President’s Message
Welcome to the Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association
Dear Colleagues:
In 2007 a salary grid was created that made salaries easy to understand and promotion predictable. Re-classification procedures were introduced and we were told this was the way of the future. We were told that our remuneration would be predictable, reliable and fair. Re-classification was available to those who strove to do higher-level work than their Assessed Legal Experience might dictate. We maintained a bonus program, enjoyed healthy education budgets that allowed travel to conferences and even had the benefit of a Health and Wellness account.
But as the proverb goes: “Change is the only constant.”
Not even two years later salaries were frozen and “the grid” is no longer applied. The bonus program is gone, as are the health and wellness accounts. Our educational opportunities have been significantly limited, infrastructure upgrades have been cancelled, and security of our offices has been questioned by the government’s own experts. Until recently there was a hiring freeze. We were grateful when that freeze was lifted from our division, but now we have a salary grid for incumbent prosecutors and a new grid for our recently hired colleagues with significant differences in salaries. All of this happened without anyone even asking us what we thought.
The murder rate in Edmonton alone has tripled and our jobs get increasingly complicated everyday. The ACAA executive has had enough of this. We hope that Crown Prosecutors share that position. We want to change the way the government treats Crown prosecutors. We provide an essential public service that is neglected. Morale is plummeting among our ranks, and attrition will likely follow. These consequences pile on top of each other and they are not good for the pursuit of justice, for the safety of our communities or for any of us.
We have no stability. It is time to stop riding the ebbs of flows of the government’s good will and funding whims without having a strong voice to speak for ourselves.
Your executive has a plan and we want to move forward, but we need your help. We need your support. If we speak for 50% of the prosecutors, that will mean little. If we speak for 90% of the prosecutors, that will mean everything. We want to see you at ACAA Spcial Meeting at 4 pm on May 18, 2011 at the River Cree Resort and Casino. We want to hear your thoughts from the floor. We want you to vote on motions. We want you to help our committees. We want things to be better. Please join us. We need you to make this work.
If we all speak with one voice we can make change happen.
Avril Inglis
Upcoming Events
May 16 2012, 3 pm - ACAA Spring Meeting, Kananaskis, AB
In light of many changes to our working conditions imposed over the last years, now is the time to JOIN and SUPPORT your Association as we take our next steps to strengthen our ability to speak for and protect ourselves as an Association that truly represents all of the Crown Prosecutors in Alberta. All member are invited to attend this session to discuss the content of our Voluntary Recognition Agreement we will be proposing to Executive Management. The VRA committee has been working for months on this project, and the Spring meeting is the opportunity for all members to share their thoughts.
“Change starts when someone sees the next step.”
Documents
Please inform the ACAA webmaster Avril Inglis at if there are other ACAA documents you require.
Current salary grids:
Links
Canadian Association of Crown Counsel - http://www.cacc-acje.ca/
International Association of Prosecutors - http://www.iap.nl.com
Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association - http://www.ocaa.ca
Association of Law Officers of the Crown - http://www.aloc.ca
Association of Justice Counsel - http://www.ajc-ajj.com
B.C. Crown Counsel Association - http://www.bccrowncounselassociation.bc.ca
Contacts Page
For more information, please contact one of the following members of the Executive:
President: Avril Inglis
Edmonton General Prosecutions
(780) 644 4762
Vice President: Chantelle Washenfelder
Edmonton General Prosecutions
Vice President: David Labrenz
Lethbridge General Prosecutions
Treasurer: Bill Wister
Edmonton Rural & Regional Response Office
Secretary: Doug Taylor
Mega Prosecutions / Edmonton Rural & Regional Response Office
Membership and dues
Membership within the Association is voluntary and any Crown Prosecutor who is below the level of Director is eligible to be a member of the ACAA. Membership dues are $150 per year and are due at the beginning of the calendar year. Because membership is voluntary, dues are to be paid by the member directly; unfortunately, there is no option to have them deducted from a pay cheque. You cannot attend an AGM or vote as a member if your dues are not up-to-date.
Dues may be paid either by cash or by cheque payable to the Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association to any member of the ACAA executive.
*NEW* for 2012!!!
You can now use PayPal to pay your dues directly online with your credit card! Just click on the button below.
About the Association
The Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association is comprised of most Crown Prosecutors employed by Alberta Justice. While it is not a union, and has no collective bargaining powers, it is recognized by the Province of Alberta as the entity that speaks for all Crown Prosecutors employed by Alberta Justice.
The mandate of the ACAA is to improve the working conditions of its members, to represent its members on issues relating to salary, workload, education, discipline, benefits and like concerns, to plan and run ACAA conferences, including all educational portions of the conferences, to assist the membership as needed, and to liaise with the Department on items of concern to the membership.
Home
Welcome to the Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association (ACAA) website. The ACAA represents all Crown Attorneys of the Province of Alberta who are involved in the administration of criminal justice under the direction of the Attorney General. Our purpose is to represent the interests of Alberta Crown Attorneys in dealings with the Alberta Department of Justice and to promote the continued education of our members.