Premier puts clamp on ‘culture of entitlement’ with new act

Alberta’s new premier has rolled out plans to introduce legislation in an effort to restore public trust.

New premier Jim Prentice is promising to restore Albertans’ trust in government by introducing a new Accountability Act.

Prentice held a news conference in Edmonton on Wednesday to make the announcement.

“As Premier of Alberta I intend to restore the people’s trust in government, and I will endeavor to show to Albertans that they deserve our faith and our confidence and illustrate that we can wisely exercise the authority that has been given to us to work with them to shape this province’s future for our children and for our grandchildren,” said Prentice.

He says he will put an end to the so-called culture of entitlement that has plagued past governments.

“Culture in any organization is created at the top by the man or woman who is at the top of the organization, and so amongst the first actions I intend to undertake when the legislature resumes in November is to introduce a new Accountability Act to restore accountability, discipline and integrity to government and anyone who wishes to be part of this government going forward, and anyone wishing to be part of my team will be held to the highest possible standards of public service,” said Prentice.

The new legislation will also eliminate ‘sweetheart’ severance packages and ensure government contracts are awarded on a competitive basis.

“In the future severance packages for political staff will only be paid when an employee is terminated without cause and will be fully consistent with public sector standards that apply to people in the public service in Alberta. No one will profit by leaving a job that they’ve held for just a short time,” said the premier.

The Premier says work on the act will begin immediately and it will:

Prentice says financial report cards will be delivered twice a year and that he will enforce strict conflict of interest guidelines for elected officials and all staff.

“When this legislation has been enacted, all elected officials, all political staff, and all senior civil servants will be bound by clear conflict of interest guidelines. I begin by saying, every person who is employed in my office or in the offices of any of my ministers will be required to make voluntary disclosure to the ethics commissioner of their financial status and their holdings or employment history and any possible potential conflict,” said Prentice.

Prentice says his government will work with the Ethics Commissioner on the legislation.