By Jeff Labine

‘I think it’s wrong:’ P.A. councillor on Bill 64

May 12, 2017 | 2:00 PM

The province passing Bill 64 isn’t sitting well with Don Cody.

“I would never have voted for a bill like that,” the Ward 4 Prince Albert city councillor said. “It just indicates they can, at any time they want, take any revenues there may be that a city would have. I think it’s wrong.”

Bill 64 is is the elimination of the grants-in lieu program which originally began in 1998. While the province is constitutionally exempt from paying taxes to cities, the grants-in-lieu program was created to essentially divide up property taxes from Crown corporations, like SaskPower or SaskEnergy offices or other infrastructure. When this year’s budget was tabled, the government announced the program would be eliminated. The move is going to cost municipalities across the province $33 million. For Prince Albert specifically, that’s a loss of more than $2 million this year, and an estimated $3 million next year.

Originally, the bill declared it impossible for municipalities to sue the provincial government, but the SaskParty did an about-face and decided to pull that part from the legislation.

Cody said he was happy to see that portion of the bill removed but wasn’t impressed little to no consulting was done with municipalities.

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This wasn’t the first time the province has backtracked on one of their budgetary decisions. Funding for libraries was originally to be severely cut but after a large public outcry, the government reversed its decision.

Cody said that shows the importance of keeping pressure on the government.

“I know we at [the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association] have certainly done the level best to keep the pressure on as best we could,” he said. “I think we should continue to keep putting the pressure on. This government, I believe, hasn’t thought out things very carefully and very clearly because when the pressure is on them, they backtrack.”

The association on Friday sent out a media release asking for meaningful consultation on Bill 64 but at the same time, announced it was in the process of consulting with legal counsel to see what options were available.

Jeff.labine@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @labinereporter