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Town of Blackfalds Council Highlights

Published

7 years ago

4 minute read

COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS
February 13, 2018

DELEGATION
? Ken Morrison was introduced as the new Emergency Management and Protective Services Manager.

BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
• Council moved to approve and direct Administration to proceed with Canada 150 Mosaic project including the construction of a 12 ft x 8 ft mosaic mural with 600 4” x 4” panels painted for a cost of $15,000 with funding to come out of the Operation Reserves.
• Council suggested Administration decide what school and which 300 students will be participating in the painting of tiles. 100 tiles will be painted by the general public and 200 tiles will be painted by the artists. 600 tiles will be painted in total to complete the Canada 150 Mosaic Mural
• Council suggested Administration work with the public to decide an agreed upon location for the mural along with the design of the mural.

BUSINESS
Animal Control Services – Proposed Contract Extension
? Council moved to authorize and direct Administration to undertake a one-year contract extension, from April 1 2018 to March 31 2019 with 327241 Alberta Ltd. – Klassic Kennels to provide animal control services for the Town of Blackfalds.
? Council approved of this decision as Klassic Kennels has provided excellent animal control services for the growing community and the growing amount of pet owners.

Director of Emergency Management Appointment
? Council moved to appoint Emergency Management and Protective Services Manager Ken Morrison as Director of Emergency Management for the Town of Blackfalds, effective immediately.

Council Community Engagement Opportunities – 2018
? Council was provided with a listing which was created to provide information on a number of upcoming events and initiatives where Council will have the opportunity to attend and network with the public.

? Upcoming events can be found online at https://www.blackfalds.com/living-here/events-calendar. This include Winterfest, Chamber Meet & Greet, Home Show, Family Easter Event, Volunteer Recognition, Volunteer Firefighter Awareness Week and Community Cleanup.

ACTION CORRESPONDENCE
? The Town is encouraged to fill out a submission form for the 17th annual Minister’s Awards for Municipal Excellence which, according to the letter provided to Council, recognizes excellence in local government practices.
? AUMA provided a templated letter with the request that Council fill it out and send to the local MLA regarding police funding. It is hoped that the letters from municipalities will move forward a fair approach to police funding provided by Municipalities.
? Council requested Administration to provide more information, including a proposed plan of action regarding cannabis legalization after receiving a request from Too Far, Too Fast initiative which hopes to deter or postpone the legalization of marijuana across the country. Due to the lack of information, Council was unable to make a decision on whether or not to support this initiative at this time.
? Council was informed that a meeting with Wolf Creek Public Schools was postponed due to a pre-existing Council meeting on March 13, 2018. Administration will work with Wolf Creek Public School to re-schedule the meeting as the partnership with them is important to the Town.

OTHER BUSINESS
? The Town is ready to host Winterfest 2018 which takes place on February 19, 2018. Community Services Department Director Sean Barnes informed council that 18 Penguin Dippers have signed up, a new record.
? Blackfalds Senior Housing is in the works and Mike Leathwood, Chief Executive Officer for the Bethany Group and Melodie Stol, Stakeholder Relations Advisor met to discuss needs and possibilities. The next step in the process is to take Administration on a schedule tour of Bashaw and Camrose’s senior facilities on February 21, 2018.

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Business

Broken ‘equalization’ program bad for all provinces

Published on November 21, 2024

By

From the Fraser Institute

By Alex Whalen  and Tegan Hill

Back in the summer at a meeting in Halifax, several provincial premiers discussed a lawsuit meant to force the federal government to make changes to Canada’s equalization program. The suit—filed by Newfoundland and Labrador and backed by British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta—effectively argues that the current formula isn’t fair. But while the question of “fairness” can be subjective, its clear the equalization program is broken.

In theory, the program equalizes the ability of provinces to deliver reasonably comparable services at a reasonably comparable level of taxation. Any province’s ability to pay is based on its “fiscal capacity”—that is, its ability to raise revenue.

This year, equalization payments will total a projected $25.3 billion with all provinces except B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan to receive some money. Whether due to higher incomes, higher employment or other factors, these three provinces have a greater ability to collect government revenue so they will not receive equalization.

However, contrary to the intent of the program, as recently as 2021, equalization program costs increased despite a decline in the fiscal capacity of oil-producing provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. In other words, the fiscal capacity gap among provinces was shrinking, yet recipient provinces still received a larger equalization payment.

