Full speed ahead: fast-tracking permit approvals
Alberta’s government is unveiling a new policy toolkit to accelerate simple permit approvals, reinforcing its commitment to cutting red tape.
Slow permit approvals and regulatory hurdles have long held back businesses, job creators and economic growth. Alberta’s new “Automatic Yes Toolkit” for permits makes life better for Albertans by reducing red tape, speeding up project timelines and creating more opportunities for businesses and individuals to thrive – all while ensuring health, safety and environmental protections remain in place. By addressing long wait times and improving efficiency, this initiative aims to prevent project delays, create jobs and drive economic growth across the province.
The Automatic Yes Toolkit enables government to identify permits that can benefit from faster decision-making processes. For lower-risk and routine activities such as Water Act applications, permit approvals will be replaced with clear operating requirements, freeing up resources to focus on more complex applications. For permits requiring detailed reviews, the toolkit introduces mandatory time limits for government decisions, providing greater certainty for applicants.
“While we have met our commitment to reduce red tape by 33 per cent, we are continuing to implement leaner, streamlined processes by adopting an Automatic Yes Toolkit. Business leaders and Albertans have told us that wait times for permit decisions can take too long, so we’ve designed the toolkit to address those concerns, while still maintaining the appropriate health, safety and environmental protections.” — Dale Nally, Minister, Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction
The Automatic Yes toolkit incorporates three approaches – Code of Practice (COP), Permit-by-Rule (PBR), and Shot Clock – to be used as additional policy tools to support reduction in permit decision timelines. Each approach is tailored to degrees of regulatory risk, ranging from low-risk activities that pose minimal harm to the environment and public health and safety, to medium-risk activities that may require more extensive review and oversight.
As these tools are implemented, Albertans applying for permits can expect shorter wait times and fewer project delays. This ensures that government resources are allocated more effectively while safeguarding public health, safety and the environment.
“The Automatic Yes Toolkit is a big step forward for Alberta’s small businesses. 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.” — Dan Kelly, president, Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses
Even with the Automatic Yes Toolkit in place, Alberta’s government will retain the ability to deny permits when necessary and appropriate, as well as undertake the appropriate enforcement actions when violations have occurred.
Quick facts
The Automatic Yes Toolkit will only be applied to permits categorized as high-risk activities if all assurances can still be met.
Alberta already leverages COPs and PBRs for various activities, and various jurisdictions across North America, such as Ontario, British Columbia and Texas, have also applied some of the “Automatic Yes” approaches to streamline their permit approval processes. However, with the introduction of the Automatic Yes Toolkit, Alberta now has a more comprehensive approach for streamlining and accelerating permit approvals.