Stop the bleeding.
This cause is very near and dear to my heart. Petitions have been created and ignored, personal plea's to the Premier have gone unanswered. We need to stop the bleeding. Photographers and videographers were among the hardest hit businesses in this pandemic, yet we continue to be expected to pay ridiculous licensing fees just to be able to photograph our client's special events.
I'm asking my fellow photographers, in addition to my valued clients, and the clients of my fellow photographers to use the letter below to advocate for changes to the Municipal Business Licensing policies surrounding working photographers and videographers.
You can find your MLA using this website: https://www.assembly.ab.ca/members/members-of-the-legislative-assembly
Please feel free to copy and paste the letter below. Ensure you add your MLA's name at the top, and your own name at the bottom.
Copy the following Ministers on your letter:
Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation: Honourable Doug Schweitzer - jei.ministeroffice@gov.ab.ca
Minister of Municipal Affairs: Honourable Ric McIver - minister.municipalaffairs@gov.ab.ca
Premier of Alberta and Minister of Intergovernmental Relations: Premier Jason Kenney - premier@gov.ab.ca
Dear {Insert MLA},
I am writing to express my concern over the increased licensing costs of travelling vendors. Event and wedding vendors have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic, and licensing costs for several municipalities has been an issue they have faced for some time. Combined with the current economic climate, changes desperately need to be made.
We have a unique problem in Alberta, one our Provincial government and clients don’t even seem to be aware of. As a photographer, we are required to purchase business licenses in every single municipality we work in. That means that, as a resident of Edmonton, I am required to purchase a Home-Based Business License for Edmonton, but then must purchase Non-Resident Licenses for surrounding areas like Spruce Grove, St. Albert, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc etc. That amounts to $2,531 in annual licensing costs and 9 separate business license applications just for Edmonton and locations within 50km of Edmonton. You can imagine how frustrating this is for wedding photographers who are expected to travel to 3 different municipalities in one day to photograph one wedding.
We are required to apply for separate business licenses in the National Parks AND in the towns in those National Parks. Mountain towns are also now introducing new film permit fees that didn’t apply before. Wedding photographers are NOT “commercial” photographers, yet we are expected to pay the same fees that commercial photographers do, when we make disproportionately less than commercial photographers do, and our scope of work is completely different.
All of these licensing fees result in greater fees passed on to our clients. Businesses operating illegally are able to offer very low pricing while the legally-run businesses are priced too high in this market, resulting in fewer clientele and the failure of legally operating small businesses.
I have attached a list below of some of the towns and cities in Alberta and the associated licensing fees. I took the liberty of doing the math, and JUST for the cities on that list, a photographer that lives in Edmonton, but works Alberta-wide, is looking at $9,026 in annual licensing fees and 21 different license applications… and there are only a fraction of Albertan towns on that list. The average salary for a photographer in Canada is $39,000 per year.
This seems to be a uniquely rare problem for our Albertan small businesses, but again, disproportionately affects us. Photographers and videographers all across the country do NOT have this same problem, no other province charges photographers licensing fees in every single municipality they photograph in.
As a government that campaigned and ran on cutting red tape for businesses with Bill 25 – the Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act, myself, my clients, and my colleagues from across the province are urging our MLA’s to come together to rectify this problem. Are we not all Albertan? Should we not be able to photograph our loyal clientele regardless of where they choose to get married? We feel we should be expected to purchase a Business License in the municipality our business primarily operates and resides in, not in every single municipality in the Province.
I look forward to your timely response on this matter.
Sincerely yours,
{Insert Name and Company}
Please see attached Business License Fees for SOME Albertan towns and cities below.
Business License Fees:
City of Edmonton
Resident Business License: $244.00
Non-Resident License: $559.00 + $244.00 General Business
St. Albert
Resident Business License: $141.00
Non-Resident License: $683.00
Spruce Grove
Resident Business License: $260.00
Non-Resident License: $212.50
Temporary 3-Day License: $55.00
Fort Saskatchewan
Resident Business License: $200.00
Non-Resident License: $300.00
Leduc
Resident Business License: $154.00
Non-Resident License: $308.00
Devon
Resident Business License: $25.00
Non-Resident License: $250.00
Gibbons
Resident Business License: $100.00
Non-Resident License: $150.00
Morinville
Resident Business License: $100.00
Non-Resident License: $231.00
Redwater
Resident Business License: $35.00
Non-Resident License: $150.00
City of Calgary
Resident Photographer Business License: $172.00
Non-Resident License: $768.00
Red Deer
Resident Business License: $111.60
Non-Resident License: $433.90
Non-Resident License (short term, 4 months): $180.80
Airdrie
Resident Business License: $128.00
Non-Resident License: $357.00
Temporary Business (3-day): $102.00
Medicine Hat
Non-Resident License: $1,800
Temporary Business (1-day): $180.00
Grande Prairie
Resident Business License: $200.00
Non-Resident License: $420.00
Temporary Non-resident (3 day): $75.00
Canmore (Town)
Resident Business License: $130.00
Non-Resident License: $600.00
Monthly Non-Resident: $150.00
Temporary Non-Resident (3 Days): $75.00
Film/Photographer Permit: $100/shoot
Kananaskis
Non-resident License: $180.00
Town of Banff
Resident Business License: $180.00
Non-Resident License: $897.00
Non-Resident 1 Day: $223.00
Banff National Park
Non-Resident License: $196.20 + $2 million liability insurance and proof of local license
Hinton
Resident Business License: $160.00
Non-Resident License: $285.00
Temporary (7 days max): $25/day
Town of Jasper
Non-Resident License: $168.00
Jasper National Park
Non-Resident License: $196.20 + $2 million liability insurance and proof of local license