C E O ’ S M E S S A G E
Advocacy and Government
Relations in All its Forms
Let’s keep the momentum going
Over the past few years, and increasingly over the
past few months, you have all heard me talk
about the importance of advocacy and government
relations. And in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s
stimulus spending, I hope all member companies have come
to understand – more than ever – why it’s needed and the
benefits we get out of it.
Times are not like they were pre-2015. Money isn’t
flowing as freely. We need to make sure our voices are
heard. We need to make sure we are visible to the public.
We need to make sure government understands just how
critical our industry is to Alberta’s economy.
This work comes in many forms – from consultation
on government legislation and policies; to media
events with MLAs and Ministers; to ARHCA profiles in
publications; to regular phone calls and meetings with
government representatives.
I’m going to give you the rundown of some of the work
that has occurred over the past six months and talk a little
bit about why this is so important.
Red Tape Panel
As you know, the Government of Alberta (GoA) is looking
at regulatory and administrative requirements to eliminate
and prevent red tape. As part of this initiative, the ARHCA is
part of the Construction Red Tape Reduction Industry Panel
that has been providing advice to the GoA on regulatory
requirements and administrative burden. Due to the high
number of recommendations, the panel has been broken
out into sub-groups, with the ARHCA leading the sub-group
for Horizontal and Heavy Infrastructure. Thus far, the
panel’s recommendations are wide-ranging and have been
categorized as follows:
1. Workers Compensation Act
2. Occupational Health and Safety
3. Environmental Approvals
4. Transportation Approvals
5. Municipal Approvals
6. Municipal Development Charges
7. Recalibrating Risk Allocation in Procurement Contracts
8. Economic Framework for Development Rights
9. Additional Recommendations
By Ron Glen, CEO, ARHCA
There are many recommendations that have come
from the public and from groups in development and
construction. The panel is presenting a report to the
Minister in the coming weeks and will then look to
advance new ideas to provide certainty and opportunity
for investment and construction. It is important to note
this is the first set of recommendations (more than 160
individual suggestions) that we have looked at; however,
as the representative for the ARHCA, I will be looking for
more input from members to advance a second round of
recommendations this winter. Please keep an eye out for
that in the near future.
Safety events with government
Over the course of the summer and fall, we have hosted
two safety events with MLAs for the Don’t RIP Through
Construction Zones campaign. In August, we were joined
by member company Aecon and Nathan Neudorf (MLA,
Lethbridge-East); and in October, we were joined by member
company Central City Asphalt and Minister Jason Nixon
(MLA, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre). Both
events were successful in that they generated positive media
coverage for our member companies and the ARHCA. But
most importantly, they gave us the opportunity to publicly
acknowledge the effect that stimulus spending on roads
can have on the economy, and to chat with government
ALBERTA HEAVY Quarter 4 2020 5