The Agricultural Service Board (ASB) Provincial Committee was formed in 2005 by the ASB Provincial Resolutions Committee to meet with the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation (AGI) on an annual basis to review the responses to the resolutions approved at ASB Provincial Conference and discuss other matters of concern to ASBs.
This Committee has met at least annually with the Minister since 2005 and is now recognized as a valuable resource to AF regarding matters impacting rural municipalities. The Committee now tries to meet with the Minister twice annually to discuss the resolutions and other matters of concern and has been consulted on the development of key initiatives within AF in recent years.
Purpose
The purpose of the ASB Provincial Committee is to achieve a collective voice for Agricultural Service Boards across Alberta that would facilitate and represent both the diversity and commonalities of ASBs. Through this collective voice, additional objectives can be achieved such as: better information and stronger communication back to ASBs about current issues and government policy direction and a regional representative voice that AF may call upon for input during policy or program review and development.
Authority
The Committee has authority to request meetings with the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (AF) on a semi-annual basis or as needed to discuss the responses to the resolutions and other items of mutual concern. They may also request meetings with senior staff of various AF departments, Ministers from other GoA ministries and other government committees, such as the Rural Development Committee, as needed to discuss issues related to resolution responses and other issues relevant to ASBs.
The Committee has authority to review and approve resolutions received from the Regional Meetings for debate at the ASB Provincial Conference and to set the order of debate for approved resolutions at the ASB Provincial Conference. This may include requesting clarification from the sponsoring ASB regarding wording or intent, amalgamating resolutions similar in nature or requesting the withdrawal of the resolution.
The Committee has authority to hire an Executive Assistant, contingent on need and availability of funding.
A more comprehensive description is available in our Terms of Reference document.
Agricultural Service Boards 