Even if all the world seems against you, when you’ve been taking hits on every issue you’ve faced all year, the Alberta government has always had a fallback: take a round out of their favourite whipping horse. No matter how bad things got, Alberta Tories could always shore up a few points by opposing anything from Ottawa.
Not this time.
Of all governments in Canada, Alberta was alone in opposing a federal pension reform measure that would benefit the self-employed, small business owners and their employees — the approximately 62 per cent of Canadian taxpayers who have no workplace pension plans beyond CPP.
At their weekend meeting in Kananaskis, finance ministers from Ottawa and all the provinces were discussing a plan that would have set up a new level of national plans for these workers and business people. What emerged was a watered-down voluntary plan that will have high management costs, dubious benefits and no guarantee of portability. This was to accommodate Alberta, which was the only province to oppose full reforms.
You have to ask yourself: what does Ted Morton and Ed Stelmach know that nobody else does?
What they know is that another pension plan is going to cost employers (and workers) more in payroll expenses. All the other finance ministers know that, too — but they still felt it was important enough to bring it to the table.
But failing unanimity, the plan died.
If you have no pension plan where you work, you will soon be able to sign up to have small part of your paycheque skimmed off and sent to one of any number of investment pools, managed (at your expense) to become part of your retirement. Your employer will be allowed to contribute on your behalf as well.
But they won’t be required to contribute, as is the case at regular workplace pension plans. This is the point at which Alberta parted company with everyone else.
Employer contributions is also the point at which this plan differs from just having everyone contribute to their RSPs (only 38 per cent of Canadians do).
Our national economic recovery is too fragile to put any more pressure on either profits or paycheques, said the representatives of Canada’s most prosperous province.
Again, it makes you wonder what they know about Canada’s economic recovery and the retirement prospects of all Canadians, that isn’t apparent to anyone else.
Is there something fundamentally wrong in requiring all employers to contribute to a pension plan for their workers, something that escapes every finance minister in every province and territory in Canada? We’d like to hear the Alberta position on this.
The plan was thought to be good for workers in Manitoba, the Maritimes and the territories — what’s so bad about having it here? Especially if you know that denying it here means it’s denied everywhere.
Alberta’s politicians are no different than the politicians all over Canada; they personally have generous pension plans fully funded by taxpayers, with absolutely no contributions taken out of their pay packets.
But they want 62 per cent of all workers to take full responsibility for their own pensions, while the rest (which includes government workers) have pension contributions as part of their salary agreements.
Albertans have no reason to trust our government’s word on health care, preserving watersheds and the environment, utility rates and billing schemes, auto insurance or social services.
Maybe that’s what they know: that it’s best not to ask for more trust from us about pensions, too.
Or are they just willing to gamble your future for a chance to score points by kicking the feds?
Greg Neiman is an Advocate editor.