Casual Legal: Bill 21 – Summary of Potential MGA Amendments

By Bethany Schatz
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider 

If passed, Bill 21 – The Red Tap Reductions Statutes Amendment Act, 2022 – will amend 13 different statutes, including the Municipal Government Act (“MGA”). What follows is an overview of the major changes to the MGA proposed by Bill 21, which was introduced on April 25, 2022.

1) Municipalities could establish an intermunicipal business license (“IBL”)
Two or more municipalities could establish an IBL program by adopting a bylaw of each participating municipality. The Minister would also able to make regulations respecting IBL programs.

2) The Minister would have greater authority to enforce compliance with ministerial orders from a viability review
The Minister currently has the ability to dismiss council or any member of council or the chief administrative officer of a municipality where an order of the Minister resulting from a viability review is not being carried out. The proposed amendments would give the Minister the following additional powers:

• suspend bylaw-making authority of council, exercise bylaw-making authority, and remove a suspension
• withhold money otherwise payable by the Alberta Government to the municipality
• establish, repeal or amend policies and procedures respecting the municipality
• suspend the development or subdivision authority and provide a person to act in its place 
• require or prohibit any other action as necessary to ensure compliance
• hold an additional electors vote on whether the municipality should or should not be dissolved.

3) The Minister would be allowed to approve Community Revitalization Levy (“CRL”) bylaws and amendments
CRL bylaws and amendments currently have to be approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The proposed amendments transfer this power to the Minister. The Minister could approve the bylaw in whole or in part or with variations and subject to conditions.

4) Specific rules for the assessment and taxation of non-residential property would be moved directly into the MGA
Specific rules relating to non-residential property would move from the Matters Relating to Assessment Sub-Classes Regulation directly into the MGA.

To learn more about the amendments to the MGA outlined in Bill 21, check out the article on the Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP website. 

To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1-800-661-7673 or send an casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (email) to reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please call 310-MUNI (6864) or send an riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (email) to Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated.