Alberta Municipalities president thinks increasing harassment could negatively impact voters' options

Alberta Municipalities President Tyler Gandam discusses the increasing number of incidents of harassment against elected officials with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins.

 

Michael Higgins: Harassment is on the rise and it's not just municipal politicians feeling the brunt of abuse. Shannon Phillips resigned after nine years as an MLA citing polarization, disinformation, and abuse. And a massive spike in cases involving federal politicians with direct or indirect threats to MPs rising from eight cases in 2019 to 530 last year. This issue of hostility toward politicians is something you've begun to speak out about. How is this changing the municipal-political dynamic and how do you and your colleagues approach governance?

Tyler Gandam: I think there's a big push right now and a lot of that comes from what our citizens, residents are seeing from other elected officials. I mean the presidential debate and election going on in the United States, I think people are seeing that as an invitation that if they can speak that way about other people that I can too. Which that isn't the case at all. I think that everybody needs to be treated with respect, especially those in that elected position. We're here to represent the very best and I think that we need to have that opportunity to do that without the harassment or the abuse that goes along with it. I'm happy to debate an issue or a policy but as soon as you turn it personally, then it takes it away from the entire purpose of it.

Michael Higgins: Put the hostility into perspective, how far does it reach?

Tyler Gandam: All the way through councils and then it affects the municipal staff. We're seeing now, threats coming in to not only my city hall, but you see what happened in Edmonton a few months ago, the other threats that are being made, either personally to elected officials, or to councils as a whole. And again, they're not debating the issues or the policies, they're now making it personal. And it's going to, I think it's going to take away from who's thinking about running next year, or who's thinking about re-running next year, and take away maybe some of those really good candidates that would bring a lot to the table. Which is unfortunate because this is by far one of the best jobs, I think, a person can have in terms of serving their community.

Michael Higgins: In terms of serving, you've headed up Alberta Municipalities now the past several months, you've also taken very public stance against key bills passed by the provincial government in the spring sitting. Has that had any impact on the degree of hostility directed at you?

Tyler Gandam: I don't think so, no. I think that, as an association, we represent over 265 municipalities. We had the opportunity to sit down and host webinars with a good number of our elected officials to hear what their concerns were and we were able to put those forward to the provincial government. And while we continue to build that relationship with the provincial government, I am encouraged that the province is now meeting with a different association. So Alberta Municipalities RMA, Alberta, Summer Villages Association, Mid-City Mayors. The administrators across the province are now getting the ability to add their input to how those regulations are going to be shaped and what it looks like when that legislation comes into play. So I'm encouraged. I'm really proud of our association and its members for how they share their concerns with what Bill 20 was. And again, a lot of that I saw as debating the policy and the issues, not the person or the ministers or the government that was involved with that. So I'm encouraged with that as well.

Michael Higgins: OK, if we bring this back full circle, we heard the clip of political scientist Jared Wesley off the top about encouragement of behavior. What’s the responsibility then of our political leaders when it comes to mitigating this problem?

Tyler Gandam: I think it comes back to us as well. If we would have come into our opposition of Bill 20 attacking who the minister was, if we attacked Minister McIver, if we attacked the premier, I think that takes away from what our job is as an association representing its members. We're here to debate what Bill 20 does, the impact it's going to have on municipalities, and that's exactly what we did. So I think, again, we need to take some of our own advice and make sure that when we are in opposition or don't agree with somebody, that again, we're making that issue based not personally.

Michael Higgins: How do you see the introduction of political parties to municipal ballots, starting in Edmonton and Calgary, but overall changing this conversation? Will it help or hinder?

Tyler Gandam: I think it'll hinder. When municipal councils come in and start debating issues it's based on what's in the best interest of the community, not what's in the best interest of that political party. I don't see where snow removal or building playgrounds or street sweeping or replacing infrastructure has a political partisan background that needs to be addressed. When we come in and debate those issues, we're supposed to be coming in to council chambers with a clear, open mind, hearing the debate, and making our decisions based off of that, not on what the party is telling us.

Michael Higgins: As an organization, how's Alberta Municipalities approaching this issue of hostility toward elected officials? What can actually be done to potentially mitigate it?

Tyler Gandam: I think right now, what we're doing is offering support to those elected officials. We've got 15 board members who are actively going out and meeting with or reaching out to other elected officials, especially when you see things happening in the news. It's not hard to find the instances of abuse that elected officials are taking and sometimes just reaching out and making sure that they know that they're supported and then as an association, as we come into fall convention this year, dealing with some of those resolutions and making sure that people are held accountable. If you're making threats against a municipality or the elected officials, that those things are being reported to the police. And if so then charges, if applicable, should be made and followed up through the RCMP. So I think it's really important that we're taking these things seriously as members of council, as elected officials, and how we're looking out for one another. So I think making sure that things like that aren't going unreportedand protecting yourself.

Michael Higgins: What do you make of the town of Hinton not only declaring a health-care crisis over shortage of doctors but also paying to keep a clinic open?

Tyler Gandam: That just goes to show you that municipalities will do whatever it takes to make sure that their residents and business owners are with services to the best of their ability. I know that they're coming up with about a million dollars to try to make sure that that clinic is going to be staying open and making sure that the province hears the concerns from their community, in terms of health care professionals that aren't in the community anymore. And Hinton isn't an isolated instance. We don't have as many doctors in the community that they should, emergency departments are closing, and it's creating a lot of issues in our municipalities now. And I think hearing what the province is going to do to mitigate some of those issues and assuring Albertans that when you call 911 there's going to be an ambulance, you have an emergency department to go to, when you need to go in for your annual checkup or you've got an issue that you've got to go see a doctor for, that there are doctors available for you to go and see. We're not unique in Alberta, it's obviously happening across the country but making sure that we are looking after our residents, and again, those municipalities will go above and beyond to make sure that their residents and business owners are looked after.