NOKOMIS — Last Mountain Times contacted the Ministry of Government Relations regarding proposed legislative/regulatory changes affecting organized hamlets and, consequently, rural municipalities.
At a June meeting of the RM of McKillop, Gary Dixon, former RM Councillor and current president of the Provincial Association of Resort Communities, said he had a copy of the final draft. He also made several comments during the open forum portion of the meeting.
He said the government is trying to give back financial control to organized hamlets, that “for years I’ve heard nothing but ‘organized hamlet reserves are too high, organized hamlets have too much money.”
This process alleviates that problem, he said.
He says changes will ensure reserves don’t get any higher. “They may go down a little bit, they may go up a little bit. But at least they are in check now,” he said.
He then said he agreed with the council’s comments that he would not deplete the reserves to zero. He added that the changes would give the organizes hamlet boards autonomy and said that was the government's intent.
“This is what the government is trying to do now is give control of their own finances back to the hamlet board.”
He said there was some more work to do. Dixon sits on the review board.
According to the Ministry of Government Relations, consultations began in the summer of 2021 with focus groups, organized hamlet board members, RM councillors and administrators. Dixon participated as an RM councillor when he was serving in that role.
In late 2022 into spring of 2023, the proposed wording was distributed to the people who participated in the focus groups as well as SARM and PARCS so they could consult with their membership. As president of PARCS, Dixon provided feedback on the draft.
The RM of McKillop reported the ministry has asked that they not share the proposed changes but have to an extent.
The ministry indicates drafts of proposed changes are often distributed to stakeholder associations during consultations, and the government has approval processes before a draft becomes final. The government will communicate these changes when they are approved and filed.
The Ministry of Government Relations is currently consulting with stakeholders on the proposed changes. These include agreements that are required between organized hamlet boards and RM councils.
If the changes are approved, they will be introduced in the fall 2023 legislative session.
