Pension debate ignores we’re all still Canadians

Dear Editor,

Although I am an active member, including financial, of the United Conservative Party, I am deeply concerned about Premier Danielle Smith’s efforts to withdraw our province from the Canada Pension Plan, CPP, in favour of establishing an Alberta Pension Plan, APP. Her propaganda machine is full steam ahead with her as the engineer.

An esteemed and trusted fellow by the name of Mahmood Nanji at Western University in London, Ont. which is a public research university, made the following statement  “…extracting Alberta from the CPP is complex, expensive, disruptive, time-consuming, and administratively burdensome.” (BPM News 26 Sept., 2023). This is not nuclear science; we all with a little thought would conclude the same thing.

This latest move could be viewed as another attempt by our premier to not be controlled by the federal government – too bad politics seems to play such a significant role in it. Granted, that body is guilty of late of attempted over-reaches into what is Alberta’s jurisdictions. Fortunately, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on 13 October 2023 that a federal law assessing how major projects such as coal mines and oil sands impact the environment is largely unconstitutional – a victory for Alberta.

Nevertheless, let us remember in all of these issues, specifically the APP, that we are not only Albertans but also Canadians. We are a very rich province blessed with many natural resources and as such have an obligation to our other less endowed provinces and territories to share our good fortune. When greed and mine, mine, mine become our central motive, then our ability to help make things fair will fall very short of that goal.

Ray Sheen, Taber, Alta.