NEWS FILE PHOTO Medicine Hat city council is seen in this News file photo. Councillors voted 9-0 on Monday, aug. 19,2019 to bring Invest Medicine Hat, contracted to bring investment to the city, under the control of the city's chief administrative officer.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Medicine Hat city council is boycotting a national municipalities conference set for next month in Quebec City as a protest to that province’s provincial government’s stance on oil pipelines.
Members voted 9-0 in favour of an added motion that will see no elected official attend the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference set for May 30 to June 2 in the Quebec capital city.
“We feel that we’ve sent them enough money, and if they don’t want to support us, we won’t support their local economy,” said Mayor Ted Clugston just prior to the vote on Monday evening.
Coun. Brian Varga, who introduced the motion, and Clugston, both told reporters that as an Alberta city, and one that owns an oil and gas production company, it’s an important statement to make.
Conservative commentators and the recently elected provincial government under Premier Jason Kenney have heavily criticized Quebec’s opposition to new major pipelines projects within its boundaries.
“Considering their stance about sending oil and gas that way, it’s not in our favour as a council because we’re in the oil and gas business, to spend money there,” said Varga. “The best way is to hit them in the pocketbooks, even though it’s a small amount in the big picture.”
One day after the Alberta provincial election in April, conservative-leaning Quebec Premier Francois Legault stated there was no “socially acceptable” way to approve more pipeline development across his province. That came in response to Kenney’s signal of a more aggressive stance against jurisdictions that block energy projects, and even reopening the constitution to address equalization formula.
The Quebec National Assembly then voted 117-0 in favour of a motion reiterating Legault’s stance.
Five Medicine Hat city council members attended the 2017 conference in Ottawa at an average cost per attendee of $2,950 all included. There was no indication how many councillors would have liked to attend this month’s meeting of municipal leaders from across Canada, but Varga said the possible boycott was discussed “months ago” and the motion passed with all in support.
Clugston said he broached the subject of an Alberta-wide boycott of the national event with the head of the provincial Alberta Urban Municipalities Conference, Brooks Mayor Barry Morishita.
That group’s response however, said Clugston, is to attend and make its presence and views well known at the conference that traditionally includes appearances by national party leaders.
Clugston said the issue is not with FCM, but the location.
“Had it been held in Vancouver, we may have done the same (boycott); Saskatoon, probably not,” said Clugston.
The long-standing annual conference’s objective is, according to its website, “to engage all members in the coming fall federal election campaign, and the mission to modernize the municipal-federal relationship.”
That will move forward the “agenda of municipalities” while delegates hear from all major national party leaders.
Among a well-attended trade show and a host of topics, breakout sessions and working groups will tackle issues such as responses to drug crises, affordable housing strategies, the potential pitfalls of cannabis legalization and others.
Coun. Darren Hirsch said the conference is valuable but supported an absence this year.
“It’s not being done flippantly,” he said of the boycott. “And it’s no disrespect to FCM.”
As of Monday, no other Alberta council had taken a similar stance as Medicine Hat’s. One Halifax city councillor reportedly will not attend in protest of a proposed Quebec provincial law that would bar public sector workers from wearing religious symbols.
Note: This story has been updated to correct the year in which the Ottawa conference took place.
I agree with AUMA President Barry Morishita.
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Why AUMA will not boycott the FCM Conference in Quebec
Message from AUMA President Barry Morishita
For the past several weeks, I have heard a lot of chatter about municipalities considering boycotting the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) conference taking place in Quebec, including the City of Medicine Hat, who recently announced their decision not to attend.
While I respect their decision, it is unfortunate they have chosen to forego the event based on the comments made by Quebec Premier Francois Legault. We should not assume Premier Legault’s words hold true for the municipal leaders in Quebec. There are many times municipalities in our province disagree with the provincial government. In fact, much of the advocacy work we do at AUMA is based on trying to get our own government to understand the municipal perspective, to acknowledge our role, to realize how the decisions they make impact our communities, and that the provincial voice is not our voice.
