Municipalities Matter

This lesson introduces the duties of municipal politicians. Through profiling local leaders,students will understand the reasons why people in the community choose public life. Consequently, they will be able to better evaluate if and how their elected leaders fulfill their role in a democracy.

Suggested Curriculum Links
Part of this lesson’s examination of municipal politicians is an exploration of diversity. With this in mind, this lesson can achieve several Indicators within the following Outcomes:

• Power and Authority 8.3 and 8.4; and
• Interaction and Interdependence 8.1.

Teacher's Background Information: Construct of Municipal Councils

Municipalities are governed by local councils. These councils are made up of people from the community elected by the community. Generally, the councils are constructed as follows:

• CITIES elect a mayor and six or more councillors (in multiples of two).
• TOWNS, ALL TYPES OF VILLAGES, AND NORTHERN HAMLETS elect a mayor and two or more councillors (in multiples of two).
• RURAL MUNICIPALITIES elect a reeve and a councillor from each local division of the RM.
• ORGANISED HAMLETS may elect a three-person hamlet board that reports to the RM council. Alternatively, some hamlets may be considered an electoral division of the RM.
• NORTHERN SETTLEMENTS elect an advisory board consisting of three or five members who consult with the provincial government on issues regarding their communities.

Most urban municipalities in Saskatchewan elect their councillors at large. This means all councillors represent all areas of the community. Every city, town, village, and resort village has the option, however, to use the ward system. Communities using the ward system divide the municipality into smaller sections, with each area represented by an individual councillor. The processes followed to elect councillors is discussed in Lesson 5: Municipal Elections.

Procedures

1. Discuss how politicians are under more public scrutiny than average citizens and often give up much of their private life to become a municipal leader. Use this discussion to lead a brainstorming session on the reasons community members choose to run for public office.

2. Read The Power and the Glory: Duties of Civic Politicians. For background information, teachers may wish to contact their municipal office to find out the remuneration for their municipal leaders.

KEY QUESTIONS

• Do you think the pay that municipal politicians receive is fair, given their workload?
• Would people from smaller communities have better access to their elected representatives than people from bigger municipalities? Or is accessibility dependent upon the effort of each councillor?

3. Assign Local Council: The Breakdown. If this resource is being taught during municipal elections, this activity should be skipped as this concept will be covered in Lesson Five. The ambitious nature of this assignment makes it ideal for group work activity and class presentations.

4. Once students have completed Local Council: The Breakdown and shared their findings with the class, lead a class discussion of the following question:

• Why is it important that elected municipal leaders take into account the concerns of all people in their community?