Opinion: Albertans deserve truth, not hidden agendas

Calgary Herald

14-05-2025

Alberta is being led in a direction that many of us never consented to. The growing discussions around provincial separation and the Alberta Pension Plan (APP) are not only controversial, they're being pursued without full transparency, without informed public consent, and without the inclusion of Indigenous voices.
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Let's start with the facts. The United Conservative Party (UCP) did not campaign on separation or the creation of an Alberta-only pension plan during the last election. These were not parts of their electoral platform, and yet they have become central to the UCP's post-election agenda. This is a betrayal of democratic norms. Albertans voted without being told that their province's place within Canada, or the status of their retirement savings, was up for negotiation.
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The handling of the Alberta Pension Plan has only made matters worse. The government's report on the APP was riddled with estimates and unverified assumptions, not grounded in facts. The identity of the report's author was redacted – a move that further eroded public trust. Most disturbing, however, is that the UCP conducted a survey on Albertans' views regarding the APP but never released the results. If the public supported the plan, why hide the findings?
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In a further blow to democratic participation, the rules for citizen petitions were quietly changed. Previously, a petition required support from a significant portion of eligible voters – around 600,000 people. Now, it only needs signatures from those who actually voted in the last election, reducing that number to about 166,000. This may seem like a procedural change, but it's not. It drastically lowers the threshold for launching initiatives that could reshape the province in profound and irreversible ways.
Most troubling of all is the disregard for Indigenous peoples. Alberta exists on treaty land. Indigenous nations are not passive observers, they are rights-holders under the Constitution and treaty law. And yet, there's been no sincere effort to engage Indigenous communities about what separation would mean for them, their lands, or their futures. Treaty territory and national parks – many of which are federal lands – would be excluded from any hypothetical new Alberta, shrinking the province's size and ignoring the fundamental rights of the First Peoples of this land. This level of exclusion is not just an oversight, it's a violation of both constitutional and moral obligations. Any discussion about Alberta's future must begin with Indigenous consultation, not end with their erasure.
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Albertans are not naive. We know when we're being misled. What we're witnessing is not responsible governance, it's a campaign of distraction, manipulation, and quiet manoeuvring. Enough is enough. It's time for honesty. It's time for inclusion. And it's time for a government that serves the people, not just its own ambitions.
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