WHEREAS Alberta municipal districts and counties frequently undertake construction projects that require pipeline and underground utility location by Alberta One-Call; AND WHEREAS the construction season in Alberta is short and prompt location of pipeline and underground utilities are essential to have projects started and completed safely, on time and within budget; AND WHEREAS TELUS Communications Inc. has frequently not been able to locate their utilities in a timely manner after a request to Alberta One-Call has been made;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the provincial government and the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission to use all means available to ensure TELUS Communications Inc. locates its underground utilities within the two-day time parameters established by Alberta One-Call.

Upon request by a client, the subscribers to Alberta One – Call undertake to locate all lines within two working days. With increasing regularity, TELUS lines have not been located within this timeframe, and in fact service has taken several weeks in some cases. Projects can not be started until the last line is identified, and delays in their identification can delay the launch of many municipal projects.

The focus of Alberta One-Call Corporation is to prevent damage to buried facilities through education, advocacy and public awareness. The industry expectation regarding locating is within two business days. This parameter is not formalized by any bodythe CRTC, Alberta One Call or otherwise. As such, the CRTC has ruled that there are no enforceable time lines in which a telephone or cable system operator must respond to locate requests. In discussion with Alberta One-Call, it was determined that at the time this resolution was put forward, a number of factors came together to create a severe shortage in either company-provided or contracted out staff. Unprecedented growth, surging fuel prices and the beginnings of the job boom, resulted in many urban fringe areas suffering reduced serviceespecially for residential requests. Since that time, key utility providers came together to established new guidelines and contracts that mitigate these situations. They acknowledge that they are ultimately responsible for the locate process. Alberta One-Call encourages those experiencing delays to contact them for assistance as they are best positioned to deal with the utility provider. Recently, Wheatland County has encountered issues regarding telecommunication and one-call companies. The CRTC judged in favour of the telecommunications company, but Wheatland County has been granted leave to appeal to the courts. In question is the right of the CRTC to preside over municipal right-of-ways and locate companies when they are working with telecommunications companies. While this issue and the resolution are not directly related, the outcome may have an effect on the authority of one-call companies and a municipalitys right to demand their proper use.