EDMONTON — Progressive advocacy organization Public Interest Alberta is ringing the alarm about the flagrant lack of transparency from the UCP government around their pension plan. Postmedia reported that the Ministry of Finance has delayed the release of UCP pension survey engagement for months, even denying Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) requests. In response, Public Interest Alberta is formally requesting an expedited investigation by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner into the delay and demanding the department to release the results prior to the investigation’s conclusion. 

EDMONTON — Progressive advocacy organization Public Interest Alberta is ringing the alarm about the flagrant lack of transparency from the UCP government around their pension plan. Postmedia reported that the Ministry of Finance has delayed the release of UCP pension survey engagement for months, even denying Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) requests. In response, Public Interest Alberta is formally requesting an expedited investigation by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner into the delay and demanding the department to release the results prior to the investigation’s conclusion. 

“As Albertans face an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, playing political games with their retirement security is absurd,” said Bradley Lafortune, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta. “The delay in releasing the full results of their  public engagement on their APP scheme is unacceptable. Albertans are angry at the lack of transparency through this process, and commentators and experts from across the political spectrum agree time is up to release the results.”

Premier Danielle Smith and the UCP government originally claimed it would be entitled to more than half of the current assets within the Canada Pension Plan on the day the provincial survey was launched. This $334 billion dollar number has been roundly criticized by actuaries, economists, and pension experts from across the country.

“The government’s own analysis doesn’t support the asset transfer figure released by the UCP, nor does anyone else’s,” said Lafortune. “With so much opposition arising from the flawed and inflated asset transfer estimate within the government’s Lifeworks report, the UCP should simply release the full results of their survey. It’s the only way to re-establish a baseline of trust with Albertans in this process. We suspect they won’t because the results don’t say what they want them to say.”

“In the meantime, Public Interest Alberta will request an expedited investigation into the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Minister of Finance, and the Office of the Premier regarding the handling of these several FOIP requests,” said Lafortune. “There do not appear to be any legal reasons for the delay, so Albertans can only assume the delay is for political reasons. This is unacceptable.”

Public Interest Alberta continues its campaign to inform Albertans about the choice between the CPP and the proposed APP with fact sheets from pension experts and town hall meetings across the province.