'Take your job seriously': Employment Minister tells Alberta to stick with Canada Pension Plan

Federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault says he is against any attempt by the Alberta government to leave the Canada Pension Plan.

Federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault says he is against any attempt by the Alberta government to leave the Canada Pension Plan.

"I can tell you that the federal government and I are very clearly committed to working with Albertans to keep them in the Canada Pension Plan," Boissonnault told CTV’s Power Play on Friday. "It's simply wrong to politicize pensions."

Alberta's governing United Conservative Party contends that the province's workers put more into the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) than they get back, and that Alberta could make billions if it managed its own pension plan.

Canada's chief actuary is now looking into the matter, including calculations in a report commissioned by Alberta that said the province would be owed $334 billion if it leaves the CPP, which is more than half the total amount in the federal fund.

"By the math that the Alberta government put on the table, if Alberta, B.C. and Ontario were to all three decide to step out of the CPP, they would somehow be owed over 120 per cent of the funding – we'd be paying them to leave the CPP," Boissonnault said. "It's just nutty, doesn't make any sense, and so we will take the time that we need to get those numbers."

Boissonnault, who represents Edmonton Centre for the Liberals, says he'll be leading the charge against the proposal from Premier Danielle Smith's government if it comes down to a possible referendum in Alberta.

"So, question to the premier and finance minister, why are you doing this? Why are you going after pensioners? Its wrong," Boissonnault said. "Take your job seriously and get on with the real issues of housing and opioid addictions, and actually growing up our economy, and focusing on oil and gas and greening our economy."