The provincial government has introduced another bill that local leaders are criticizing for infringing on the principles of local democratic representation. After taking criticism for proposed changes to remove authority from elected District Education Councils, and announcing new Horizon and Vitalité boards will be formed without any elected seats, the Conservatives have introduced Bill 45, an act to create an independent municipal commission, which some say includes overreach powers for the minister of local government.

Three municipal associations in New Brunswick have raised concerns over the bill, saying it gives Minister Daniel Allain the power to repeal or change municipal bylaws. One of those organizations is the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick (UMNB), led by Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black.

CHMA spoke to Black by phone from Toronto, where he is attending the annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference along with Deputy Mayor Greg Martin, and councilors Debbie Wiggins Colwell and Josh Goguen.

The biggest problem with Bill 46 identified by the UMNB, says Black, is “the power of the Minister to repeal or essentially overturn municipal bylaws.” There are also other concerns such as the relative independence of the commission structure, but the main concern is “the fact that the minister has power over municipal governance,” says Black.

The specific change Black refers to reads in part:

97(2) The Act is amended by adding the following after section 20:
Power to repeal or amend by-law
20.1 A by-law made by a council under any Act, except a by-law prescribed by regulation, may be repealed or amended by order of the Minister if the Minister determines
(a) that the by-law or any portion of the by-law prevents the reasonable use of property consistent with the purpose for which it was zoned, and
(b) that it is in the public interest to repeal or amend the by-law, as the case may be.

A related change in the bill introduces a mechanism by which “a person may apply to the Minister to repeal or amend a by-law,” if they claim that the by-law prevents the reasonable use of their property according to its zoning.

Black says he’s heard from the department of local governance that there would be a process to go through before the minister could interfere with municipal bylaws, including some attempts to resolve disputes locally, and then a review by the new independent municipal commission.

“Even though the independent municipal commission gets to review the case, it’s still ultimately the minister’s decision to override a municipality’s authority,” says Black, “which through the democratic process, really seems wrong to me.”

Black says he’s hopeful there’s still time for the majority PC government to reconsider and make some changes to the Act, which is being discussed in legislative committee Friday, and due to go to third reading in the legislature in June. Specifically, he’s hoping the government will remove the section giving the power to repeal or amend bylaws.

“I don’t think it should be in there at all, honestly,” says Black. “If you’re talking about pure process, municipalities should work with people within their community, landowners or stakeholders, whoever it is, to attempt to make a bylaw change, or whatever they’re working on, to make it acceptable to as many people as possible,” says Black. “It’s not going to always work. It’s not going to always jive with everyone. But it’s up to the municipality to figure that out.”

Black says there are useful components of Bill 45, such as the role of the commission in helping municipalities settle code of conduct violations or conflict of interest disputes. “There are many, many municipalities across the province that don’t have the capacity to deal with that on their own,” says Black. “The ability to be able to send those sorts of complaints or disputes to an independent body is really quite beneficial to a lot of municipalities.”

Tantramar council has yet to discuss Bill 45, though Black says he would like to “have a conversation with our council and see if they’re interested in pursuing this.”