Alberta creates ‘automatic yes toolkit’ to cut permits and introduce time-limits

George Lee,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The elimination of some permits and a countdown clock for others will entrench Alberta as a North American leader in red tape reduction, the UCP announced today.

Dale Nally, the minister of Service Alberta and red tape reduction, said two categories in the “automatic yes toolkit” will remove the need for time-consuming approvals. Permits placed in a third category will be subject to what the government calls a shot clock, borrowing a term from the sports world.

“We have heard from Albertans and businesses that it takes too long to get a permit approved, and we’re responding to that,” said Nally. “This is a great news story for Albertans.”

Applicants who trigger the shot clock and do not hear back within preset time limits — 90 days, for example — will have their permits automatically approved.

The announcement comes as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business awards Alberta a fourth consecutive A grade in its annual report card on red tape reduction. “To go from a jurisdiction that was getting F’s from the CFIB to one that is now recognized as a leader, not just in Canada but in North America, is something we’re particularly proud of,” Nally said.

The framework, operational immediately, spans 16 permit-issuing ministries and is part of a program of red tape reduction stemming from 2019’s Red Tape Reduction Act. A series of amendments about red tape reduction have followed, changing the original act and other legislation. Most recently, in 2024, amendments required the government to have no net increases in regulations.

Today’s announcement falls during CFIB’s Red Tape Awareness Week, promoted annually since 2010. It exists to publicize “confusing rules and regulations, administrative obstacles, excess paper and poor customer service,” the organization says on its website.

The least demanding categories for automatic-yes applicants will be code of practice and permit-by-rule. “For these, we’re saying you don’t need a permit anymore. You just need to follow the rules,” said Nally, the member for Morinville-St. Albert. “Perhaps in some cases, just give us a checklist letting us know that the requirements have been met. Then you’ll be able to proceed.”

Nally said the no-permit-necessary categories are for routine or low-risk applications. “And then here’s the best part: we’re going to take all the staff who were employed in those lower-risk and routine permit approvals and put them to work on the more complex approvals.”

Only when assurances are met will the toolkit be applied to permits involving high-risk activities, a government news release dated today says.

Alberta has already been using code of practice and permit-by-rule for some activities. North American jurisdictions including Ontario, British Columbia and Texas have also applied automatic yes to permit processing. But Alberta now has a more comprehensive approach, the release says.

Nally emphasized that the government is not taking away the right of regulators or ministries to deny a permit. “We’re just saying that it has to be done in a certain timeframe.”

Red tape does not mean all regulations, he said. Rather, it’s defined as a duplication or an unnecessary regulation.

“That’s an important thing to distinguish. I have children, I hope to have grandchildren someday. I’ve come to enjoy clean air and clean water, and I want my grandkids to experience that. So there will always be an appropriate amount of necessary regulation to ensure health and safety, and to ensure the protection of the environment.”

Over 200,000 requirements have been eliminated since 2019 and hundreds of red tape reduction initiatives implemented, the government says. Savings — realized primarily by Albertans and Alberta businesses — have so far have reached $2.9 billion in a 33 per cent overall reduction in red tape, the province estimates.

Many reductions stem from ideas received from Albertans. In 2020 the government earned a CFIB Golden Scissors Award for inviting citizens and businesses to submit their ideas to a special web page.

The Alberta government added a second Golden Scissors Award to the shelf in 2022 for passing the Labour Mobility Act, which simplifies the recognition of out-of-province certifications in more than 100 regulated occupations.

Red tape reductions are making a difference in the lives of everyday Albertans, Nally said. Amendments under Bill 16 last year updated 12 pieces of legislation across 10 ministries, eliminating more than 230 unnecessary requirements for individuals and businesses. The government estimates that the amendments will save Alberta families and businesses $1.5-million a year.

Underreported in the media was a change that allowed victims of domestic violence to easily access increasing funds based on numbers of children in their care, Nally said. “Getting them the support they need at a time when they need it, I think, is something we can agree is important.”

Popular red tape reductions include allowing online registration of vehicles and driver’s licence renewals. “Albertans have embraced this, and it’s just one more way we can make life better.”

On the industry side, Alberta allows the co-mingling of abandoned wells for reclamation permits, instead of requiring a separate application for each site. That means quicker approvals and industry savings of about $600 million a year, said Nally.

It’s Nally’s responsibility to hold his cabinet colleagues, including the premier, to account. For every new regulation brought in, the responsible minister has two years to match it with a removal.

Cabinet is keeping “the culture of red tape reduction alive and well,” said Nally.

The toolkit, meanwhile, is “a big step forward for Alberta’s small businesses,” Dan Kelly, CFIB president, is quoted in the news release as saying. “By speeding up permit approvals, entrepreneurs will have more time to focus on growth and job creation instead of navigating bureaucracy. This kind of efficiency is exactly what businesses need to thrive.”

George Lee,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Macleod Gazette