Why the credibility of Alberta’s policy advice depends on transparent, rigorous vetting of the people who give it
Author: Michelle Remillard | Date: August 29, 2026 | Website: https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/when-advisory-committees-shape-public-policy-who-gets-a-seat-at-the-table
In this Calgary Herald opinion piece, independent policy analyst Michelle Remillard argues that an advisory committee’s credibility rests as much on who is appointed as on what members discuss, especially when the issue is contentious and the stakes are high for competing interests.
Remillard notes that while committees typically operate under detailed terms of reference, governments rarely explain how they choose members. Public servants and members of public agencies face screening, background checks, ethics reviews and conflict-of-interest rules. Yet issue-specific advisory appointees, who can heavily influence provincial policy, are often selected behind closed doors with no published criteria for selection.
She calls for balanced representation of every affected group. She warns that environmental and conservation files are especially complex, touching ecology, Indigenous knowledge and rights, public lands, animal welfare and wildlife management. Where commercial or narrow interests dominate a committee, independent scientific expertise should counterbalance them.
Representation alone isn’t enough, she adds. Appointees with a record of non-compliance on the very issue they advise on, or who behave unprofessionally in public, undermine the whole process. Advisory roles are a privilege, she concludes, and Alberta must hold members to the highest standards of integrity, expertise and accountability to earn public trust.