Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has agreed to convene a meeting with provincial and territorial finance ministers to discuss Alberta’s proposal to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan.
The agreement comes after Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy called for the meeting in a letter to Freeland, saying Alberta’s withdrawal could cause “serious harm.” Freeland says any province has the right to leave the program, but it’s important the decision “be based on facts and be clearly and well informed.
“It is absolutely my conviction and the federal government’s conviction that the CPP works really, really well for all Canadians — for all Albertans — and I am looking forward to the opportunity to discuss that further with the finance ministers of all the provinces and territories in the days to come.”
Read: Trudeau chides Smith for Alberta pension-exit debate, promises to defend stability of CPP
In his own letter to Freeland, Nate Horner, Alberta’s finance minister and president of the Treasury Board, suggested the next finance ministers’ meeting be held in Calgary. “I recommend that Alberta’s potential establishment of an Alberta Pension Plan be on the agenda and we welcome a good faith, rigorous analysis of the CPP Act withdrawal formula in advance of that meeting.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau weighed in Wednesday, saying the CPP has delivered solid pensions for millions of Canadians. “The idea that Alberta might not just make their own pensioners poorer by pulling out, but impact Canadians from coast to coast to coast is not something that most Albertans would want, let alone most Canadians.”
The Alberta government commissioned a report that said the province would be entitled to leave the CPP with $334 billion, more than half of the fund’s assets. The report cited Alberta’s relatively younger working population, higher incomes, fewer seniors drawing CPP and years of high contributions from people in the province. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has estimated Alberta is owed about 16 per cent of the fund.
In his letter, Bethlenfalvy said he would welcome a “rigorous analysis of the assumptions” that Alberta is using to justify its plan. “At a time when economic challenges are putting pressure on household budgets, the people of Ontario and Canada should not have to worry about the security of their retirement savings or the possibility of costly increases to contributions.”
Read: Alberta deserves more than half CPP assets if it exits program: report
On Wednesday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters she’s happy to have a meeting of finance ministers, with issues such as the carbon tax and equalization part of the discussion. “Alberta is always paying more and always receiving less in benefits. It just so happens that the Constitution under Section 94 allows us to be able to make a decision to have our own pension.”
Smith also said she won’t call a referendum on whether Alberta should quit the CPP until there’s a firm, finalized number on how much the province would get should it decide to go it alone, adding that number may come by agreement with the federal government and the CPPIB or may have to be hashed out before a judge.
“It may have to be a court decision because this is legislated under the CPP Act. And if the federal government and the CPPIB will not come to the table and talk with us in a reasonable way to get us that number, then we’ll probably have to go to a court decision.”
Opposition NDP house leader Christina Gray says Albertans deserve to know the firm numbers before casting a ballot, noting her caucus has heard from 30,000 Albertans in their poll, with 90 per cent or more calling for Alberta to stay in the CPP. “We need to continue to hold their feet to the fire because they are continuing to push an agenda that Albertans don’t support [on the CPP].”
Read: Alberta opposition creates counter survey on province’s ‘unicorn’ plan to quit CPP