'Erosion of democracy' feared if bill becomes law, Fredericton mayor says
Kate Rogers calls for halt to proposed legislation to create independent municipal commission
Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers says a proposed bill at the New Brunswick legislature could harm democracy and curb the autonomy of local councils if it becomes law.
Rogers, city councillors and three organizations representing municipalities in New Brunswick are hitting back at Bill 45, proposed legislation that among other things would allow the minister of local government to repeal municipal bylaws.
"It really feels like a slap in the face because it feels like we can make decisions and they can be overturned by the minister, they can be overturned by people who were not elected by the residents of our municipality," Rogers said.
"When you give that kind of authority carte blanche to a minister to be able to go in and overturn decisions that are made by a municipality, yes, that's an erosion of democracy."
On Tuesday night, Fredericton council voted to send a letter to Local Government and Local Governance Reform Minister Daniel Allain, taking issue with that provision, and a handful of others contained in Bill 45, the Local Governance Commission Act.
The creation of an independent municipal commission was contained in Allain's white paper on local governance reform, released in 2021 as a road map for how his government planned to revamp local government in the province.
Local
Government and Local Governance Reform Minister Daniel Allain led the
reforms to local government, which might soon include the creation of an
independent municipal commission. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
The white paper said the commission would carry out tasks such as ruling on matters of conflict of interest, reviewing potential cost-sharing agreements between municipalities and examining boundary change requests.
Allain introduced the Local Governance Commission Act in the legislature on May 9, and it passed second reading last Wednesday.
'Unprecedented power' could go to minister, association says
Fredericton city council isn't alone in its opposition to Bill 45.
On Tuesday, the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick, the Association of Francophone Municipalities of New Brunswick and the Cities of New Brunswick Association jointly issued a news release calling on the government to modify the provision giving the minister powers to repeal bylaws.
"If adopted, this would be a significant erosion of municipal autonomy that would give unprecedented power to the minister," UMNB president Andrew Black said in the release.
"Our members are concerned that this provision undermines the legitimate roles of councillors duly elected by their citizens."
Leaders caught off guard
According to the letter by Rogers, other problems with the proposed bill include vague language, such as that it gives the commission a mandate to "perform any functions assigned to it by the minister."
Other concerns centre around privacy, with another provision that the commission may at any time require a member of council to provide the commission "any information relating to the affairs of the local government."
Union
of Municipalities of New Brunswick president Andrew Black says his
members are concerned the bill could undermine the authority of local
councils. (Frédéric Cammarano/Radio Canada)
Rogers said local government reform has resulted in the city conceding some authority to the regional service commission. However, she said she is fine with that as long as it promotes a regional approach to delivering services and building infrastructure.
However, with Bill 45, Rogers said she and other municipal leaders feel they've been caught off guard by proposed rules that would undermine their autonomy.
"We've been told that from the beginning, from the onset, with local governance reform [that] the devil will be in the details, and unfortunately the devil has been in some of the details and this is a case in point," Rogers said.
Rogers said she hopes the bill doesn't go any further until local leaders' concerns are addressed.
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"Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick president Andrew Black says his members are concerned the bill could undermine the authority of local councils."
Fredericton council approves strip mall development that goes against municipal plan
Ross Ventures development puts parking lot in the front of building, contrary to city's municipal plan
Aidan Cox · CBC News · Posted: May 24, 2023 4:05 PM ADT
Par for the course
Fredericton council approves strip mall development that goes against municipal plan
Ross Ventures development puts parking lot in the front of building, contrary to city's municipal plan
The vote by council gives Ross Ventures the go-ahead to build the shopping centre on Two Nations Crossing with parking in the front of the building, rather than at the back, which is prescribed by the city's municipal plan for new developments.
Coun. Cassandra LeBlanc spoke against the proposal for this reason, before ultimately voting against it, along with Councillor Margo Sheppard.
"I disagree with this across our city and additionally, there's 118 additional parking spots being put into this development above and beyond the requirements of our bylaw," LeBlanc said.
"So I will never support an application that is creating a giant parking lot and is just a very antiquated model of grocery stores."
Councillor
Cassandra LeBlanc voted against the Ross Ventures proposal, taking
issue with the plan to build the parking lot at the front of the
building. (Aidan Cox/CBC)
Ross Ventures says the proposed strip mall will house a grocery store, pharmacy, six commercial retail units and a drive-thru, with a total of 335 parking spaces between the building and Two Nations Crossing. The development will take up 6,178 square metres in area.
Speaking about the proposal in front of councillors two weeks ago, Ross Ventures president Jeff Yerxa said his company was left with little choice but to put the parking lot at the front of the building.
The first reason he gave was that the "large national tenants" he's dealing with dictate where parking should be, and to contest that could risk losing their business to other cities.
Ross Ventures's proposal includes a grocery store, pharmacy, six retail units and a drive-thru on Two Nations Crossing. (City of Fredericton)
"They have corporate standards that they don't want to divert from. They have a model, they know what works for them," Yerxa said.
He also said poor ground quality at the front of the site would have made it expensive to remedy in order to put a building on top of it.
Municipal plan has flexibility, says planner
Fredericton's municipal plan sets out guidelines for how neighbourhoods, commercial districts and industrial areas should be developed.
It calls for the creation of streetscapes that support walking and "enhance the public realm," and contains a provision that new developments be pedestrian-oriented by being located as close to the public street as possible, with parking at the back or rear of the building.
