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Residents can help reduce red tape

There's a new government website that could benefit Albertans by allowing them to report red tape surrounding provincial policies.
The Alberta government launched a website where businesses, organizations, and the public can comment on which government regulations should be improved, kept, or scrapped.

There's a new government website that could benefit Albertans by allowing them to report red tape surrounding provincial policies.

"I think this is a fantastic (way) to allow businesses and individuals alike to work through government processes more efficiently," expressed Serina Parsons, executive director for the Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce. "We know that a lot of times, the process for an application or a grant for non-profits can be fairly time consuming. I find that across government sectors, there's a duplication. It's nice to remove some of that frustration, and focus on the outcome instead of the process of getting approved."

The provincial government launched the website on June 24 as part of their Red Tape Reduction Plan. Businesses, organizations, and the public can now submit their input on regulations that should be improved, kept, or scrapped.

"The regulatory burden in our province is simply unnecessary," said Associate Minister of Red Tape Reduction Grant Hunter, in a press release. "I look forward to hearing from Albertans on how we can reduce the burden, and to meeting with industry leaders to discuss how we can make it easier to do business and create jobs in the province."

Ryan Lefebvre, president of the Cold Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, believes the website is a step in the right direction.

He said, "Anything that makes the barrier of getting into business easier, or once you have that business, reducing regulations to make it more competitive or streamline things, any of those sorts of things are definitively positives."

While he hopes the provincial government isn't doing too much too fast, Town of Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski noted "the removal of some of the red tape in terms of processes and approvals is absolutely welcome."

The Red Tape Reduction Act, which was passed by the province on June 10, directs the Government of Alberta to review and evaluate existing regulations, rules, and processes to ensure they're as efficient as possible and provide value to Albertans.

During their June 26 meeting, the MD of Bonnyville council voted to send a letter to Hunter in regards to the red tape faced by local residents. According to Reeve Greg Sawchuk, businesses in the area currently face long waits for the approval of gravel (aggregate) leases.

"It's quite the process that they have to go through, and it got a lot more involved over the last few years, to the point that it's now costing people hundreds of thousands of dollars to actually develop these leases," he explained.

Lowering the amount of time people spend navigating government channels and making it user-friendly were important aspects of the initiative for Parsons.

"I know often times, even myself personally, I would be looking through a government application, and it would be extremely frustrating because I'm having to call several times, speaking with several departments without ever getting a proper response or taking a very long time to get a proper response," she detailed. "When you think about the time that takes, that time equals money."

On the website, Albertans also have the opportunity to see what action has already been taken.

Some changes made as a result of feedback include moving current grant funding for non-profits to multi-year agreements, giving tourism operators longer leases on public lands, and streamlining the Weed Control Act appeal process to shorten the wait time to get a decision.

"That's letting the people know and the businesses know where things have been made more efficient, and let us know things are actually happening," Parsons noted. "A lot of times a government will say that they have made changes, and we say, 'okay, where? Where can we see this?' It's just proof that... they're showing us actual examples."

Sobolewski said the initiative shows the province is willing to make adjustments.

"They've started, for example with the liquor in parks and things like that, they've actually started to make some wholesale changes. But, we just wanted to make sure when we start getting into really tough spots, say for example the approval of oil wells or of major bitumen projects, that they make sure that they're actually removing red tape rather than eliminating processes."

Sawchuk believes the Alberta government is recognizing the steps that people take, and that taxpayers have the right to be frustrated with them.

"It's a good thing they're at least open to people suggesting where they can streamline things, because that has always been the hit on the provincial, and federal, government that they're inaccessible."

Parsons and Lefebvre encouraged residents to utilize the website.

"They're asking for your input, so let's give them what we think the issues are and then they can deal with those responses. I think the more information they can have, the better they'll be able to deliberate and understand what the issues are," Lefebvre added.

For more information, visit cutredtape.alberta.ca.

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