Attending FCM in Quebec is an opportunity to have peer-to-peer conversations with leaders across Canada about responsible resource development – both renewable and non-renewable. It’s not just about oil and gas. It’s not just about pipelines. AUMA, along with Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA), Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA), and other municipal associations across Canada are coming together to coordinate the Support Canadian Energy campaign as part of the FCM conference. We are doing this to set the framework for us to engage in two-way conversations with other leaders across the country, not only to hear the Alberta perspective but for us to hear their perspectives as well.
A respectful debate cannot happen if we are not all at the table. We cannot learn and understand from each other if we shut down the conversation before it can even occur. Boycotting FCM is taking a firm position and saying there is no interest in participating in a respectful debate in pursuit of achieving a common understanding about how resource development – not just oil and gas – benefits and impacts our communities.
From my travels last summer, I saw how different the communities are within the province, and yet in many ways, we are the same. The same is true in communities across this country. We all have unique perspectives that are important to share, and some of those perspectives will differ greatly. But we need to understand those differences so we can create an understanding of how we – as municipal leaders – can support a responsible energy industry that benefits our communities and Canada as a whole.
That the FCM conference is in Quebec is merely location. What is key is coming together to have these conversations, regardless of where they occur. We need to build bridges, not walls. Everything that happens in Canada happens in our communities, and it is important we have a role in the conversations regarding all resource development.
I agree with AUMA President Barry Morishita.
~
Why AUMA will not boycott the FCM Conference in Quebec
Message from AUMA President Barry Morishita
For the past several weeks, I have heard a lot of chatter about municipalities considering boycotting the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) conference taking place in Quebec, including the City of Medicine Hat, who recently announced their decision not to attend.
While I respect their decision, it is unfortunate they have chosen to forego the event based on the comments made by Quebec Premier Francois Legault. We should not assume Premier Legault’s words hold true for the municipal leaders in Quebec. There are many times municipalities in our province disagree with the provincial government. In fact, much of the advocacy work we do at AUMA is based on trying to get our own government to understand the municipal perspective, to acknowledge our role, to realize how the decisions they make impact our communities, and that the provincial voice is not our voice.
Attending FCM in Quebec is an opportunity to have peer-to-peer conversations with leaders across Canada about responsible resource development – both renewable and non-renewable. It’s not just about oil and gas. It’s not just about pipelines. AUMA, along with Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA), Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA), and other municipal associations across Canada are coming together to coordinate the Support Canadian Energy campaign as part of the FCM conference. We are doing this to set the framework for us to engage in two-way conversations with other leaders across the country, not only to hear the Alberta perspective but for us to hear their perspectives as well.
A respectful debate cannot happen if we are not all at the table. We cannot learn and understand from each other if we shut down the conversation before it can even occur. Boycotting FCM is taking a firm position and saying there is no interest in participating in a respectful debate in pursuit of achieving a common understanding about how resource development – not just oil and gas – benefits and impacts our communities.
From my travels last summer, I saw how different the communities are within the province, and yet in many ways, we are the same. The same is true in communities across this country. We all have unique perspectives that are important to share, and some of those perspectives will differ greatly. But we need to understand those differences so we can create an understanding of how we – as municipal leaders – can support a responsible energy industry that benefits our communities and Canada as a whole.
That the FCM conference is in Quebec is merely location. What is key is coming together to have these conversations, regardless of where they occur. We need to build bridges, not walls. Everything that happens in Canada happens in our communities, and it is important we have a role in the conversations regarding all resource development.
Barry Morishita
https://auma.ca/news/why-auma-will-not-boycott-fcm-conference-quebec?fbclid=IwAR3eQqzB58ZygCYfpkKFTeZd1wYExYzHPxYdbRdYt2QstXJCEF9RxTNVP5c