Province proposes stronger review of capital projects

Oct 25, 2021 | 3:24 PM

EDMONTON, AB – The Alberta Government is proposing legislation to make the decisions on capital infrastructure projects “criteria-based.”

If passed, the Infrastructure Accountability Act will legislate a governance framework, including criteria to guide how capital project decisions and spending are prioritized.

“The act will increase transparency, accountability and remove politics from the process of building Alberta’s public infrastructure supporting Alberta’s Recovery Plan,” the government release reads.

As part of the proposed act, it will include the development and regular review of a 20-year strategic capital plan.

Prasad Panda, Minister of Infrastructure, says he wants this bill to pass to change infrastructure decision-making.

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“Alberta’s government is taking the politics out of building public infrastructure. The Infrastructure Accountability Act gives Alberta taxpayers certainty that their money is being spent on the critical public infrastructure projects that our province most needs.”

The province has provided the following six criteria in the Infrastructure Accountability Act to evaluate how a capital project will:

address health, safety, and compliance needs
align with government priorities and strategies
foster economic activity and create jobs
improve program delivery and services
consider life-cycle costs and whether it will generate a
return on investment
enhance the resiliency of communities

For more on the proposed infrastructure criteria bill, go to alberta.ca.

by Connor Gunn