Government Relations Update - August 2022
Summer tends to be the slow, relaxing time of the year. But not for your ACCA’s government relations team! Our email campaign platform was put to excellent use by one of our members, ACE (Alberta Cooperative Energy) to push a policy that has been harming all Albertan energy retailers. We also co-sponsored a UCP leadership debate along with Credit Unions of Alberta.
As mentioned above our email campaign allows your members to simply and quickly email elected officials related to an issue that matters to your organization. Only halfway through the campaign, ACE members have sent over 500 emails to MLAs and MPs related to the unfair treatment of unpaid debts and the taxes related to those debts here in Alberta related to the collection of the carbon tax. If you want to help ACE and Alberta’s energy retailers, you can click this link to add your voice to this campaign.
The sponsorship of the UCPfront runners debate held on August 9 in Calgary and attended by more than 400, was a great success related to our goal of raising the awareness of co-operatives. A question related to credit unions was directly asked to the UCP leadership candidates, which marks the first time that a co-operative related question has been asked in a leadership debate in decades. For those wondering we will take advantage of the next opportunity to do something similar with the NDP to ensure that all major parties consider co-operatives in their platforms and policy considerations. As ACCA Executive Paul Cabaj says, “Co-operatives are neither left nor right. They are up.”
The video clip the UCP debate, along with the answers to the UCP leadership survey about co-operatives will be sent to members in the near future. Stay tuned!
If your organization needs any assistance advocating your needs to government, please do not hesitate to contact our government relations team at governmentrelations@acca.coop.
(right to left) ACCA Executive Director Paul Cabaj, MLA and UCP Leadership Candidate Tood Loewen, and Manager of Government Relations Cole Kandor