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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Which 'next' is Danielle Smith's Ottawa-affairs panel steering Alberta toward?
Before taking their latest chance to weigh in on the wisdom of exiting the Canada Pension Plan, Albertans must first watch a five-minute video, most of which tries to persuade them how great an idea it is. The promise of lower premiums and higher benefits hasn't sold well in the past. We recently learned that only 10 per cent of respondents favoured the idea in the 2023 round of government consultations on an Alberta pension plan. But with her Alberta Next feedback project, Premier Danielle Smith is treating this as a new day, full of fresh possibilities to alter the province's place within Canada on finances, constitutional powers, immigration and more. This video pitch on pensions endeavours to sell the public with suggestions of a "big upfront payout," better paycheques, and a provincially led investment strategy that "steered clear of ideological decision-making." The voiceover narrator notes some potential downsides. Among them: "The CPP exit rules aren't clear in the federal legislation and Ottawa is notoriously anti-Alberta with its decisions, so the size of the lump sum Alberta is offered could be lower than it should be." (Italics mine; federal officials might dispute that matter-of-fact assertion.) After that video, respondents get asked three multiple-choice questions, none of which let Albertans say whether they actually like the provincial pension idea. Perhaps they can chime in with that answer at one of the in-person town halls that begin in mid-July. The premier launched this review into the future of federalism in front of a recreated vintage oil well at Heritage Park in Calgary. Alberta Next is, in a way, a recreation of the Fair Deal Panel that Smith's predecessor Jason Kenney launched, two Liberal federal election victories ago in 2019. As separatist sentiments intensified, the then-premier had tasked his panel to study the viability of an Alberta-only pension and police force, an overhaul of federal transfers and more. That's just what Smith has done, though with some pivotal distinctions. Kenney tasked long-retired former politician Preston Manning to lead his panel. Smith assigned herself as chair. While this stands to boost the interest in upcoming town halls, some of the Alberta Next event attendees might want to bend the premier's ear on other matters, as this month's fiery meeting on coal mining may have foretold. The current premier is also specifically soliciting referendum questions to put on a ballot next year. Those would interact in unknown ways with a citizen-initiated plebiscite on separation, one which proposes a vastly more dramatic shakeup in Alberta-Canada relations. Kenney's panel took a slower march to referendums, ultimately recommending that the federal pension and police withdrawals merely be studied. The loaded language of the videos and surveys also takes Smith's initiative to a different level, says Jared Wesley, a University of Alberta political scientist. He's uniquely positioned to assess what Smith is doing: in his current role, he routinely conducts public opinion research. Before academia, he worked in the Alberta government's intergovernmental affairs division under both Tory and NDP premiers. The government is clearly not attempting to genuinely collect public opinion here, Wesley said in an interview. "What they're trying to do is to direct public opinion." He sees too many lofty assessments and a "half-hearted" presentation of the downsides of Alberta Next's proposals. The fact the federal government is Liberal (rather than Conservative) gets repeatedly mentioned in these factual background briefings. The section on fiscal transfers, for example, suggests that the imbalance between the federal taxes Albertans pay and the service grants to the province be solved by getting Ottawa to drastically cut its tax rates and have the provinces raise money on their own. "That sounds great on the surface for Alberta, but this idea has been floating around for many years, and the challenge is that a lot of other provinces end up far worse off by having those tax point transfers," Wesley said. On immigration reform, Smith's panel survey suggests that Alberta refuse to fund public services for certain classes of immigrants the provincial government doesn't wish to accept. Without specifying what type of services would be withheld, and to which immigrants, it could serve to harm newcomers in Alberta and inflame sentiments around them while blaming them for housing affordability and unemployment woes, said immigration lawyer Maureen Silcoff. "What we don't want is for governments to be putting forward rhetoric that further creates divisions in society," said Silcoff, a law professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. Alberta Next's video on immigration points out that denying public services to immigrants could land the province in court. What it doesn't mention is that twice before courts have told governments they cannot deny those services — in 2014 when the federal government cut a refugee health program, and last year when Quebec denied child-care subsidies to asylum seekers. The scale of all the changes Smith's surveys propose is seemingly massive. Creating a new police force, pension fund or tax-collecting body are pricey endeavours — after up to $1.5 billion in startup costs, an Alberta Revenue Agency would cost up to $750 million more per year and require as many as 5,000 new provincial workers, the video on taxation states. Other proposals, like constitutional reforms or transfer overhauls, would demand buy-in from not only Ottawa but also other provinces, without any clear trade-offs or upsides for them, Wesley said. "If the premier holds a series of referendums that end up saying Albertans want this and she's not able to deliver it, it only emboldens her political opponents on both sides — the federalists and the separatists," he said. Smith has pitched the project as a way to help reduce separatist sentiment, but might pushing these issues and accomplishing nothing make it even worse? In 2021, Kenney triggered a provincewide referendum proposing that the equalization program be removed from Canada's Constitution. Albertans endorsed the idea, but Ottawa did nothing with the outcome, and the equalization formula has not been altered since. Wesley's Common Ground opinion project surveyed Albertans and found a minority of them actually understood what the province was asking them on that equalization vote. "A lot of people thought that a yes there meant that Alberta would withdraw from equalization, which is just not possible," he said. If the province is serious about asking Albertans what they should do next or demand next, Wesley added, it should be grounded in a reality about what they can or could reasonably expect. The discussion materials the government provided to Albertans may not accomplish that. So how realistic will the conclusions Albertans inject back into this project be?
