It was a great month for raising the awareness of co-operatives! Our government relations team had a trade booth at both the NDP and UCP conventions, and we were able to educate their members on what co-operatives are, how they positively impact local communities, and how co-operatives can fit into their party platforms. The welcome we felt at both conventions was amazing and we are looking forward to interacting with both parties in the general election next year.

We had 11 MLAs attend the Elected Officials Reception and Co-op Awards, held as part of The Gathering 2022 on November 2. Three Councilors from the City of Edmonton were also in attendance. We were pleased to welcome:

• Deputy Premier Nathan Neudorf

• Minister Darren Dreeshen

• Minister Todd Lowen

• Minister Rick McIver

• MLA Martin Long

• MLA Mark Smith

• MLA Miranda Rosin

• MLA Joseph Schow,

• MLA Janis Irwin

• MLA David Eggen

• MLA Lorne Dach

• Councilor Michael Janz

• Councilor Jennifer Rice, and

• Councilor Karen Tang

A huge thank you to MLA Miranda Rosin who flew in from her riding of Banff-Kananaskis just to present the Co-op Innovation Award to her constituent (Bow Valley Green Energy Co-operative!) We also thank Minister Dresshen, MLA Janice Irwin and MLA David Eggan who also presented awards to their constituents that night.

Coming up we are having our third meeting with the government to discuss changes to Alberta’s Securities Regulations. Changes made here would simplify the ability for new investment co-operatives to start up here in the province. It could also greatly reduce the amount it costs to attract investment into your local co-operative. We are also preparing a budget submission for the province's 2023 budget. This submission would be similar to our BC counterpart who recently received $2 million from the BC government to grow and develop the co-operative sector in their province. We will also be proposing to bring back the investment tax credit, a policy unanimously passed by our members in 2021.