Redcliff passes animal bylaw, warned on RCMP wage costs

Redcliff town council passed a new animal control bylaw on second and third reading and received warnings about rising RCMP policing costs at its Oct. 13 regular meeting, according to the town's agenda package and meeting video.

Animal Control Bylaw No. 2005/2026 consolidates three older bylaws — covering dogs, cats and restricted animals — into a single document. The bylaw received first reading in April. After that, administration reorganized the definitions alphabetically, added definitions for "harass" and "harassment" to cover non-contact animal behaviour, refined nuisance and threatening offence provisions, and aligned the penalty schedule with the relevant offence sections.

The bylaw also incorporates Redcliff's Urban Laying Hen Pilot Program under a dedicated section, with permit, administration and enforcement requirements set out in a separate schedule. During the meeting, the presiding officer raised a question about the pilot's structure.

"If the chicken pilot project doesn't fly, then this has to be amended to get rid of it all," the presiding officer said during the Oct. 13 council meeting, at the 5:16 mark.

A staff member replied that the pilot sits in a self-contained section — Section 40 and Schedule F — and can be removed without affecting the rest of the bylaw's numbering. Both second and third readings carried.

Council also received an update on RCMP collective bargaining, forwarded by Dylan Bressey, president of Alberta Municipalities. The update noted that the first RCMP collective agreement, which expired March 31, 2023, included a compounded 24 per cent salary increase over five years. The second agreement, which expired March 31, 2025, added four per cent per year over two years and a one-time $2,500 allowance. Bargaining on a new contract has since stalled after the National Police Federation elected new leadership and shifted its approach to negotiations. Treasury Board Canada told the Contract Management Committee it hopes bargaining will resume by spring 2027, but no timeline has been set.

The presiding officer told council the previous round of bargaining had direct consequences for the town. "That cost us about $350,000 the last time there was a wage negotiation," the presiding officer said at the meeting. "And now they're in another one."

Council also received a letter from Melissa Barnes, government relations advisor with the National Police Federation, asking Redcliff to join a Call to Action urging the Government of Alberta to pause further investment in an Alberta Sheriffs Police Service until an independent, publicly available feasibility study is completed. The letter also calls for evidence-based spending on policing, the justice system, mental health and addiction services, and community-based crime prevention. Municipalities wishing to participate were asked to reply with their logo by Oct. 26.

On employee benefits, the meeting's adopted minutes confirmed a motion from the Sept. 28 session directing administration to enter into an agreement with Alberta Municipalities for benefit services. Short-term disability coverage was set at 66.67 per cent to a weekly maximum of $1,100, and long-term disability at 75 per cent to a weekly maximum of $1,250, with existing coverage otherwise maintained.

Council received for information a donation request from Heartland Training and Support Hub — formerly the Farm Safety Centre — asking for a $500 contribution toward its Safety Smarts program, which delivers classroom safety lessons to students from kindergarten through Grade 6. The organization said it had completed roughly 45,500 presentations during 8,800 school visits, reaching 921,000 student participants since 1998.

The Shortgrass Library System's 2027 draft budget sets Redcliff's requisition at $29,255.05, based on a per capita rate of $5.2419 applied to a population of 5,581 — a one per cent increase over the 2026 requisition of $28,965.39.