The Big Listen… with wine
As most of my readers know, I am a member of the Alberta Party and sit as a director on the Provincial Board. When I post my personal thoughts here, they are never on behalf of the party.
That said, I am excited about the potential of this grassroots initiative and I am particularly excited about the Alberta Party “Big Listen” process. With it, we are reaching out across the province and talking to Albertans about what is concerning them and things that they are hoping to see in our future.
The Big Listen is basically a small, personal, event-based initiative where we will gather the ideas of thousands of Albertans (who do NOT need to be party members), and submit the ideas and comments into a well-structured process to help develop our policies. By keeping the process organic, inviting, and non-threatening, we hope to invigorate the disenfranchised and capture the hopes, dreams and concerns of regular Albertans.
So, I am announcing that I will be hosting a Big Listen event in my home, and I would like to see some of my readers who are interested in the process join me. The event will be limited to 90 minutes of discussion, and ideally about 10 people. It will also be a fun time to get together, meet some new friends and enjoy some different wines. I am planning to have the event on Thursday April 29th at 7:30 pm. Please email me at chris.labossiere-AT-gmail.com if you have some interest or questions.
One of the pressing questions I get often, is “what does the Alberta Party stand for?”. Of course as we have suspended our previous policies in anticipation of new ideas from the Big Listen and a full-blown policy convention; I can not refer you to an offical policy document. However, our party DOES have principles and “guideposts” which will help shape the policy work needed to be done, and help people understand a little more about where are party stands on certain things. I am happy now to be able to share these with you. You will find these and much more information released within 2-3 weeks on a completely revised and extended website, at www.AlbertaParty.ca.
Big Listen Guideposts
The Alberta Party is committed to building a policy framework that is based on the following six key values:
Prosperity
We believe that private enterprise and entrepreneurship are the keys to our economic success. The government should foster an environment which facilitates economic investment, reduces red tape and encourages creativity.
Fiscal Responsibility
We believe that government must use public dollars as effectively and efficiently as possible. The government should balance the books and set aside money for a raining day. This is best accomplished through long-term planning, common sense and transparency.
Social Responsibility
We believe every Albertan deserves the opportunity to succeed. Our government should aspire to provide excellent and innovative public education, public health care, and infrastructure, as well as a compassionate helping hand in times of need. We believe this can be accomplished through responsible use of public funds.
We believe that sustainability must be a core value of government. Rethinking unsustainable practices, making strategic investments in research and technology, and implementing smart policy choices will protect and enhance our environment for future generations.
Democracy
We believe that public business should be conducted in public. Government should ensure that the legislative process is open, fair, transparent and inclusive of the people it governs. Our government should foster debate, actively engage citizens,and make itself accountable to the people it governs.
Quality of life
We believe that a great quality of life requires strong communities. Through support of recreation, sports, arts and culture, government can help to build strong and vibrant communities.
Alberta Party Principles
The Alberta Party was established in 1985 and has established the principles set forth below:
“We believe in:
- True equality for every citizen, with equal rights and responsibilities for all and special privileges for none.
- Liberty of conscience and religion and the right of every citizen to advocate, without fear of repression, public policies that reflect his or her fundamental beliefs.
- A citizen’s inalienable right, individually and collectively, to own and dispose of property which cannot be confiscated for any purpose whatsoever without due process of law and fair compensation.Elected representatives are accountable to the citizens with no individual, group or government above or beyond the law.”
- Elected representatives are accountable to the citizens with no individual, group or government above or beyond the law.”
Co-Founder of two beautiful daughters and 