Central Albertans voice ideas and concerns to Alberta Next Panel

“I do want to thank all of you for coming out and sharing your thoughts with us today and for choosing to participate in this crucial engagement process. The conversations we have tonight through the Alberta Next engagement process will help to shape the future of our province.”

The panel brought forward six different topics for discussion including equalization and transfers, Alberta Pension Plan, a provincial police force, constitutional changes, immigration, and tax collection.

They also made time at the end for the public to ask questions and voice concerns about anything they wanted.

Equalization and transfers

Should Alberta take a lead role in working with other provinces to reform federal transfers and equalization?

Wade Collins from Sylvan Lake explained he’s been following the Alberta Prosperity Project, which is about Alberta independence.

“One of the things I think I understand is that for the west to become equal in this country, the constitution has to be open and they made that pretty much iron-clad. It’s almost impossible and if we can’t get it open, as soon as there was a constitutional challenge, it would hit the Supreme Court and there’s only nine positions. Three are from Quebec, three from Ontario, one from the Maritimes, and two from western Canada. What can we do about that? Lets leave.”

Meantime, a Red Deer resident argued we are forgetting we’re Canadians, who just happen to live in a prosperous province.

“We should be very willing to bolster our fellow Canadians, not necessarily the Liberal government, but the Canadians. We should be willing to help them out. We’re very lucky to be in Alberta, to have a province that’s very wealthy.”

Finally, a citizen of Stettler said no matter what changes, the federal government will continue to ignore Albertans.

“There’s one question and one question only that needs to be on a referendum and that’s, do you support Alberta exiting Canadian federation and becoming a sovereign nation? If they do not know that we are serious and we can leave at any point in time, we will not ever get a pipeline to the Atlantic Ocean. It is time to put the separation question on a ballot so the Albertan people can decide.”

Alberta Pension Plan

Should Alberta create a pension plan with the same or better benefits than the Canadian pension plan?

Kris Gibson from Red Deer posed the question of an idea of dividing the Canadian Pension Plan requirements so the province can form an Alberta Pension Plan.

“Every economist will say even if we start with nothing, we would be further ahead. Pending the referendum and all the legal battles of the Liberal government, can we then put some pressure on and say current contributions will go into an APP? We will have both the APP and the CPP separately.”

Deb Stott from Ponoka County said she doesn’t understand why the idea of the Alberta Pension Plan is still talked about when the majority of Albertans said they don’t want it.

“As a retired certified general accountant, I’ve got to tell you this plan does not make economic sense,” she said. “Right now you have a Canada Pension Plan that’s run by nine provinces and three territories that all share the costs. If you go to your own pension plan you will pay 100 per cent of those costs yourself.”

Meanwhile, Bonnie Maple from Ponoka County was in favour of an APP and claimed the majority of Albertans feel the same.

“I would like to encourage the government to also vigorously have an education campaign beyond these walls. We can do this with zero from Ottawa, so don’t wait for them,” she said.

At the end of this topic, a crowd vote was held where the majority of attendees supported the idea of an Alberta Pension Plan.

Provincial police force

Should Alberta create an Alberta Police Service to take over community policing from the RCMP?

A former RCMP officer argued that the RCMP has become, “the Walmart of policing.”

“We have to have our own provincial police force. I love the RCMP, but not anymore. It’s a different police force,” he added.

Ron from Clearwater County said he supports a provincial police force but is skeptical that it would help solve the real problem he called the catch and release program.

“I know at least a half a dozen staff sargeants that have retired from the RCMP and they all left for the same reason. Before they get their paperwork done, the guy is back on the streets. We have to find a way to keep them in custody and serve the time that they deserve.”

And the Armstrong family from Lacombe said they’re opposed to a number of the proposals including the provincial police force.

“The provincial pension plan, the police force, and income tax collection are going to cost Albertans a lot of money. I don’t think you’re considering the cost of all this,” he said.

At the end of this topic, another crowd vote was held where the majority of attendees supported the idea of an independent Alberta police force.

