Alberta Premier Considers Cabinet-Style Changes to Municipal Governance

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that her government is reviewing the Municipal Government Act (MGA) to permit large city councils to hold private pre-briefings with administration before conducting public debates. Smith suggested that this model, similar to provincial cabinet procedures, could make council business “more accountable” by eliminating the need for secret “in-camera” sessions once issues have been discussed privately.

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Under the current MGA, Alberta municipalities may convene “in-camera” meetings only in limited circumstances defined by the Access to Information Act. Recent public concern arose after a Calgary council member released confidential budget documents, prompting Smith to address the topic on her radio call-in show Your Province, Your Premier earlier this month. She proposed that pre-briefing sessions would allow administrators to inform all councillors of pending matters, after which official meetings would remain fully public.

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Smith said she is consulting Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides and Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams about the proposed amendment. Dylan Bressey, president of Alberta Municipalities and Grande Prairie city councillor, acknowledged that councils sometimes need private sessions to discuss information not permitted for public disclosure, emphasizing that such use is “judicious and… legal.” He added that the province does not face a transparency problem and that Alberta Municipalities will not advocate for major MGA changes until recent reforms have settled.

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• “But then when they open up their official meetings, there's never an in-camera session because all the private stuff has been developed beforehand and they would never need to go in secret.” — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith

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