Property owners will have much clearer rights to sell their property to the government or to force an expropriation hearing under a new bill introduced on Monday.
Athabasca-Redwater MLA and Infrastructure Minister Jeff Johnson introduced the changes, which he said do more to make it clear the government respects property owners' rights.
The bill makes changes to Bill 19, the Land Assembly Project Area Act, which was introduced in 2009 and created a process allowing the government to acquire land for large projects, like ring roads.
Critics said the bill was overreaching and extinguished many property rights; Johnson said the bill simply makes for a clear process.
"It did not and it does not give the government any powers that we do not have today."
He said the new changes made the rights of property owners even clearer. He said the old bill was a good first step, but the government heard the concerns of property owners and the changes will make the bill better.
"It can be better and it needs to be better; Alberta's property owners and landowners deserve nothing less and today we acted."
The changes include a requirement for consultation with landowners if the government plans to use their property for a major project. A landowner would have the right to either hold onto their land if it is identified for a project or insist the government buy it.
"The government must buy the land when the landowner wants to sell," said Johnson.
They would also be able to force the government to expropriate their land instead of negotiating a sale.
Fixes on target
Wildrose MLA Paul Hinman applauded the government for the changes, but said it was very disappointing they weren't part of the original bill.
"Certainly having access to the courts is a great move forward, being able to declare when they want to sell their land is another important one," he said. "What we are looking at is a little bit of sanity being brought back into the bill and it has taken an incredibly long time."
The Wildrose has been the leading voice calling for the changes and Hinman said it showed the effectiveness of his party.
"This is the value of opposition politicians, that we are willing to stand up and fight for property rights."
He said the government should bring the same common sense to other bills on land use and on transmission lines.
St. Albert lawyer Keith Wilson, a prominent opponent of the legislation, said he was likewise pleased with the changes, though he questioned why it took the government two years to make them.
He also questioned why he was so often told he was wrong when he raised the objections before.
He said the government needs legislation like this for big projects, but before the changes the legislation was heavy-handed and unfair.
"The problem was the government adopted a piece of legislation that would allow that planning and those ring roads to be built on the back and the financial position of landowners and that is wrong."
Wilson said this legislation still has one remaining flaw.
He said when a piece of property is identified for a major project the government will still register that on the title and inform any bank that might have an interest in the land.
He said for anyone with a mortgage on his or her property that could create a major headache.
"It leaves landowners who live in this freeze area very vulnerable to having a lender pull financing."
