LAKELAND – The Alberta government is inviting residents to share their opinions on improving and modernizing its online services through an online survey. The survey will be open until Jan. 24.
“Alberta’s Digital Strategy is the next big step on the journey to becoming a leader in delivering world-class digital services to Albertans,” said Nate Glubish, Minister of Technology and Innovation in a Jan. 3 announcement.
“We are modernizing our processes, providing higher quality solutions and more intuitive, user-friendly tools that will deliver better value and outcomes for Albertans,” said Glubish.
In addition to the survey, the provincial government also aims to seek the input of various “technology industry leaders, post-secondary institutions, health organizations, and Indigenous communities,” to shape its digital strategy.
The province’s Technology and Innovation department is planning to bring over 20 additional services online this year with Alberta’s Digital Strategy.
Glubish explained that generally, the idea behind the province’s digital service delivery is to provide Albertans “the absolute best user experience you could possibly imagine,” whenever they need to, or wherever they can access these online services.
According to information from Technology and Innovation, additional services that will be available online that were not available may include, but are not limited to, “enhancements to the Affordable Housing portal, streamlining services for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, Court Document filing, Traffic Ticket Digital Service, and Wildfire Response systems.”
Not a replacement
Glubish spoke with Lakeland This Week on Jan. 4 and said the push to modernize government services in the province will not replace the traditional delivery of services, rather it will “augment” services, and offer Albertans more modern and digital options to access government services.
Ultimately, it will give “Albertans more choice and more convenience, saving them time and money,” said Glubish. “[Albertans] deserve the best and this is how we are going to deliver the best.”
For individuals not comfortable engaging with digital services, “there will always be an in-person, or an on-paper, or traditional method to access these services,” said Glubish. “We are not reducing access in any way, shape or form,” he added.
He also noted that among the key reasons that the provincial government is considering modernizing public service delivery in Alberta is because people are asking for it.
“Albertans want more choice and more convenience.”
According to Glubish, other jurisdictions around the world have seen “great success” with modernization of their public service delivery, giving more convenience to their citizens, instead of “having to do (business) from 9 to 5 in-person, you can do it 24/7 from anywhere.”
“These are enormous benefits,” he said.
High-speed internet by 2027 to every Alberta household
For seniors or individuals, particularly in rural communities and remote locations of the province without access to reliable and high-speed internet, which could hinder their ability to access online services, Glubish mentioned the province’s “Alberta Broadband Strategy.”
According to information from the provincial government, the province is providing $390 million over four years “to help connect every Alberta household to reliable, high-speed internet by 2027.”
The federal government also matched the funding through the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF), bringing the total funding to $780 million. So far, the province announced in September 2022 that over 50 communities received broadband funding of over $70 million.
As part of the Alberta Broadband Strategy, the province will also use $36 million toward its Alberta Broadband Fund (ABF).
The province opened the applications for the ABF two weeks ago, Dec. 20, 2022, for communities that did not qualify or apply for the federal government’s UBF.
