The Municipalities Act - Background

The Municipalities Act (MA) was introduced during the fall 2004 session of the Legislature as Bill No. 81 for consideration by the Legislative Assembly. The MA was debated but not passed during the fall session. When the MA was debated in the Legislature, the overall intent or direction of the proposed new Act was not a key issue, but there were concerns that more consultation with municipalities may be needed.

The Bill for the MA was to be reintroduced during the spring 2005 session of the Legislature.

In the interim, the draft legislation, as it was presented in the Legislature, remained available for viewing on the Queen's Printer website. As well, a summary of the proposed new Act was posted below for review and comment. The Minister of Municipal Affairs, also undertook direct consultations with municipalities regarding the proposed new Act. Information regarding the dates, times and locations of these consultations was also posted on the Municipal Affairs website. The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) and the Saskatchewan Rural Municipalities Association (SARM) posted the proposed Act on their respective websites and both discussed the proposed new legislation at their respective conventions.

The working committee that developed the proposed MA remained in place to review possible changes or refinements to the draft Bill as a result of the various consultations with stakeholders. This committee was comprised of representatives from SARM, SUMA and both the urban and rural municipal administrator associations, in addition to officials from the ministry.

The Municipalities Act came into effect on January 1, 2006.

Please direct questions or comments to:

Ministry of Municipal Affairs
Municipal Advisory Services
1010 - 1855 Victoria Avenue
Regina, SK S4P 3T2
Telephone: 306 787-2680
E-mail:  muninfo@gov.sk.ca