The new Alberta Party will be holding its first policy convention on November 13 and 14 in Red Deer and it looks to be an interesting weekend. At the convention, policy resolutions generated from the hundreds of Big Listens that happened across Alberta will be debated (see document below). These policies will help form the basis for the new Alberta Party’s platform.
The weekend is not all policy debates. On the evening of November 13, an all-star panel of political organizers involved in recent municipal election campaigns around the province will hold an open discussion about lessons learned and strategies to engage voters during elections. The members of the panel session, titled “Tales from the Trail – Stories of Effective Community Organizing” will include:
Chima Nkemdirim, Campaign Director, Nenshi4Mayor
Richard Einarson, Communications Manager, Nenshi4Mayor
Patricia Mitsuka, Campaign Manager for Mayor Stephen Mandel
Chris Henderson, Campaign Manager for Councilor Don Iveson
Gayle Rondeel, Town Councilor, Rimbey
Bill Given, Mayor, Grande PrairieThe Tales from the Trail Panel will bring important stories and lessons from the recent municipal election campaigns across Alberta. Panelists will share important learnings on turning citizens into educated and engaged voters, volunteers and community leaders.
I will be participating in the policy debates that will help shape this new party as a new member and I have been invited to give some closing remarks on the Sunday morning of the convention (I hope to have the remarks recorded and put on youtube for readers of this blog).
I have been hesitant to join any political party since I let my Liberal Party membership lapse in 2008, but after participating in a Big Listen and engaging with the people involved with the new Alberta Party, I am excited to contribute and participate.
You can find more details and register for the convention here (you can also download an agenda).
11 replies on “alberta party 2010 policy convention.”
The best thing the Alberta party could do is get rid of Chris Labosssiere. Someone that polarizing will sink the upstart party.
Polarizing is not a term that I would use to describe Chris Labossiere. I like Chris and think that he’s been doing a pretty good job with bringing people together in this new party.
Wayne:
At any time, I’d love to listen to why you think I am polarizing. Feel free to connect with me by telephone or email.
I would also gladly have that discussion here if we both agreed to verify our identities and political affiliations.
chris.labossiere@gmail.com
780-446-1005
C.
There are two groups of people: those who divide people into two groups… and those who don’t. I firmly believe Chris Labossiere can be classified into one of those groups… though many may disagree.
Chris your wasting your time. This person seems to love to impersonate and make ridiculous statements like a little coward that they are. Ignore the a-hole and continue moving forward. This idiot has nothing better to do than jump in and make comments to discredit others. I have no doubt very very soon you will see a post by “Kevin S” that is meant for the same purpose, so let’er rip moron.
In May 2010, Chris Labossiere when he was not the President of the Alberta Party stated- “but the special influencers of the NDP (Union friendly and anti-business left wingers), and the smarter-than-the-average-Albertan egos of the Liberal Leadership, would never get this done.”
To repeat the comment of the anonymous contributor. “but such a description is hardly useful, is it?”
Same old same old defeatist Alberta politics. Labeling, generalizations, stereotyping, scapegoating blah blah blah. No wonder the Regressive Conservatives remain the government party. The fact is- ‘we [progressive persons] are the problem’. We allow it to happen, we allow it to continue to happen and if we are not the solution we are the problem. Drop the labels, drop the generalizations, drop the stereotypes and please stop scapegoating.
There is absolutely no connective bridge between New dippers, union friendly, anti-business and left winger. Such a stereotype is one of the doctrinaire problems that has plagued Alberta politics for generations. Let me help you understand the progressive person who is a trade unionist, pro-business and not a new dipper.
We believe collectivity is essential to our survival and our existence as persons of free will in our free enterprise province. Collective solutions exist in the workplace, in our schools, in the home and in our communities.
To be successful in defeating the Regressive Conservatives and prevent a Reform Alliance government we must be open to all ideas, tolerant of all different views, broad minded and openminded to all persons, always moving forward, favouring reform, not looking backwards, protecting personal freedom, being generous and culturally oriented.
