Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given and Sexsmith Mayor Kate Potter say municipalities from around the county were hoping a united front would make their voices heard loud and clear at the annual Alberta Urban Municipalities Association spring caucus in Edmonton.
Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding, which runs out for all cities and towns outside of Edmonton and Calgary in 2022 was the top of the agenda for both representatives.
“Municipalities like Grande Prairie need to continue to be able to fill the potholes. All municipalities here are concerned about that because we know residents want good quality infrastructure,” Given says. “Having that funding available will continue to allow us to do that.”
The funding questions also stretched to recently legalized Cannabis, which Potter says municipalities in Alberta have seen very little of.
“The federal government gave more to the provinces so they could share that with the municipalities since municipalities do bear the brunt of a lot of cost of enforcement and regulation. Unfortunately, Alberta has not chosen to share that,” says Potter.
The Province of Ontario, for example, is providing municipalities with $40 million over two years to help with the implementation costs.