Changes to election law should be made independently: councillor
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Coun. Andrew Knack hopes Premier Danielle Smith's directive to review the law governing local elections will address problems that arose from amendments made in 2020.
In her Aug. 4 mandate letter to Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver, Smith asked for a review of the Local Authorities Election Act and recommendations "for any necessary amendments to strengthen public trust in and the integrity of our municipal election laws."
The premier's call to revisit the act stood out to Knack, the councillor for Ward Nakota Isga, who also sits on the board of directors for Alberta Municipalities. The legislation definitely needs a review, Knack told Taproot.
"We've heard from, even within Edmonton, the City Clerk's (office) and how the last changes for the 2021 election made it very challenging for the clerks to administer the election as well as they would like," he said.
Bill 29, or the Local Authorities Election Amendment Act, was introduced by then-municipal affairs minister Kaycee Madu. It changed the rules for municipal and school board elections, allowing people to donate up to $5,000 for as many candidates as they like and no longer requiring candidates to disclose their donors before election day. The bill also changed the rules around election advertising.
Alberta Municipalities criticized the changes back in 2020, and said the bill "demonstrates a lack of respect for the role of municipal councils, our democratic mandate, and Alberta's voters." Knack himself expressed disappointment at the way the UCP government, then under Premier Jason Kenney, handled Bill 29.
When McIver and Justice Minister Mickey Amery review the Local Authorities Election Act, Knack said he hopes they find a way to avoid a situation where elected representatives are making changes to election laws. He said the ideal way to do that is to go through an independent citizen panel, similar to how Edmonton made changes to its ward boundaries in 2020.
"The way I would hope that they would be looking to make any changes is the same way that most other municipalities operate, which is (to) bring in independent Albertans, who have no ties to any parties or things like that, and let them sit at the table to come up with recommendations that can be accepted," he said.