(Supplied/Government of Alberta)

Constitutional changes

Should Alberta take a lead role in working with other provinces to pressure the federal government to amend the Canadian Constitution to empower and better protect provincial rights?

A Spruce Grove resident said nothing else matters when it comes to amending the Constitution.

“It’s built in such a way that the west is nothing more than a colony of the east. The east is politically empowered and the west is politically muzzled… This needs to be the priority. You can’t fix the country if you don’t fix the foundation.”

John from Trochu questioned why the provincial government is exploring this option when it will ultimately be a “raw deal for us.”

“Why don’t we move towards a republic? I think Alberta should declare our independence and create a republic,” he said.

A Red Deer resident said she wants independence for Alberta and asked the premier why she hasn’t called for a conference on Alberta sovereignty.

“I know it’s likely to fail but I think we need that for legitimacy,” she said.

Smith asked the crowd to vote on if she should get all of the premiers together to discuss the possibility of amending the Constitution, and again, the majority were in favour.

Immigration

Should Alberta take more control of the immigration system to counter Ottawa’s open border policies?

Red Deer resident Darcy Clark said he’s seen the city change over the years because of immigration.

“You can’t even recognize it anymore. The quality of people coming into our country do not assimilate to our cultures. I know they bring their own culture but they expect Canadians to change with their culture and I don’t agree with that. You’re free to practice what you believe in, but we should not have to change.”

Brandy from Red Deer is a local business owner and a volunteer in the community. She said she talks to hundreds of people per week and the consensus is that many teenagers can’t find work because of immigration numbers.

“Everywhere we look there is no work available for these kids. They’re going to be living in our basement forever. The Canadian dream is gone.”

Tax collection

Should Alberta collect all provincial personal income taxes rather than having Ottawa do it for us?

Jordan from Red Deer County said if Alberta decided to, they wouldn’t need to collect taxes and could just rely on oil revenue.

“The amount of wealth that Alberta has and the amount of wealth we ship to Ottawa every year, we actually wouldn’t have to pay any income tax in Alberta,” he said. “We should collect all of our taxes and we would have leverage to have an actual say at the table with Ottawa.”

Finally, a Ponoka resident suggested the idea of pitching taxes in Alberta so the province could then distribute equalization payments, is a pipe dream.

“But I do think collecting taxes is a wonderful idea, particularly if we could negotiate the same deal Quebec has to collect all taxes. It sets us up for the supremity that you are pursuing,” he said addressing the premier.

Premier Smith’s thoughts on what they learned

Premier Danielle Smith said what she heard from the room is, they’re very persuaded by the idea of the Alberta Pension Plan and by an independent Alberta police force, but not necessarily putting it to a vote.

When it comes to tax collection, Smith said the crowd was mixed and that she heard the concerns about how young people don’t have the same opportunities today that the older generation did.

Finally, the issue around the Constitution she heard is “complicated.”

“Last year, one of the first times we did this, we had 25 recommendations that came out of it and I think we’ve substantially acted on 20 out of the 25. This process matters to us and thank you again for participating in it again today.”

Opposition thoughts

Leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party, Naheed Nenshi, said in an interview on Wednesday in Red Deer that he didn’t watch the Alberta Next Panel event but did see some clips from it.

He called the whole event a sham and a debacle.

“Even when they tried to ban the media from filming, when they banned protesters or anyone with a Canada flag from coming in, they still ended up with a group that would seem to be a mix of hardcore separatists and people who were furious at the premier,” he said.

“I’m sure that’s not what she was expecting, but Albertans have every right to be mad about this — $2,000,000 bucks of taxpayer money to give separatists the platform from a premier who refuses to say the simple sentence, ‘I am not a separatist.’

“We’re doing this campaign this summer, ‘Better Together,’ where we are attending events like Westerner Days, where we’re going to people’s neighbourhoods, where we’re also having formal town halls, and where we will not ban the media from, to really hear what Albertans think. And I can tell you right now, Albertans are furious and they’re not furious at Mark Carney in Ottawa, they’re furious at Danielle Smith.”

by Ian Gustafson