Edmonton mayor opposes private council briefings; Smith proposes governance overhaul

Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack rejected Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's proposal to allow city councils to hold private briefings before public debates, saying the democratic process depends on transparency.

Smith floated the idea Wednesday at the Alberta Municipalities convention in Edmonton, suggesting large municipalities could operate more like the provincial cabinet — with private preparation sessions followed by public meetings, eliminating the need for closed in-camera sessions altogether. "My hope would be that maybe there are some pre-briefing sessions, where administration is able to tell all of the council members what it is they're considering," Smith said on her radio show earlier this month. "But then when they open up their official meetings, there's never an in-camera session."

Knack disagreed. "I love the democratic process of municipal government. I like that the vast majority of what we have to do is in public. There's only very select reasons why we're allowed to go into private, and I think that should continue to be the way we operate," he said Wednesday.

Dylan Bressey, Alberta Municipalities president and Grande Prairie city councillor, said councils need private sessions to discuss information provincial legislation doesn't allow them to publicly share. He stressed that Alberta Municipalities will not advocate for major changes to the Municipal Government Act, noting members have already faced numerous changes in the past 18 months. "We would like to have just a period of stability to let the previous changes settle in," Bressey said. Smith indicated there may be changes to the act, saying not every rule fits every size of municipality.