Two Provincial Executive Council (PEC) geographic districts now have new names. Effective immediately, Edmonton District is to be known as Central Prairie Sky and Calgary District is to be known as South Central Rockies. While the name change has been in the works for years, it became official at the January PEC meeting.
The name change was originally brought to council by Paul Froese and Karen Nakaska, who were the district representatives (DRs) for Edmonton District and Calgary District respectively when the idea was proposed. Froese passed away last summer while in office, but his vision for the change was picked up by past president Greg Jeffery.
“This was a legacy project left to me by my good friend Paul Froese,” said Jeffrey. “I was happy to finish this for Paul.”
The districts’ names, as they previously existed, were virtually indistinguishable from the districts of Calgary City and Edmonton McMurray and often caused confusion among ATA members. The change aims to provide more clarity and distinction between the districts representing the cities of Edmonton and Calgary and the districts representing the locals surrounding those urban areas.
Deneen Zielke, the sitting DR for Central Prairie Sky, says that, beyond adding clarity, the new names reflect the spirit of the areas they represent.
“This past fall the presidents of the five locals surrounding Edmonton met and brainstormed a list of names that they felt embodied the district,” said Zielke. “After input from each local, Central Prairie Sky was chosen. It represents the prairie land surrounding the districts and the open sky where many travel to when watching the northern lights.”
Central Prairie Sky covers the Elk Island, Elk Island Catholic, Greater St. Albert Catholic, St. Albert Public and Sturgeon locals.
A similar process took place in the Central South Rockies district. Each of the locals within that district feature the Rocky Mountains in their logo, so “Rockies” was a logical choice. “South Central” was added to indicate their geographic position with the surrounding southern districts.
South Central Rockies includes the Canadian Rockies, Christ the Redeemer, Foothills and Rocky View locals.
The districts’ name changes came with a few challenges, as both are contested districts in the upcoming PEC election. While some electoral publications have already been printed using the former district names, all new publicity will label the districts as Central Prairie Sky (formerly Edmonton District) and South Central Rockies (formerly Calgary District). All voting processes will also reflect the new name while still including the former name.
Since this name change does not affect any geographic boundaries, it was not necessary to have the change passed at the Annual Representative Assembly. ❚
What's PEC?
PEC is the 20-person committee that creates and sets policies and practices for the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA). It consists of a president, two vice-presidents, a past president, the ATA executive secretary and 15 representatives from 11 districts across the province. All positions are elected by the membership, with the exception of the executive secretary.
Curious to know more about the ATA’s governance structure, including PEC, geographic districts, locals and more? Check out https://teachers.ab.ca/about.
The current district representative and local presidents for Central Prairie Sky (formerly Edmonton District).
The current district representative and local presidents for South Central Rockies (Calgary District).
The current district representative and local presidents for Central Prairie Sky (formerly Edmonton District).
