Casual Legal: Disqualification of councillors

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information to Alberta Municipalities members 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made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated. This content is not intended for the general public.

By Andrew Skeith
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider

The process that should be followed when an elected councillor is disqualified for one of the reasons set out in section 174 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA) has remained unchanged for some time.

If a councillor meets one of the conditions in section 174, they are deemed to be disqualified. That disqualified councillor must resign immediately, pursuant to section 175. If they fail to resign in the face of the disqualification, the remainder of council, or an elector, may bring an application in the Court of King’s Bench, seeking a court order declaring the councillor to be disqualified.

Recent amendments to the MGA have made the process less onerous for a council faced with a councillor who refuses to resign in the face of certain grounds for disqualification. Section 175.1 has now granted council the power to declare a councillor who is disqualified under Section 174(1)(b.1), (c), (d), (e), or (j) to be disqualified, and a position on council to be vacant from the date of the declaration.

If a councillor is declared to be disqualified by a declaration of council, the onus is reversed. That person can apply to the Court of King’s Bench for an order determining whether the person is qualified to be or has ceased to be qualified to remain a councillor. That application must be made within 30 days of council’s declaration.

This ability of council to declare a councillor disqualified only applies to the following grounds for disqualification:

• Councillor fails to file a campaign disclosure statement pursuant to section 147.4 of the Local Authorities Election Act.
• Councillor becomes a judge of a court or a member of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada or of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
• Councillor is absent from all regular council meetings held during any period of 60 consecutive days, and is not otherwise excused by council for those absences.
• Councillor is convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment for five or more years, or for specific offences under the Criminal Code of Canada relating to municipal corruption.
• Councillor becomes an employee of the municipality.

To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1-800-661-7673 or 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 riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (email) to connect with Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.