(L-R): Associate Minister Grant Hunter; Nathan Satanove, Owner, Pasta Pantry; Rob Plante, Canadian Federation of Independent Business. (Government of Alberta)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

UCP declares Jan. 20-24 Red Tape Reduction Awareness Week

Jan 20, 2020 | 12:26 PM

Alberta’s UCP government is declaring Jan. 20-24 Red Tape Reduction Awareness Week.

The announcement coincides with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s own Red Tape Awareness Week. It’s purpose is to highlight how regulatory burdens from all levels of government impede business and harm the economy.

“Red Tape Reduction Awareness week is about celebrating our work in cutting red tape for Albertans, while acknowledging there’s a lot more to be done,” says Grant Hunter, Associate Minister of Red Tape Reduction.

“Our government has made it clear that we will get Albertans back to work. I’m excited as we move forward into this new year – we have an ambitious agenda ahead of us.”

According to a government release, Red Tape Reduction Awareness Week will highlight successes made over the last half year, announce new actions, and kick off a new year of cutting Alberta’s regulatory burden.

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Key points of the UCP’s red tape reduction plan include reducing the minimum wage for workers 17 and under to $13/hour, in hopes employers will be encouraged to hire young Albertans for their first job, and lifting all liquor bans in provincial parks, a measure which took affect last June.

Chris Nielsen, MLA for Edmonton-Decore and NDP Official Opposition Critic for Red Tape Reduction, says the announcement is a distraction from the UCP’s terrible record of economic failure.

“Instead of creating an environment to support job creation and economic diversification, the UCP has lost 50,000 full-time jobs since they implemented their $4.7-billion corporate handout,” says Nielsen, in a release. “Associate Minister Grant Hunter should focus on jobs instead of staging photo ops for his $10-million ministry.”

The NDP responded to the announcement by calling it a distraction from the “UCP’s terrible record of economic failure.”

“Instead of creating an environment to support job creation and economic diversification, the UCP has lost 50,000 full-time jobs since they implemented their $4.7 billion corporate handout,” says Chris Nielsen, MLA for Edmonton-Decore and Official Opposition Critic for Red Tape Reduction.

Joel French, executive director at Public Interest Alberta, notes an astounding amount of irony in the announcement.

“Much of the so-called red tape they are removing is taking away protections for Albertans related to safety and the public interest,” says French, in a release. “This announcement is really creating new barriers for post-secondary institutions to get the funding they need.”

“It is very clear what the goal of this new funding model is,” he continues. “It is not to increase public investment in programs that are performing well, but rather to serve as justification for further significant cuts to a post-secondary system that is already reeling from brutal cuts in the government’s last budget. The result is going to be weaker institutions that are even more reliant on corporate funding, while tuition costs continue to sky-rocket for students.”