As a person who lives in Canada, whether you are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or any other immigration status, you have the right to speak with your elected representatives from the different levels of government about issues that concern you.
Elected representatives represent the interests of the people to the three levels of government; the municipal (City of Calgary), provincial (Government of Alberta) and federal (Government of Canada) governments. For example, if you have a concern about snow removal or roads in your neighbourhood, you can contact your city Councillor, who is your representative to the City of Calgary. If you have a concern about healthcare or education, you contact your Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), who is your representative to the Government of Alberta. Finally, if you have a concern about issues such as citizenship and immigration or criminal justice you would contact your Member of Parliament (MP), your representative to the Government of Canada.
Here are some of the responsibilities of the different levels of government:
Municipal: Local policing, firefighting, garbage/recycling pickup, snow removal, local parks and recreation
Provincial: Healthcare, Education, Transportation (such as highways), financial supports (including income support), Labour policy (how employers can treat employees), Natural Resources
Federal: Citizenship and Immigration (partly shared with provinces), Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Criminal Justice
To learn more about the different levels of government, please visit here.
To find out who your representatives are, please visit http://www.elections.ca/ for federal, http://www.elections.ab.ca/ for provincial and http://www.calgary.ca/ for municipal.
