| | Solutions are Emerging
The November 23 Working Session with recognized industry leaders is here. The focus is on co-creating solutions to the issues identified through extensive industry consultation. These draft recommendations will be forwarded to the industry for continued development and refinement. The end result will be the presentation of recommendations for the Minister's consideration.
Celebrating Success: Good governance practices at work!
Numerous organizations are finding new ways to work together.
- The Intensive Livestock Working Group is comprised of Alberta Pork, Alberta Egg Producers, Alberta Hatching Egg Producers, Alberta Milk, Alberta Beef Producers, Alberta Turkey Producers, Alberta Chicken Producers and the Alberta Cattle Feeders' Association. The group provides a forum for sharing information, developing common positions and exploring actions on issues of interest to intensive livestock producers.
- Poultry Emergency Response Plan - The four feather boards (Alberta Chicken Producers, Alberta Egg Producers, Alberta Hatching Egg Producers and Alberta Turkey Producers), in cooperation with processors, hatcheries, egg graders and processors, the food industry, Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Alberta Agriculture developed an emergency response plan for handling potential disease outbreaks. Stakeholders meet regularly and have conducted simulations to ensure the response plan is effective.
- The United Farmers of Alberta have moved towards a competency-based board of directors.
"At a Crossroads" - Government accepts industry's leadership to shake up the status quo.
In March 2007 the Alberta Government initiated a Board Governance Review of agencies, boards and commissions. The report "At a Crossroads", released in November 2007, identifies key governance issues that complement emerging solutions from the Industry Governance Review. The Task Force report concludes that the status quo requires substantial improvements to meet the needs to the 21st century and provides 15 recommendations.
Some examples of these recommendations are:
- Implementing a more rigorous process for establishing agencies, boards and commissions.
- Using a transparent, nonpartisan and competency-based process for appointing directors to agencies.
- Ensuring that mandates, roles and responsibilities of the government and its agencies are clearly understood.
- In addition to overall agency evaluation, all agencies should conduct Board and director performance evaluations. Agencies should have fixed terms of office for their directors that may be renewed based on performance to a maximum of 10 consecutive years.
Link to the complete report At a Crossroads
Click below learn how the Premier plans to improve transparency of agencies, boards and commissions: http://www.gov.ab.ca/home/News
Your voice remains important
Visit our website for more information about the process, past communiqués, and presentations related to the Industry Governance Review. The latest additions to the website are:
- A summary of the key learnings from governance review meetings held with eleven Ontario and Quebec organizations, and
- A section where you can provide your thoughts on specific issues raised through the industry consultations.
Please feel free to contact me or the other working group members with your concerns, questions and comments.
In these challenging times for our industry, it is so clear to me that we need to continue to co-create solutions for a better tomorrow!
Don Macyk
Chair
| The Industry Governance Review Working Group |
| Marketing Council Members |  |
Don Macyk
Kenton Ziegler
Doris Ludlage |
780-427-2164
403-947-2508
780-724-4118
|
| Marketing Council Staff: | |
Jackson Gardner
Freda Molenkamp-Oudman
Mike Pearson
Maryann Urbanowski |
780-422-1243
780-644-1507
780-427-2164
780-427-1200
|
| Agriculture and Food staff: | |
Bob Prather
Martine Bolinger |
780-427-4244
780-980-4230
|
| Framework Partners Inc: | |
| Donna Finley (process consultant) | |
|
|