Why? Because a “fixed-growth rule,” introduced by the Harper government in 2009, ensures that payments grow roughly in line with the economy—even if the gap between richer and poorer provinces shrinks. The result? Total equalization payments (before adjusting for inflation) increased by 19 per cent between 2015/16 and 2020/21 despite the gap in fiscal capacities between provinces shrinking during this time.

Moreover, the structure of the equalization program is also causing problems, even for recipient provinces, because it generates strong disincentives to natural resource development and the resulting economic growth because the program “claws back” equalization dollars when provinces raise revenue from natural resource development. Despite some changes to reduce this problem, one study estimated that a recipient province wishing to increase its natural resource revenues by a modest 10 per cent could face up to a 97 per cent claw back in equalization payments.

Put simply, provinces that generally do not receive equalization such as Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan have been punished for developing their resources, whereas recipient provinces such as Quebec and in the Maritimes have been rewarded for not developing theirs.

Finally, the current program design also encourages recipient provinces to maintain high personal and business income tax rates. While higher tax rates can reduce the incentive to work, invest and be productive, they also raise the national standard average tax rate, which is used in the equalization allocation formula. Therefore, provinces are incentivized to maintain high and economically damaging tax rates to maximize equalization payments.

Unless premiers push for reforms that will improve economic incentives and contain program costs, all provinces—recipient and non-recipient—will suffer the consequences.

Authors:

Alex Whalen  and Tegan Hill
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National

Liberals, NDP admit closed-door meetings took place in attempt to delay Canada’s next election

Published on November 12, 2024

By

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Pushing back the date would preserve the pensions of some of the MPs who could be voted out of office in October 2025.

Aides to the cabinet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that MPs from the Liberal and New Democratic Party (NDP) did indeed hold closed-door “briefings” to rewrite Canada’s elections laws so that they could push back the date of the next election.

The closed-door talks between the NDP and Liberals confirmed the aides included a revision that would guarantee some of its 28 MPs, including three of Trudeau’s cabinet members, would get a pension.

Allen Sutherland, who serves as the assistant cabinet secretary, testified before the House of Commons affairs committee that the changes to the Elections Act were discussed in the meetings.

“We attended a meeting where the substance of that proposal was discussed,” he said, adding that his “understanding is the briefing was primarily oral.”

According to Sutherland, as reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, it was only NDP and Liberal MPs who attended the secret meetings regarding changes to Canada’s Elections Act via Bill C-65, An Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act before the bill was introduced in March.

As reported by LifeSiteNews before, the Liberals were hoping to delay the 2025 federal election by a few days in what many see as a stunt to secure pensions for MPs who are projected to lose their seats. Approximately 80 MPs would qualify for pensions should they sit as MPs until at least October 27, 2025, which is the newly proposed election date. The election date is currently set for October 20, 2025.

Sutherland noted when asked by Conservative MP Luc Berthold that he recalled little from the meetings, but he did confirm he attended “two meetings of that kind.”

“Didn’t you find it unusual that a discussion about amending the Elections Act included only two political parties and excluded the others?” Berthold asked.

Sutherland responded, “It’s important to understand what my role was in those meetings which was simply to provide background information.”

“My role was to provide information,” replied Sutherland, who added he could not provide the exact dates of the meetings.

MPs must serve at least six years to qualify for a pension that pays $77,900 a year. Should an election be called today, many MPs would fall short of reaching the six years, hence Bill C-65 was introduced by the Liberals and NDP.

The Liberals have claimed that pushing back the next election date is not over pensions but due to “trying to observe religious holidays,” as noted by Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen.

“Conservatives voted against this bill,” Berthold said, as they are “confident of winning re-election. We don’t need this change.”

Trudeau’s popularity is at a all-time low, but he has refused to step down as PM, call an early election, or even step aside as Liberal Party leader.

As for the amendments to elections laws, they come after months of polling in favour of the Conservative Party under the leadership of Pierre Poilievre.

A recent poll found that 70 percent of Canadians believe the country is “broken” as Trudeau focuses on less critical issues. Similarly, in January, most Canadians reported that they are worse off financially since Trudeau took office.

Additionally, a January poll showed that 46 percent of Canadians expressed a desire for the federal election to take place sooner rather than the latest mandated date in the fall of 2025.

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