Municipal councils must stand up to province’s top-down restrictions
By Lethbridge Herald on August 9, 2025.
Editor,
I want to begin by thanking Deputy Mayor Rajko Dodic for his objection to the province over downloading the expense of equipping Lethbridge city police with body cameras. I also agree with Mr. Dodic that municipal councils are being treated like children.
We now have a new minister of municipal affairs, Mr. Dan Williams, who according to his rhetoric in an interview in the media, plans to come down hard, if you will, on municipal councils that do not adhere to provincial government policies complying with Bills 18 and 20.
Those and whatever other restrictions which could be implemented in future by the provincial government could restrict civic governments in what they can and cannot do.
As Alberta appears to be in a state of confusion regarding the threat of separation from Canada, what will be the repercussions for municipal councils and the citizens they work for?
In closing, I want to thank Mr. Dodic once again for his concern as to the huge cost to the citizens of Lethbridge for such body cameras.
I would ask the mayor and council to make themselves available for public forums in the lead up to the October municipal election so that citizens can ask questions and voice concerns they have regarding the governance of Lethbridge now and in the near future.
Jim Culver
Lethbridge
10-9
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City councils standing up to govt interference can only happen if that council is not aligned with any political party. Candidates must be vetted by citizens to determine their positions on controversial issues that political parties are promoting and whether or not they support them.
I hope Lethbridge voters will shun candidates connecting themselves to a Party and the Party line.
I think most people have some political and religious connections. It’s whether candidates strongly believe and support those connections. If they do, they should not be in politics or on boards whose decisions impact society. George
That’s why Smith wants to get control of our municipal governments isn’t it? We have a woman in our riding proudly displaying a Conservative Banner.
the body cams are a pocket liner. the cams hardly are much in the way of their relative cost. the real cost is in the licensing and “disclosure”. according to the herald report july 12/25, “The cost of a new Axon camera is $490, DEMS licence is $1,540 and disclosure is $5,560.” “If council approves the recommendation, the City will have costs of about $725,000 annually for three years and nearly $1 million a year after the grant expires.” https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2025/07/12/council-asked-to-fund-police-body-cameras/
unacceptable.
this is indeed a great trend – seeing as “remote” is actually a synonym for “home” nowadays, one can “work” from home so as to get paid whilst looking after their kids, shopping, gardening, cleaning, home improvement projects…heck, one can work from campsite with wifi and hotel, too.
While Smith constantly praises Ralph Klein for what it did to Albertan Klein was overheard saying “Make the Stupid People Pay” and that’s exactly what he did and it’s why we have the highest power bills in Canada, the highest property taxes, the highest vehicle registration fees, the highest vehicle insurance premiums the highest long term healthcare fees and highest liquor prices, while they help the rich steal our oil and corporate tax wealth.