Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s handpicked panel re-examining the province’s relationship with Ottawa says it’s time to ditch the RCMP and hold a provincewide referendum on quitting the Canada Pension Plan.
The Alberta Next panel, in a new report released Friday afternoon of findings and recommendations, says creating a provincial pension plan was the most hotly debated topic among citizens but one that needs to proceed to a vote.
“Replacing the CPP with an (Alberta plan) is the most financially meaningful initiative Albertans have the right to pursue on our own to enhance our sovereignty and financial independence within a united Canada,” says the report from the panel, which was headed up by Smith.
But the panel stresses such a vote should only be held after residents receive more information on the potential pros and cons of the province going it alone. And it says such a vote is also contingent on an Alberta pension plan matching or improving on the payouts and premiums of the federal system.
The report was issued Friday afternoon without prior notice from Smith’s government and without any accompanying news conference.
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It comes after months of public town hall meetings across the province and other online and survey feedback.
It made multiple recommendations, including continuing with work to create an Alberta police force to replace the RCMP when the latest contract with the national force ends in 2032.
Smith’s government has long questioned whether the province is getting value for money on the Mountie contract while saying a provincial force can bolster accountability.
The panel acknowledged this was also a polarizing topic in debates, but said it heard concerns about police staffing levels, particularly in smaller communities, with hundreds of contracted policing positions going unfilled.
“Some, like Cypress County, have been paying the RCMP with zero officers provided,” said the panel.
The panel also called for referendums on more provincial control over immigration and on specific constitutional questions, such as abolishing the “unelected Senate.”
It suggested doing a cost-benefit analysis of Alberta running its own tax system.
It also urged Alberta to push harder for equalization reform, saying that on balance Albertans are OK with subsidizing smaller provinces but “the vast majority strongly oppose their federal tax dollars subsidizing provinces with the fiscal and economic strength to deliver such services on their own.”
— More to come…
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