decided to contest the next election as an independent. In this election, he finished third behind Sandhu and New Democrat Rick Murti. Ouster from caucus In November 2006, Backs was expelled from the Liberal caucus by party leader Kevin Taft. Taft attributed the decision to "ongoing friction" between Backs and his colleagues, with Backs expressing surprise and calling the ouster "bizarre". Although Backs had already received the Liberal nomination in Edmonton-Manning for the following election, Taft declared that he would not be running as a Liberal and that the party would find a different candidate. Legislative initiatives In 2006, while still a Liberal, Backs sponsored the Labour Relations Code (First Collective Agreement) Amendment Act, a private member's bill designed to provide a first collective bargaining agreement after the certification of a union, to prevent the sort of labour conflict that had recently occurred between Lakeside Packers and the United Food and Commercial Workers. The bill had not come up for a second reading by the time the 2006 session of the legislature adjourned, and accordingly it died. In 2007, as an independent, Backs sponsored the Regulatory Accountability and Transparency Act, a private member's bill designed to reduce the red tape faced by Alberta business. It was supported by the Liberal, New Democratic, and Alberta Alliance caucuses. The Progressive Conservatives who spoke to the bill expressed a support for the concept of regulatory simplification - which they stated was a major goal of the government - but expressed some concerns with different specific elements of the bill. Ultimately, the bill was referred - with Backs' support - to the legislature's Standing Committee on Government Services, where it remained at the adjournment of the legislature's 2007 session. Election results References 1953 births Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Independent Alberta MLAs Living people Politicians from Calgary Politicians from Edmonton University of Alberta alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians