Alberta's social, environmental and economic context has changed substantially, and our regulatory system needs to evolve accordingly. Interests on Alberta's land base are increasingly varied and competing, and our regulatory process, policies, and legislation don't fully support a modern approach to regulating. Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) is working to design and implement a common-sense, transparent, and consistent approach that reduces red tape and streamlines the regulatory experience. Our focus is clear. We are undertaking a full system transformation through incremental but foundational changes.
This transformational work is being undertaken in three main components:
• Regulatory Assurance Framework (RAF) and Digital Regulatory Assurance Framework (D-RAS) – Redesigning how we deliver our regulatory system;
• Crownland Modernization Initiatives – Re-examining our approach to Crown lands with the intent to modernize those systems; and
• Policy, Legislation, Regulatory and Regional Planning Considerations – Identifying necessary changes to our regulatory legislation and regulations to create efficiencies and enable risk-based decision-making.
Transition to an online Digital Regulatory Assurance System is essential to improving timeliness and coordination through an automated and integrated approach. Simply stated, DRAS will improve the user experience with clear instructions for complete applications, lifecycle tracking of an application and activity for proponents, faster, and predictable DRAS is an integrated solution that brings several dated information systems into one platform. It will be a single tool that replaces multiple systems, consolidating applications, approvals and long-term monitoring. DRAS will streamline the experience for the proponent through the life cycle of the project - from application through to file management and closure. The development of the system is being undertaken with a client-focused lens.
Government promised Albertans a common-sense conservation plan to protect the environment while recognizing that recreation, social, and economic use and conservation should support each other on Alberta’s Crown lands, which includes public lands and parks. Alberta’s Crown land covers over 60% of the province inclusive of parks and public lands. Crown land features a rich diversity of landscapes, watersheds and natural resources. It supports economic development and strong communities, provides opportunities for outdoor recreational activities and personal enjoyment, and sustains biodiversity. Taking an integrated approach across all Crown lands can help with managing diverse uses and pressures on the landscapes in a less complicated way - building clearer processes and focusing on results. Our legislation, classifications, and regulations will be simplified to fall in step with enhanced regulatory processes.
This System Transformation work is currently in-flight. In consideration of the timelines committed to for this work and growing understanding of the workload required to achieve the objectives, additional resources are required. Additional support is being sought in the areas of: change management, project management, facilitation, business process and policy analysis and documentation, program review/evaluation and strategic coordination.
