Friday, June 5, 2026
ADVT 
National

Immigration, pension: A look at survey questions put forward by Alberta Next panel

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Jun, 2025 10:44 AM
  • Immigration, pension: A look at survey questions put forward by Alberta Next panel

The Alberta Next panel, chaired by Premier Danielle Smith, is holding town halls this summer to get feedback on how the province should stand up to Ottawa while building a "strong and sovereign Alberta within Canada."

Smith has promised a referendum next year on some of the ideas put forward to the panel.

The panel's website launched on Tuesday with surveys on six issues. Before taking each survey, participants must watch a short video.

Here are some of the questions:

Immigration

"Should the provincial government refuse to provide provincial programs to non-citizens and non-permanent residents living in Alberta unless they have been granted an Alberta government-approved immigration permit?"

Constitutional changes

"Should Alberta take a lead role in working with other provinces to pressure the federal government to amend the Canadian constitution to empower and better protect provincial rights?"

Federal transfers and equalization

"Do you agree that the current federal transfer and equalization system is unfair to Alberta?"

"Do you think Alberta should work with other provinces to transfer a larger share of overall taxes from Ottawa to the provinces?"

Provincial police force

"What aspect do you like most about an Alberta Police Service?"

"What concerns you most about shifting from the RCMP to an Alberta Police Service?"

Alberta pension plan

"What potential benefit do you like most about Alberta opting to leave the CPP and create its own Pension Plan?"

"Which risk of opting out of CPP to start an Alberta Pension Plan are you most concerned about? 

Tax collection

This survey had problems displaying questions on the website Tuesday afternoon, but a video beforehand asks Albertans if they would support creating a provincial revenue agency.

It says doing so would require hiring 5,000 staff, cost Alberta at least $750 million per year, and require residents to file provincial and federal taxes separately -- but it would also create jobs and give Alberta more of a say over its tax regime.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Canada abstains from UN motion calling on Israel to end occupation of Gaza, West Bank

Canada abstains from UN motion calling on Israel to end occupation of Gaza, West Bank
Canada abstained today from a high-profile United Nations vote demanding that Israel end its "unlawful presence" in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank within a year. Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, told the assembly the motion was too one-sided to support, though he said Ottawa agrees that Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian territories.

Canada abstains from UN motion calling on Israel to end occupation of Gaza, West Bank

Canadian Coast Guard crew member lost at sea off Newfoundland

Canadian Coast Guard crew member lost at sea off Newfoundland
A crew member of a Canadian Coast Guard ship has been lost at sea off southern Newfoundland. The agency said in a release Wednesday that an extensive search and rescue effort for the man was ended Tuesday evening.

Canadian Coast Guard crew member lost at sea off Newfoundland

Legal groups file three complaints over VPD treatment of Palestine protesters

Legal groups file three complaints over VPD treatment of Palestine protesters
The Pivot Legal Society and the BC Civil Liberties Association say they've launched three complaints against the Vancouver Police Department alleging illegal surveillance and police brutality against pro-Palestine protesters.  The association and the society say the complaints stem from the "violent dispersal" of protesters who demonstrated at a Vancouver rail crossing in May. 

Legal groups file three complaints over VPD treatment of Palestine protesters

Construction wraps on indoor supervised site for people who inhale drugs in Vancouver

Construction wraps on indoor supervised site for people who inhale drugs in Vancouver
Dr. Julio Montaner, at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS which operates the site, says supervised injection sites have been extremely successful in stopping people from dying of overdoses, and similar services need to be offered to people who smoke their drugs.

Construction wraps on indoor supervised site for people who inhale drugs in Vancouver

RCMP feared they didn't have enough evidence to hold terror suspect sought by U.S.

RCMP feared they didn't have enough evidence to hold terror suspect sought by U.S.
Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man arrested in Quebec for an alleged plot to kill Jews in New York City reveal the RCMP didn't have enough evidence to hold him in Canada. The RCMP arrested Muhammad Shahzeb Khan on Sept. 4 in Ormstown, Que., as he allegedly prepared to cross the nearby border into the United States.

RCMP feared they didn't have enough evidence to hold terror suspect sought by U.S.

B.C. short-term rental restrictions reducing rents, saving tenants millions: study

B.C. short-term rental restrictions reducing rents, saving tenants millions: study
Crackdowns on short-term rentals in British Columbia have effectively reduced rents by 5.7 per cent, saving tenants more than $600 million last year, says a report led by the Canada Research Chair in Urban Governance at McGill University. That figure is the result of municipal restrictions, in particular requirements that short-term rental units must be located within the operator's principal residence.

B.C. short-term rental restrictions reducing rents, saving tenants millions: study