First panels to focus on oil and gas, tourism

The Alberta government has revealed the first two industry panels that will propose ways to cut red tape for businesses, while pledging to unveil others soon.

A 10-member panel will focus on tourism and hospitality, while a nine-person panel examines oil and gas, said a Friday news release.

“Those (industries) were the ones we were most ready on,” said Grant Hunter, associate minister of Red Tape Reduction.

“The oil and gas industry and the hospitality and tourism industry have been hit the hardest in terms of the job numbers, so we’re trying to have a material effect on those sectors specifically.”

It’s all part of the UCP plan to cut red tape and regulations in the province by one-third. Additional panels in the future will look at small businesses, agriculture, forestry, construction, manufacturing and the non-profit sector.

The panels don’t include any representatives from organized labour.

Hunter said unions can submit red tape reduction ideas directly to his office, or online.

“My door is always open,” he said. “(On the panels), we’ve got lots of people who are living it in the trenches, so I think that they’ll be representing a lot of issues that the union representatives also have.”

Premier Jason Kenney rolled out his plan in May, with plans to report back to Albertans by 2020.

“Our goal is to transform Alberta from one of the slowest-moving

and over-regulated economies in Canada, to one of the freest and fastest-moving in the world,” he told media during a visit to construction company PCL in Nisku to make the May announcement.

Bill 4, the Red Tape Reduction Act, didn’t include a timeline, or the definition of an unnecessary regulation.

Kenney said he wants the public service to use discretion and be innovative in how to reduce red tape.

The NDP previously criticized Bill 4, with critic Chris Nielsen calling the piece of legislation “a big ball of red tape” that “reads like a script of buzzwords.”

The Edmonton-decore MLA also voiced concerns about the health and safety of Albertans and the environment if regulations are cut.

The panels will meet biannually and are required to submit reports to Hunter.

Since June 24, more than 2,200 submissions have been made through a new website.