Good evening and welcome to the AFL's Alternative Growth Summit -- which, as you can see, we are officially calling the "Investing in Tomorrow" Conference.

Tonight I would like say a few words about how our conference will be organized and what we hope to accomplish over the next few days.

In addition, I will talk about some of the pressing economic issues facing Albertans as we near the end of the 20th century.

I will also outline some of the questions that will be posed to you during conference workshops tomorrow and Saturday.

But first, I'd like to deal with the question that I've been asked dozens of times over the past few weeks: why an Alternative Growth Summit?

To answer that question we can start by looking around this room.

It was here in this hall -- four and a half months ago -- that several hundred trade union activists from around the province gathered to attend the AFL's biennial convention.

Over the course of that four-day meeting, our delegates dealt with a wide range of issues and concerns.

There was the Safeway strike -- for example -- which was the big issue on the minds of many people at the time. There were also dozens of motions and resolutions on things like health and safety, employment insurance and political action.

But among the resolutions and discussion papers there was one item that stood out -- something that was unusual for a labour convention.

It was an invitation from the Premier of Alberta.

In that invitation, Premier Klein asked the AFL to attend a special meeting -- something that he and his government were describing as a Growth Summit.

As most of us know, Premier Klein came up with the idea for a Growth Summit during the last provincial election.

When asked by reporters and voters about his plans for the economy, Klein's standard answer is "Don't worry, we'll be holding a Growth Summit in the fall. Everything will be taken care of. Trust me."

Well, like many other Albertans, the delegates to our convention didn't trust the Premier.

When we brought the Premier's invitation to the convention floor for discussion, dozens of people rushed to the microphones. One after another, delegates spoke against the idea of participating in the government's summit.

They told us to be careful. They warned that the government couldn't be trusted to really listen to alternative points of view. And they reminded us of what had happened in the past when the government had promised to consult the public.

In particular they reminded us of the Health Care Roundtables. They reminded us of how -- at the time -- the government had asked for public input on health care then proceeded to ignore any suggestions that didn't coincide with the policy direction they had already decided to take.

The lesson of the Health Care Roundtables was a bitter one. And it was a lesson that made many of us in the labour movement extremely wary of the Government's Growth Summit.

So it wasn't a big surprise when our convention over-whelmingly rejected the Premier's invitation.

If we had any doubts about our decision not to participate, they were dispelled when the government made public announcements about how their Summit would be organized, who would be invited and how the sessions would be conducted.

With a few notable exceptions, the government's guest list reads like a "who's who" of Alberta's wealthiest and most influential people. The majority of delegates are from the business sector -- and many of them are well-connected to the provincial Conservative party.

The government's delegate list was also notable for who was missing from it. Many groups and individuals who should have been invited were not. Even the Alberta Medical Association -- certainly one of the important voices in Alberta's health care sector -- was not on the list.

The other big problem with the government summit is that it puts too many restrictions on debate. Participants are told that they can only discuss policy options that -- and I quote -- "fit within the existing fiscal framework."

In other words, the government has radically restricted the scope for debate at its summit. This would be unacceptable even if most Albertans agreed on the best direction for the Alberta economy. But the truth is Albertans don't agree.

Just a few weeks ago, a poll conducted by the Klein government itself showed that Albertans want to talk about education and health care, not privatization or tax cuts for business. They want to talk about re-investment, not the debt or the deficit.

Having said all that, there is at least one issue upon which we -- at the AFL -- can agree with the Premier.

Premier Klein says a summit is needed to take stock of where we are.

He says Albertans need a forum to express their concerns and outline suggestions about the province's economic future.

Well, for once we agree. The time has definitely come for Albertans took stock of the enormous changes that have been sweeping this province over the past few years. The problem is that the government summit will not -- and cannot -- do the job. That's why we've organized the "Investing in Tomorrow" conference.

It's important that this conference not be seen merely as a reaction to the government's conference. It shouldn't be seen simply as an anti-summit.

Instead, it should be seen as a people's summit. We are providing Albertans with the kind of open public forum that they need and deserve -- the kind of forum that the government is not providing.

From our point of view, the need for a truly open discussion about the future of the economy has never been greater.

That's because Alberta is at a crossroads.

On one hand, our economy is stronger than it has been for a decade. The unemployment rate, for example, has fallen to pre-recession levels. The government is well on its way to recording its forth billion-dollar surplus in as many years. And profits earned by Alberta businesses have been sky-rocketing.

But at the same time, changes have been occurring in the economy that threaten the economic security of ordinary Albertans and put the future prosperity of our province in doubt.

As you can see by checking through our conference's background booklet, wages in Alberta have fallen behind inflation for years and continue to stagnate even during the current period of economic expansion.

At the same time, new jobs are being created -- but they are not necessarily good jobs. More and more people are working in part-time, temporary or contract positions that don't provide benefits, job security or decent wages.

Major changes are also being felt in the area of public services.

Alberta now has the dubious distinction spending less per person on health care than any province in Canada. And we also spend less per person on education than most Canadian provinces and less than almost all American states -- including traditional economic backwaters like Alabama and Arkansas.

In the area of social services, thousands of our most vulnerable citizens have been denied assistance or thrown onto a merry-go-round of training and workfare programs that never really lead to financial security.

