Alberta Next Panel hears about pensions, fiscal prudence, separatism in Fort McMurray

premiere Danielle ian smith addressed a littler but vocal crowd together in fort up McMurray on Tuesday night as the Alberta Next Panel rolled into the northern community.

The panel has held town-hall meetings in different communities in order to hear from Albertans on ideas about how to strengthen the province's sovereignty within Canada

Smith received a warm welcome from some attendees at the event held at Keyano College on Tuesday, but skepticism from others.

Some Fort McMurray attendees said they distrusted the Alberta government's ability to deliver on some of the policy ideas discussed, like creating a provincial pension plan or police force. Others said rather than pursue these policies, they believe Alberta would be better off breaking away from Canada entirely.

One attendee said he doesn't like the way the Canada Pension Plan is run, but also questioned the province's ability to run its own pension plan based on how some of its decisions have worked out. He cited the acquisition of $70 million worth of a controversial children's medicine.

"Why should we trust you to manage it better?" he asked.

Smith responded by saying her government prioritizes financial returns for Alberta more than "ideology" and that she believes a provincial pension plan could be run better than the CPP is.

Another audience member said while some ideas about constitutional changes to improve Alberta representation were interesting, she believes the provincial government has broken trust with some of its decisions such as charging Albertans for COVID-19 vaccines.

"Quite frankly, some of the decisions that have been made lately by this government call to question their ability to be qualified to lead anything," she said.

The Alberta government has said the administration fee it will charge for those not eligible for a free COVID-19 vaccine is in response to vaccine wastage seen in previous years. The move follows the federal government's transfer of responsibility for purchasing COVID-19 vaccines to the provinces and territories earlier this year.

"People can be mad about our change on vaccines, but that's the prime example," Smith told the audience. "The federal government funded it for three years and then defunded it out of the blue."

Another audience member said the province was "wasting our time" looking at constitutional amendments and that she would like to see the province instead pursue a plan to separate from Canada.

Smith has repeatedly said that while she believes Albertans have legitimate grievances with the federal government, she would personally not like to see the province separate from Canada.

During the forum Tuesday, Smith was asked what would happen if Albertans were to vote in favour of separation in a referendum. She said she does not believe that would solve Alberta's woes. 

"I don't know that it gets any easier to build a pipeline to the B.C. Northwest coast if we are a separate country," she said.

"Let's find ways to make the federation work so people do not feel like they need to put a ballot question forward like that."

Audience members also wanted to know how proposed policy changes could impact the northern community they live in — which relies on RCMP for policing, has a high cost of living and sees many people work in the oil and gas sector.

Albertans told to stay on topic at raucous town hall

The event was the fourth of 10 planned town halls for the premier and the panel. The next event is scheduled for Wednesday night in Lloydminster. 

At previous events in Red Deer and Edmonton, the provincial government received both fervent support and intense criticism.

Add some “good” to your morning and evening.

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