ments, is hereby declared to be valid and binding on all parties; and sale of any of the lands sold at such tax sale, shall not be set aside on account of failure to comply with any of the provisions of the said Tax Recovery Act." 15. This Act shall come into force on the day upon which it is assented to.

1924

CHAPTER 45.

An Act to amend the Medicine Hat Charter.

(Assented to April 12, 1924.)

HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Alberta, enacts as follows:

The Medicine Hat Charter, being chapter 63 of the Statutes of Alberta, 1906, and amendments thereto, is hereby further amended as follows:

1. Repealing section 5 of chapter 44 of the Statutes of Alberta, 1920, and substituting the following therefor:

certain

"5. The Council is hereby authorized and empowered Re bonding without the assent of the burgesses to issue debentures on Debentures. the credit of the City of Medicine Hat at large to the extent of not more than one hundred thousand dollars per year during each of the years 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, and 1928, the proceeds of the said debentures to be used only for the purpose of paying off and discharging the debenture principal matured or maturing during each of the said years under By-Laws numbered 88, 89, 90, 92, 94, 101, 102, 103, 119, 120, 121, 124, 134, 153, 172, and 173 of the said city and under By-Laws numbered 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26 of Medicine Hat School District number 76. The said debentures may bear such interest, be repayable, and be in any form authorized by The Medicine Hat Charter."

by by-law

property.

2. By adding to title XXX the following section: "28. Notwithstanding anything in this Act contained the Council may council may by by-law provide that the valuation of land, provide for buildings, special franchises and other rateable property valuation of made by the assessor in the year 1924, and finally adopted all rateable by the council on the eighteenth day of February, 1924, shall be the valuation for the next succeeding five years, and may in such by-law make such rules and regulations for the use of the assessment roll and the mailing of assessment notices and such further rules and regulations as may be generally necessary:

"Provided, however, that

however make

"(1) The assessor may, notwithstanding the continuance Assessor may of the general valuation for the succeeding five years revise all necessary the valuation of any particular parcel or parcels of land, additions and

amendments.

The right of appeal from valuation is

buildings, rateable property or any special franchise and in particular shall make all amendments, alterations and additions necessary in case any additional improvements are, since the date of the last valuation, made or erected upon any parcel or parcels of land.

"(2) In case the council shall by by-law provide that the valuation for the year 1924 shall so stand for five years, limited except there shall be for every person assessed in each year a right

in certain

cases.

Group insurance.

of appeal from the assessor's valuation to the Court of Revision and to the judge of the District Court in the manner provided by this Act, but no person shall be entitled to succeed upon appeal in the succeeding five years, unless he can prove to the satisfaction of the Court of Revision or of the judge of the District Court that his property has deteriorated in value since February, 1924; provided that there shall be no restriction of appeal or of the right to succeed upon appeal in the case of any person the valuation of whose property has been revised, altered, amended or increased in accordance with the provisions of subsection 1, nor in case of any property where there has been a change of ownership and the assessed owner whose name appears on the roll in succeeding years had no right of appeal in the year 1924.

"(3) In the event of any appeals being entered pursuant to the next preceding section, and it appears that the land in question is assessed at more than its true value, the amount of the assessment shall nevertheless not be varied on appeal unless the difference be gross,-if the value at which it is assessed bears a fair and just proportion to the value at which the lands in the immediate vicinity of the land in question are assessed, notwithstanding that section (5) of title XXXI provides that land shall be assessed at its fair actual value."

3. Title XXI. By adding sections 15 and 16 as follows: "15. The council shall have power to enter into and be a party to any scheme, contract, agreement or arrangement with the employees of the City of Medicine Hat, or any group or organization of the employees of the City of Medicine Hat, of or with any person, partnership or corporation for the insurance whether by group or otherwise of the lives of employees of the City of Medicine Hat, or of any number of them, and for the insurance whether by group or otherwise of the employees of the City of Medicine Hat, or any number of them against accident or sickness or any disability whatsoever, and to contribute and to fix the contributions payable from the funds of the City of Medicine Hat of the whole or any portion of the insurance premiums payable under such scheme, contract, agreement or arrangement.

"16. The council is hereby authorized to refer to the electors of the city qualified to vote for mayor, or to the

ratepayers qualified to vote on money by-laws, any question Plebiscite. relating to the business affairs of the city in such form and by such method of procedure as the council may decide by by-law."

4. Title XXXV, section 13 (2). By deleting the words "and may be levied and collected in like manner as municipal rates and taxes are by law recoverable," and substituting therefor:

"The said sum shall be deemed a tax within the meaning of title XXXII, section 6, and may be levied and collected in like manner and with the same priority as the general rates and taxes are by law recoverable."

5. Title XXXV, section 14. By deleting the words "and the same together with interest at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum thereon shall be collected by the secretary-treasurer by the sale of the lands and premises in the same manner and subject to the same provisions as in the case of a sale of land for arrears of municipal taxes," and substituting therefor:

"And the same shall be deemed a tax within the meaning of title XXXI, subsection (6), and together with interest at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum thereon shall be collected by the secretary-treasurer by sale of the land and premises in the same manner and with the same priority and subject to the same provisions as in the case of a sale of land for arrears of municipal taxes."

6. Title XXXI, section 8. By deleting the following words: "in all other respects the inspection of the business assessment roll, the giving notice of appeal, the procedure for and at appeals, and for the preparation of a tax roll based thereon and the collection of taxes shall be the same as by law provided for the general assessment," and substituting therefor:

"In all other respects the procedure for the inspection of the business assessment roll, the giving notice of appeal and hearing of appeals, the preparation of a tax roll and the collection of taxes shall be the same as by law are provided for the general assessment. The said business tax shall be deemed a tax within the meaning of title XXXII, section 6, and may be levied and collected in like manner and with the same priority as the general rates and taxes are recoverable, except that it shall not be recoverable by a sale of land."

7. Title XXXI, section 13 (b). By deleting section 13 (b), and substituting therefor the following:

"Any such levy or charge shall be deemed a tax within the meaning of title XXXII, section 6, and may be levied and