The kind of political rhetoric and religious bigotry that is pervasive in Alberta politics must stop. Clearly and competently illustrating the Wildrose Alliance principles and policies is the more constructive approach. And confirming our principles as pro.gres.sive and lib.er.al persons is the beginning.
So I would suggest that we approach our political revolution as being pro-union, pro-business, pro-worker, pro-employer, pro-immigrant, pro-senior, pro-public education etc. and we will be electable. So lets all agree, we are pro-gressive.
May 29, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterworkeradvocate
Great comments from everyone. I am going to rethink my thoughts on this and study the idea more.
May 30, 2010 | Registered CommenterChris LaBossiere
So has the Alberta Party because now, Chris Labossiere is the Alberta Party, moved past the labels?
There are a lot of positive ideas in this document, but as a long-time “Dipper”, there are also some that I could not support.
“Alberta should be the best place in the world to earn a living…” The action items for this policy are highly focused on employers, and offer nothing for workers. Safer workplaces and fairer labour laws are two issues that truly progressive Albertans see as priorities, but these do not appear to be on the AB Party’s radar.
“The Alberta Party and our health care system”: one gap in the document is the question of local community influence on the operation of the system. The current uber-board model has completely abolished any semblance of local authority, or any ability of communities to decide priorities; the question of whether this is appropriate needs to be addressed for any health policy to be complete.
“The Alberta Party and democratic renewal”: this topic area does not address electoral reform, and the weaknesses of the first-past-the-post electoral system.
The real questions will be, what will this new party add to our political situation, and will they simply siphon votes form the Liberals and NDP, allowing the Wildrosers to form government?
I’m an Alberta transplant, but I know some of the people involved in the AB party and am a huge fan of them. Wish I could be there to help build the community organizing capacity.
Anyway, I’m wondering if these two things came up in the Big Listen:
-Support for the growing immigrant and transplant community throughout the province. Something like enhancing the support for non-profit agencies that serve these communities.
-A statement about social justice, and the Alberta Governments commitment to the equality of all citizens. Is there a human rights tribunal in Alberta? Is it effective?
-Support for the Arts. The financial, educational and health of people in the province seems to be well addressed, but research demonstrates over and over again the holistic wellness requires some development in all aspects of the brain :). It’s unpopular to run on, but I would at least have some concrete/specifics available in the policies for any interested parties to take a look at.
I was there on the board of directors for the Alberta Party when we as a group decided to become a progressive party. Through the hard work of every member and supporter the Alberta Party has moved from tiny party to start emerging as a major player in Alberta Politics.
I enjoy reading the responses of the people who took the time to read our draft policies. The only way we can change government and how politics are done in Alberta is by getting involved and tell us what you think. Unlike the other parties, the Alberta Party does make you pay a membership fee to participate in our policy development. There are no strings attached and all you have to do is tell us what you would like to see.
These draft policies are just the starting point for the Alberta Party. You cannot build the perfect party overnight or in just one year. To build a strong party from the ground up is to build a strong foundation first to build upon.
I look forward to seeing the progressive movement grow in Alberta.
Just had a quick read, and I’m pleasantly surprised at the similarities between the proposed policy and some of the existing policy of the Wildrose Alliance. The bread and butter conservation / stewardship policy, clean land / clean air, and healthcare elements are very close.
Certainly, there’s a common interest throughout both platforms in the principle of subsidiarity, though neither party uses the phrase. I was also amazed to see the Healthcare policy avoid a hardline stance on public delivery, leaving the door open for private and not-for-profit participation in delivery.
Overall, still some things I disagree with – but more ideas I’m comfortable with than I expected, which is more than I could ever say for the NDP or the Libs. If these initial proposals are indicative of future leanings, the AB party may end up just to the left of PCs and be very well positioned for growth.
[…] from. This party is also lucky to be starting with a blank slate, which will start to be filled at their policy convention this weekend in Red Deer. The Alberta Party will also choose an interim leader this weekend and begin a leadership contest […]