Minister Madu: “AUMA will provide invaluable support”

The Government of Alberta introduced Bill 7 to allow municipalities the freedom to offer tax incentives of up to 15 years to draw new investment and jobs into the province.

“It’s important to us that the incentives achieve their intent. Our members have told me that they appreciate the autonomy the government is providing them and they’re interested in leveraging this new opportunity. We’re hopeful that the correct application of these tax incentives will bring new enterprises into those communities where they are needed most”, said AUMA President, Barry Morishita.

In conjunction with Economic Development and Trade and Municipal Affairs, AUMA is developing a set of tools to assist municipalities with the appropriate use of the tax incentives to ensure regional collaboration remains unaffected.

Minister of Municipal Affairs, Kaycee Madu is keen to reinvigorate the economic wellbeing of Alberta’s municipalities. The new government introduced the bill in its first four weeks in a signal to municipal leaders that they will be viewed as the partners best positioned to responsibly and thoughtfully manage their communities’ best interests.

“I look forward to working with President Morishita and the AUMA to ensure Bill 7 is successfully rolled out and utilized in our municipalities. This legislation will provide municipalities with the flexibility they’ve been asking for to attract investment and create jobs. We know there is more work to do on this, as well as some of the more complex initiatives we are working on, and the AUMA will provide invaluable support as we seek to find the right balance and communicate effectively with municipal leaders”, Minister Madu told AUMA on Monday, just before the bill was due for its third and final reading.

Minister Madu added, “We are committed to monitoring Bill 7’s implementation to ensure it’s helping municipalities maximize their potential.”

AUMA is pleased that Municipal Affairs will monitor the program and we will be making recommendations for improvements based on the results within the year.

“We appreciate the Minister committing to monitoring the impact of the bill”, Barry said. “It’s going to be very important that we can ensure it is working in the best interests of our members”.

AUMA looks forward to a productive partnership with the Minister and his team.