023 reflects the Government of Alberta’s solid fiscal position, mainly due to the strong performance of the oil and gas […]
Resolutions for the RMA 2023 Spring Convention Now Available
The resolutions that will be presented during the resolution session at the RMA 2023 Spring Convention are now available. The following resolutions were submitted prior to the RMA’s resolution deadline: 1-23S Enhanced Support for Receiving Municipalities in Dissolutions (Parkland County) 2-23S Provincial Funding Stream for Non-Residential Infrastructure (Wheatland County) 3-23S Amendments to the National Building […]
Spring 2023 Emergent Resolution Deadline is March 20
As per the RMA’s Resolution Process policy, an emergent resolution is defined as a resolution submitted to the RMA after the resolution deadline – February 15, 2023 for the 2023 Spring Convention – that addresses a subject or problem that has arisen subsequent to the resolution deadline. The RMA Resolutions Committee will meet prior to […]
RMA Releases Draft Version of New Strategic Direction
The draft strategic direction will be presented via resolution for member endorsement at the 2023 Spring Convention The RMA is pleased to release a draft strategic direction document for member consideration. The purpose of the document is to establish an updated vision and mission for the association, as well as values, roles, and strategic priorities […]
RMA Releases Report Calling for Changes to Growth Management Board Voting Structure
The report outlines the inequality of the current voting structure and provides an overview of approaches used in other jurisdictions The RMA has released a report titled Seeking Balance: Voting Inequalities in Alberta’s Growth Management Boards. The report takes a close look at how decisions are currently made within the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board and […]
Changes to Bus Usage and Insurance
At RMA Insurance, we endeavour to provide the best coverage at the lowest cost to our membership. Over the past four years, the market for automobile insurance, especially the capacity to provide coverage for buses, has declined drastically in both availability and price. The reason we are able to offer such competitive rates is thanks to […]