Keith Gerein: What’s behind the province’s offer to ‘help’ Edmonton?

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Given the voting patterns in Edmonton over the last decade or so, it’s hardly a shock that the UCP government has at times tended to have more utility for our city as a political punching bag than a partner.

Sometimes that approach has been overt, such as when then-justice minister Tyler Shandro invoked the Police Act against Edmonton in 2022, essentially accusing municipal leaders of neglecting their duty to ensure public safety.

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On other occasions, such expressions of political hegemony have been more subtle, such as when the UCP government recently offered to “help” the City of Edmonton manage its recent struggles with finances and administrative stability.

The topic was first revealed in a column by my colleague David Staples, who reported that folks in the UCP government had become sufficiently alarmed at Edmonton’s issues to consider the possibility of stepping in to “stabilize and audit” the city.

Premier Danielle Smith later massaged the government’s messaging on that, framing it instead as an offer of support.

“We have had a number of reports that do have us concerned. We stand by ready to assist if they would like to ask us for assistance, but I understand there’s a couple of serious financial challenges that they’re facing, they have seen (seven) senior executives including the city manager leave, that’s a sign that has us concerned about stability,” she said.

The premier added that there were no forced audits being launched or other intrusive measures, and noted, quite rightly, it would be a huge deal to intervene in the business of a major city.

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(It would, or should, also be a big deal for a government that has a chronic raw nerve for federal trespassing in provincial matters.)

So what’s really going on here? A prelude to an invasion of city affairs, a legitimate offer of aid, or something else entirely?

We can’t know for sure, but recent history and common sense would suggest this is most likely the third option — another opportunity for the UCP to deliver a few side jabs to a political adversary.

Smith is quite skilled when she wants to be at soft-pedalling controversial thoughts, in part by wrapping them in tones of compassion and support. Just ask folks in the transgender community.

But over at Edmonton’s city hall, I can tell you many detected a whiff of menace in the premier’s message.

Just by hinting at the possibility that her government might need to intervene, the premier scores two political benefits.

First, it reminds uppity municipal leaders that there is a government pecking order in Alberta.

And secondly, raising this narrative is an opportunity to draw widespread attention to Edmonton’s problems, if not exaggerate them. It’s an opening to embarrass Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and city council. And the message to conservative and centrist Albertans is made clear without actually saying it out loud — this is what happens when you elect a bunch of liberals and lefties.

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If the premier was really concerned, then the diplomatic, non-partisan way to handle this would have been to approach Sohi in private and follow with a joint announcement.

Likewise, consider that there are many Alberta municipalities going through serious financial and functional challenges these days, including Calgary and Medicine Hat, and yet it’s Edmonton that is seemingly singled out for potentially needing provincial rescue.

That’s why this talk of intervention or help mostly comes across as political theatrics. The other two alternatives don’t make much sense.

Smith can’t really want her government to intercede.

Yes, the city has seen a lot of upheaval among its ranks of senior executives — some of which was done to save costs — and that has  consequences.

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Similarly, as to city finances, they are about as bad as I’ve seen, partly due to some self-inflicted wounds, but much of it also due to factors beyond the municipality’s control. That said, the city is not on the brink of insolvency, and council still has options for tough choices to improve the balance sheet.

(Again, the province isn’t exactly a role model on responsible spending choices, or leadership stability. Just look at Alberta Health Services.)

As such, for Smith to have her government step in at this point would amount to intrusion under false pretences, one that would create a loud political controversy sure to raise alarms among Edmonton voters, other municipalities, other provinces and even Ottawa.

Frankly, I can’t imagine provincial leaders desiring that headache. If political gain is the motivation, it’s far better strategy to wait and hope this council implodes on its own. The next civic election is just 18 months away, after all.

Moreover, stepping in would put the province in charge of a mess for which they may regret inviting deep scrutiny. I think they would find a lot of the city’s financial issues are tied up in things they don’t want to cut — police, for example — or are due to provincial neglect, downloading and squeezing of municipal revenue.

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That’s why I don’t see much substance to Smith’s offer of aid, because if the province really wanted to supply stability to Edmonton, there is a long list of well-discussed ways they could do that right away.

In a recent letter to Smith, Sohi outlined a bunch of these. In most cases, he suggested, it’s not about the government giving the city more money, but restoring what was taken in the past.

As an example, the province hasn’t paid the full cost of property taxes on provincial buildings since 2019, shortchanging Edmonton about $60 million. Restoring that money alone would wipe out a big chunk of the city’s financial problems.

Similarly worth noting are the province’s decisions to take a greater share of municipal fine revenue, downloading of police DNA testing costs, and draconian photo radar regulations that have sapped revenue Edmonton formerly used to fund police.

The government has not even paid Edmonton back $2.2 million for a shigella response program that was ordered by AHS, and has substantially scaled back municipalities’ per-capita infrastructure funding in recent years.

(Choices to keep scrapping major health infrastructure here while giving Calgary’s new arena project $330 million also doesn’t improve matters.)

Given this history, it’s hard to take provincial intentions at face value, especially when even an offer of help is delivered like a punch to the gut.

kgerein@postmedia.com

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