Alberta’s ABCs under a microscope
Premier-designate Rachel Notley has pledged to continue her predecessor’s review of Alberta’s 320 agencies, boards and commissions, which control more than half of the province’s roughly $40-billion budget. Notley said she intends to review pay scales, make salaries public under the provincial sunshine list and assess the “content as well as the quantity” of the organizations, known as ABCs.
“We’ve indicated all along that agencies, boards and commissions should have been subject to the sunshine list and we’ll be moving forward to make that a reality as quickly as we can,” Notley said Wednesday.
Progressive Conservative Premier Jim Prentice started a review of ABCs in September and later promised to cut the number of ABCs by 25 per cent.
He asked three business leaders to begin the review, and they were expected to produce a report by the end of 2014. Nothing has been made public. The current status of the Prentice review is unclear.
“They’re a major black hole of accountability in the province,” Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt said of the ABCs. “We want to see the ABCs made fully subject to the sunshine list and to the blue book. Alberta taxpayers deserve to know who is on their payroll, and what contracts are being doled out.”
The sunshine list shows the salaries of civil servants. The blue book shows the names of companies that get government contracts and the amount of those contracts. Currently, ABCs are not required to submit information to either.
Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark said “with a new government, we have an opportunity to fundamentally transform the way ABCs operate, to the point where we may end up consolidating some or eliminating them entirely.
“We also get a chance to rein in what appear to be some pretty out- rageous salaries.”
Interim Progressive Conservative Party leader Ric McIver was a minister during Prentice’s review and said he was asked to consider the cost and benefit of each ABC, make recommendations on how many could be eliminated or folded together, and to stand up for those doing work that matters to Albertans.
“If the new premier continues with that pragmatic approach, it will turn out well,” he said.
A 2007 Journal investigation found half the boards were stacked with card-carrying PC party members.
Asked if she planned to address this in her review, Notley did not answer.