BILD Lethbridge hosted a Lunch and Learn session, with Associate Red Tape Reduction Minister Grant Hunter

By Lara Fominoff

Red Tape

Red Tape Ministry struggling to keep up with submissions says Associate Minister Grant Hunter

Nov 24, 2019 | 10:48 AM

Lethbridge, AB – The ministry created to reduce red tape has been overwhelmed with thousands of requests and is “not moving as smoothly and efficiently” as first hoped.

That’s according to Grant Hunter, Associate Minister of Red Tape Reduction. Hunter was in Lethbridge Friday afternoon as part of the BILD (Building Industry and Land Development) Association Lunch and Learn Speaker Series.

Hunter told the crowd of about two dozen, the purpose of the Red Tape Reduction Ministry was to create a way of cutting unnecessary or complicated regulatory burdens and processes to encourage economic growth and job creation. The objective over four years is to cut red tape by one third.

However he admits the initial few months have been extraordinarily busy for the nine people who work in the department. Mayor Chris Spearman who attended the luncheon, asked Hunter what the status was of the four thousand submissions the ministry has already received.

“I think what happens is, people make a submission and then they get discouraged when nothing happens,” said Spearman. “Things tend to get bogged down. So, will there be a list of the 4,000 submissions with a red, yellow, green as to what the status is – and pending, so people know?”

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Hunter answered that just trying to keep up with the submissions has overwhelmed ministry staff. At this point those who submit suggestions or requests receive an email confirming their email has been received, and sometimes whether any action will or won’t be taken.

“That takes some time,”said Hunter.”I’ll tell you the truth. The reality is, is that most things triangulate from the stuff that we’ve received and submissions, they triangulate back to AEP (Alberta Environment and Parks), AER (Alberta Energy Regulator), AUC (Alberta Utilities Commission) and Labour. That’s the top four…. and so, they’re doing what they can to get caught up, but it is taking some time.

“So, people sometimes contact our office back and say, ‘where’s my submission at?’ And we can try to be able to, we try to, when that happens, try to be able to go in and try get them an answer. But it is frustrating, because remember, we’re trying to change the culture within government and so things aren’t moving as smoothly and as efficiently as we’d like them to, yet.”

He added that the requests have not yet been broken down into those that are actionable or non-actionable. More policy deliberation will be needed prior to that step occurring.

Another audience member asked the minister how smaller municipalities can identify policies and procedures that could benefit from red tape reduction, and whether there is any provincial government assistance available to accomplish that objective.

“I’ve asked them (municipalities) to do what they can to be able to share best practices within their membership (AUMA),” answered Hunter. “So, there are some really good best practices that are being implemented already within different counties and communities.”

BILD’s Lethbridge President Perry Neufeld also asked Hunter whether at this time there were desired outcomes or measurables, and how long it might take to see those outcomes.

“So, four years we’re going to reduce it by at least one-third,” explained Hunter. “We have to count. I mean, you don’t know what you don’t know. So, you’ve gotta start counting and cataloguing where all of these pinch points or hoops you gotta jump though is.”

Right now, he said, the ministry is trying to triage all the submissions that will have a “real material effect on our job creators and innovators.”

“Stay tuned…by the first year to year and a half, that’s when you start to see a lot of really good pieces of legislation removed or reformed.”