Alberta is changing the system for how publicly funded agencies — including school districts, universities and health-care providers — can own and sell property.
If passed, Bill 13, the Real Property Governance Act, would require provincial agencies, boards and commissions to give the province first right of refusal when they’re selling surplus land and buildings.
The proposed change affects Alberta’s post-secondary institutions, school jurisdictions and charter schools, Alberta Health Services and numerous government organizations including the Alberta Social Housing Corporation, among others.
Infrastructure Minister Pete Guthrie said Thursday the province will also no longer transfer ownership of new buildings, like schools and hospitals, to the organization running them. Instead, the plan is for the government to retain ownership and make long-term lease arrangements with operators.
However, institutions like school boards would continue to be responsible for maintenance.
After the bill was tabled Thursday, Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta president Dennis MacNeil said school boards have many questions about what it means for them.
Public agencies still get to make decisions about when land or buildings are no longer needed, although that process requires additional government approval when it comes to schools.
MacNeil said he has concerns about school boards’ autonomy to decide what happens to a school after it closes.
“If it’s in the hands of the government as opposed to the hands of the board, then it would be easier to turn it over to another entity that may be in competition with the public school board,” he said.
Legislation stems from MacKinnon panel recommendation
The government estimates that public agencies, boards and commissions hold $83 billion in assets, while the infrastructure ministry owns just $12 billion.
“That kind of gives you an idea of … the transferring away of assets that we do not hold as having availability to and access to as the government of Alberta,” Guthrie said.
The policy is a call back to the 2019 blue ribbon panel led by former Saskatchewan finance minister Janice MacKinnon that made recommendations for sweeping changes to Alberta government finances.
One of the MacKinnon panel recommendations was to “redefine” government land assets to include the broader public sector. The panel suggested that setting policy to deal with surplus land and buildings could offset other capital costs or provide more revenue for the province.
Guthrie said the province’s goal is to make it easier to understand the full inventory of government-owned property and more readily convert available real estate to “priority” uses — for example, affordable housing or addictions recovery centres.
Bill Werry is executive director of the Alberta Post-Secondary Network, a collective of 26 presidents of the province’s colleges and universities.
He said post-secondary institutions will be looking to work with the government on the regulations around provincial ownership and lease arrangements for public assets.
“Not all of our institutions are the same size and scope, nor do they all have the same history or land and assets,” he said.
“The majority of our members are part of the government’s consolidated financial reporting so they’ve already got obligations to the province relative to land and buildings as it stands.”
According to Guthrie, when it comes to post-secondary institutions, anything held within their land trusts would not be included in the new system.
In the framework of the European Union/Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” (Horizontal Facility III), the Council of Europe is currently implementing seven actions (in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and regional) on “Protecting freedom of expression and of the Media” (PRO-FREX).
The actions aim at strengthening the capacities of key domestic institutions and actors (including, relevant governmental structures/ministries, independent authorities in the field of media, access to information and data protection, judiciary and legal professionals, public service media and other media outlets, and CSOs in the field of journalism and media) in implementing European standards on freedom of expression and freedom of the media.
The consultancy services (legal and policy advice, and training design and delivery) foreseen under this call for tenders include the following areas: Freedom of expression, Access to information, Protection and Safety of Journalists, Media law, regulation, co-regulation, and self-regulation and Protection of personal data.
The activities foreseen under the project, in the subject areas indicated above, include technical assistance and advice on legislative and policy review, institutional capacity building and human capacity development, as well as awareness-raising.
The services of selected consultants may be sought for any relevant activity implemented by the Council of Europe, not just for the aforementioned PRO-FREX actions under the Horizontal Facility 3.
Expected timeline for the provision of services: 02 January 2024 – 31 December 2026 (Renewable until 31 December 2028)
The deadline for submission of applications is 11 December 2023.
All information and documents about the procedure are available at the following here.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence