December – MLA Craig Coolahan’s Report

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Calgary Klein

Government by Albertans, for Albertans: help Alberta’s government better reflect the province’s diversity and strengths!

You might remember that our government has been working to review Alberta’s agencies, boards and commissions to ensure they work for Albertans. For far too long, many of these positions were used to reward politically connected individuals with high salaries, numerous perks, and gifts of golf games and hockey tickets. The current government’s review of these practices has already saved $33 million over three years.

Our government has opened appointments to agencies, boards, and commissions to the public. This means you, your friends, colleagues, and community leaders can apply to positions on boards. It’s important that the boardroom tables of our agencies reflect today’s Alberta. Boards need equitable, inclusive representation to put our diversity and strengths to work. This can only happen when all Albertans are aware of board opportunities, and feel welcome to apply. Albertans who care about their communities need to step up and serve.

The steps we’re taking with agencies, boards and commissions are making a difference. In March 2015, only one-third of board members were women. Today, that number is 48 per cent. By opening up the appointment process, we’re already beginning to see our boards better represent Albertans. With a greater diversity of ideas, Alberta’s boards will lead to better decisions, better bottom lines, and better results for the people of Alberta.

If you’re interested in participating in one of Alberta’s boards, I invite you to consult boards.alberta.ca to search and apply online for opportunities. A notification tool on the website can send you email alerts when specific board opportunities arise.

As always, our office is happy to hear from you, and may be reached at [email protected] or 403-216-5430.