A report commissioned by the Alberta government says the province would be entitled to more than half the assets of the Canada Pension Plan - $334 billion - if it were to exit the national retirement savings program in 2027.
Absolute insanity. Alberta is currently governed essentially by oil companies. This is their attempt to steal half of Canada’s pension fund which will then be invested directly into their own industry. Blatant theft.
I read another article that said the half number comes from the idea that Alberta had never contributed to CPP and had their own plan since the sixties, when in reality, if you were to calculate how much they would be “owed” would be closer to 20%. Still a large number, but the way this report will be pushed on the Albertan populace to try to push a yes vote on a referendum is so underhanded and classless. Which, of course, is exactly what everyone had to expect from the physical embodiment of ignorance that is Danielle Smith.
And with the declining importance of oil, along with the lack of infrastructure and economic buildup because they didn’t tax that oil revenue properly over the decades, if they really went independent on this, if anything, all retirees would be fucked over the next decade.
Honestly, I bet that the number they came up with was simply based on theoretical contributions according to the profits made on oil without actually looking at the contributions themselves.
I don’t believe for a second that a) this won’t be used to invest in oil and gas b) she won’t kick the management of this to her buddies’ private companies so she can benefit personally.
Remember, the conservatives always want to privatize public services and assets to benefit their friends. Reference: GREENBELT.
It’s a public asset in the sense that its existence helps the rest of the province with things like groundwater, flood control, and air quality. It’s also a potential source of food/agriculture for the province, though that part is just private enterprise and not guaranteed.
If we use that definition, as unusual as it is, then there is no way to privatize said asset. It will always be a public asset no matter what. That does not align with the original comment.
There is no change in hands in what you describe. It would still be the same public asset, even if the public saw its transformation into something new.
Who owns it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it isn’t paved or developed. Pavement and digging basements reduce the land’s ability to absorb water, which can cause flooding and reduce groundwater availability in surrounding areas.
Who owns it does matter when talking about privatization. Your definition of a public asset has no way to transfer ownership. It will forever and always be a public asset.
It’s only a public asset as long as it’s untouched (i.e. not paved or developed). The Greenbelt laws keep it that way.
Think of the Rocky Mountains as a public asset. I don’t know who owns them, but that doesn’t matter. They are a public asset as long as they exist, but if someone is allowed to flatten them, or carve the faces of dead prime ministers into them, they are no longer an asset to the public. Both of those are much more difficult to do than it is to build a house or a parking lot, so I’m not terribly worried about that scenario unfolding, but it’s the same idea, just bigger.
Hmm kind of annoying they say that and then the article, or more likely the third party that came to these conclusions didn’t give any evidence to support that claim. Not surprising.
LOL. She’s so full of shit it’s not even funny anymore. This made in AB bullshit has to end; the citizens of the province can’t possibly be stupid enough to swallow this load of spew. Can they?
Alberta's not a monolith by any stretch, but a significant percentage of the province is neck deep in the myth of rugged Albertan individualism and supremacy.
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