INNISFAIL – On April 1 there will be new provincial rules for Alberta municipalities seeking federal funding.
And there is concern among Town of Innisfail council members about how it might impact the municipality's current application for a $6.3 million federal Green and Inclusive Community Building (GICB) grant to support the town’s $12.2 million Innisfail Aquatic Centre modernization project.
Under the new Provincial Priorities Act, “provincial entities”, such as municipalities, will be required to obtain prior approval from Alberta’s minister of Municipal Affairs before entering into, amending or renewing an agreement with the federal government.
“(It) will ensure Ottawa is not undermining the province’s jurisdiction to make decisions about what is best for Alberta and Albertans,” said Ric McIver, provincial Municipal Affairs minister in a letter recently sent to the Town of Innisfail.
There are exemptions from provincial approval, including agreements under $100,000 in federal funding, ones for disaster response under the Emergency Management Act, and those with the Canadian Armed Forces.
On March 17, Innisfail's council was told that exempt agreements must still be submitted to the minister for the exemption to apply.
“Agreements of more than $5 million will require cabinet approval,” said Erica Vickers, director of corporate services for the Town of Innisfail, in her report to council. “Any agreement that in the opinion of the minister infringes on Alberta's legislative authority, interferes with its provincial powers, or restricts its ability to create and implement policies is also subject to cabinet review.
“Unless an agreement is exempt from the pre-approval requirement the town cannot enter into the agreement until receiving notification from the minister that the agreement is approved.”
The new legislation, formerly known as Bill 18, has been on Innisfail council’s mind since at least last fall.
On Oct. 15 mayor Jean Barclay referenced it in a letter she sent to McIver after he spoke about it during the Alberta Municipalities conference.
“With respect to your opening comments regarding our stance on Bill 18, the request for federal agreements did catch us off guard and there didn’t seem at time any information as to the why,” said Barclay in her letter. “We are certainly in favour of all levels of government working together to gain a better understanding of all our needs and we appreciate you and your government advocating a better deal for all of us.
“We acknowledge we should have contacted your office to gain a better understanding.”
Following Vickers’ report on March 17, Barclay wanted to know when then the province’s decision on the town’s federal funding application would happen.
Vickers said it would “likely” occur “just before” the town signed the agreement.
“We'll have to have known that we received the grant first, but we can look into further details in that to see if we're able to have a pre-approval before we know we received it, just to cut down on timelines,” said Vickers.
Barclay replied she wants the town to find out “prior to” because “who knows how long it may take to get cabinet approval or executive council approval.”
Back in January, Barclay noted to council members that the Town of Innisfail won’t be told for about 18 months whether it is successful with the federal grant application.
Council unanimously approved a motion to accept Vickers report on the new Provincial Priorities Act as information.
The Albertan reached out to Barclay last week after the March 17 council meeting for additional comment but the mayor said she was busy with other matters and referred additional questions to Coun. Jason Heistad, the current deputy mayor.
“I think it's all about timing. I think that there could be a timing issue for us to potentially get the appropriate funding that we're looking for from our federal partners,” Heistad told the Albertan. “We don't want to be shortchanged from an opportunity that we could get from the current federal government.
“It’s a concern for our community,” he added. “We have to work not only with our provincial government but we also should be working closely with our federal government to get the best funding possible for our citizens.”
