Performance Reporting — Continued

Goal 1: Ensure that the Commission is responsive, efficient and accountable

Objectives:

1.1 To increase the regional responsiveness of the Commission to community needs

1.2 To encourage collaborative governance of the ALR

Strategies
• Re-organize Commission as 6 panels based in regions. • Develop action plans specific to regions with provincial, local government and stakeholder input. • Work with local governments to address community needs through community planning processes. • Reduce the application workload through voluntary delegation of non-farm and subdivision applications to local governments and other agencies and by expanding the range of permitted non-farm uses. • Develop appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms for resolving conflicts and balancing interests. • Participate in the Community Charter initiative.
Performance Measure	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual	Explanation of Variance
Commission responsiveness to the needs of local governments and stakeholders (Objective 1.1)	Increase (no target or baseline established)	• Responsiveness achieved through regional panel decision-making • Regional action plans adopted • Permitted uses expanded
Commission concurrence with local government recommendation (new measure)	% applications with concurrence	82% of applications have direct concurrence or general concurrence (latter includes 27% of applications without local government comment)	2002/03 will form baseline

Accomplishments During the Year

• New legislation, Agricultural Land Commission Act, passed and brought into effect November 1, 2002, providing for new structure, authorities and tools
• New Commission structure with 6 regional panels, in place since May 1, 2002
• Commission panels met and made decisions in all regions
• New regulation passed and brought into effect November 1, 2002, providing for expanded permitted uses in ALR and new results-based processes
• Dispute resolution provisions in place in legislation to help resolve disputes between Commission and local governments over community issues
• Comments provided on draft Community Charter legislation
• 65% of the area in the ALR now available from the Commission as digital maps (GIS); plans are in place to digitize all ALR mapping.
• The objective to "encourage collaborative governance of the ALR" revised to focus on those local governments who were interested in and supportive of assuming decision powers under delegation.

Goal 1: Ensure that the Commission is responsive, efficient and accountable (continued)

Objectives:

1.3 To respond to applications in a timely manner

1.4 To ensure Commission decisions are made in a transparent, fair and equitable manner

1.5 To improve the efficiency of the ALR program

1.6 To ensure that the Commission is accountable for results

Strategies
• Move to modified results-based processes for planning, soil deposition/removal and other areas • Reduce regulations and applications by streamlining the Act and Regulations and by eliminating the Soil Conservation Act by incorporating key provisions into the ALR regulations • Set standards for application response times and monitor results using the Application Tracking System • Revise the Commission Governance Policy to reflect the outcomes of the Administrative Justice Project • Consult on the feasibility of increased cost recovery through a "recapture charge" for lands removed from the ALR • Monitor the impact of Commission and delegated decisions on the provincial interest in agricultural land and report results publicly • Transfer the regulation of land use and forest practices on private land within the FLR to another agency, industry or a public-private partnership
Performance Measure	2002/03 Target	2002/03 Actual	Explanation of Variance
Delegation of use and subdivision application decisions to local governments (Goal 1, Obj. 1.5)	60% of non-farm and subdivision applications decided by local governments and other agencies by 2004/05	• Target and measure under review • Delegation to one agency (Oil and Gas Commission) underway but not completed	Local governments chose not to participate in shared decision-making through delegation (apart from 1 regional district with delegation already in place)
Application work load (Objective 1.5)	20% of application load reduced through regulatory reductions by end of 2004/05	• Special case and soil removal/fill applications reduced by 12% • Exclusion and subdivision applications increased, with overall increase	• Regulatory changes took effect Nov. 2002 — half way through fiscal year • Difficult to measure as new permitted uses no longer require application
Application response times (Objective 1.3)	80% of applications decided within 60 days of receipt	32% of applications decided within 60 days of receipt (66% of applications decided within 90 days of receipt)	• Transition costs, timing, travel scheduling and staff reductions extended application processing and response time

Accomplishments During the Year

• Revised Act and regulations provided streamlined processes; Soil Conservation Act repealed and replaced by streamlined provisions in new Act.
• Results-based process adopted for specified soil deposition/removal activities in the ALR, replacing former two-stage application procedure.
• Commission Governance Policy revised.
• Increased cost recovery through "recapture charge" for lands excluded from the ALR, discussed at political level and rejected as infeasible.
• Work underway on developing a performance management system and on target for fiscal 2003/04.
• Commission regulation of land use in the Forest Land Reserve eliminated and transfer of forest practices regulation in the FLR to a public/private partnership underway but not complete by year end.
• Performance target for application response time was not met due to an overall increase in the number of applications received, and practical issues such as restructuring, staff re-assignments and travel to areas within a region (distances, weather, scheduling constraints etc.). As a result, the performance target for application response time was revised, with the Minister's approval, to "80% of applications decided within 90 days of receipt" for 2003/04.
• Commission achieved an application response time of 66% of applications decided within 90 days.