Resolution 10-02M

WHEREAS, recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions have provided commentary suggesting an emerging consensus that the courts must respect the responsibility of elected municipal bodies to serve the people who elected them; and

WHEREAS, the commentary cautions courts to avoid substituting their views of what is best for citizens and indicates that the standard upon which courts may entertain a review of intra vires municipal actions should be one of patent unreasonableness; and

WHEREAS, the Province of Alberta has shielded its municipalities from a challenge on unreasonableness alone and included a provision in The Municipal Government Act;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that SARM lobby the Saskatchewan Minister of Justice and the Saskatchewan Minister of Government Relations and Aboriginal Affairs to shield its municipalities from a challenge of unreasonableness alone and amend The Rural Municipality Act, 1989 to include a provision that states:

            "No bylaw or resolution may be challenged on the ground that it is unreasonable."

We note that the recently passed Cities Act includes a comparable provision (Section 322) as do both The Urban Municipality Act, 1984 and The Northern Municipalities Act. With this in mind, GRAA will undertake to complete the required analysis on the possible implications of making this sort of amendment to the RMA.