Discover Alberta’s Ingenious Telephone Town Halls to Assess Public Interest in Quitting CPP

Alberta is set to commence telephone town-hall consultations with the public next week to discuss the possibility of withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan.

However, the Opposition NDP argues that if Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party government is going to tamper with the retirement savings of all Albertans, they should do so in person.

A panel headed by former provincial finance minister Jim Dinning announced on Thursday that there will be five 90-minute town-hall discussions over a period of six weeks, with each session focusing on gathering feedback from a different region.

The first session is scheduled for Monday from 6:30 to 8 p.m., targeting residents in northern Alberta. This will be followed by sessions for those in southern Alberta, Calgary, and Edmonton, before ending with participants from central Alberta on November 22.

“Now that the LifeWorks report is up for discussion, our panel has been assigned the task of listening to Albertans and hearing their thoughts, opinions, and concerns regarding a provincial pension plan,” said Dinning in a statement.

“For something of this magnitude, Albertans deserve to engage in a rational, adult conversation.”

The report by pension analyst LifeWorks calculates that the province is entitled to over half of the $575 billion in the CPP fund. It suggests that with this money, an Alberta pension plan could offer lower contribution costs and higher payouts.

Critics argue that the report’s calculations are questionable, and point out that the federal government and other provinces would never agree to one member taking half of the CPP.

The NDP states that Albertans have already voiced their opinions through various public surveys, with the majority expressing opposition to the province tampering with CPP.

The NDP is conducting its own online consultation with Albertans on October 19 at 6:30 p.m., hosted by caucus finance critics Shannon Phillips and Samir Kayande.

Phillips stated that Albertans deserve a face-to-face dialogue.

“The fact that the so-called government consultation on the future of the Canada Pension Plan does not include any in-person town halls is a cowardly move,” she said.

“The UCP refuses to face Albertans and provide them with a clear explanation as to why they are aggressively gambling with their pensions.”