Only 10 days after it launched a survey asking Albertans if they want to leave the Canada Pension Plan, the NDP is reporting a huge response of those opposed to the proposed UCP plan.
An Alberta NDP online survey asking- “Should Alberta leave the Canada Pension Plan?” - has attracted more than 17,000 responses, with more than 88 per cent of respondents indicating they want Danielle Smith and the UCP to back off plans to introduce an Alberta Pension Plan.
“Your retirement security is so important,” said Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley at a news conference Wednesday, adding she's surprised by the intensity of responses to the survey to date. Those include:
“I categorically don’t trust the UCP at all. Risks of leaving CPP are too high,” wrote one woman from Edmonton; an Alberta Beach resident wrote to say “I don't trust that they will use the money only for pensions”; “Danielle Smith and the UCP have mismanaged every single financial decision they have made … Please DO NOT let her do this!"
“We have found a great many Albertans understand the risks of leaving the CPP,” said Shannon Phillips, Alberta NDP Finance Critic for Pensions and Insurance. "And it's not just seniors. People in their 40s, and young people are scared. They are aware of the issues, of what pension may or may not be there for them when they are ready to retire. Everyone contributes to CPP and there's definitely a level of uncertainty we're hearing in the emails and calls to our office."
Albertans can continue to respond to the NDP survey in coming weeks.
The Alberta government also has a survey asking Albertans about the particulars of an Alberta Pension Plan, without directly asking if they want to leave the Canada Pension Plan. The UCP's $7.5 million consultation process includes a marketing campaign and the above-mentioned survey, which remains available online.
