(Toronto) Citing the complexity of pension plans and the need for all provinces and territories to intervene in this matter, the federal Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, did not provide a precise timeline for determining the amount to which Alberta would be entitled if it decided to leave the Canada Pension Plan.
During a meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts on Friday, Mr.me Freeland received an update from experts who have looked into this issue in recent months.
Mme Freeland had in fact asked the chief actuary in November to calculate what would be owed to Alberta if it decided to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan.
During their presentation, the experts argued that they should meet again in January to take stock of the progress of the file, and “everyone agreed that it was a good idea”, indicated Mme Freeland.
Ministers held a special meeting last month to discuss Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s desire to leave the Canada Pension Plan to create an Alberta-specific plan.
Mme Smith moved his plan forward in September by releasing a Lifeworks report that estimated Alberta would be entitled to $334 billion, or 53 per cent, from the Canada Pension Plan if it set up its own plan.
Other economists, including those at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, believe Alberta’s share would be closer to its percentage of plan participants, around 15 per cent.
To put an end to this debate, Mr.me Freeland asked the chief actuary to rule on a number. But when journalists asked her if she thought it would be necessary to wait until spring or summer to arrive at an estimate, the Deputy Prime Minister did not want to come forward.
“I learned during the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations to never answer hypothetical questions. This is not a good idea for an elected politician,” she said.
“Which I think was very clear in today’s conversation […], that’s how technical this job is. We agreed that we were going to do the work and define the tasks very carefully, very deliberately and in a really transparent way,” the minister added.
Asked about the parts of the meeting that focused on pension plans, Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner said, “I am pleased that Minister Freeland agreed that the Chief Actuary should rely based on its own legal analysis and not what the federal government says. »
“The decision to move forward with an Alberta-specific pension plan rests with Albertans,” he said in a written statement.
On this subject, Mme Freeland reiterated during his speech that any province or territory can opt out of the federal pension plan.
“There’s no debate about that,” she said.
The example of Quebec
Alberta thus wants to follow in the footsteps of Quebec, which has its own pension plan, namely the Quebec Pension Plan.
Present at the meeting, Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard mentioned that Quebec plays the role of “an extremely interested observer” in what is happening with Alberta.
PHOTO KAROLINE BOUCHER, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard
“If a province left the Canada Pension Plan, there would have to be an agreement with Quebec for workers who come and go from this province,” he explained.
Such an agreement already exists between the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan for workers who work in Quebec and elsewhere in the country during their careers.
In addition to the Alberta pension plan file, Mr.me Freeland and his counterparts discussed housing, inflation and the economy.
The provinces and territories also took the opportunity to inform the Minister of Finance of their priorities for the 2024-25 federal budget.
“I would say that there was consensus for an increase in infrastructure spending and also for continued transfers in the workforce,” indicated Mr. Girard.
The Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, was also present to provide an update on the country’s economic outlook.