At the Jan. 20 city council meeting, councillor Shila Sharps is putting forward a motion to prioritize sanctions that were struck down in August 2024.
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Justice Rosemary Nation of the Court of King’s Bench made the decision for four of the six sanctions, imposed on Clark by council in March of last year.
Nation said that the city’s councillors appear to “have no sense of proportionality in crafting sanctions”.
She said that council had imposed sanctions that have no rational connection with the breach of the code.
Sharps said that, as it has now been five months without it appearing on council’s agenda, she is prioritizing the issue for immediate deliberation.
“We frequently request that administration perform various functions and reconsider decisions,” she said in a notice of motion, initially brought forward Jan. 6.
She said that when these actions are delayed, the community becomes frustrated with inaction.
Sharps said that, although all may not all agree with Justice Nation’s decision, it is council’s responsibility to address the matter.
She said that there was “no ill intention” that the issue hasn’t been prioritized, but admits that it had gotten away from them.
She trusts that council will recognize the urgency of bringing the issue back for discussion.
Also included in the agenda is a Request for Decision prepared by Ted Nestor, senior planner of Planning and Development Services in the city.
The recommended motion is that council repeal Bylaw 4605 and approve Bylaw 4846, an updated Tri-Area Intermunicipal Development Plan.
The three municipalities of Medicine Hat, Redcliff, and Cypress County are collectively referred to as the “Tri-Area”.
In order to “maximize collaboration, efficiency, and economic development” for not only the region but also for the mutual benefit of all partners, an IDP update was undertaken.
Section 631 of the Municipal Government Act RSA 2000, Chapter M-26 states that “two or more councils of municipalities that have common boundaries and that are not members of a growth region must adopt an intermunicipal development plan”.
This plan must include those areas of land “lying within the boundaries of the municipalities as they consider necessary”.
The current IDP was last amended in 2020 with council adopting Bylaw 4605, the Tri-Area IDP, that same year.
The public meeting gets underway at 6:30 p.m. and can be watched in-person at Medicine Hat City Hall or via the city’s YouTube channel.
