You don’t have to take it!You have much more power over local authorities than you may realize. You just have to choose to exercise it.A recent plebiscite in Banff demonstrated that active citizens willing to put in some work can overturn bad bylaws even if their woke council and woke local media opposes them.It’s not hard to understand why people don’t realize they have the power to overturn bylaws without having to wait for a general election. The ability to invoke a plebiscite is buried deeply within the Alberta Municipal Government Act. The act itself is a 608-page document packed with boring legalese which could put even the most dedicated of readers to sleep within minutes. In trying to find out how to initiate a petition, a word search will find the term "petition" appears 402 times. If you dig your way down to section 219, you will find the instructions on how to compel a civic government to either rescind a bad bylaw or to put it to a public vote in a plebiscite.Municipal governments aren’t eager for citizens to know they have this power, never mind see them utilizing it. They don’t advertise its existence or encourage people to use it. It’s time that folks understand how empowered they really are and start using that power.The premise within the act is relatively simple. If a municipality passes a bylaw that is unpopular, people can petition local residents and if more than 10% of the population signs the petition, they can force the local government to either repeal the bylaw or put it to a general vote in a plebiscite. There are many devils in the details though.There are several areas of policy regarding land use, zoning and taxation that can’t be challenged through a petition. Most bylaws can be challenged though.Getting 10% of the people in a small to sign a petition sounds easy on the surface, but there is more to it.This a real petition. Not an online one and not one that can be easily printed off and presented to people. It must be a physical petition, signed in person by a resident of the municipality who is old enough to vote. The petition signing must be witnessed by an eligible voter in the municipality as well. People signing must provide their home address and a phone number. Box numbers and legal land descriptions won’t do. While the petition information is legally protected and must be kept private, many people aren’t comfortable with signing and sharing that information even if they support the cause. It is a lot of work.The phrasing of the question on the petition is important to. It is recommended that one finds a friendly lawyer to look at the petition before activating it. Many signatures will be revoked due to illegibility of the handwriting, incorrect addresses or people signing who aren’t eligible voters. Petitioners must ensure to get many more signatures than the required amount. Rest assured, there are eager bureaucrats who will be scrutinizing the petition and hoping to disqualify enough signatures to have it fail.There is a timeline as well. The petition must be completed within 60 days of the establishment of the bylaw in question. That may sound like plenty of time but rest assured, the clock can tick quickly when you have a deadline.The rules are convoluted, but they are well documented. If your city or town is going down a bad path, you have the means to set them straight. It doesn’t have to cost much but it does take some research and hard work.Citizens of Banff and Westlock used the system to their advantage and set a fantastic precedent.We need to see more of these citizen initiatives in the future. Many mayors and town councillors are stubborn ideologues, but they will learn to change their ways quickly if their policies keep embarrassingly being tossed to the curb by upset citizens.Our system is far from perfect, but some democratic checks and balances are baked into it.You don’t have to endure bad policies from your local politicians while awaiting a general election. You have the tools at your disposal to change things. You must get up and use them though.
