Our work as elected politicians is about increasing the public good. We must never do things that undermine public trust. We get to decide who does and who does not get benefits (or penalties) from public dollars and we must go the extra mile to ensure that there is NO self-interest and NO political advantage in any decisions we make.

Our member from Edmonton Goldbar – Hugh MacDonald – looked into pay bonuses this week and was shocked to learn that last year about $40 million was given out in bonuses! These bonuses were given primarily to senior government employees like Deputy Ministers and Directors of Boards and Commissions. These are people who are required to work on behalf of all Albertans, not just their Minister. How free can a senior official be if he is getting thousands of dollars in bonuses based on pleasing the Minister? Tens of thousands of dollars on top of salaries of $300,000 to $400,000 per year- and all this at a time when our economy was tanking!

MLA’s and the Premier need to hear from Albertans about this mis-use of public funds and how this violates public trust in government!