Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
More than 30 municipalities have committed to participate in a municipal bylaw court in Kindersley. The court has received preliminary approval.
Bernie Morton, the chief administrative officer (CAO) for the Town of Kindersley, has been working with provincial court and justice officials to establish a bylaw court in the region. The sittings will take place in Kindersley once a month.
Municipalities across the region were invited to participate in the bylaw court and according to the CAO, more than 30 urban and rural municipalities have committed to the initiative. Municipalities had until the end of August to commit and they did so by resolution of their councils.
The municipal bylaw court will take place on the first Thursday of each month. Nov. 2 has been proposed for the first sitting. It will be presided over by senior justices of the peace from the provincial court system.
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Morton has been providing monthly updates and making presentations to municipal partners at West Central Municipal Government Committee (WCMGC) meetings. He explained that the idea to establish a bylaw court came up several years ago because the Town of Kindersley was having a hard time trying to enforce bylaws.
He said the town tried to have its bylaw matters heard before the provincial court, but the court is busy and the town was having a hard time getting matters taken cared of. In discussions with other municipalities at WCMGC meetings, he found they were also having trouble enforcing their bylaws.
Several Saskatchewan cities have their own municipal courts where bylaw violations are heard. The municipal court works for both municipalities and citizens because it allows the municipalities to enforce their bylaws and citizens to dispute their matters.
Morton said municipalities have an obligation to their citizens to enforce bylaws and the court will allow them to do it. If citizens receive fines and don’t believe they were in violation of a bylaw, they can fight them in court.
A municipal council can’t enforce bylaws or hear appeals, just as provincial legislators can’t enforce provincial statutes such as traffic violations. The councils and legislators create the laws, but decisions regarding violations need to come from the courts.
Morton said he reached out to the ministry of justice about the idea and ministry officials presented him with various parameters. He began talking to other municipalities in the region to determine the interest and then took the next step.
“They gave us some parameters and we submitted a formal application,” he said. He received correspondence from a supervising justice of the peace a couple of weeks ago and provincial officials were pleased with the application. “They are going to be approving it.”
Originally there were 15 municipalities committed to the bylaw court but the number has grown. A total of 32 urban and rural municipalities have committed with another commitment anticipated. Ten towns, eight villages and 14 rural municipalities have committed.
Morton said the only cost to municipalities will be that of prosecution. The province will pick up the costs for the court and for the justice of the peace. The Town of Kindersley has agreed to supply a court clerk.
The CAO said municipalities involved have to review their bylaws and provide copies to court officials. Area municipalities committed to the court include Coleville, Kerrobert, Eston, Eatonia, Brock, Smiley, Flaxcome, Marengo, Oakdale, Newcombe, Milton, Prairiedale, Mountain View and Pleasant Valley, among others.
Al Heron, the mayor of Eston and Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association director for the west central region, said the regular provincial court system doesn’t like to deal with matters regarding municipal bylaw enforcement.
There are fines that could be added to property taxes, but not all bylaws apply to a specific property and municipalities don’t have a good way of enforcing the bylaws, Heron said. He noted that a bylaw court gives teeth to municipal bylaws, so revenues could be collected from fines.
“We’re losing money from something that normally would generate money,” he said. He hopes the bylaw court works out for the municipalities and he’s happy to have the opportunity to better enforce bylaws in the Town of Eston.
The bylaw court is also a pilot project for court and justice officials. If it works well here, it could be done in other regions of the province, Heron said.
One benefit, he added, is that municipalities involved in the court can share and improve bylaws.
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