Organization aims to protect public good

On October 18th and 19th, 2002, representatives from a wide variety of organizations met in Edmonton to discuss the possibility of creating a network aimed at promoting the public good. The meeting was jointly sponsored by the Alberta Federation of Labour and the Alberta Teachers’ Association.

Participants from labour, education, environmental groups, social justice organizations, churches, universities, colleges and NGOs participated in workshops aimed at answering the question: is there a need for a network aimed at protecting and promoting the public good in its broadest definition.

The answer from the nearly 100 participants was an unequivocal ‘yes’. Exactly what this new network would look like and how it would be structured were broadly discussed, without any final decisions being reached.

Nonetheless, conference organizers were very pleased with the result. "We want to take our time and make sure we do this right," said Alberta Federation of Labour President Les Steel.

This sentiment echoed keynote speaker Elaine Bernard, who advised that the organization begin with as broad a base as possible. Dr. Bernard, the Executive Director of the Trade Union Program at Harvard University, spoke compellingly on the social and public value of public enterprise, public services and public programs.

Participants have been asked to report back to their organizations, and to communicate their conclusions to the conference organizers – who will then take the next steps in the process of creating the new network.