A Message from the President

AJAY HARTENFELD PANDHI is the President of the ACSW Council. He is also the President of Pandhi Counselling and Mediation Services and works as a mental health therapist at Strathcona Community Hospital. You can contact Ajay at acswpresident@acsw.ab.ca.

GREETINGS, SOCIAL WORKERS across Alberta. It has been extremely busy here for us on the ACSW Council. During this time, we have been working hard to deal constructively with the ramifications that have emerged from Bill 30 for our Council and College, including having 50 percent public members on Council. We’re also evaluating the potential changes arising as a result of proposed amendments to the Health Professions Act in this summer’s Alberta Health discussion paper.

We as a Council, after much debate and two separate votes, decided to continue with our regular election process this year for the roles of president, vice president and three members at large. This decision gives me much satisfaction as it allows for the democratic practice of a fair election to be maintained. The preamble of ACSW’s Code of Ethics speaks to social workers about upholding democratic rights and freedoms. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights states, “The right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, including the right to vote and to stand for election, is at the core of democratic governments based on the will of the people. Genuine elections are thus a necessary and fundamental component of an environment that protects and promotes human rights”.

That being said, this is a very interesting and important time to be on Council. Our identity as a College is being tested and change is happening – which can be scary but also exciting. We need solid social workers to step up and be a part of this change process. Soon we will have a new executive director, many more public members on Council and structural changes as directed through the recent discussion paper. We need you to step up – so that the voice of social work remains strong in the governance of our College. Nominations to run for Council will be open as you read this. Please consider stepping in and running for one of these positions. There is no more important time than now to be on the Council. Take it from me, my ten years on the Council have been possibly the greatest learning experience on organizational leadership that I have ever received.

In addition, I just want to remind each one of you to ensure that your glass is being filled every day. These are hard times and as social workers, our internal resources are being stretched all the time. With deep-reaching governmental cuts across the province, a cold winter, and isolation due to COVID, anxiety rates and general depression are seriously on the rise. Please make sure you are looking after yourself. Remember self-care is a form of self-love and in order for us to be effective at our jobs, we need to be effective at looking after ourselves. All the best to you and your loved ones.

Ajay Hartenfeld Pandhi, MSW, RSW