Province introduces bill it says will enhance municipal accountability

The provincial government says a bill changing laws that dictate how municipalities are run will promote accountability, enhance efficiency and protect workers from reprisals.

Government Relations Minister Lori Carr introduced the Miscellaneous Municipal Statutes Amendment Act on Tuesday. If passed, it will update the Cities Act, the Municipalities Act and the Northern Municipalities Act.

According to Carr, the act will expand protections for municipal employees who report wrongdoing. They are currently protected from their employer, the municipality. But Carr said the changes add a new offence for councillors who threaten reprisals against municipal employees, even if they’re unable to directly impose them.

“They’re not the employer, but they’re actually in a position of authority,” she said. “So it will now also be an offence for a councillor to reprimand or fire an employee who reports wrongdoing to a person or authority that has the power to investigate wrongdoings.”

She said the penalties will be as high as $10,000 and could include jail time in certain circumstances.

“That should give the person some confidence to be able to go and say, ‘I want to talk about this, I have an issue,’ and not be worried about that councillor coming back at them,” she said.

Carr also touted measures to require all municipalities to post public accounts, rather than just cities. That won’t come immediately, but “at a future date to be set in regulations.”

For municipalities that lack the capacity to easily share that information, Carr said the ministry is going to develop a portal that will allow them to make it accessible online.

According to Carr, the amendments came from internal work in the ministry as well as consultations with cities and municipal groups.

Other amendments include: Measures to allow councils to adopt policies for parental and other kinds of leave, instead of passing resolutions for each individual;

Allowing cities to be included in the formation of a municipal district;

Allowing municipalities to establish programs to fund improvements to properties, such as energy efficiency and environmental improvements, by adding those costs to property taxes if the property owner agrees.