Premier Jim Prentice and his cabinet are hitting the ground running when it comes to changing government policies, starting with travel.
The Alberta government says that while it is very important to access rural and remote communities in the province, the current system of government-owned places is not appropriate to meet that need.
As a result, the Prentice government has announced they would be selling the fleet of planes.
“The Alberta government is no longer in the business of owning planes,” said Premier Prentice in a release. “I have instructed officials to begin an RFP that will provide best overall value to access communities where the distance is too far to drive or commercial flights are not available.”
The planes will be sold in such a way that offers the most cost-effective solution, realizes the value of the assets, and treats the staff affected by the sales in a fair way.
Now, the Premier and his cabinet will be expected to fly commercially whenever possible. Access to government and chartered flights for Ministers will be considered when commercial options are not available.
Bookings of that sort will require approval from the Premier’s Office before proceeding.
The auditor general report, released in August, showed several misuses of government aircraft, and showed that the program cost $3.9M more than other reasonable travel alternatives in 2012.
