Tell The Liberals To Keep Their Hands Off Alberta Pensions

Tell The Liberals To Keep Their Hands Off Alberta Pensions

As you know, Alberta’s potential switch to an Alberta Pension Plan (APP) has been a hot topic of discussion recently!

"Hands Off Our CPP" has been the NDP's disingenuous mantra for the last few months, appearing on signs, on social media, and in conversations.

It’s just plain false, of course - no one is stealing anyone's pension!

We’re just debating whether pensions should be managed by an arms-length agency in Ottawa or an arms-length agency in Alberta.

But, as so often is the case, it turns out that those throwing out the accusations are actually the ones who are guilty.

And some breaking news out of Ottawa last week makes it clear that it’s the NDP and the Liberals who need to get their hands off our pensions!

You see, an Alberta Pension Plan is one of the only substantial things Alberta can do unilaterally, without needing permission from Ottawa or the other provinces, to get a fairer deal.

Right now, Alberta is subsidizing the rest of Canada to the tune of about $20 billion every year, and almost a quarter of that can be attributed to the subsidy built into the Canada Pension Plan.

So, for those who think Alberta deserves a fairer deal, an APP is our best chance to substantially improve our position.

But, equally, for those who support the status quo and want to keep Alberta subsidizing the rest of the country, blocking Alberta from creating an APP is their top priority.

How do we know this? 

Well, whenever Alberta talked about equalization or any of the other inequities in the Constitution, the rest of the country just ignored us (as they usually do).

By contrast, when the rest of the country realized Alberta could actually leave the CPP without their permission, ending the subsidy they’re receiving and leaving them to pay their own bills for once, they sure noticed - in fact, they panicked.

An emergency meeting of Canada's finance ministers was hastily convened, and discussions ensued regarding Alberta's potential exit from the Canada Pension Plan.

The federal Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, also strongly disputed the figure the Alberta government claimed we are entitled to, and asked the Office of the Chief Actuary to calculate the “correct” figure.

(One might wonder why the CPP hasn’t been tracking this from the beginning, given that it’s a formula included in the legal framework of the CPP - but that’s a separate issue.)

So, now, the federal government’s asset transfer figure is due in Fall.

But, before the Office of the Chief Actuary even has a chance to report back the number Alberta is owed, the federal government seems poised to make an audacious attempt to prevent Alberta from leaving the CPP entirely, even if Albertans vote to do so.

Last week, Heather McPherson, the NDP Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Strathcona, tabled a Bill in Parliament that would amend the Canada Pension Plan Act.

McPherson’s suggestion completely overrides the current rules of the CPP that legally guarantee all provinces the right to leave the CPP unilaterally.

Instead, she is proposing that two-thirds of the provinces, representing two-thirds of the population (excluding Quebec, of course) must agree, in order for a province to be allowed to leave.

This change would go against the entire history of the Canada Pension Plan.

The CPP was designed to allow provinces to leave right from the start.

That’s why the asset transfer formula is included in the law.

In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that there wouldn’t even be a CPP at all had this right not been guaranteed to the provinces.

Ontario would never have agreed to join had their demand for this rule to be added been ignored - and with Ontario and Quebec opting out, the plan would have collapsed.

Ontario Premier John Robarts demanded a plan that allowed provinces to leave in the same financial position as if they had never joined in the first place because they knew that, as the largest, richest province, there was a risk that the other provinces could vote to exploit them.

They knew that the right to leave - and take their money with them - was what would guarantee that they would be treated fairly.

But Heather McPherson’s amendment would undo all of that.

It would impose the tyranny of the majority, where the rest of the country would now have the power to hold Albertans' pensions hostage.

It would let the provinces we’re subsidizing decide whether we have to continue to subsidize them or not.

Heck, they could even vote to massively increase the subsidy they receive from Alberta every year, and there’d be nothing we could do about it, because we couldn’t leave.

But the question remains - why is this being proposed now?

Why are the NDP pitching this Bill, before Albertans have even seen a full plan for what an Alberta Pension Plan might look like, and before we even have a number back from the Chief Actuary?

Perhaps the federal government has finally realized that the Chief Actuary can’t lie about the massive subsidy inherent in the CPP without severely damaging the credibility of their office?

And that would mean they wouldn’t be able to deny the fact that Albertans are heavily subsidizing the program, and will be owed a very large number indeed should we vote to leave the CPP and create an APP.

And with that admission, it would be impossible to continue denying that Albertans could in fact have lower contribution rates and increased pension income for our seniors if an Alberta Pension Plan was established.

And without that lie, most of the opposition to an APP would collapse, and Albertans would likely vote in favour of a referendum to remove the subsidy - as they voted in favour of removing the subsidy in the equalization referendum.

So, they’re desperate.

They need a way to stop Alberta from leaving.

And all that’s left is to change the law to force us to stay.

To be clear, Heather McPherson’s Bill is just a Private Member’s Bill, at least for now.

But, the federal government could adopt it at any time, and the NDP seem to have no problem threatening the Liberals with an election if they don’t do what they want.

So, how far is Ottawa willing to go to keep control of your pension money?

Liberal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is already making moves to increase the amount of control the federal government has over the CPP.

Finance Minister Freeland recently appointed Stephen Poloz explicitly for the purpose of interfering with how the CPP operates and “encouraging” them to invest more in particular industries the government supports in Canada.

Would it really be so out there for the Liberal-NDP alliance, with collapsing poll numbers and a bleak electoral outlook, to adopt a Bill to block Alberta from leaving the CPP and ensure the federal government retains control of a massive pot of money?

McPherson and Freeland’s actions make it clear - the one government you should be worried about messing with your pension is the one in Ottawa.

You could say that they need to keep their hands off our pensions.

Albertans’ CPP belongs to Albertans - as the opposition is so fond of saying.

And if Albertans want to take their CPP and move it to an APP, that’s Albertans’ choice.

Don’t let the NDP make that choice for you.

Don’t let the Liberals make that choice for you.

Don’t let the other provinces make that choice for you.

That's why we're calling on the federal Liberal government to reject the NDP's plan to force Alberta to stay in the CPP, even if Albertans vote to leave.

If you agree, sign the petition to Tell The Liberals To Keep Their Hands Off Alberta Pensions now.

Tell Chrystia Freeland and Heather McPherson to keep their hands off your pension and guarantee that the decision on whether to switch to an Alberta Pension Plan will be made by Albertans, not by anyone else!