Premier Rachel Notley to address United Nurses of Alberta AGM, which opens today

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley will address Thursday’s session of the United Nurses of Alberta Annual General Meeting, which opens this morning in Edmonton.

Premier Notley is scheduled to speak to close to 1,000 delegates and other participants in the union’s 39^th AGM at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Edmonton EXPO Centre.

Delegates elected by UNA’s more than 30,000 Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses and allied health care workers will commence their union’s business at 9 a.m. sharp today, hearing reports from President Heather Smith and other senior union officials immediately after the call to order.

The theme of the three-day AGM is Together for a Stronger Future.

Key speakers at this year’s AGM include:

• Author Jim Lieber, whose Pittsburg-based legal practice divides its time between civil rights and commercial litigation issues, and whose recent book Killer Care confronts the issue of malpractice in modern health care and what to do about it. He will speak Tuesday afternoon.
• University of Alberta Nursing professor Greta Cummings, a PhD and RN whose recent work deals with how leadership by individuals and organizations can improve health care outcomes for patients. She will speak Thursday afternoon.

Throughout the three days of business, delegates will also hear from such well-known figures as Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, Danielle Larivee, Alberta municipal affairs minister and former UNA activist, and Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. 

Delegates democratically elected by UNA members also deal with important union business at the AGM, including approval of UNA’s annual budget.

The AGM is scheduled to adjourn at 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon.