While holding up a small white book the size of a novel, Peter Waterworth flips three-quarters of the way through the pages and stops.
“This is the Municipal Government Act that applies to every municipality in Alberta and that’s the bit we don’t have, barring the index,” said the chief administrative officer for the municipality, gesturing toward the last quarter of the text. “Basically, that’s [Section] 17, land use and planning.”
Jasper was incorporated as a specialized municipality in 2001, after the signing of an agreement with Parks Canada that bestows some jurisdiction to the municipality—water and sewer, garbage, street works, and so on. But in that agreement the municipality is excluded from making decisions regarding land use planning and development.
Those powers, along with ecological integrity, remain with Parks.
This split, although in place for the past 12 years, often causes confusion with residents, who frequently take up issues with the wrong governing body.
“Like the tree permit thing,” said Waterworth, referencing the three spruce trees that were cut—despite opposition—in order to lay power lines to the new school. “We’re not responsible for tree permits, but it was us that got all of the grief.”
Part of the disconnect between who-does-what is many requests overlap, so a resident might need to approach Parks for the first steps in a process and then the municipality next.
A good example of that is business licensing. “Right now the municipality issues the business licenses, but Parks Canada is the authority having jurisdiction over the discretionary use, so it’s two levels,” explained Cathy Jenkins, realty and municipal manager for Parks. “We’d like it to feel more like one.
“One of the goals [Waterworth] and I have set up is to make things as seamless as possible.”
Although that seamlessness is better for residents utilizing the services, making the seam invisible can also result in more confusion, said Waterworth.
“The more you make it invisible, the more councillors will think they’re responsible for it and there’s also the risk that people think that we’re responsible for it.”
Waterworth also noted that, even though the municipality has jurisdiction over some things, like domestic animals within the townsite, Parks still has final say over bylaw amendments. So, if the changes don’t meet Parks regulations—which the municipality’s bylaws are mirrored after—Parks could deny them before the amendments reach third reading.
“We vet bylaws to see if there are any environmental concerns in them—because we have the authority over environmental issues in the community—or if there’s any land use planning issues and if there are none of those, it’s a rubber stamp,” said Jenkins. “If there are those issues, we just check and make sure they’re consistent with Parks Canada policy, and if they are then they’re approved and if they’re not—which has never happened since I’ve been here—we would go back to the municipality and express our concerns.”
Within the 2011 Jasper Community Sustainability Plan—a document created jointly by Parks and the municipality—there is a “statement that says [Parks Canada] will endeavour to turn over a bit of the land use planning and development,” said Jenkins. If that were to happen, Jasper would be more like every other municipality in the province, taking away a great deal of the confusion for residents.
That transfer of power could be a challenge, though, because of the exclusion of Section 17 from the municipality’s jurisdiction.
In order for such a transfer to take place, said Waterworth, the 2001 agreement signed between the municipality and Parks would have to be amended.
So for now, Parks and the municipality—specifically Jenkins and Waterworth—will continue to work closely together.
“What we want to do is provide the best possible living conditions and services for both residents and visitors and we will keep looking for ways to make that achievable,” said Waterworth.
Nomination papers for mayor and council, as well as school trustee, can be submitted Sept. 23 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at 303 Pyramid Lake Rd.
The municipal election is Oct. 21. Polls will be open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. at the Jasper Activity Centre. There will be an advanced poll Oct. 16 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., also in the activity centre. For those who won’t be able to vote on election day or during the advanced poll, there will be a special ballot process. Those ballots are only available by contacting Beryl Cahill, Jasper’s returning officer, at 780-852-6503.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
