DIDSBURY - The federal carbon tax resulted in direct costs to the Town of Didsbury totalling $54,000 in 2023, according to chief administrative officer Ethan Gorner.
In his monthly report to council presented at the Oct. 22 council meeting, he said diesel, fuel and propane tax costs were approximately $9,000 and heating fuel costs for buildings (natural gas) were approximately $45,000.
Gorner presented the statistics in response to a letter from Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver regarding the federal tax.
In the letter, the minister asked the municipality to provide information on the tax costs.
“The government of Alberta is increasingly concerned about the federal carbon tax’s impact on municipalities,” McIver says in the letter, dated Oct. 2.
“For the provincial government to better understand the pressures municipalities are facing and advocate to the federal government on you behalf, we are requesting that all municipalities share data relating to the impact of the carbon tax on your operations, both directly and indirectly.”
During discussion of the matter, mayor Rhonda Hunter said, “Is anyone stopping to ask what the carbon tax money is used for? I know that the FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) gets a lot of grants out of that funding. I know a lot of green grants come out of that that the FCM distributes. What is the carbon tax being used for, I think is the big question.
“How are we benefiting from it because there is always the other side. I believe we are benefiting from it. We just bought an electric Zamboni last year . . . and part of that money filtered down from FCM.”
Hunter then asked if any councillor was willing to put forward a motion to have a letter sent to FCM asking for details on what the carbon tax is being used for. No councillor was willing to do so.
Coun. Bill Windsor did not attend the Oct. 22 council meeting.
Fire department activity
Meanwhile, Gorner also presented third quarter statistics from the Didsbury Fire Department.
Department members responded to a total of 60 calls between July 1 and Sept. 30, including 14 alarms, 23 EMS assists, two mutual aid, seven motor vehicle collisions, two structure fires, and four wildland fires.
Of the 60 calls, 32 were in town and 26 in town and two were rural mutual aid.
He also reported on recent municipal enforcement statistics.
The town’s municipal enforcement team responded to 87 calls between July 1 and Sept. 30, with 68 concluded, four still under investigation, one forwarded to another agency, five unfounded and five unsolved.
The occurrences included 25 related to the town’s community standards bylaw, six traffic bylaw, and 16 unsightly premises calls.
Gorner updated council on several recently completed community services projects, including the Southridge playground project, which was budgeted for $65,000 and came in at $62,192, and the curling rink header replacement, which was budgeted for $70,000 and came in at $67,885.
Council accepted the report as information.
