EDMONTON – Rural councillors in Alberta have voted down a resolution that would have asked the provincial government to seek public input on its controversial land acquisition bill.
Instead, councillors attending the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMD&C) spring convention gave the government the green light onBill 19, which is designed to acquire land for major public projects.
Rod McDermand of Alix said he’s satisfied the provincial government has done its homework and the bill won’t cause future problems for landowners.
“It’s their legislation, it’s not our legislation, and we can’t stop it,” said McDermand, who represents Lacombe County.
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“I’m satisfied they’ll do their due diligence. I don’t think stalling and going on indefinitely, it’s not a good time to be doing that.”
Added Jim Wood of Red Deer County: ‘I’m very satisfied with what I heard. I trust (infrastructure minister) Jack Hayden’s judgment on this one. There’s no reason to continue with it today.”
Richard Harpe, councillor with the County of Grande Prairie, said he wasn’t surprised that the resolution he introduced was defeated.
Earlier in the day, Hayden, who is a former AAMD&C president, spoke to councillors about the bill and assured them it was not designed to make life difficult for rural landowners.
“The delegates said, ‘we trust Jack Hayden. He’s the former president of the association’ ,” said Harpe, who has been fielding calls from concerned landowners about the way the government is pushing the bill through the legislature.
Bill 19 was introduced at the beginning of March. Amendments to the original bill have been tabled in the legislature, but Hayden said he hopes it will become law before the end of the spring session.
Harpe questioned the rush and asked Hayden to set aside the bill and talk to landowners about their concerns.
“I don’t know what the hurry is. Just do it right,” he said.
“This government should do the right thing for themselves and the people of Alberta and explain it and allay those fears and do the right thing. This is a major bill. It fast tracks anything the government might want to do.”
Harpe said by voting down the resolution, rural councillors gave the legislature a green light to do whatever it wants with the bill.
“They’ve got a wide open hand.”
Carolyn Kolebaba of Northern Sunrise County said she’s disappointed but not surprised the resolution was defeated.
“We’re not allowing the public process to take place,” said Kolebaba, who has received calls from irate residents worried about the bill.
Hayden told the delegates that Bill 19 brings more transparency to the process of acquiring land for major projects. It covers infrastructure projects such as ring roads, utility corridors and dams but not major transmission lines.
