Hundreds attended the second event of the Alberta Next panel in Edmonton Wednesday evening to discuss public concerns with the federal government.This comes after Premier Danielle Smith and her panel of appointees, which consists of 16 politicians, medical professionals, business leaders and experts, heard from the first town hall in Red Deer Tuesday evening, where hundreds of Albertans showed up.Smith kick-started the discussion by encouraging Albertans to bring their ideas to the table.“Alberta has an Ottawa problem... In fact, in the last 10 years alone, more than half a trillion dollars in global investment has disappeared from our resource sector, costing us hundreds of thousands of jobs, hundreds of billions in GDP and resource royalties that would otherwise have gone to fund health care and education and public infrastructure. If Alberta is to be a strong and unified country, it has to include a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada,” Smith said.“I trust you and I’m looking forward to hearing from you.”.EXCLUSIVE: UCP members propose party vote on Alberta independence.Six topics were discussed at the event: Federal transfers and equalization, Alberta Pension Plan (APP), constitutional changes, provincial police force, immigration and tax collection.Each topic was discussed following a short video.Reforming federal equalization and transfers“I would like to see Alberta collect 100% of the taxes and then send to Ottawa what we think they deserve. Because right now,” said an attendee. “So, I think we should be much more aggressive. Instead of us fighting Ottawa, we should take this responsibility, push forward, (and) be aggressive."Meanwhile, another resident said Alberta needs to attract other provinces.“I agree we need to work on an equalization formula to deduct more. But I'd like to remind everybody that geography and geology just happened to be luck that it's in Alberta, and we have to remember that to bring the rest of the provinces along, we need to do something to attract them,” a resident said..Political scientists say UCP members' demand to vote for Alberta independence ‘inevitable’.Alberta Pension PlanWhile the majority of attendees raised their hands in support of an APP, multiple people said they are in support of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).“The CPP is envied around the world for its independence, its excellent fiscal management and consistent high returns,” said Nancy, a Sherwood Park resident.Provincial police forceThe majority of attendees said they are in support of ending the RCMP contract when it’s time and moving to an Alberta model.Multiple attendees said a provincial police force is needed in rural communities.“We really need a police force that lives in our community,” said a resident.Another resident, Tanner, asked about the costs associated with having a provincial police force..'From the brink of a disaster, to being okay’: Expert says drought no longer an issue in Alberta.“Alberta owns all of the assets associated with the RCMP, so if there was a replacement, we would get all of those assets,” Smith said in response.“Secondly, Grande Prairie just went through this exercise, and what they discovered is that they could either save $8 million by having their own municipal police force, or they could double their force. And so, that's what they've chosen to do. So, instead of having 55 officers, they're going to have 110 officers for the same budget. And when they did a call for resumes, they had 200 people who applied. So, I would say that that is the reason why we've supported municipalities in doing this kind of research to see if there is a better way for them to do it.”Constitutional changesAn Edmonton resident said that Alberta needs to continue to give Ottawa a time limit.“How long should that time limit remain? And second question is, if Alberta is ready to take the role to become independent, we then would become an example to the rest of the provinces on how to reconstitute Canada,” an attendee said.Other residents questioned the government’s responsibility when it comes to AISH benefits. That was when Smith said Alberta’s benefits are higher than other provinces.A resident said that Alberta’s talks about independence could make things worse with Ottawa..Expert warns Alberta's higher rate of measles will coincide with the return to schools in the fall.ImmigrationAn Edmonton resident said that it was the UCP who held the Alberta is Calling campaign to attract immigrants. That resident said that the campaign led to attracting more people than what the infrastructure can absorb.Other attendees, including immigrants, said that Alberta needs to limit the number of newcomers, citing unemployment and higher costs of housing.Here’s Smith’s response:“What I would say is that if you look at the level of migrants that came over the last two and a half years, so the Alberta is Calling campaign began just before I got elected, and in that interim period, we've had almost 500,000 people who have come here in three years. And if we continued at that rate, for sure, we would have hit 10 million pretty quickly. But what we've begun to see is that we've got problems with unemployment, certainly youth unemployment. We've got problems with people being able to find affordable housing and affordable rents. We've got increasing pressure on our social programs,” Smith said.“So, there has to be a reasonable amount of newcomers that are able to come here, fit into the economy, (and) be able to be self-supporting.”.Mom 'overwhelmed' after police officer charged with son's slaying.Tax collectionSome attendees agree with Alberta taking over taxes from Ottawa.Among the questions that were brought forward were how to retain Alberta’s low tax rate.“The Quebec tax system actually charges 15% tax on every sale in the province. In Alberta, we only pay 5% which is just GST. In the venture that we make an Alberta collection agency, how are you going to make sure that we retain our tax competitiveness in regards to the tax system we're going to build,” asked an attendee.The panel’s response was handled by Michael Binnion, president and founding shareholder of Questerre Energy.“Why would you have two tax forms, and why would you go to the extra trouble? But, all that's where I started. I've changed my mind before,” he said.“I will say I think that it's a great idea to have our own tax system here in our own tax forms, with a zero tax rate, so you don't pay anything. I think that would be a big, solid, a solid answer to this problem.”.“But I will say, just back to this idea of self-government, that I think the fact that Quebec can manage its own money, police itself, (and) collect its own taxes, gives it a lot more political clout in the country than what Alberta has. And so, I will finish that. I did change my mind. I do think it's worth it for us to be able to demonstrate we can govern ourselves.”The Alberta-wide consultation is aimed to chart the province’s path, economy and sovereignty within Canada, reads the panel’s website.Smith’s panel will conduct in-person and online town halls throughout the summer to identify and review challenges that Alberta faces from Ottawa, discuss policy options and identify and discuss specific questions that could be included in a 2026 referendum.Here’s the schedule of the town halls:Red Deer: July 15Sherwood Park/ Edmonton: July 14Edmonton: August 14Fort McMurray: August 26Lloydminster: August 27Medicine Hat: September 2Lethbridge: September 11Airdrie: September 15Grand Prairie: September 17Calgary: September 29Online town halls are scheduled to take place on October 1 and 22 from 6:00 to 8:30 pm.Albertans who want to take part should register two weeks before the event. To register, visit this website.
