This month saw a new project come to life. At The Gathering last year one of the presenters in the “How to Lobby Government” session talked about some of the more memorable lobbying efforts he recalled from his time as a Minister. He spoke in particular about one organization that spent time curating a regular physical brochure that outlined the work and issues facing that organization. We thought that was a good idea.

Accordingly, with the help of our amazing communications team, we have now created our first quarterly MLA brochure! Each brochure will focus on one of the seven co-operative principles so our elected officials understand our foundational underpinnings. A member of ACCA will be highlighted in each brochure to provide increased awareness of the local connection co-operatives have. We will work to tie each highlighted member with a relevant issue facing Albertans and how that member has helped address that issue for their members.

For example, our first brochure focused on inflation. Our highlighted members were Calgary Co-op and North Central Co-op. We outlined how they have helped Albertans with inflation by providing patronage returns back to members during a time when costs are increasing. Our goal is to ensure that our elected officials can see the benefits co-operatives provide to Albertans.

In other exciting news, the Alberta government reached out and requested a meeting with ACCA members who could provide input into Economic Corridors. Parliamentary Secretary Shane Getson held a round table discussion with five of our co-operative members who all provided feedback and suggestions.

Our goal of raising awareness for co-operatives is having an impact as we see more requests from government to interact with them.

In the next issue, we will be providing an update on our 2023 Alberta budget submission.