That guideline contradicts the previous few decades of development, which saw commercial buildings set back a distance from the street, with large parking lots in between.
Much of Prospect Street and Main Street exemplify that period of development, which the city is now trying to reverse.
Speaking to reporters after Tuesday's meeting, city planning director Ken Forrest said the municipal plan is flexible, and not all of its prescriptions — such as putting parking at the back of buildings — can be followed.
"The planned policy speaks to the fact that where appropriate, you know, we try and bring buildings up to the street," Forrest said.
"But Two Nations Crossing is primarily a suburban environment, where there are significant power transmission lines in that area and those things just can't be overcome."
Fredericton
planning director Ken Forrest says the municipal plan has room for
flexibility and provisions are to be followed in situations where
'appropriate.' (Aidan Cox/CBC)
Forrest also said he's not concerned about large corporations shaping how the city develops, adding there are some that have followed the guideline of building close to the street.
"I think the major retailers are responding and generally moving in the right direction," Forrest said.
"You can look at major North American retailers along Union Street and Main Street that have seen kind of what we're trying to accomplish, and they've supported that by making decisions to bring buildings tighter to the streets."
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'Erosion of democracy' feared if bill becomes law, Fredericton mayor says
Minister calls potential new power a 'backstop' to decisions with unintended provincial impacts
Aidan Cox · CBC News · Posted: May 24, 2023 7:30 AM ADT
"He With The Gold Makes The Rules"
May 23rd, 2023
Municipalities Concerned about the Loss of Authority Under New Bill
Fredericton, N.B. – Municipalities across New Brunswick are concerned about the government’s introduction of Bill 45, the Local Governance Commission Act. The Association Francophone des Municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick (AFMNB), the Cities of New Brunswick Association (CNBA), and the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick (UMNB) have welcomed the introduction of Bill 45 but have serious concerns about certain elements of the bill, including proposed new powers that would allow the Minister of Local Government and Local Governance Reform to amend or repeal a municipal by-law. Together, our associations are calling on the government to modify the clause and protect the independence of local governments.
“If adopted, this would be a significant erosion of municipal autonomy that would give un-precented power to the minister,” said Andrew Black, President of UMNB. “Our members are concerned that this provision undermines the legitimate roles of councillors duly elected by their citizens,” added Black.
Bill 45, introduced last week, proposes the creation of the Local Government Commission that addresses some issues that municipalities have long asked for like code of conduct and conflicts of interest. However, also included in this bill, is the ability for the minister to repeal or amend any municipal by-law.
“It is critical that the government fix this section of the bill before it gets passed by the legislature,” said Adam Lordon, President of the Cities of New Brunswick Association. “This section of the bill muddies the water and could cause some serious delays on important developments in our cities and in municipalities across the province.”
The Local Governance Act already lays out the public process that municipalities must follow when creating their by-laws. The bill proposes that the minister could override a by-law of council that has already gone through the public process and make decision which is binding without any input from the community.
“One of the goals of local government reform was to empower communities and create strong and vibrant communities, this clause seems to contradict the goal of the reform which all municipal associations supported enthusiastically,” added Yvon Godin, President of the AFMNB. “We are united in our demand to see the province amend and clarify this section of the Act to ensure the autonomy of our communities.”
Media Contact:
UMNB
Vanessa Pettersson
506-444-2285
CNBA
Pierre Beaulé
506-452-9292
AFMNB
Pascal Reboul
506-542-2622
Executive Committee
Mayor Andrew Black, Tantramar
President
Councillor France Roussel, Grand Falls
1st VP
Councillor Dan Boyd, Grand Manan
2nd VP
Mayor Brittany Merrifield, Grand Bay-Westfield
Secretary/ Treasurer
Councillor Alex Scholten, New Maryland
Past President
Directors
Councillor Amanda Brennan, Miramichi River Valley
Zone 1
Councillor Kelly Pidgeon, Five Rivers
Zone 1
Councillor Cecile Cassista, Riverview
Zone 2
Mayor Andrew Black, Tantramar
Zone 2
Councillor Ken Chorley, Hampton
Zone 3
Mayor Brittany Merrifield, Grand Bay-Westfield
Zone 3
Councillor Wade Greenlaw, Municipal District of St. Stephen
Zone 4
Councillor Daniel Boyd, Grand Manan
Zone 4
Councillor Susan Jonah, Hanwell
Zone 5
Councillor Steven Hicks, Fredericton
Zone 5
Mayor Tanya Cloutier, Lakeland-Ridges
Zone 6
Councillor Tami McPhail, Southern Victoria
Zone 6
Councillor Maurice Comeau, Campbellton
Zone 7
Councillor Denis McIntyre, Heron Bay
Zone 7
Councillor Michael Willet, Bathurst
Zone 8
Councillor France Roussel, Grand Falls
Zone 9
Councillor Tara Ross-Robinson, Miramichi
Cities
Councillor Jean-Marc Brideau, Dieppe
Cities
Shelley Morton, Moncton
Association of Municipal Administrators of NB (AMANB)
Union of the Municipalities of New Brunswick
259 Brunswick St. Suite 302
Fredericton, NB E3B 1G8
Tel.: (506) 444-2285
Fax.: (506) 444-2286
Email: info@umnb.ca
Executive Director:
Dan Murphy
dan.murphy@umnb.ca
Communications and Events Officer:
Vanessa Pettersson
vanessa.pettersson@umnb.ca
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