April 16, 2021

Hon. Nate Glubish Minister of Service 103 Legislature Building 10800 - 97 Avenue , AB T5K 2B6

Dear Minister Glubish,

I write on behalf of the Alberta and the people of Alberta. In January, you issued a Request for Expression of Interest in an exclusive, monopolistic 35-year contract to run Alberta’s Land Titles, Corporate, and Personal Property Registries. Selling off of these vital public services would be an egregious mistake.

These services collectively generate approximately $123.6 million every year for the Alberta Government and Alberta’s taxpayers. Growing deficits and a lack of stable revenue streams are a problem for Alberta, as you well know. Giving up any revenue source would be questionable at the best of times and most certainly is questionable under these current circumstances.

Privatization would not only increase the burden on taxpayers to replace the lost revenue over the long run but it also fails Alberta’s consumers. Alberta enjoys some of the lowest rates in the country for these services. These significantly lower rates make Alberta a more attractive place to live and do business. Privatization will open the door to potentially dramatic price increases for Albertans using these services and will forfeit a unique advantage Alberta has over other jurisdictions. Handing over a monopoly to a private entity--let alone one based in another province--makes no sense.

An even more troubling result would be the loss of control and oversight of Alberta’s land by the privatization of the Land Titles registry. In privatizing it and the other registries, we Albertans will lose control over data security, privacy, and fundamental business and property information accuracy. These are crucial to protecting Albertans and ensuring Albertans have a trustworthy and secure legal and economic system.

I understand the Government’s desire to modernize these services. However, there is no reason this cannot be done in-house. We should be keeping technology jobs in Alberta. Those jobs can act as a springboard for future technology opportunities in Alberta’s private sector and help grow our economy.

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Alberta Liberal Party to Min. of Service Alberta April 16, 2021

There was no business case for privatization of the registries in 2014, and there is no business case for privatization of these registries now. Modest and temporary hikes to Alberta’s low fees could even cover the costs of modernization if these hikes are even necessary, given that the registries currently run a surplus. Furthermore, any technology acquired or developed could potentially have applications elsewhere for the Alberta Government, providing additional benefits for Albertans.

Keeping the Land Titles, Corporate and Personal Property registries under the Alberta Government’s administration provides a stable revenue stream. It guarantees low rates, ensures security and oversight for sensitive information and provides an opportunity to develop home-grown talent for Alberta’s future. Given that the system can be modernized in-house, there is no reason why these numerous advantages and opportunities should be sold off or given up to private entities owned and operated in other provinces. On behalf of the Alberta Liberals and Albertans, I urge you not to privatize these services and look instead at improving them as an investment in Alberta’s future.

Sincerely,

John Roggeveen Alberta Liberal Party