Alberta Premier Danielle Smith introduces legislation addressing agreements between the federal government and provincial entities in Edmonton on April 10.Calgary’s mayor says the city will continue to negotiate directly with Ottawa for financial support despite Alberta’s proposed law to stop municipalities from bypassing the province in pursuit of federal funding.
Ms. Smith said she was irritated by the federal government’s recent plan to negotiate directly with municipalities for a share of a new ato pay for infrastructure necessary to build more housing. Calgary is among the communities competing for a cheque and while Alberta indicated it will consult with municipalities and others affected by its new bill this summer, Ms. Gondek said the city cannot afford to pause its campaign for cash.
Jared Wesley, a political scientist from the University of Alberta, said requiring provincial sign-off for federal-municipal agreements is, in principle, a good measure. It could ensure uniformity, streamline negotiations and allow for comprehensive risk assessments, he said.“This suggests that they’re not interested in getting more dollars necessarily, but that this may actually be punitive for institutions that disagree ideologically with the government,” Prof.
Mr. McIver, on Wednesday, said the reviews would not be burdensome. It would only take a “couple of minutes, or 10 minutes to review five or eight different agreements,” he said, using housing as an example.”That process is not a matter of skimming. These documents, in some cases, are upwards of 60 to 100 pages,” he said. “The type of oversight that the Premier and the Minister are describing would not take 10 minutes. It very well might take 10 months in some instances.
Alberta in 2022-2023 received $42.7-million from SSHRC, including a combined $37.6-million to the University of Alberta and University of Calgary, according to the agency’s data. Both universities said they are speaking with the provincial government to better understand the legislation. Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney told reporters Thursday that the province isn’t trying to impede academic freedom. “We want to make sure that this funding does align with provincial priorities,” Ms. Sawhney said. But she added, “I can’t think of a single grant stream that’s going to the post-secondaries that would be problematic.”