EDMONTON - As the cost of living for everyday Albertans continues to skyrocket and Danielle Smith and the UCP government continues to hide its report on a new Alberta Pension Plan, a new coalition – the Canada Pension Plan Working Group – is demanding their report be publicly released immediately.
“The UCP’s plan to remove Alberta from the CPP creates serious risks to Albertans’ retirement incomes, we need to raise the alarm,” said Bradley Lafortune, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta. “Danielle Smith must release the report they’ve been sitting on for months and commit to remaining in the CPP – we want them to stop this reckless experiment and focus on what matters to Albertans.
Despite Premier Smith’s reluctance to discuss the CPP or her plans for it during the recent provincial election, her mandate letter to Finance Minister, Nate Horner, set an expectation for the release of the Alberta Pension Plan report and a subsequent consultation with Albertans on whether a referendum should be held to establish the new pension plan. It’s now been more than two months since Minister Horner received his letter and Albertans still have not seen the report.
“Albertans need to know the financially secure, efficient, and sustainable CPP won’t be put at risk by the UCP government,” said Tom Fuller, pension advocate and founding member of the Canada Pension Plan Working Group. “Not only has the CPP proven itself over the past 50 years, there is a solid plan in place to improve pensions for Albertans and Canadians and to make sure it's sustainable for the next 75 years and beyond – quite frankly, it’s foolhardy to play these political games.”
“Our message to the government is simple: release the report, commit to remaining in the CPP, or Albertans will mount a massive campaign to ensure our retirement security is protected,” said Lafortune. “We have already begun mobilizing in communities across the province to ‘Save our CPP’ and the feedback across Alberta is resoundingly clear: Albertans don’t trust Danielle Smith with their retirement security.”
“The immediate release of the UCP report is critical to current and future Canadians pension stakeholders. Independent pension experts and advocates — not ones handpicked by the UCP government — must have time to properly review, analyze and respond in a factual and honest manner, ” said Fuller. “We will do everything in our power to make sure Albertans know what’s at stake.”
For more information about the working group’s and PIA’s efforts to educate and mobilize Albertans on the CPP issue, please visit: www.PIAlberta.org/SaveourCPP.
