In this episode, Alberta's Finance Minister, Shep Chantal Ghai, and Finance Minister Shep Smith sit down with Finance Minister Joe Ceci to discuss the CPP. They discuss the need for a solid asset transfer number from the Alberta government to the Alberta Retirement Fund, the process for coming up with such a number, and how long it could take to get it right.
00:00:00.000Well, I think the premier made very clear this week, as did the finance minister, that what they're hearing from Albertans as we have this conversation with them is that Albertans want a firm number with regards to the asset transfer that we could expect from the CPP and the reason before they vote in a referendum on it.
00:00:21.000And I think the reason for that is actually pretty clear. Unless you know what the asset transfer number is, you can't tell seniors exactly how much more their benefits would be. And you can't tell workers how much less they would pay in pregame. So we know it'll be less. We know seniors will get more, but we don't know the actual number yet.
00:00:38.000And so until we have that asset transfer number, we can't do the math to tell folks exactly what voting for an Alberta pension plan would mean in their personal life.
00:00:49.120So that's what the premier says and the finance minister says that they're hearing from Albertans.
00:00:54.460And so Ottawa's going to, the chief actuary's been asked to take a look at the formula.
00:01:00.740There's other groups looking at the formula to see what their interpretations are of the number.
00:01:04.620And once we let that play out and that number, we get that number, then, you know, the premier has said that she'll reassess it at that time.
00:01:12.680So that number, it may have to go to the courts before it's finally resolved. That really changes the timelines, though.
00:01:17.900I mean, if you're a lawyer yourself, you know that the Canadian courts aren't exactly fast moving.
00:01:23.040So this process could be going on for even beyond this election mandate.
00:01:26.520Well, you know what, to see, like it's very, that's very uncertain because we don't know exactly, as you say, the court of appeal, the Supreme Court, if they're asked to weigh in, you know, it may take an extended period of time.
00:01:41.140But it's just key we get it right. Like this is people's pensions, it's seniors' pensions.
00:01:45.560And I think the premier's very committed to make sure that this is done in a very careful, legal way and that at the end of the day, Albertans decide whether or not to proceed.
00:01:56.800And so that's the process that she's set up.
00:01:59.340Yeah, so the premier has recommitted, it will go to referendum if we're going to go to a pension plan.
00:02:04.200Those sorts of timelines, though, would have to be set.
00:02:07.160Do you think perhaps maybe within two years if we've got a solid line on what the assets would be valued in a pension plan or it's a solid question, maybe three years?
00:02:17.440It's hard at this point to tell because, you know, it depends whether there's a negotiated solution with Ottawa and we come to a number through negotiation,
00:02:26.440or if it has to go through the courts, obviously it extends the time.
00:02:29.380So it's just too early to say how long that would take right now.
00:02:32.440Okay, well, I thank you for taking the time to time to talk about it.
00:02:35.180Like I said, it was noticeably absent for such a hot-button mission.
00:02:37.380We're always curious about it, but there's lots more to cover here today and a lot of policy resolutions coming forward.
00:02:42.120So thanks for coming to talk to us today.