Update from our Annual Report

Democracy Task Force Report in PIA's 2010-2011 Annual Report

Click here for the Democracy Task Force report in PDF

Click here to access our full annual reports

Plain text of the Democracy Task Force Report:

The Democracy Task Force’s work over the past year occurred in a context of ongoing political change and uncertainty on the provincial scene. The upheaval in the Progressive Conservative party culminating in the pending departure of the Premier and a resulting leadership contest, the increased profile of the Wild Rose Alliance, the resignation of the Liberal leader and ensuing leadership contest, and the emergence of the Alberta Party all presented challenges and opportunities for promoting democratic reform and renewal in our province. PIA’s co-sponsoring of an ongoing legal challenge to irregularities in the 2008 provincial general election provided a continuing opportunity to focus attention on the need to ensure democratic practices at the time of elections.

However, the bulk of the task force’s work was centred on ongoing efforts to promote PIA’s six-point proposal for democratic renewal in Alberta. Two key initiatives in the past year were the development of specific proposals for campaign and party finance reform, and a ten-point proposal in the area of gender and democracy. The two draft proposals were designed to be used in the three party leadership campaigns, as well as in the upcoming provincial election. In addition, the two draft proposals provided the basis for discussions in the task force’s two sessions at PIA’s annual advocacy conference in April.

PIA also hosted a public meeting featuring Dr. Joel Westheimer in May 2011, on the topic, “More Than Voting: How can we bring about a stronger democracy based on citizen engagement?”

The Democracy Task Force’s efforts this past year were substantially enhanced by the work of Jon Weller, who served as an intern through the University of Alberta’s Community Service Learning program.

Also available: Last year's (2009-2010) Task Force Report in PDF