Pension plan and Daylight Saving Time could go to referendums: Kenney

EDMONTON – Premier Jason Kenney says his government will make a decision this spring on whether to pursue pulling Alberta out of the Canada Pension Plan.

But Kenney said even if the United Conservative government proceeds, Albertans will have the final say through a referendum on whether to create an Alberta Pension Plan.

Treasury Department officials are currently studying the feasibility of Alberta going it alone on a provincial plan.

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The move follows a report released last summer from the province’s Fair Deal Panel.

The panel reported that given Alberta’s young population a separate pension plan could be a multibillion-dollar net benefit.

However, the panel noted that it heard a lot of reaction both for and against a separate plan and that Albertans want assurance that the money will be there when they retire.

It’s not the only item that could go to a referendum this fall.

Kenney has hinted that a vote on whether to scrap Daylight Saving Time could also go to a referendum.

Last March, a survey that polled 114,000 Albertans, showed around 91 per cent were in favour of scrapping the bi-annual time change.

However, the survey only gave people the choice to remove the time change or replace with daylight time year-round.

Last year, Yukon officially adopted permanent daylight time following numerous consultations.

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