ALBERTA COMPETITIVENESS ACT ALBERTA COMPETITIVENESS ACT
Chapter A‑14.9
WHEREAS Alberta’s success is founded on the competitiveness and the entrepreneurial spirit of Albertans;
WHEREAS competitiveness is core to the Government of Alberta’s plan to position Alberta for sustained prosperity to provide a high quality of life for Albertans;
WHEREAS global competition for access to markets and for investment capital, people and skills is ever increasing;
WHEREAS the Government of Alberta believes that the role of government is to create the conditions for competitiveness so that entrepreneurship, innovation and investment will generate benefits for Albertans; and WHEREAS better alignment of activities across Government to strengthen partnerships among Albertans, business, industry and Government will support the development of a shared strategy to increase Alberta’s competitiveness;
THEREFORE HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as follows:
Establishment and authorization
1(1)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation,
                             (a)    establish a board, committee, council or other body for the purposes of this Act;
                             (b)    authorize any Provincial agency as defined in the Financial Administration Act for the purposes of this Act.
(2)  In establishing a board, committee, council or other body under subsection (1)(a), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may provide for the membership of the body, the term of appointment and remuneration of members, and any powers, duties and functions necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(3)  In authorizing a Provincial agency under subsection (1)(b), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, notwithstanding the enactment under which the Provincial agency was established, provide for an increase in the membership of the Provincial agency, qualifications for membership, and any additional powers, duties and functions necessary for that Provincial agency to carry out the purposes of this Act.
 
Mandate
2   The purpose of a body established under section 1(1)(a) or a Provincial agency authorized under section 1(1)(b) is
                             (a)    to increase Alberta’s competitiveness by
                                     (i)    accelerating the implementation of current Government of Alberta initiatives to increase competitiveness,
                                    (ii)    developing a shared strategy to increase Alberta’s competitiveness through strengthened collaboration with industry, business and Albertans,
                                   (iii)    developing benchmarks for measuring Alberta’s competitiveness,
                                  (iv)    reporting publicly on implementation of the strategy to increase Alberta’s competitiveness and on the achievement of the measures of competitiveness, and
                                   (v)    communicating about Alberta’s competitiveness and how it contributes to the prosperity, environment and quality of life of current and future Albertans,
                             (b)    to develop strategies and initiatives
                                     (i)    to encourage innovation and to develop and adopt technology,
                                    (ii)    to create effective regulatory systems that deliver the results Albertans require and that provide clarity, predictability, certainty and efficiency, and
                                   (iii)    to increase Alberta’s competitiveness and productivity of individual economic sectors,
                             (c)    to assess how changing circumstances affect Alberta’s competitiveness and identify other actions to address emerging risks or opportunities,
                             (d)    to identify actions to enhance other systems, services or factors affecting Alberta’s competitiveness, and
                             (e)    to carry out any other functions specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
 
Reports
3   A body established under section 1(1)(a) or a Provincial agency authorized under section 1(1)(b) must as soon as practicable after the coming into force of this Act
                             (a)    assess and report to the Premier on the progress of implementing current initiatives designed to increase Alberta’s competitiveness, and
                             (b)    provide a report to the Premier setting out the current state of Alberta’s competitiveness and recommending further actions that Government, industry and business can take to increase Alberta’s competitiveness,
and thereafter prepare an annual report on its progress in carrying out its purposes.
 
Coming into force
4   This Act comes into force on Proclamation.
(NOTE:   Proclaimed in force July 14, 2010.)