Council discusses coalition meetings on Bill C-69

By Ashley Clementovich

The first Regular Meeting of Council for the month of May was brief,with three of the agenda points scheduled for closed meeting discussion.

Councillors praised Mayor Chichak for attending the meetings held by the Coalition of Canadian Municipalities for Energy Action with Members of Parliament and Senators in Ottawa on May 1 and 2 to discuss concerns with Bill C-69. The intent of the Coalition was for cities, towns, and regional municipalities and counties to use their members’ knowledge and expertise to identify the vague language used in Bill C-69 as well as potential negative impacts on municipalities’ local decision-making powers and economic futures. The Coalition identified six areas of concern and, in turn, provided six points of recommendation intended for implementation before any legislation proceeds.

 The six recommendations were as follows:

1. The purpose of the bill should be to improve investor confidence, strengthen the Canadian economy, encourage prosperity, and improve competitiveness. We would like to see these principles reflected in the legislation.
2. The term jurisdiction should be expanded to include local municipalities, specifically in section 2 (d) and section 12.
3. Because of concerns around vague language concerning regulatory structure, there are sections where municipalities should receive explicit exemption. Municipal projects should not be subject to this legislation.
4. Regarding the Navigation Protection Act, there should be specific language that incorporates municipal knowledge and guidance into the decision-making process.
5. Review the current language in Bill C-69 to ensure it does not hinder vital municipal infrastructure projects, increase costs, create uncertainty on project approval or funding streams, or add new avenues of unpredictability in the public engagement process.
6. Further clarification is needed on the potential duality between the duty to consult with Indigenous Communities already enshrined and what is proposed in Bill C-69 in order to avoid ambiguity that finds itself involved in lengthy court cases.

Out of the 15 municipal representatives who attended, Mayor Chichak being the sole Whitecourt representative, attended meetings with Member of Parliament Sohi, Edmonton-Mill Woods and Minister of Natural Resources, as well as other Liberal and Conservative Ministers and Senators. Mayor Chichak personally set up meetings with MP Jim Eglinski (Conservative), MP Arnold Viersen (Conservative), Derek Nighbor (CAO, Forest Products Association of Canada), and Senator Paula Simon (Independent Senators Group).

Mayor Chickack noted that the meetings were productive, as both members and Senators were conscientious and listened well. “It’s just going to be a matter of now when it is before the Senate with the amendments that they’re making, as to how much they recognize the voices that they’ve heard from the various sectors,” said Mayor Chichak.

Councilor Hilts inquired if Mayor Chichak had gained a sense of the willingness by the Federal government about addressing the flaws in the Bill. Mayor Chichak replied that both Senators and Members of Parliament, “admitted there could be changes brought forward and accepted by the Liberal government; that the Bill is perhaps flawed in some ways and they welcome some of the changes that would be put forward.”

Mayor Chichak described the positive impact of municipalities collaborating to bring these issues to the attention to the Federal government. “Everyone did say that there are changes that need to be made and acknowledged even from a municipal standpoint. The points that we brought forward had never dawned on them, that there would be challenges for municipalities as Bill C-69 stood today,” said Mayor Chichak.

“They agreed that we should be at the table to be able to talk about perhaps infrastructure challenges, social requirements, lack of perhaps employment to be able to accommodate a huge pipeline or project coming into our community…the impact it would have on our emergency services,” added Mayor Chichak.

Council agreed that such meetings would hopefully yield amendments that will positively affect municipalities.

Council also praised Mayor Chichak for the letter she crafted to Premier Jason Kenney, regarding the current problems within the Whitecourt Healthcare Centre.

The Mayor voiced her interest in setting up a meeting with Health Minister, Tyler Shandro, to review the letter sent, invite him to tour the Healthcare Centre and surrounding land, and discuss which area a new building could be constructed. The full letter can be read on the May 13Regular Meeting of Council agenda.