Cut Red Tape

Safety codes permitting and inspection services

• streamline online safety codes permitting and inspections services to reduce paperwork for accredited organizations and increase efficiency of site inspections

Audit process for accredited organizations

• reduce administrative burden of audits for organizations accredited under the Safety Codes Act to deliver permitting and inspection services in their jurisdictions by clarifying and reducing the number of documents to be submitted, and increasing time allowed to respond to audit reports

Private sewage disposal system permitting

• simplify the application process and reduce submission requirements for permit applications

National Fire Protection Association students

• provide students with better access to their records by combining two certificates into one, and providing records and certificates access to students through an online system

Owner-builder authorization and rental construction

• streamline the process for those applying for owner-builder authorization and rental use designations
• these changes will reduce turnaround time, simplify the application process and allow construction to occur sooner

Residential Protection Program refund policies

• relax operational policies that restrict owner-builders’ eligibility for refunds from the Residential Protection Program
• this reduces costs for clients and better aligns the program with other government programs

New Home Buyer Protection processes

• simplify and clarify processes for determining whether the New Home Buyer Protection Act applies
• this brings clarity to municipalities, removes unnecessary requirements for applicants and creates a standard application

Sub-division and designated industry property appeals

• introduce enhanced alternative dispute resolution through formal pre-hearing telephone conferences to help lower the volume and costs of Municipal Government Board sub-division and designated industrial property appeals

Safety Codes Council exam registration process

• reduce the number of forms an exam proctor must complete when administering an in-house Safety Codes Council exam
• the change allows proctors to administer multiple exams using one form, instead of having to fill out one form for each exam

Access to safety codes, standards and guides

• provide online access to safety codes, standards and other products at a reduced cost or for free, reducing costs for safety codes officers, accredited organizations, owners, designers and other code users

Code of Conduct Regulation (under the Electric Utilities Act)

• simplify code of conduct requirements regarding disclosure statements for electricity retailers
• simplify the advertisement requirements for electricity retailers and natural gas services

Independent Power and Small Power Regulation

• repeal regulation as it's no longer required

Innovative Energy Technologies Regulation

• repeal regulation as it's no longer required

Reclassify oilwell service rigs

• exempt oilwell service rigs from some regulatory requirements on commercial vehicles and to align with other provinces
• reduces administrative burden for industry

Service rigs harmonization

• harmonize rig classification standards across provinces
• reduces administrative burden for industry

Flexibility for oil and gas companies

• enable accredited municipalities and corporations to issue jurisdiction-wide variances, thereby reducing administrative burden and allowing designers and owners to proceed with construction more quickly

Registration of pressure vessels and piping systems

• launch a website where pressure vessels and piping systems can be registered online, improving the ability of regulatory authorities across Canada to share and access information

Tourism and Commercial Recreation Growth

• give tourism operators longer leases on public lands
• longer leases makes it easier for operators to secure financing, makes the industry more competitive and strengthens the economy

Liquor in provincial parks

• lift all liquor bans in provincial parks campgrounds for the May long weekend and as of June 28, 2019 for select day-use area picnic sites, allowing adults to responsibly enjoy alcoholic beverages in provincial campsites and with food at 14 day-use picnic sites.
• News release: Liquor ban quashed and rules relaxed (May 16, 2019)
• News release: Provincial parks day-use liquor sites selected (June 28, 2019)

AGLC craft liquor sales at artisan markets

• Modernizes policy so craft liquor sales are available at a greater number of artisan craft markets, almost tripling the number of eligible markets.

AGLC Special Licensed Events

• clarify that enclosed events like festivals can choose where patrons can consume alcohol

AGLC Alternative Financial Security for Gaming Retailers

• approve cash deposits from retailers as an alternative financial security for gaming retailers
• prior to this change, obtaining approval could take up to 6 weeks and had to be renewed every 2 years at a cost to the business of approximately $400-500

Weed appeal process

• streamline Weed Control Act appeal process to shorten the wait time to get a decision
• an outside adjudicator will review appeals through their own independent hearing, which will significantly shorten processing time

Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) lending mandate

• implement the AFSC lending mandate that was approved in January 2018, which will provide assistance to agriculture processors, producers and agri-businesses
• this includes establishing an agribusiness lending group to work with agricultural processors

Surplus crown rural property appraisals

• update and simplify the current appraisal policy on rural property sales
• this change will reduce government costs and speed up the rural property sales process by as much as 4 weeks

Public land leases

• Extends public land leases to a maximum of 20 years, in order to give long-term certainty to ranchers with exemplary stewardship
• Grazing Lease Stewardship Code of Practice

Agricultural Disaster Recovery Program funding

• enable the option to use Canadian Land Inventory rates in lieu of requiring quotes for calculating agricultural Disaster Recovery Program funding for land restoration
• the change speeds up the process and helps landowners who have difficulty obtaining quotes.

Forestry Protection Act Regulation

• unify the College of Alberta Professional Technologists and the College of Alberta Professional Foresters into one professional regulatory organization – the Association of Alberta Forest Management Professionals

Multi-year grant agreements

• move current grant funding agreements for various ministries to multi-year grant agreements
• provides certainty to stakeholders and reduces time used to apply for grants, freeing up non-profit organizations so they can focus on delivering programs and services.

