Alberta Pension Plan push destabilizing, says Calgary Chamber

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The UCP government’s desire to dump the Canada Pension Plan in favour of an Alberta model would put investment in the province at risk and negatively impact the ability to attract crucially needed workers, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce said Friday.

In a statement, the business group said launching an Alberta Pension Plan (APP) is ill-timed just as the province is urgently seeking to fill working positions and attract investment.

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“The Alberta Pension Plan proposal is complex and has far-reaching implications for businesses and investors — in Alberta and across Canada,” says chamber President Deborah Yedlin.

“Dismantling existing systems and altering our pension system could compromise labour mobility from other provinces, the benefits of risk pooling that comes with a larger pension fund, and investor confidence. We urge the government to strongly consider — and prioritize — stability across all public policy decisions.”  

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The chamber joined other APP critics in saying the plan would mean lower returns due to drawing from a smaller benefits pool.

And it said the attraction of having an APP drawing from a younger population could be transitory — another concern voiced by a number of opponents.

“There is no certainty Alberta will continue to benefit from having a young population, as it currently does — and we remain price takers for our natural resources, making future revenue streams uncertain,” said the chamber, adding an APP would create investor uncertainty

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“With capital more mobile than ever, and competitive economies worldwide, stability is a key component to ensure and maintain our competitive advantage.”

APP could affect interprovincial mobility of workers: Business Council of Canada CEO

The Calgary chamber isn’t the first business group to express doubts about an APP.

A survey last November of business operators, conducted by the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, found a majority believe withdrawing from the CPP and establishing a provincial program would disadvantage their companies over the next three to five years.

From a national perspective, the CEO of the Business Council of Canada said the possible departure of Alberta from the national plan could have unintended consequences, such as affecting the interprovincial mobility of workers.

“You have to be careful what you wish for. It could unravel the whole thing and a lot of Canadians could be exposed quite dramatically in their pensions,” Goldy Hyder said a week ago.

Last week, the UCP government unveiled a report crafted by consultant Lifeworks that concludes the APP could be created by taking $334 billion from the CPP, or 53 per cent of the national plan’s holdings.

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But opponents of the plan, including economists and union leaders, have attacked those numbers as “fantasy” and a way to mislead Albertans.

The provincial government contends an APP would mean smaller contributions and bigger payouts, an end to Alberta subsidizing the rest of the country and more opportunities to invest in the province.

A panel led by former provincial finance minister Jim Dinning will gather public feedback in the coming months on the Lifeworks document and is expected to report back to the government in May while the government has pledged to send the issue to a referendum.

Perhaps noting polls have shown Albertans opposed to the APP outnumber supporters by more than two-to-one, the opposition NDP has been hammering the UCP government on the issue on an almost daily basis.

“I want you to know that this pension does not belong to Justin Trudeau, it doesn’t belong to (Alberta Premier) Danielle Smith, it doesn’t belong to me,” NDP leader Rachel Notley told the Alberta Municipalities Convention in Edmonton Friday. “It belongs to all of you and it belongs to the people you represent as their reward for decades and decades of hard work.”

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She also noted the UCP didn’t campaign on their desire to create an APP during last spring’s provincial election.

Smith’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment Friday.

‘If you’re not meeting Albertans where their concerns are, you’re going to get dissension in the ranks’

A Mount Royal University political scientist said the government’s proposal to a set up APP could jeopardize the UCP political position among Albertans.

“More people are more worried about affordability, their utility bills, buying a house, paying for groceries and this is not going to promise any kind of action for years to come,” said Lori Williams, noting conservative parties in Alberta have seen leaders regularly topped by internal dissent.

“If you’re not meeting Albertans where their concerns are, you’re going to get dissension in the ranks.”

She also said there are grumblings among federal Conservatives that Alberta could be alienating other Canadians through claims on their CPP share — and that could help Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s currently-beleaguered electoral fortunes.

The push for an APP could also put at risk Alberta’s stance with Ottawa on issues like emissions caps, said Williams.

—With files from Chris Varcoe

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

X: @BillKaufmannjrn

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