Central Contact for Weed Control and Pests Act

Resolution 5-25

Resolution 5-25 asks that “the Ministers of Energy, Environment and Ag work collaboratively to establish a central point of contact for identifying landholder to send communication to industry and government agencies for matters related to agriculture legislation. This would involve municipalities sending notices and other communications regarding the Acts to a central government contact, who would then distribute the information to the respective landholders.”

In response, the Government of Alberta’s Cross Ministry Invasive Species Group created a triage document that outlines who to contact when dealing with issues under the Weed Control Act, Agriculture Pests Act, or the Fisheries Act. This triage document was provided by Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation (AGI) to help identify the appropriate contacts.

The ASBPC raised concerns about the practicality of this solution. Committee members questioned who would be responsible for updating the document and where it would be permanently housed to ensure it remains current and accessible. The cross-ministry group is discussing this, and it was suggested that for now the ASBPC post the document on the ASB website, and help to ensure AAAF members know how to access.

The ASB Program Manager Kerrianne Koehler-Munro, is looking into the possibility of providing training on how to use the free “OneStop Public Viewer” mentioned in the Triage document as it may not be intuitive for all users.