The national conversation over Alberta’s potential withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan is likely to get heated. Referring the issue to the Supreme Court could lower the temperature
I was a coauthor, with former prime minister Stephen Harper and others, of the 2001 Alberta Agenda letter. That letter urged the Alberta government to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan and establish an Alberta Pension Plan , as part of a broader set of policies that would create a “firewall” between the federal government and Alberta.
The coming APP debate will be divisive and has a high probability of inflaming regional tensions, perhaps even boosting separatist sentiments in Alberta. Nobody wants that. Which is why it is necessary to clarify the ground rules by whichFirst, the entire debate could be left to political negotiation. Alberta is embarking on a consultation process by the eminent former Progressive Conservative MLA Jim Dinning, which will be a place to direct resentment within Alberta.
Third, Ottawa could change the CPP legislation to clarify the withdrawal rules, and count on the majority of provincial governments outside Alberta to pass those changes into law. The current legislation, for example, gives the federal finance minister the authority to determine whether any pension plan Alberta wishes to establish is “comparable” to the existing Canada Pension Plan.
There is a faster way. A number of provinces recently asked a series of questions as part of a reference case to the Supreme Court on the Impact Assessment Act. The court came back with an opinion, saying that it saw federal overreach in the Act. Importantly, Alberta cheered its findings; Ottawa is now making changes based on the court’s non-binding ruling.
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