Premier Smith flags Calgary City Hall's 'not good practice' of closed-door meetings

Premier Danielle Smith said closed-door meetings at Calgary City Hall are not serving the public, flagging a transparency gap she plans to examine.

Smith made the comments Saturday morning on her radio show, days after Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston asked the province to review Calgary's use of in-camera sessions and consider changes to the Municipal Government Act's confidentiality provisions.

"I'd be hard pressed to find a time that we ever went in camera," Smith said, comparing Calgary's practice to how the provincial government operates. "It's just not something that you do when you've got your entire body together."

Smith warned that private meetings can be used to settle debate away from public view before votes are cast in public. "Everybody can get their stories straight and figure out where everybody else is going to vote to engineer a certain outcome," she said. "And then when they go public, all the debate is already taking place behind closed doors, and the public doesn't get to see it."

While Smith said provincial committees may occasionally meet in camera for matters like hiring decisions, she insisted closed sessions should remain rare. "When we approve something, we have to have clear minutes, and we have to make that information available," she said. "And that's the balance that we've got to get to."

Smith noted the issue extends beyond Calgary. Two school board trustees in St. Albert resigned citing concerns over lack of transparency and public access to board meetings.