Baby, please don’t go.That was the message from Prime Minister Trudeau to Albertans thinking of voting to leave the Canada Pension Plan in favour of establishing their own retirement savings plan.In an open letter to Premier Danielle Smith on Wednesday, Trudeau said he has instructed his cabinet to do “everything possible” to keep Albertans in the fold, warning a premature exit would do “undeniable harm" to Canadians in all parts of the country..“We will not stand by as anyone seeks to weaken pensions and reduce the retirement income of Canadians,”Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.“Withdrawing Albertans from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) would expose millions of Canadians to greater volatility and would deny them the certainty and stability that has benefitted generations,” he wrote.“We will not stand by as anyone seeks to weaken pensions and reduce the retirement income of Canadians,” he said.In a Wednesday afternoon tweet, Smith fired back."Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau is clearly against Albertans having a referendum to decide their future. Thankfully, this decision is not his to make. These pensions belong to Albertans. They will decide," said Smith..Smith complained she was informed of the PM’s ‘open letter’ to her after it was leaked to the media in Ottawa.In her own response, she accused the prime minister of spreading fear for political gain and reminded him of the constitution — specifically his government’s loss over Bill C69 last week. “Albertans welcome all good-faith contributions to the discussion regarding an Alberta Pension Plan (APP), I am concerned by the tone of your recent letter to me regarding this issue.”It is disingenuous and inappropriate for you to stoke fear in the hearts and minds of Canadian retirees on this issue. While there would indeed be some effect on the (CPP)… the effects would not be remotely as severe as you imply.”.At a media briefing in Medicine Hat Wednesday, Smith told The Western Standard her government would introduce a pension reform bill in the fall sitting to enable any future referendum. It would only go ahead if a review determined any future benefits would be higher and conversely, contributions lowered.A panel report suggested Alberta would be eligible for up to 53% of the CPP’s assets, worth about $334 billion. Smith noted that the report was prepared by a company called LifeWorks — formerly Morneau-Shepell — which is partly owned by Trudeau’s former finance minister Bill Morneau.Less than 24 hours after the first town hall, the CPP board that manages the fund on Tuesday issued a statement that called the proceedings biased and unfair..“The survey is unfortunately formulated to direct opinions rather than seek them.”CPP Managing Director Michel Leduc.“We respectfully want to flag to you as head of the panel some troubling elements that in our view undermine the transparency, fairness, and integrity of the consultation process that has been put forward to the public so far,” Michel Leduc, the senior managing director of the CPP Investment Board, wrote to Dinning.“The survey is unfortunately formulated to direct opinions rather than seek them… to ask people their views informed solely by this one-sided presentation is, we hope you would agree, incompatible with the honest and open survey of public attitudes we hope you will undertake.”Smith said she wished the CPP brass would avoid wading into political debates. “They have a vested interest,” she said.A final report from Dinning’s panel is expected in May. That means the soonest a vote could be held wouldn’t be until late next year or in early 2025.Initial polls suggest it may be a tough sell. An Abacus Data survey earlier this month found 44% of people across the country say they think the idea is either “bad” or “very bad.” Among Albertans specifically, that number was 52%. Only 19% of Albertans think it’s a “good idea” compared to 17% in the rest of Canada.
