Annexation

Please note that the information provided below should be used as a guide and is not to be used as a substitute for the procedures set out in The Municipalities Act.

Annexation is the process of altering municipal boundaries to add territory from one municipality to another. Because annexation involves the alteration of a municipal boundary, only one of the involved municipalities may make an application. If both municipalities agree to the annexation, the proposal must be submitted to the Community Planning Branch at the address below. If one of the involved municipalities does not consent to the proposal, an application must be made to the Municipal Boundary Committee of the Saskatchewan Municipal Board. Please see http://www.smb.gov.sk.ca/municipal_boundary.htm for more information on the Municipal Boundary Committee.

Legislation

Section 53(1)(a) of The Municipalities Act provides the authority for municipalities to apply for an annexation as long as the boundary of the land to be annexed is coterminous (sharing a common boundary) with the involved municipality.

While not required by legislation, involved municipalities may enter into a restructuring agreement to facilitate an annexation. Additionally, municipalities undertaking annexation may wish to negotiate tax loss compensation agreements or other details in order for the annexation to proceed. Please note that agreements that are not required by legislation are up to the involved municipalities to negotiate and are not discussed here.

If the land intended to be annexed is not coterminous with the boundary of the municipality, annexation may still be possible, but the procedures set out under merger must be followed because a voluntary restructuring agreement is required pursuant to Section 53(2). However, the end result will be an annexation, not the incorporation of a new municipality as is the case with a merger.

Section 54 of The Municipalities Act permits voters of a municipality to petition their municipal council to apply for an annexation. For more information on petitions, please see The Municipalities Act.

Procedures

Once a municipal council has passed a resolution to pursue annexation, or has been sufficiently petitioned to apply for annexation, the council must prepare a notice to the public outlining its intention to apply for an annexation.

The Notice to the Public

The notice must be:

• published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a locally circulated newspaper;
• personally delivered or sent by ordinary mail to:
  • each person assessed on the last revised assessment roll with respect to land or improvements located in the area affected by the proposed application;
  • the council of all involved municipalities affected by the proposal;
  • the board of all school divisions affected by the proposal.

The notice must contain:

• a map and description of the proposed annexation;
• a brief explanation of the reasons for the proposal;
• a statement saying where the proposal may be examined;
• a statement saying that anyone who objects to the proposal may file a written objection, clearly explaining their reasons for objecting to the proposal, with the council within four weeks of the last publication of the notice; and
• the date, time, and place of a public meeting that will be held by council to discuss the proposal. The meeting must be held at least one week after the day on which the notice was last published, delivered, or sent.

For a sample Notice to the Public, see "Related Documents".

The Public Meeting

Pursuant to Section 57 of The Municipalities Act, council must conduct the public meeting and all of the material required to be included with the submission pursuant to Section 59 of The Municipalities Act must be available for public review. Please see the “application” section below for further details.

The Possibility of a Vote

Pursuant to Section 58 of The Municipalities Act:

• a vote may be called by a council that is party to the proposal;
• the Minister, if it is considered desirable and in the public interest to call a vote, may require a council to hold a vote; or
• the voters of a municipality may petition their council to hold a vote.

Application

Once a municipality has completed the required public consultation, an application for annexation may be submitted to the Ministry. An application includes a completed Form E from The Municipalities Regulations and the following schedules:

• Schedule 1:
  a certified copy of the resolution of the council requesting the annexation.
• Schedule 2:
  a map or plan showing the boundaries of the annexation, including a legal description of the proposed boundary change, verified by the administrators of the municipalities affected by the proposal.
• Schedule 3:
  an outline of the future growth or development of the municipality as a result of the annexation.
• Schedule 4:
  a proposed operating and capital budget is not required as part of an annexation application.
• Schedule 5:
  a certified complementary resolution from the municipality affected by the annexation.
• Schedule 6:
  a copy of the public notice and any written submission respecting the proposal that was received by council.
• Schedule 7:
  minutes from the public meeting held to discuss the proposal.
• Schedule 8:
  a statement setting out the population, total taxable assessment, total number of dwellings and lots for each municipality involved in the annexation. Population and dwelling unit data can be found from Statistics Canada Community Profiles website at http://www.statcan.ca/start.html.
• Schedule 9:
  if applicable, attach a signed copy of any voluntary restructuring agreement.

If necessary, the Minister may request further information or clarification respecting any aspect of the application. Additionally, the Minister may request the Saskatchewan Municipal Board to review an application for annexation.

Additional Information Pertaining to the Alteration of Municipal Boundaries

When applying for an alteration of boundaries, it would be appreciated if the municipality making the request provides the following information in addition to the documents required by of The Municipalities Act. This additional information will familiarize staff with the local situation and thereby assist in processing the application. Additional pages may be appended. For a sample Additional Information Form, see "Related Documents".

Effects

After a review of the submission, if the Minister is of the opinion that the municipalities affected by the annexation will be viable entities, the Minister may issue an order causing the municipal boundaries to be altered. The order will state the effective date of the annexation and will describe the area being annexed and the new boundary of the municipality. From the effective date of the order, all previous boundary description orders are repealed and the new boundary description is conclusively deemed to be the legal description of the municipality.

It is important to note that all bylaws and resolutions in force in the former municipality continue in force as bylaws and resolutions of the new municipality until they are repealed or others are made in their place. This primarily affects planning and land use bylaws that will follow the land and the annexing municipality will have to amend its planning bylaws to ensure they appropriately cover the newly annexed area.

Once part of a municipality is annexed to another municipality, as soon as possible after the date of the annexation, the administrator of the municipality from which the land is taken shall provide to the administrator of the other municipality that is gaining the land:

1. a copy of the assessment and tax roll for the part of the municipality that is added to the other municipality; or
2. a statement setting out the pertinent details of the information reflected in the assessment and tax roll for that part of the municipality.

If the application to the Minister is rejected, the Ministry will provide reasons for the decision and publish a notice of the decision in a newspaper circulated in the area of the proposal. If an application be rejected, no subsequent application that is substantially similar may be made for three years.

If no municipality objects to the boundary alteration, address the submission to:
The Minister of Municipal Affairs
c/o Community Planning Branch
420 – 1855 Victoria Avenue
REGINA SK S4P 3T2

Phone: (306) 787-2725
Fax: (306) 798-0194

If any municipality objects to the boundary alteration, address the submission to:
Municipal Boundary Committee
Saskatchewan Municipal Board
Room 480, 2151 Scarth Street
REGINA SK S4P 2H8

Phone: (306) 787-6244
Fax: (306) 787-1610