Electronic funds transfers

• set up e-transfers for Community Grant Programs
• this will allow organizations to receive their funding about a week after notification, rather than an average wait of 100 days

AGLC charity non-cheque payments

• expand the use of electronic fund transfers for charities when making payments from their casino bank accounts
• charities have previously been required to use cheques (requiring two signatures)

Automatic enrolment from AISH to Seniors Benefit

• enable the automatic enrolment of AISH program recipients into Seniors Financial Assistance programs at age 65

Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)

• eliminate all of Alberta's procurement exceptions from the CFTA in order to create more competition for contracts and enable Alberta companies to bid in larger Canadian markets
• review Alberta's remaining exceptions to further liberalize trade within Canada

Condominium regulations

• Pauses the implementation of new condominium regulations in order to review them and ensure they do not cause red tape.
• Condominium rules consultation

Municipal government property tax incentives

• Allow municipalities to provide property tax incentives for up to 15 years, in order to attract new investments and support the economic needs of their communities
• Property tax incentives webpage

Public Health Act Forms Regulation

• Repeal the regulation so changes to public health forms can be made more easily and the forms can be made available online

MyAlberta evacuation payments

• Enable evacuees to apply online and receive one-time emergency funding via Interac e-Transfer
• This alleviates the need for travel to specific locations and wait in line to receive financial assistance, saving them time and reducing administration of the program for government

Job creation student wage

• implement a job creation student wage of $13 for students who are 17 years of age or younger, to encourage employers to hire young Albertans for their first job

General holidays

• restore prior labour rules for general holidays
• Open for Business Act

Banked overtime hours

• restore prior rules for employers that allow overtime hours to be banked at straight time

Fair Registration Practices Act

• ensure that regulated professions, and individuals applying for registration by regulated professions, are governed by registration practices that are transparent, objective, impartial and fair

Municipal Disaster Recovery Program application process

• upgrade the application form so eligible municipalities can receive disaster financial assistance payments faster, and for their recovery efforts to begin sooner

Disaster Recovery Program applications

• develop a secure online website for municipalities to directly upload information in support of Disaster Recovery Program applications
• this expedites the transmission of information and increases security around the process

Rental recovery application process – surface lease agreements

• Streamline and reduce the number of forms for landowners to complete when applying to recover money that is past due under a surface lease agreement
• This change means only one application is needed and is processed faster

Surface Rights Board decisions

• Implement a new process for board decisions in order to reduce delays between hearings and the release of decisions

Elimination of vehicle recertification requirements

• eliminate the requirement that vehicles converted to be powered by a different fuel (i.e., gasoline to propane) be re-certified every three years.

Flexibility for accredited municipalities and corporations

• enable accredited municipalities and corporations to issue jurisdiction-wide variances.
• This change reduces administrative burden and allows designers and owners to proceed with construction more quickly

Reporting and application requirements for accredited municipalities and corporations

• reduce unnecessary/redundant requirements placed on accredited municipalities, and corporations, including simplifying accreditation applications and remove a requirement for an internal audit in the same year as a Safety Codes Council audit.

System administration for accredited municipalities

• eliminate requirement for accredited municipalities to have quality management plan updates approved by municipal councils

Administrative fees for Safety Codes Council services

• reduce administrative costs for safety codes officers and master electricians for certain services such as training equivalency requests, preparation of records/photocopying and replacing certificates or identification cards.

Safety Codes Council (SCC) and Alberta Boilers Safety Association (ABSA) personnel change process

• eliminate requirement for government to approve every key personnel change at the SCC or ABSA
• administrators authorized to perform key tasks under the Safety Codes Act will be appointed by job title instead of name, reducing disruptions for safety codes officers, municipalities and pressure equipment operators

Public library project grants

• create multi-year project grant agreements for public library grant recipients, eliminating the need to complete a grant agreement each year and speeding up the processing of grant payments

Real estate sector advertising guidelines

• suspend the implementation of new advertising in the real estate sector. This halts the implementation of any new bylaw, rule, policy or interpretation, unless approved by the minister
• the new guidelines, which dictate the font and logo sizes in realtor advertising, would impose significant costs on real estate businesses, but present no obvious improvement or benefit for consumers in comparison to existing guidelines

Digital proof of insurance

• Introduced digital proof of automobile insurance enabling drivers quick, safe and easier access when asked to provide it.

Legal Aid eligibility requirements for recipients of Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH):

• automatically accept AISH clients applying for legal aid, provided their legal matter falls within Legal Aid’s scope of services.

Barcoding for standard handwritten violation tickets:

• introducing barcodes in standard handwritten multi-part violation tickets used by enforcement agencies.
• will bring more accuracy and efficiency to the system and support the future Traffic Ticket Digital Service, under development.
• will provide Albertans with more choices, including using their smartphone to pay traffic fines, request time to pay and /or make partial payments.

Personal property registrations:

• require civil enforcement agencies to discharge all inactive personal property registrations more than 10 years old.
• without a discharge, an Albertan’s future credit rating could have been affected even when the action had been settled.
• this change also means Albertans don’t need to obtain a court order for a discharge.

MyAlberta Digital ID

• introduced digital ID that can validate identity online. This innovation enabled people evacuated from their homes during the 2019 wildfires to apply for financial support online instead of in person.
• evacuees were able to deposit funds directly – and promptly – into their accounts.

Outcome-based regulatory approach

• established the outcome-based regulatory approach to minimize regulatory impacts on citizens and businesses; tasking each ministry with enacting a Red Tape Reduction Plan of its own.