Canada’s provincial finance ministers met with federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland over the possibility of Alberta leaving the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and having a separate pension plan for Alberta. Nate Horner, president of Treasury Board and minister of Finance, said Alberta does not want to affect other Canadians’ pensions if Alberta exits CPP.“To be clear, Alberta is committed to making sure that any potential creation of an Alberta Pension Plan will not leave our fellow Canadians without a stable pension and its associated benefits,” said Horner.“For the past several weeks, Alberta has been having an open discussion about the possibility of establishing an Alberta Pension Plan that will benefit our seniors and workers. This will only happen if Albertans vote to do so in a referendum.”Horner stated that Alberta hired an actuary firm to create a report about how much money Alberta would take from CPP funds.“To help frame the conversation, we commissioned a report by an independent, expert actuary, Lifeworks (formerly known as Morneau-Shepell),” said Horner.“The report provides details as to the asset transfer value that Alberta could expect to receive according to the withdrawal formula that was voluntarily agreed to by all Canadian provinces decades ago when the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) was established, and which was once again updated, with agreement by the provinces, in 1997.”The federal government is also working on analyzing the asset value it would think is fair to Albertans.“We are encouraged to hear the federal government commit to providing a comprehensive actuarial analysis of the asset transfer value Alberta would be entitled to receive should it withdraw from the CPP,” said Horner.“We’ve been asking for this for several weeks. It is critical for the ongoing discussion of an Alberta Pension Plan that we have a firm asset transfer number (and the potential benefit increases to Albertans stemming from that transfer amount) upon which Albertans can make an informed decision.”Donna Harpauer, Saskatchewan’s deputy premier and minister of Finance, said that CPP has strong support from most Canadians and Saskatchewanians.“There was strong support from across the country for the CPP and its support for our residents thus far,” said Harpauer. “The federal government acknowledged that due to the complexity of the plan, it would be a number of years before this discussion will conclude. The minister from Alberta reiterated Alberta's plan going forward, which will also take a number of years to reach the referendum stage before they officially signal to the federal government that Alberta intends to leave the CPP.”Harpauer was frustrated with the federal government needing to meet about the Alberta Pension Plan, which could be an issue a decade or more away. At the same time, Canadians have a financial emergency with the carbon tax on home heating.“On the call, I expressed my frustration with the federal government's attempt to distract Canadians by inflating the false sense of urgency of this topic, which could take a decade or more to conclude.”
Canada’s provincial finance ministers met with federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland over the possibility of Alberta leaving the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and having a separate pension plan for Alberta. Nate Horner, president of Treasury Board and minister of Finance, said Alberta does not want to affect other Canadians’ pensions if Alberta exits CPP.“To be clear, Alberta is committed to making sure that any potential creation of an Alberta Pension Plan will not leave our fellow Canadians without a stable pension and its associated benefits,” said Horner.“For the past several weeks, Alberta has been having an open discussion about the possibility of establishing an Alberta Pension Plan that will benefit our seniors and workers. This will only happen if Albertans vote to do so in a referendum.”Horner stated that Alberta hired an actuary firm to create a report about how much money Alberta would take from CPP funds.“To help frame the conversation, we commissioned a report by an independent, expert actuary, Lifeworks (formerly known as Morneau-Shepell),” said Horner.“The report provides details as to the asset transfer value that Alberta could expect to receive according to the withdrawal formula that was voluntarily agreed to by all Canadian provinces decades ago when the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) was established, and which was once again updated, with agreement by the provinces, in 1997.”The federal government is also working on analyzing the asset value it would think is fair to Albertans.“We are encouraged to hear the federal government commit to providing a comprehensive actuarial analysis of the asset transfer value Alberta would be entitled to receive should it withdraw from the CPP,” said Horner.“We’ve been asking for this for several weeks. It is critical for the ongoing discussion of an Alberta Pension Plan that we have a firm asset transfer number (and the potential benefit increases to Albertans stemming from that transfer amount) upon which Albertans can make an informed decision.”Donna Harpauer, Saskatchewan’s deputy premier and minister of Finance, said that CPP has strong support from most Canadians and Saskatchewanians.“There was strong support from across the country for the CPP and its support for our residents thus far,” said Harpauer. “The federal government acknowledged that due to the complexity of the plan, it would be a number of years before this discussion will conclude. The minister from Alberta reiterated Alberta's plan going forward, which will also take a number of years to reach the referendum stage before they officially signal to the federal government that Alberta intends to leave the CPP.”Harpauer was frustrated with the federal government needing to meet about the Alberta Pension Plan, which could be an issue a decade or more away. At the same time, Canadians have a financial emergency with the carbon tax on home heating.“On the call, I expressed my frustration with the federal government's attempt to distract Canadians by inflating the false sense of urgency of this topic, which could take a decade or more to conclude.”