Even services for needy children -- the most vulnerable of Alberta's citizens -- have been slashed to the bone.

Almost no group of people in our province has been left untouched by the changes that have been sweeping Alberta over the past few years.

Seniors have lost many of their benefits. Students have shouldered the twin burdens of sky-rocketing tuition fees and record high youth unemployment rates. Women have also been staggered by a double whammy. They make up the bulk of the 22,000 public-sector workers who have lost their jobs in the province since 1993. And they are also much more likely to make use of public services -- so women have suffered disproportionately as a result of program cuts. In our cities in towns and on our roads and highways, we also see the results of the massive restructuring and deep cuts imposed since 1993. Provincial grants to municipalities have been slashed and -- as a result -- many of our roads, bridges, sewers and public buildings are falling into what seems to be a permanent state of disrepair. Meanwhile, our laws and regulations governing things like environmental protection, human right and the promotion of workplace health and safety have been severely diluted. Companies are now free to police themselves -- safe in the knowledge that the government no longer has adequate resources to actually enforce its own rules.

Overall -- as a result of the policy direction set by the Klein government -- there has been a massive power shift from the government to the private sector. Where once our leaders saw a role for government in regulating the economy and promoting the well being of citizens, our current leader simple say: let the market decide.

All this adds up to a seismic shift in the economic and social landscape of Alberta. In many important ways, Alberta is a fundamentally different place in 1997 than it was in 1993. And, if the pace of change keeps up, it will be radically different in the year 2005 than it is today.

The questions that Albertans should be asking themselves -- and the questions that we will be exploring at this conference -- are clear.

Is this what we want? Are the massive changes that have occurred in Alberta's economy really good for us? And are they justified?

Over the next two days we will wrestle with these questions. In our workshops tomorrow and Saturday, we will go deeper by asking other questions. We will ask why, when our economy is booming, is there still a shortage of decent, permanent, well-paid jobs? Why have wages stagnated?

We will ask why a wealthy province like Alberta can't provide protection for children at risk and proper support for families in need?

We will ask if things like health care and education should be viewed as spending burdens or as investments in the future.

And we will ask if it really makes sense to abandon government regulation of things like the environment, workplace health and safety and human rights.

These are all extremely complex questions. And it will probably be difficult or even impossible to find answers that satisfy everyone.

But despite the challenge that lies before us, I remain extremely optimistic. I'm optimistic because so many of you have agree to participate in this conference. And I'm optimistic because I know you are all brimming with great ideas.

As it stands right now, we have about 165 confirmed conference delegates-- and we expect that number to climb to about 200 by tomorrow morning.

For obvious reasons, the majority of our delegates come from the labour movement.

But this is not just a union event. We also have delegates from numerous community and social groups. There are organizations representing the poor and the homeless. There are women's groups, environmental groups and groups for people with disabilities. There are also delegates from church groups and groups representing students and seniors.

We all come from different backgrounds but we all have at least a few things in common. Most importantly, we all share a passion for the people of this province and a commitment to doing all we can to protect and promote their interests.

But -- as usual -- it won't be easy. We have a lot of work to do in the conference workshops. Over the next two days we will be calling on each and every one of you to be focused, forceful and thoughtful. We all have to roll up our sleeves and show the government how a real people's summit works. We have to show them the wealth of good ideas that can be generated when people put the welfare of the community at least on par with the interests of the market.

On behalf of the AFL, our executive and our staff I thank all of you for being here. Over the past few days and weeks, we have made a few promises that we intend to keep.

We have promised a fair and open debate. We will deliver it. We have promised not to force a false consensus. So we will include dissenting opinion in all of our post-confernce documents. We have also promised to deliver the conclusions and recommendations from your workshops to the government. We will.

But we will also do everything in our power to get them into the hands of ordinary Albertans.

In conclusion, I'd just like to say that I think we can make a real difference. I realize, of course, that this alternative summit will probably only have limited influence on the government in the short term.

But by coming together, unions, community groups and concerned individuals can demonstrate clearly that not everyone agrees with the Tory's approach to economic issues.

We can show that there are issues and concerns that the government is overlooking. Most importantly, by holding our own conference will show that there are alternatives. And we will make it impossible for the government to manufacture some kind of false consensus in favour of continued cuts and further deregulation.

We at the AFL have been saying for years that there are alternatives to the Klein agenda. We have been saying that you can build up the economy without pushing people down and without sacrificing public services or the environment. Over the next few days -- with your help -- we will be able to spell out some of these alternatives.

And, in doing so, we will hopefully give a voice to all those Albertans who have been voiceless for too long.

The fact is that there are thousands of Albertans out there who are concerned about what's been going on in our economy.

And there are thousands of Albertans who see alternatives to the current market-dominated approach to economic issues taken by our government. Our summit will give all of these people a forum.

If our leaders -- in both government and business -- listen to the ideas coming out of this conference, I am convinced we will be able to make Alberta a better place as we enter the 21st century. I am convinced that we can build an economy that works for all Albertans -- not just those lucky few at the top of the economic ladder.

Once again, thank you all for coming and good luck with your deliberations over the next few days. I look forward to seeing the results of your work.

Solidarity!