Province takes aim at ‘red tape’ issues in agriculture

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on August 1, 2025.

asmith@medicinehatnews.com

Alberta’s government is looking to help agriculture organizations focus on putting food on tables across the province by eliminating redundant regulations for agricultural marketing boards and commissions.

This comes to roughly 28.5 per cent of these regulations, including 20 redundant rules that overlap with existing requirements, the province claims.

“Alberta is the best place to do business, and we are the best province in Canada at reducing red tape to promote economic growth,” said RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation. “We want to continue to be a leader in this space, and that’s why we’re getting out of the way of our producers so they can continue to put food on tables in Alberta and around the world.”

It is the province’s hope that this will streamline rules and provide marketing boards and commissions more time to concentrate on growing, stimulating and improving production.

These efforts began in 2019, according to the government, and the Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council continues to implement the 2020 Marketing of Agricultural Products Act amendments made by government.

“Alberta’s agriculture producers deserve to focus on what they do best, feeding our province and the world. By cutting unnecessary red tape, we’re giving them more time to grow their businesses and less time buried in paperwork,” said Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction.

“The Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council is thrilled to be part of modernizing the legislative framework for Alberta’s 19 agricultural marketing boards and commissions to remove unnecessary regulatory burden,” said John Buckley, chair of the Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council.

He continued to say that these boards play a vital role in growing Alberta’s agricultural industry and represent some of the best farmers and ranchers that the world has to offer.

The province believes the change will streamline rules by eliminating unnecessary regulations, allowing marketing boards and commissions to concentrate on helping producers compete, innovate and be more productive.

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