Immigration, pensions, taxes: A look at Alberta Next panel survey questions
The Alberta Next panel, chaired by Premier Danielle Smith, is holding town halls this summer to get feedback on how the province should stand up to Ottawa while building a 'strong and sovereign Alberta within Canada.'
Smith has promised a referendum next year on some of the ideas put forward to the panel.
The premier is leading the 15-member panel, which includes three United Conservative Party legislature members: Brandon Lunty, Glenn van Dijken and the party's newest MLA, Tara Sawyer, who won a byelection Monday.
Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz is on the panel along with two oil and gas executives and Business Council of Alberta president Adam Legge. Other members are retired judge Bruce McDonald, physician and emergency doctor Dr. Akin Osakuade and University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe.
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Danielle Smith launches Alberta Next panel tour to engage residents across province
Following 10 town halls, scheduled to begin in July and end in late September, Smith said the panel would recommend ideas and policy proposals for a referendum.
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The panel's website launched on Tuesday with surveys on six issues. Before taking each survey, participants must watch a short video.
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Here are some of the questions:
'Should the provincial government refuse to provide provincial programs to non-citizens and non-permanent residents living in Alberta unless they have been granted an Alberta government-approved immigration permit?'
'Should Alberta take a lead role in working with other provinces to pressure the federal government to amend the Canadian constitution to empower and better protect provincial rights?'
'Do you agree that the current federal transfer and equalization system is unfair to Alberta?'
'Do you think Alberta should work with other provinces to transfer a larger share of overall taxes from Ottawa to the provinces?'
'What aspect do you like most about an Alberta Police Service?'
'What concerns you most about shifting from the RCMP to an Alberta Police Service?'
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'What potential benefit do you like most about Alberta opting to leave the CPP and create its own Pension Plan?'
'Which risk of opting out of CPP to start an Alberta Pension Plan are you most concerned about?'
This survey had problems displaying questions on the website Tuesday afternoon, but a video beforehand asks Albertans if they would support creating a provincial revenue agency.
It says doing so would require hiring 5,000 staff, cost Alberta at least $750 million per year, and require residents to file provincial and federal taxes separately — but it would also create jobs and give Alberta more of a say over its tax regime.
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SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The measures, promised during the recent federal election campaign, would also create a criminal offence of wilfully intimidating or threatening people attending events at these venues. The minister's statement comes as civil libertarians point to existing provisions intended to curb such behaviour and push back against the idea of new measures that could infringe on freedom of expression and assembly. Tensions have risen in Canadian communities over public protests, many prompted by the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East. Several Canadian municipalities have taken steps recently to mandate 'bubble zones' that restrict protest activity near such places as religious institutions, schools and child care centres. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It's not lost on me that there will be different levels of government that try to address this challenge in different ways,' Fraser said, adding that the federal government has an opportunity _ where behaviour crosses a criminal threshold — to legislate in that space. 'We clearly have seen challenges when it comes to certain religious communities in Canada who are facing extraordinary discrimination — antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate,' Fraser said in a recent interview. 'People need to know that in Canada they are free to pray to the God of their choice and to, at the same time, freely express themselves, but not to the point where you threaten the protected Charter rights of a religious minority.' 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