Some Calgary councillors want to 'rein in city hall overreach'

Calgary Herald

13-06-2025

A cohort of Calgary city councillors say they want to clamp down on city hall's tendency to fund programs and services that fall outside of the municipality's jurisdiction.
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Councillors representing the Communities First political party — a caucus that includes Sonya Sharp, Andre Chabot, Dan McLean and Terry Wong — are bringing a notice of motion to Tuesday's executive committee meeting that asks the city to develop a comprehensive chart of government responsibilities for key policy and service areas, and to clearly show which functions are municipal, provincial, federal or a shared responsibility.
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Calgary's mayor criticized the proposal, which calls for the chart to be published on the city's website and social media channels by July 4, as 'electioneering.'
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Sharp said the notice of motion stems from council decisions she argued shouldn't have been made. She cited last year's single-use items bylaw — which council voted to scrap two weeks after it was implemented, following public backlash — and a councillor's proposal to advocate allowing non-citizens with permanent residency status to vote in Calgary's municipal elections.
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'Reports like the bag bylaw, cancelling fireworks, non-(citizen) voting . . . all that is distraction from focusing on the things that matter to Calgarians,' she said.
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Sharp said she's wanted to bring this motion forward since council's approval of the 2025 budget last November, which resulted in an average 5.5 per cent property tax hike for households. She argued that part of the reason property taxes keep going up is because city hall spends $135 million a year on tax-funded services that fall outside its jurisdiction, as outlined in the Municipal Government Act.
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'This notice of motion isn't saying we're going to go and cut any of that funding,' she said. 'What we're saying in general is, when administration brings a report back to council, it needs to identify if we're playing the lead role. Is it a core city service? Are we advocating to the province, or are we supporting the province in advocating to the federal government?'
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The motion would also require all council and committee reports to include a 'clear jurisdictional label' indicating whether the item is a core municipal responsibility, a shared responsibility with other orders of government or if it falls outside the city's responsibility.
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Chabot, who often points out during council debates when something is or isn't under municipal purview, said the motion would put those conversations in 'black and white.'