Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, SA 2022 c16
Amended
- Animal Health Act, SA 2007 cA-40.2
- Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act, RSA 2000 cC-12
- Cooperatives Act, SA 2001 cC-28.1
- Education Act, SA 2012 cE-0.3
- Health Statutes Amendment Act, SA 2021 c10
- Highways Development and Protection Act, SA 2004 cH-8.5
- Local Authorities Election Act, RSA 2000 cL-21
- Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act, RSA 2000 cM-22
- Municipal Government Act, RSA 2000 cM-26
- Pharmacy and Drug Act, RSA 2000 cP-13
- Provincial Parks Act, RSA 2000 cP-35
- Public Lands Act, RSA 2000 cP-40
- Railway (Alberta) Act, RSA 2000 cR-4
- Residential Tenancies Act, SA 2004 cR-17.1
- Rural Utilities Act, RSA 2000 cR-21
- Surveys Act, RSA 2000 cS-26
Summary
The Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act amends the following legislation:
Animal Health Act
The Act removes the 24-hour requirement for reporting the presence or suspected presence of a reportable or notifiable disease in an animal from the Animal Health Act, but notably does not remove it from the Reportable and Notifiable Diseases Regulation.
Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act
The Act removes the one-year term in the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act for a residential facility licence as terms will now be set in the regulations.
The Act also outlines the right of foster parents to appeal a decision regarding a residential facility licence.
Cooperatives Act
Among other things, the Act reduces the percentage of Canadian resident members of a cooperative’s board of directors from a majority to 25%, and removes Canadian residency requirements for managing directors.
The replacement of the Director of Cooperatives with the Registrar of Cooperatives necessitated the consequential amendments.
Education Act
The Act authorizes the enactment of regulation respecting Early Childhood Services programs and private schools.
The Act also extends the repeal date of sections of the Education Act regarding the spending of accumulated surplus funds by school boards from September 1, 2022 to September 1, 2023.
Highway Development and Protection Act
The Act allows the Minister (as opposed to the Lieutenant Governor in Council prior to the amendment) to, by order, designate freeways and prescribe a route number for the freeway so designated.
Local Authorities Election Act
The Act requires the following personal information of candidates and donors to be redacted from candidate disclosure statements before they are made public.
- The mailing address of the candidate;
- Any address provided for a contributor, except any portion of an address that names a municipality or a province; or
- Any other candidate or contributor contact information not required to be included on a document filed with a local jurisdiction.
In the event that a document which was previously publicly available does not comply with the foregoing before the amendment comes into force, the local jurisdiction must immediately withhold any further public access to the document and make the document available to the public in a partial or redacted form.
Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act
The Act authorizes the Minister to appoint an Administrator of the Act, and enables the Administrator to delegate duties and powers under the Act to other people.
Municipal Government Act
The Act authorizes the Minister to approve Community Revitalization Levy bylaws and amendments, instead of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
The list of municipal purposes must now include “to foster the economic development of the municipality”.
Two or more municipalities may now establish an intermunicipal business licensing program and adopt a bylaw of each participating municipality.
The Minister is also able to make regulations respecting intermunicipal business licensing programs.
Municipality councils must hold a public hearing for proposed bylaws before second reading of a bylaw that would close a road.
The amendments make various changes to the procedure for the formation, change of status or dissolution of a municipality, the amalgamation of municipal authorities, or the annexation of land.
The Minister now has the powers to:
- Make an order to suspend the bylaw-making authority of councils;
- Make an order to remove a suspension with or without conditions;
- Make an order withholding money otherwise payable by the Government to a municipality pending compliance with an order of the Minister;
- Make an order establishing, repealing or amending policies and procedures with respect to a municipality;
- Make an order to suspend the development or subdivision authority of a municipality and provide a person to act in its place pending compliance with conditions specified in the order;
- Make an order requiring or prohibiting any other action as necessary to ensure compliance;
- Make an order dismissing the council or any member of it or the chief administrative officer; and
- Hold an additional electors vote on whether a municipality should be dissolved.
Further, the Act authorizes the Minister to make regulations respecting the use of electronic, telephonic or other communication methods to conduct meetings of a council or council committee.
The Act also authorizes council to pass a bylaw providing for meetings including hearings to be held by electronic means. Such a bylaw must specify the type of electronic means for the meeting, require a method to confirm the identity of each councillor, specify a method for the public to access, specify a method for making information publicly available, and specify a method for giving public notice of the meetings.
Pursuant to the Act, a chief elected official is no longer an automatic member of committees and bodies.
The Act authorizes councils to approve of the method to give notice for a council or council committee meeting, and notice to a councillor, member of council committee and the public would be deemed sufficient if given by such an approved method.
Pharmacy and Drug Act
The Act authorizes the Alberta College of Pharmacy to create and enforce standards of practice that address specific areas of pharmacy operations.
Provincial Parks Act and Public Lands Act
The Act allows the Minister in charge of both Acts to adopt or incorporate and publish standards, directives, practices, codes, guidelines, objectives or other rules. The Minister in each case is also authorized to set standards, directives, practices, codes, guidelines, objectives or other rules relating to any matter in respect of which a regulation may be made.
Health Statutes Amendment Act
Under the Act, the proprietor of a pharmacy must now meet the requirements set out in the regulations and the standards.
Railway (Alberta) Act
The Act allows operators of a heritage railway to apply to the Railway Administrator to operate under an alternate set of rules than those currently prescribed in the Heritage Railway Regulation.
Residential Tenancies Act
In addition to delivery by personal service, regular mail or registered mail, the Act allows any manner of delivery of the security deposit which is agreed upon in writing by the landlord and the tenant.
Rural Utilities Act
The Act allows rural electrification associations to purchase other rural electrification associations.
Surveys Act
The Act allows the use of “provincial reference system” which is a collection of standards, models, data products and infrastructure used to support geospatial positioning.
The Act allows surveyors up to one year after the completion of a survey to register a survey plan with the Registrar instead of 90 days.
The Act repeals the discretion for municipalities to use general funds for re-survey expenses and replaces it with a provision to place the expenses in whole or in part on the tax roll and collect same as an additional tax against the property affected by the re-survey, in proportion to the assessed value of the property as shown on the last assessment roll.
In Force: Various dates