Bow Island Council focuses on ethics and recall petition rules during recent meeting 

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Ryan Dahlman

By Nerissa McNaughton
Southern Alberta Newspaper

The Town of Bow Island’s June 23 council meeting highlighted discussions around governance and accountability with a focus on a proposed bylaw to strengthen ethical standards for council members and an update on recall petition rules.

 Bylaw 2021:12 aims to set clear ethical expectations for representatives. The bylaw underlines the importance of professionalism, fairness, and respect for differing viewpoints while encouraging collaboration to advance the public good.

Key provisions include:

• A commitment to serve the broader welfare of the Municipality with diligence and transparency.

• Avoiding conflicts of interest and adhering strictly to legal and ethical boundaries.

• Protecting the confidentiality of discussions held in closed council sessions.

Under correspondence was a detailed document touching on evolving rules related to recall petitions. Alberta introduced legislation in 2023 allowing residents to petition for the removal of municipal elected officials. Recent developments, however, reflect ongoing refinements aimed at balancing transparency with fairness.

Alberta Municipalities previously raised concerns about the lack of regulations governing activities like incentive-based signatures and guidelines for petition fundraising. Addressing one issue, the province shifted responsibility for validating recall petitions from municipal Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) to the Minister through Bill 20, the Municipal Affairs Statements Amendment Act, 2024.

ABmunis has conducted an in-depth review to expand improvements in four areas:

• Defining clearer criteria for launching petitions.

• Setting timeframes for when petitions can be initiated.

• Establishing clearer guidelines for petition-related activities.

• Evaluating signature requirements to ensure they reflect community proportions.

These recommendations aim to strike a balance between allowing citizens a voice in governance and protecting against potential misuse of the recall process. The province has indicated plans to survey municipalities for further input, with discussions expected during the Summer Municipal Leaders’ Caucus.

Also under correspondence was a letter from Transportation Alberta, which informed the Town of Bow Island that its recent application for the Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program to replace Bridge BF72880 was not approved for funding due to limited resources and a highly competitive intake process. While not all project applications could be funded, the Town is encouraged to resubmit the project during the next intake period, which closes on November 30, 2025, provided no construction begins in the meantime.

The Government of Alberta has provided several fact sheets regarding Bill 50. These fact sheets can be viewed by selecting the June 23 agenda from the Town of Bow Island government page on its website.