City of Wood Buffalo seeks exemption from Bill 20 for midterm elections

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is asking the state for exemptions from changes to municipal election rules as it prepares for a midterm election.

The byelection will be held Nov. 4 in Ward 4 and will fill the seat left vacant after the death of councilwoman Jane Stroud in August.

Ward 4 is mostly rural and includes Anzac, Conklin, Gregoire Lake Estates and Janvier.

The new municipal election rules are part of the provincial government’s legislation, known as Bill 20, to overhaul some aspects of municipal government.

Bill 20 amends two pieces of legislation: the Local Government Elections Law and the Municipal Governments Law.

Wood Buffalo’s council voted unanimously on Sept. 10 to hold the midterm election on Nov. 4.

On Tuesday, the city’s chief legislative officer, Jade Brown, said the council did not consider the impacts of Bill 20’s introduction when it planned to hold a by-election in Ward 4.

“It is advisable for the council to seek exemption for the purpose of the by-election to ensure there is no confusion between voters and candidates in the governing electoral systems,” he said.

One of the reasons for exemption is special voting.

Brown said one of the reasons for this exemption is because Bill 20 changes the rules for using special ballots.

Currently, a voter can only request a special ballot for a specific reason, such as lack of office or absence from the municipality.

Under the new rules, voters will be able to request a special ballot for any reason.

“So if this goes into effect on Oct. 31, there will be a lot more reasons why you can request this,” Brown said.

“This doesn’t really give us time to adjust our process before November 4th,” he said.

“I’m not sure there is another municipality in the province that is currently in by-election mode,” he added.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council voted unanimously to direct Mayor Sandy Bowman to write a letter to Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver requesting an exemption from the Local Government Elections Act.

Bowman said he has been in contact with McIver and his office and they are inclined to grant waivers.

“They promised to sign a ministerial order and deliver it to us by the end of the week,” he said.

“We told them what was going on,” he said.

“They understand the situation.”

McIver’s press secretary, Heather Jenkins, told CBC they received information from the RMWB about the upcoming by-election.

“We are currently investigating this matter and will provide direction to support a successful midterm election for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo,” he said.