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The Alberta NDP is calling on a cabinet minister to publicly state his opposition to his own government’s proposed Alberta Pension Plan, citing comments he made to a constituent about the likelihood of a vote on the issue.
The Official Opposition said a letter written last month casts doubt on Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf’s support for the plan. The Oct. 17 letter, sent to a constituent and released by the NDP Friday, addresses concerns about the province’s proposed exit from the Canada Pension Plan.
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In the letter, Neudorf, Alberta’s Affordability and Utilities minister, tells a resident he believes “Albertans are proud Canadians, incredibly generous, and caring. And, at this time, would likely choose not to proceed to a referendum.”
“It’s time quite frankly for Nathan Neudorf to say in public what he has said in writing to his constituents,” said NDP Leader Rachel Notley during a Friday news conference. “Albertans simply don’t want anyone gambling with their CPP, so the UCP needs to stop gambling with Albertans’ pensions.”
In the letter, Neudorf states that the Alberta government is “by no means trying to exit the CPP,” writing that former premier Jason Kenney commissioned Lifeworks to write a report on what an Alberta Pension Plan could look like.
“Perhaps the minister has missed the memo, seeing that his government has spent seven and a half million dollars so far on a plan trying to convince Albertans of a plan that is, by their own admission, inaccurate and missing vital information,” said Notley.
In a Friday statement to Postmedia, Neudorf’s office didn’t address the NDP’s accusations. Instead, his office stated Neudorf “fully supports” the UCP’s government process of gathering feedback from Albertans about the provincial plan and only moving forward if Albertans support it in a referendum.
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“What we’ve heard so far, is that Albertans need a firm number on the asset transfer before they would be prepared to vote on this in a referendum,” said Neudorf’s office. “The federal government has agreed to providing their own actuarial analysis — once we receive this analysis we will determine our next steps. Once again, Albertans will make the final decision on whether to establish an Alberta Pension Plan.”
Alberta’s share of Canada Pension Plan assets remains in doubt
Following a virtual meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday the federal government will provide its own estimate of how much of the CPP Alberta would be entitled to for its own pension plan.
Alberta’s UCP government has said the province would be owed $334 billion, more than half the plan’s assets, if it leaves the Canada Pension Plan, but economists and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board say that the province would receive half — or less — of that amount.
The NDP released Neudorf’s letter one day after the UCP government tabled Bill 2, the Alberta Pension Protection Act, which, if passed, would ensure the province holds a referendum before leaving the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and that funds transferred into the province’s plan would need to be used to set up and operate Alberta’s new plan. Finance minister Nate Horner said Thursday it was too early to provide details around the referendum, such as how the question might be worded.
But Notley said Friday the legislation raises more questions than it answers and needs to be withdrawn.
“We have no timeline, no referendum question, no obligation to hold a referendum,” said the leader of Alberta’s Official Opposition during Friday’s news conference. “There’s no guarantee around the security or independence of an Alberta pension fund or its management, and very little protection of the retirement benefits it would generate in the future. It’s a mess, and it’s a mess that Albertans simply don’t want.”
With files from Lisa Johnson and Matthew Black
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