"Delegated administrative organization" in Alberta.

AuthorOlsen, Sue

Sue Olsen represents Edmonton Norwood in the Alberta Legislative Assembly. This is an edited version of a paper delivered to the 36th Canadian Regional Conference in Regina in July 1997. The author acknowledges the assistance of Lennie Kaplan and Mary Griffiths, Research Analysts for the Alberta Official Opposition.

To understand the rationale behind the introduction of delegated legislation and regulation in Alberta, it is important to understand how the government established priorities within the climate of fiscal crisis that existed in 1993.

According to a former Alberta Provincial treasurer, Lou Hyndman, cost-cutting and elimination of the deficit is one specific objective of the Alberta Government but the long-term vision is wider. "It is to permanently change the relationship between Albertans and their government and to fundamentally restructure the traditional activities of government".

Fundamental to reducing the size and presence of government was a re-evaluation of government involvement in business. "Is the program or service a core requirement? Does the service provide a common/public good? Should the province be responsible for the service? Should the service be the responsibility of the private sector, municipalities, the federal government or a not-for-profit organization"? (1)

As a result of answering these questions, some programs and activities were terminated while others are being contracted out or privatized. The "Third Option", as it is called, is the creation of Delegated Administrative Organizations, or DAOs.

A Delegated Administrative Organization is an arms-length, self-funded, legal entity established for the purpose of administering a comprehensive management/regulatory/enforcement program for the delivery of a service or set of programs traditionally delivered by government.

The DAO is administered by representatives of stake-holders within an activity or program area and usually also has representatives from government and the public. While the DAO is responsible for the delivery of the program, the government theoretically retains control over standards, legislation, regulations and policy and how they are enforced.

According to the government, the advantages of a DAO are:

* to ensure that those individuals most directly receiving benefits assume the cost for regulation.

* to empower groups or industry sectors to regulate themselves and resolve their own problems.

* to reduce the cost to government of enforcing current legislation.

Over the past three years, the following major DAOs have been established:

* the Petroleum...

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