Every fall, thousands of Canadians put their name into the metaphorical hat to be considered for election to the post of councillor, mayor, reeve, warden, trustee, or some other governance role in their own communities. With a few exceptions, different provinces and territories go to the polls at about the same time of year, and while there are certainly a significant number of similarities, there are also many differences across the country.
By now, we all know that the Canadian Constitution has provided each province or territory with unique control over local government within its borders. The rules vary, right from who’s eligible to run for office all the way to how to handle the rascals who contravene the rules after they’ve been elected.
Common
Regardless of where a person is elected to a local council or board, they ought to follow a series of ethical principles and the tents of good governance which, although not etched into stone, are certainly well understood, even if they aren’t always obeyed.
Some of these core principles include independence, clarity of purpose, clarity of role, and accountability among others. There are some bedrock principles like the ones I’ve just noted, while other principles are less foundational. In this basket, I’d put principles like respect, openness, and responsiveness. These principles, while important, aren’t mandatory. I’d qualify that statement by saying that the lower order principles certainly make the local government work better for the people the government is in place to serve.
These rules that are common across Canada and beyond aren’t legislated for the most part; they are the ‘soft’ rules that need to be in place for government to function regardless of province or territory.
Unique
Where the divergence across our country emerges is in the actual formal rules codified by legislatures across Canada. All municipal acts are fundamentally similar, but each is unique and has evolved to meet needs in the specific province or territory.
Fundamental aspects of governance like whether the mayor typically votes or not aren’t universal. In PEI, the mayor votes to break a tie. In Alberta the mayor must vote or be disqualified, unless the person is in a conflict of interest of course. In some parts of Canada, orientations for new councils are mandatory, while in most of Canada, orientations aren’t even mentioned in the municipal act.
These are nuanced differences, but they become important especially when local officials work outside their home province or territory. When the Director from a BC Regional District speaks to an elected official from a County in Nova Scotia, they may well be talking past each other because of the lack of a common legislative context and understanding.
Add onto all of this that each municipality does things slightly differently too. While the original meeting procedure bylaw may have been very similar right across the province, evolution has taken place, and local needs have meant that those bylaws are different in one municipality and its neighbour. The same could be said for codes of conduct, land use planning, strategic plans, and a multitude of other governance rules and documents.
Where This Matters
The big questions here is “so what?” From the perspective of a new elected official in a lower tier municipality in Ontario, I can understand that question, but to us it’s important.
As a company, we have provided orientations, workshops, refreshers, and updates to elected officials on councils and boards right across the country – From Nunavut, to BC, to New Brunswick, and even once in California. Each time, we need to make sure that we understand the ‘rules’ in that province or territory so we can pass them on to the sponges that have just been elected.
Something unintended but interesting has been how curious local officials are about how governance and government works outside their home turf. Most of the time, they don’t even consider that the next province over might do local government differently, so it’s a bit of an eye-opener when we talk about how Saskatchewan’s Rural Municipalities and Newfoundland and Labrador’s Local Service Districts operate. It baffles lots of council members when they learn that, until recently, there were people who live in New Brunswick who have never been served by a municipal government – they just weren’t a thing.
Together, these common rules and the unique ones are brought together in a council orientation. The idea is to provide the new elected officials with a boost as they begin their job, and to provide the returning veterans with a refresher on some of what they may have missed the first time around.
Your Opinion
What’s unique about where you live, either in terms of what constitutes good governance or what your municipality has done to adapt its rules to fit local circumstances?
As always, you can reach me at ian@strategicsteps.ca
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