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Carney promised big changes by Canada Day. Will he deliver?
Social Sharing During the spring campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised a re-elected Liberal government led by him would move fast to solve problems and meet challenges by Canada Day. After his victory, those promises left Carney a little more than 60 days to address issues that have bedevilled previous governments, in some cases, for a long time. Here is a look at the pledges Carney made while he was courting the electorate, how he has done in addressing them and what comes next. Eliminating internal federal trade barriers After becoming prime minister, but before the election, Carney hosted a meeting with the premiers at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The March 21 meeting was focused on one dominant theme: responding to the existential and political threat presented by U.S. President Donald Trump. Carney told reporters he would address that challenge by tackling the long-standing issue of Canada's internal trade barriers — some economists have said removing them could boost Canada's economy by $200 billion annually. "We intend, from a federal level, to have free trade by Canada day," Carney said. WATCH | Carney talks free trade in first meeting with premiers: Carney pushes for free trade in 1st meeting with premiers 3 months ago Duration 2:34 In his first meeting with Canada's premiers, Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed for expanding free trade within Canada and major investment in east-west pipelines to further insulate the economy from reliance on the U.S amid the escalating trade war. The prime minister specified "from a federal level" because most of Canada's internal trade barriers are restrictions that only the provinces can remove. Some have begun that process already, with Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and P.E.I. signing agreements or working with other provinces to remove barriers. Carney's promise to have "free trade by Canada Day" changed slightly by the time the party's platform was released April 19. It said a Carney-led government would simply "unleash free trade in Canada by Canada Day by tabling legislation to eliminate all federal barriers to interprovincial trade and labour mobility and to remove all federal exceptions under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement." Bill C-5, which passed Parliament on Thursday, will do just that. Verdict: Promise kept Cutting taxes On the tax front, Carney promised to make Canada more affordable by cancelling the carbon tax, cutting income tax and eliminating the GST for first-time homebuyers on properties under $1 million. In the first few hours of becoming prime minister March 14, Carney signed a prime ministerial directive removing the consumer price on carbon, a policy change that took effect April 1. The pledge to cut the bottom rate of income tax by one percentage point, a 6.6 per cent cut to the amount of tax paid in that bracket, came with the promise it would take effect by Canada Day. All three measures were included in a ways and means motion that passed the House of Commons on June 5. The motion allows the government to start making changes to the tax code before they are in law — but a bill will still need to be passed. The bill containing the new measures, C-4, was introduced to the House of Commons in May and passed second reading June 12. Verdict: Promise kept Joining ReArm Europe Carney said that since becoming prime minister, his government has been talking to the European Union about joining its rearmament plan, ReArm Europe, in order to change how Canada supplies its military. "Seventy-five cents of every dollar of capital spending for defence goes to the United States. That's not smart," Carney told CBC's Power & Politics host David Cochrane on May 27. Watch | Carney on European military buildup: Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a one-on-one interview with Power & Politics host David Cochrane on Tuesday that he's been having 'conversations of increasing specificity' with major European partners about Canada being part of a build-out of their defence industrial base. Carney said he wants to see 'something concrete there' by Canada Day. In that same interview Carney also said he wanted to "see something concrete" on that front by Canada Day. After meeting with EU leaders June 23, Carney announced he had signed a strategic defence and security partnership agreement with the union. While it's progress, it's not perfection. The agreement is more of a framework for how Canada will eventually be able to participate in ReArm Europe. The agreement signed June 23 will also help Canada join the SAFE loan program with other allied nations to buy military equipment. Verdict: It's a step toward the door, but not through it. Cutting red tape The Liberal election platform promised to "reduce red tape" by requiring all federal departments to take steps to eliminate "outdated or unnecessary rules, reduce duplication or overlap with provincial rules and streamline the administration of rules and the delivery of regulatory decisions." The platform says departments are supposed to undertake these reviews "within 60 days" and report on what progress has been made. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that process is being overseen by the Treasury Board which told CBC News that it is "preparing to launch the formal 60-day review process" and that there will be details to share "shortly." The platform does not specifically say within 60 days of winning the election, but the term "within 60 days" could be taken to mean exactly that. It could also just mean the PMO wants the reviews to take 60 days once they are eventually launched. Verdict: Ambiguous wording leaves this one in limbo. What comes next The list of challenges and promises Carney must address next are long and varied. Here is a look at some that will continue to make headlines in the months ahead. Striking a deal with Trump on tariffs: During the G7 summit, Carney and Trump agreed to negotiate toward a trade deal "within the coming 30 days." Carney made that announcement June 16. Passing Bill C-2: The Liberal government's Strong Borders Act would give increased powers to Canada's security and intelligence services, expand the ability to open and inspect mail and allow officials to cancel or suspend immigration documents. Critics of the bill say it violates privacy. The Liberals will have to manage those concerns if they want this bill, currently in second reading, to become law. Passing Bill C-8: The Liberals' Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act is a reintroduction of Bill C-26 that died when former prime minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament. C-8 passed first reading in the House June 18. Passing Bill C-3: Introduced to the House of Commons June 5, the "lost Canadians" bill is also a reintroduction of a previous bill. The legislation responds to a 2023 Ontario Superior Court ruling that declared it unconstitutional to deny citizenship to people born outside of Canada before their parents obtained citizenship. It is in second reading in the House.
CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
Explosive set off outside NDP MLA's office
Vancouver Watch An explosive device was set off outside the office of MLA Bowinn Ma early Friday morning.
