Public Interest Alberta Building a Better Alberta for All Message from the Chair

Annual Report 2010 - 2011 Public Interest Alberta Building a Better Alberta For All Message from the Chair Annual general meetings and annual reports of organizations offer an important opportunity to go beyond the requirements of accountability, and to reflect on essential questions related to where we have been and where we are going. I am pleased to report that, from my perspective as Board Chair, this past year has been the most successful period in Public Interest Alberta’s seven years of advocacy efforts. Our organization is stronger than ever, and our work on behalf of the public interest is becoming more sophisticated and effective. We are very pleased to have Alberta Union of Provincial Employees become a Sustaining Member over this past year, and we also have been able to hire a Communications Assistant for the first time; both of these developments have added to PIA’s capacity to deliver the kind of advocacy efforts that are essential to our goals. Our Environmental Intern has also greatly increased PIA’s capacity to address crucial environmental concerns. In addition, our new office space in the Ironworkers Building is both economical and more functional. The work of our task forces has been increasingly important at a time when continued cuts to provincial government spending have threatened public education at the K-12 level, post-secondary institutions, se- niors, childcare, and human services as well as other areas of public services. This year, working closely with partners such as the Parkland Institute, Friends of Medicare and the Alberta Federation of Labour as well as other member organizations, PIA has helped to provide leadership in the Join Together Alberta campaign, which focused attention on the need to support public services at this critical time. This work has provided a foundation for further efforts based on community mobilization for advocacy across the province. These efforts have also been effective in shifting the debate toward a necessary consideration of government revenue issues and the need to pay for our valuable public services through progressive taxation and fair royalties. PIA’s annual advocacy conference, this year entitled, “Mobilizing for a Better Alberta: Strong Communities, Public Solutions,” also provided an effective vehicle for advancing these efforts. We are engaged in these advocacy efforts not simply to make a point, but rather to make a difference in building a better Alberta for all, based on preserving and enhancing public services, public institutions and the public good. On behalf of PIA’s Board of Directors, I want to thank our organizational and individual members, superb staff, task force members, volunteers and supporters for their role in these important efforts. Larry Booi Larry Booi, President Larry is the former President of the Alberta Teachers’ Association and was a member of the Executive Board of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation. He is also currently on the Board of Directors of Canadian Council on Learning. He has played a central role in the establishment and growth of Public Interest Alberta. Report from the Executive Director Public Interest Alberta has certainly had a busy year working to “Build the Alberta We Need”. Given the changing political dynamic in our province, it is vital that we are helping to build a movement that is able to articulate a clear and positive vision for our province that counters the right-wing mantra of corporate tax cuts and cuts to public services. As you will see in the following reports, we continue to establish the foundation of our advocacy network in partnership with our member organizations through our eight task forces. Thanks to the hard work of our task force members, we have had another successful year of engaging in the political debate and expanding the capacity to mobilize people to take action on these key public interest issues. It has been my pleasure to spend considerable time meeting with and making presentations to our member organizations and helping to make the connections between the various public interest issues. PIA is also helping to build working relationships and action between different organizations and public interest sectors. Our annual conference was again an important opportunity for our members to learn from excellent speakers and to build connections and collective action with each other. The next phase of the Join Together Alberta campaign will also be a major effort by many unions and community organizations to work collectively together to advocate for public services. As an important part of this process, we are very pleased to be able have community mobilizers supporting this work in Red Deer (Stephen Merredew), Calgary (Julie Hrdlicka), Lethbridge (Lorinda Peel), Medicine Hat (Alison Van Dyke), Grande Prairie (TBC) and Fort McMurray (TBC). With the support of these new community mobilizers we will be able to strengthen the advocacy work in each of these cities. We also have greatly increased our communications capacity this year as we were able to hire Russell Charl- ton as our communications assistant, thanks to the increased support of our members. He has done an excellent job launching and maintaining our new website designed by Rob Andruchow and Tina Faiz and using many social media tools to outreach and distribute our advocacy messages. He has also been instru- mental in helping to get our voice out into the media through the coordination of many media releases and conferences. As in past years, all of this success would not have been possible without the incredibly dedicated and wonderful Karen Werlin, our office manager that keeps everything running smoothly. We are also blessed to have such a committed and hard working board of directors. We have also greatly benefitted from having Julia Dalman working with our Envrionment Task Force on an internship program sponsored by the YMCA. We continue to support the “Next Up Alberta” youth leadership program coordinated by the Parkland Institute, as both Julia and Russell are a testament to the success of this project. Bill Moore-Kilgannon, Executive Director Prior to joining PIA, Bill worked in Ottawa as the Director of Campaigns and Communications with the Council of Canadians. He was the Executive Director of the Parkland Institute at the University of Al- berta from 1997 – 2001, and coordinator of the Global Visions Festival from 1992 – 1997. He is also the producer of two documentary films. He studied Canadian and Latin American history, political science and economics at the University of Alberta and l’Universite de Sherbrooke. Our Board: Nancy Furlong, Vice President Dennis Theobald, Treasurer Lori Sigurdson, Secretary Nancy Furlong is the Secretary Treasurer of Dennis is the Alberta Teachers’ Associa- Lori has been employed as a social worker the Alberta Federation of Labour and has tion Coordinator of Communications. In for over 20 years. She has worked in vari- been active in the trade union movement this role he assists in the planning and ous fields of practice, including children’s for over 30 years. She began her labour implementation of the Association’s services, mental health, social policy and career as a union steward for the Alberta communications and lobbying strategy education. Currently, her work involves Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) in as well as administering the Associa- membership support for the over 6000 Reg- 1976 and progressed to holding office in tion’s initiatives to promote teacher en- istered Social Workers in Alberta. Larger sys- her local. From there she joined the staff of gagement in the political process. He tems advocacy to promote progressive social AUPE and in 1993 she became the Executive played a key role in establishing Public policies, as well as the profession of social Director. In 1998 she went on to work for Interest Alberta. work, are also part of her role. Lori received the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA) her Master of Social Work Degree from the as a Labour Relations Officer and became University of Calgary. She lives in Edmonton a member of the Canadian Union of Public with her 3 sons. Employees Local 1158. Nancy is a strong supporter of networking and coalition work and an advocate for social change. Heather Smith, Director Cherie Langlois-Klassen, Director Dorothy McKenna, Director Heather is the President of the United Cherie Langlois-Klassen is a Labour Rela- Dorothy is the past Executive Director of Nurses of Alberta. She came to Alberta in tions Officer with the United Nurses of Womanspace Resource Centre in Leth- 1976 to work as a nurse at the Edmonton Alberta (UNA), where she advocates for bridge. Womanspace focuses its research General Hospital and quickly became the rights of Alberta's nurses. Cherie is and action on policy issues affecting involved in her union. She was first a member of the Law Society of Alberta, women. Since 2000, Dorothy has acted elected president in 1988 and has been and previously practiced union-side la- as co-chair of the South West Alberta re-elected many times since. Heather has bour law as an associate with the law firm Coalition on Poverty, which has initiated also played a major role in political action of Blair Chahley Seveny in Edmonton. Prior a number of innovative projects related to defend public health care in Alberta. to that, Cherie served for several years as to the role of poverty in creating social the Executive Director of tthe Alberta exclusion and as a major social determi- Council for Global Cooperation (ACGC) and nant of health. the International Panel of Experts on Part- nership Programming for the then Federal Minister of International Cooperation. She is active on the AFL's Women's Committee and also serves as co-chair of PIA's Task- force on Childcare.

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