Fort McMurray Minute: Issue 60

Fort McMurray Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Fort McMurray politics

📅 This Week In Fort McMurray: 📅

• On Tuesday, at 4:00 pm, there will be a closed meeting of CIty Council. Away from the public eye, Council will discuss Committee Appointments, Labour Relations (CUPE 1505 Transit Collective Bargaining Ratification), and Vista Ridge Operations. At 6:00 pm, there will be a public Council Special Meeting. During this meeting, there will be five motions brought forward by Councillors. Councillor Dogar will ask Administration to collaborate with the provincial government to explore raising the speed limit on Saprae Creek Trail-Highway 69 to 100 km/h. Councillor McGrath will propose the creation of a Safeguard from Repercussions Policy. The policy would protect all municipal staff, including contractors and leadership, from retaliation when reporting non-compliance with municipal policies, procedures, or processes. It also proposes allowing reports to be made directly to any member of Council, creating a broader avenue for concerns to be raised confidentially.
  
  
• Councillor Dogar will propose that the position of Councillor become full-time beginning with the 2025-2029 Council term. Recall that, last June, Councillors voted 6-3 to transition themselves to full-time status in a surprise motion, without any public notice. After public outcry, they reversed their decision. This time, the motion will impact a future Council and doesn’t look nearly as self-serving.
  
  
• Council will discuss updating its Community Identification System Policy to improve how community names and public asset names are selected. The policy sets guidelines for naming communities, subdivisions, streets, and municipal facilities through recommendations by a Council-appointed Community Identification Committee. Recently, applications have increasingly included qualitative elements such as community leadership, contributions to local history, support for community initiatives, and efforts to enhance safety, requiring a broader social and cultural review beyond technical factors. To better address these aspects, administration of the naming process will shift from Planning and Development Services to the Community Services team, which has greater expertise in community engagement, Indigenous relations, and equity principles. This change aims to reduce duplication and delays while supporting a more inclusive, efficient, and culturally sensitive process. The Community Identification Committee will meet on Thursday at 5:30 pm to consider five naming requests.
  
  
• The Vehicle For Hire Committee will meet on Wednesday at 6:00 pm. Uride, a prospective rideshare operator in Fort McMurray, has raised several concerns about the current Vehicle for Hire Bylaw that could hinder rideshare operations. They argue that some rules, like the requirement for driver abstracts every four months, are excessive compared to the annual standard used elsewhere in Canada. The bylaw’s camera requirements, designed for traditional taxis, are seen as impractical and costly for rideshare drivers using personal vehicles, and Uride recommends updating these rules to allow modern app-based safety tools. Additionally, they propose removing the mandatory defensive driving course since commercial licenses already include safety training. Lastly, they recommend shifting from fixed semi-annual vehicle inspections to a usage-based model reflecting actual vehicle wear.
  
  
• Despite heavy opposition from Abasand residents, Council has approved rezoning for a new École Boréale. The K-12 Francophone school will serve up to 350 students and is expected to open by Spring 2027. While many residents acknowledged the need for a new school, concerns over traffic, safety, and years of construction dominated the debate. Almost all of the surveyed Abasand residents opposed the plan. Some Councillors questioned why other locations were not considered, especially since most students live in other neighbourhoods. However, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo told the School Board that the Abasand site was the only shovel-ready option, which was a condition for provincial funding. Councillors Banjoko, Dogar, Grandison and Lavallee voted in favour of the rezoning. Councillors Ball, Bussieres, and Wigle were opposed. Mayor Bowman and Councillors Cardinal, McGrath and Waquan were absent.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

Common Sense Fort McMurray is gearing up for the upcoming municipal election. 

We plan to survey all of the candidates for Mayor and Council. What questions do you think we should ask? Hit reply to this email and let us know your top priorities!

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

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Having said that, if you are a local business and are interested in being a sponsor, send us an email and we'll talk!