Minister says budget talks should generally be public. Most of Medicine Hat’s have been held in private.

Alberta’s municipal affairs minister says city councils should generally debate their budgets in public, a message that lands as Medicine Hat council works through most of its own budget talks behind closed doors.

“Budget deliberation is not in and of itself an enumerated exception and should generally occur in public session,” Minister Dan Williams wrote in an Oct. 19 letter to Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas.

Calgary Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston, who was copied on the letter, posted it on X Tuesday.

What the letter says

Williams was responding to a Sept. 11 letter from Farkas about closed meeting practices and accountability on council.

Under the Municipal Government Act, councils can close a meeting only when the topic falls under one of the exceptions to disclosure in the Access to Information Act. Council must pass a resolution saying what is being discussed in private and which exception applies, and it cannot pass motions or bylaws while the meeting is closed.

“Closed sessions should be used only when the subject matter falls within the applicable exceptions to disclosure set out by ATIA, while decision-making must continue to occur in public unless otherwise authorized by legislation,” Williams wrote.

He said he is aware of concerns about closed meeting practices and encouraged municipalities, “including the City of Calgary,” to review their procedures. He said his ministry is “actively considering the issues raised.”

Williams also said the province’s new Councillor Accountability Framework, created under the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act, 2026, will include confidentiality rules covering information from in-camera sessions. Details are still being developed.

The letter was also copied to Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod.

The Calgary dispute

The exchange follows a fight on Calgary council over leaked budget documents. Johnston admitted in September to giving confidential preliminary budget figures to Global News. The figures had first been presented to council in a closed meeting in July.

Farkas called a special closed meeting on Sept. 8 over what he called a possible privacy breach. Council voted 12-2 to notify Williams and the privacy commissioner, Global News reported.

Johnston apologized for breaking the rules but said he “would do it again,” and that he would walk out of closed sessions he believed were discussing budget matters that should be public. Farkas said the budget scenarios were among many to be debated privately and that the leak raised financial and legal concerns.

Medicine Hat’s budget talks

In Medicine Hat, council’s budget committee has spent most of its meeting time this year in closed session.

The committee, chaired by Coun. Cheryl Phaff, met five times between June 2 and Sept. 15. Of the meetings where the split could be determined, at least 351 minutes were closed to the public and 69 were open, about 84 per cent behind closed doors, according to an analysis by Owl News. The first three meetings were almost entirely closed, and closed portions are not recorded.

The city cited section 29 of the Access to Information Act, which covers advice from officials, as the reason for closing budget discussions.

Council also met behind closed doors on July 20 on several items, including the 2027-28 budget and financial sustainability, sustaining capital and strategic initiatives, CHAT News reported.

Phaff told Owl News “we’ve seen a real lack of trust amongst the public for this current council.”

The city’s last operating budget was $459.9 million, with $112.9 million in capital spending. Council is scheduled to approve the 2027-28 budget on Dec. 7. It must be adopted by Dec. 31.