Mixed local reaction follows expanded ombudsman oversight
By Peggy Revell on October 31, 2017.
Peggy Revell & Tim Kalinowski Medicine Hat News It’s a mixed and mild local reaction to updates to the Municipal Government Act which expands the provincial ombudsman’s oversight to municipalities. Medicine Hat Mayor Ted Clugston says he doesn’t see any big changes with the introduction of this new oversight —one of many proclaimed into law last week. Since he’s been on council, Clugston says he has never heard anyone talk about needing an issue taken to an ombudsman. “Usually we do internal conflict resolution, and it moves up the chain,” he said about other mechanisms in place. “People aren’t always happy — (but) we usually try to solve problems.” The biggest problem is disagreement over assessments, he said, but final decisions for those are made at other independent boards. “I think for the province to set it (oversight) up that way, they probably have good intentions in mind. How it goes after that is anyone’s guess,” said newly elected Redcliff Mayor Dwight Kilpatrick, explaining there’s “two sides to every coin.” It’s a good thing if used wisely or as a last resort, he said, and for people with issues it would “probably be a big help to them if there was legitimate issues with the municipality.” But the other side of the coin is if a citizen is “right on the edge of vexatious,” he said. “This (ombudsman) avenue is free to them, and they can just run the phone off the wall.” Complaints to the ombudsman would then require involvement by town staff and the ombudsman’s office staff, he explained, which ultimately costs taxpayers money. “We’ve been fairly lucky in Medicine Hat that citizens haven’t been vexatious,” said Clugston, acknowledging that other municipalities in the province have had these sort of issues. Kilpatrick and Clugston said that out of all the changes coming through with the new MGA legislation, oversight by the ombudsman is not the one that will have the biggest impact. Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes criticized the change. “To me, large parts of this are … about Edmonton controlling and less about local decision-making,” said Barnes, adding that regulations over transparency are already in place which municipalities have to comply with. “The more we do out of Edmonton, the more we do 300 miles away from here, the less chance of our voice being heard,” he said. “My concern is with the bureaucracy in the Alberta government is sometimes there is vest interests involved. That makes the oversight hard and makes the oversight necessary.” 18-17
