AUPE President to speak at Re-Making Alberta conference this weekend
EDMONTON – AUPE President Guy Smith will be one of the speakers at this weekend’s Parkland Institute conference on the Northern European model of public services and how Alberta can afford to follow their example.
The conference, called Re-Making Alberta: Recession Alternatives for an Alberta that Works, will also have other Alberta activists and academics as panelists, with Asbjorn Wahl, a Norwegian labour leader and coordinator of Action for the Welfare State, as keynote speaker.
The upcoming Feb. 9, 2010 Alberta budget is expected to delivery significant cuts to public programs and services. This is the opposite direction from countries with a strong public sector, which weathered the recession better and in fact saved the global economy from collapse by increasing public sector spending.
Many European countries have comparable or higher productivity levels to Alberta, and also have more comprehensive public services, leading many to question why the government’s focus on competitiveness comes at the expense of public services. The conference will provide an opportunity for people to discuss alternatives to cuts that the government continues to ignore.
The conference takes place at the Lister Conference Centre at the University of Alberta on Feb. 12-13, 2010. Registration is $50 per person. To register, contact Linda Robinson at lrobinso@afl.org, or phone 780-483-3021 or 1-800-661-3995.
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