Wood Buffalo municipal councillors now full-time after surprise vote

Municipal councillors in the Fort McMurray region will now serve full-time after a surprise vote at a council meeting on Tuesday.

After a tense debate, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo councillors voted 6-3 in favour of changing their position from being part-time to becoming full-time councillors. It's unclear what the change will mean for potential raises or job expectations.

The change went into effect on Wednesday.

The motion was not on council's original agenda, and was added at the beginning of the council meeting by Coun. Kendrick Cardinal.

Cardinal also put forward a motion to waive the notice period for the motion, and opted instead to push the motion through that evening. That motion was approved in a 5-4 vote. That meant the public not offered an opportunity to speak on the change from part time to full time.

"I think it's pertinent and important that it's done today," Cardinal said.

According to Cardinal, he brought the motion forward because "there needs to be a shift in how we do things in the community and it's the peoples' inclusion."

Coun. Allan Grandison opposed waiving the notice period.

"There's going to need to be a period of time for this to all be flushed out," he said at the meeting. "I don't think it can be done just as a wishlist overnight."

Cardinal was adamant about voting as soon as possible.

"I'd like to move this motion forward today. This is the third time that I've brought this motion forward and I've been getting the runaround and I'm sick of it," Cardinal said.

"Let's get it done."

Grandison thought it was crucial for the community to have input on such a big decision and thought that council should instead look at doing a third-party review on the issue.

Coun. Jane Stroud asked if the change from working part-time to full-time would include a pay raise.

"I'm sure that there will be and after the review from us, I'm sure that it'll be implemented at some point," Cardinal said.

According to the RMWB's candidate guide to municipal elections, as of 2020 councillors were paid $46,200 per year, though that number is subject to annual adjustment.

Coun. Keith McGrath was fiercely in favour of the motion. He argued the change would allow council to have the time it needed to support an overburdened administration, ensure contracts were given to local businesses and help follow-up on projects.

As well, McGrath said there were issues in the rural Wood Buffalo communities that he would be able to address in a more timely manner if the motion were passed.

McGrath said the change would allow councillors to better help administration.

"It's not about money, it's about, we're going to make this place home again," McGrath said.

It's an assertion that Grandison later challenged.

"I keep hearing it's not about money, so maybe the amendment also needs to be we can all be full-time but we'll get the same pay," Grandison said. This amendment was not added to the motion.

Coun. Shafiq Dogar said that working full-time would give him time to visit communities throughout Wood Buffalo, because he feels "ignorant" to their needs. Dogar's ward does not include the rural communities of the RMWB.

Mayor Sandy Bowman said he couldn't support the motion for several reasons, one being that two councillors were absent from the vote and he thought their presence important.

He also posted on Facebook the following day, saying that the issue of a full-time council has been raised several times in the municipality's history, but "decisions such as these, we must do our due diligence and follow a good process… This did not take place in this case."

The vote passed with six in favour: Ken Ball, Funky Banjoko, Cardinal, Dogar, McGrath and Loretta Waquan. Bowman, Grandison and Stroud were opposed. Coun. Lance Bussieres and Coun. Stu Wigle were absent.

A spokesperson for the RMWB said in an email to CBC News the municipality does not have a plan in place for enacting the transition.

"Further investigation and analysis are required to understand the implications and next steps necessary to implement this decision effectively," said the statement.