One idea being discussed by the Alberta Next panel is reforming federal transfers and equalization, and the Western Standard looks into what happens if Alberta stops making the payments.In just 20 years, Albertans incurred a net loss of nearly half a trillion dollars, the panel says in an explanatory video on its website.“Since 2005, Alberta taxpayers have contributed, on average, $23 billion more per year to the federal government in federal taxes than they receive back in projects, benefits, and other spending from Ottawa,” says the video.According to the panel, most of the redistributed tax dollars are spent by the federal government in other provinces across the country.“Since 1975, part of that massive fiscal transfer out of Alberta comes through the federal equalization program, which has seen Alberta pay over $67 billion into the program since 1957 while receiving back not a single penny since 1965,” according to the video..‘ALBERTA HAS AN OTTAWA PROBLEM ’: Smith, panel hear from the public in Edmonton.Albertans voted in 2021 in a referendum to remove equalization from the Constitution. However, the referendum was “ignored” by the federal government, according to the panel.The panel says the Alberta government cannot simply ask residents to stop paying their federal taxes. It adds that fixing this problem is not an easy task, as it requires “political support” and other provinces to be on board.“They can’t do it unilaterally. They need the support of other provinces,” Moshe Lander, an economics professor at Concordia University, told the Western Standard.“This is enshrined in federal law. Even if they were to try and sue the federal government, they wouldn’t succeed. They don’t have grounds for that. If other provinces agree to it, and if they want to make amendments, then they can do whatever they want.”“And similarly, if everybody wanted to transfer more to Ottawa, they could do it in the other direction as well.”.Alberta Next panel’s tax collection plan: Here's what you need to know.Currently, Ottawa takes more than 60% of all the federal and provincial taxes that people across the country pay.“The Ottawa bureaucracy takes its portion, with the remainder inefficiently and unequally distributed to the provinces. The dollars we do get back have a lot of strings attached, forcing us to run our provincial programs and build infrastructure the way Ottawa wants us to,” says the video.“No provinces want that, especially the big ones like Quebec, Ontario, BC, and Alberta.”The panel suggests having provincial governments collect a larger share of overall taxes – 60% – with Ottawa receiving less.This way, the federal government would be able to end most transfer programs while making transfers and equalization payments for smaller provinces and territories that need help, says the panel..EXCLUSIVE: UCP members propose party vote on Alberta independence.Having Ottawa let provinces keep GST revenue collected in their provinces in return for ending the Federal Health Transfer is one option Quebec has already proposed.According to Lander, Quebec’s grievance with Canada is not the same as Alberta’s.“Alberta's grievances are primarily economic. Quebec's are cultural. And that doesn't necessarily make Quebec's position correct,” Lander said.“But hey, we're all part of the same country, and that diversity is what makes us strong.“The Western Standard reached out to the NDP's office for comment on the topic.The panel will be hearing ideas from the public in town halls throughout the summer. The six topics that will be discussed are federal transfers and equalization, Alberta Pension Plan (APP), constitutional changes, provincial police force, immigration, and tax collection.Albertans will have the opportunity to decide on some of these topics as a referendum is coming in 2026.The next Alberta Next panel is set to take place in Edmonton on August 14..'IT'S SIMPLY NOT FAIR': Smith says Alberta could consider pulling out of supply management
