Coun. Andy McGrogan told CHAT News Alberta's Bill 20 goes too far. (Kevin Kyle/CHAT News)

By Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

Medicine Hat city councillor says Alberta’s proposed municipal policy changes are an ‘overreach’

Apr 29, 2024 | 5:37 PM

Alberta’s proposal to give itself the ability to remove city councillors and repeal any municipal bylaws are an “overreach”, a Medicine Hat city councillor said Monday.

While the province insisted it will only use those powers as a last resort, Coun. Andy McGrogan said the proposed Bill 20 was a step too far.

“It was a bit of an overreach in my view and I’m surprised,” he told CHAT News.

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For McGrogan, who was speaking only on his behalf, he questioned the reasoning for the proposal.

“If you’re going to make a rule like that, than it’d be really nice to know the ‘why’,” McGrogan said.

“If they’re saying that they want to be able to remove council members, for instance, or the mayor, why don’t we leave it to the code of conduct bylaw?”

The ruling United Conservatives also proposed creating regulations that would formalize political slates for a pilot project that would run just in Edmonton and Calgary in the next election.

The local slates are not allowed to have ties to the existing provincial and federal political parties but the rules would add any of the slate affiliations next to names on the ballot.

McGrogan said he’d rather preserve the independent nature of municipal elections.

“It doesn’t matter what my political stripe is in relation to whether I’m a Conservative, or an NDPer, or a Liberal, it doesn’t matter,” McGrogan said.

“We’re here to serve the community, we’re individually elected to support our community, independent of any political party, which I think is an amazing thing.”