Nelson: Provincial police and pensions are impractical distractions from more serious issues

Chris Nelson, For The Calgary Herald - Yesterday 5

Often, when a relationship sours, those involved engage in endless picayune arguments over minor annoyances, yet steadfastly refuse to tackle that huge, divisive issue lurking at the heart of such conflict.

The UCP proposal to replace the RCMP in Alberta is a distraction from other more pressing matters, writes Chris Nelson. Besides, he notes, it would likely be Mounties who would fill the new provincial uniforms anyway.© Provided by Calgary Herald

And it’s not just once-fervent lovers that engage in bickering over issues barely scratching the surface of what’s actually important. Governments do it too.

Look at a couple of issues here in Alberta, currently paraded as litmus tests of our burning desire to repel the relentlessly expanding grasp of today’s federal government into provincial affairs.

Yes, that would be the blather over replacing the RCMP with a provincial police force and swapping the current Canada Pension Plan for an Alberta model.

Neither issue resonates with ordinary folk, but that’s immaterial. The importance, for those pushing such plans, is what it signals about them — their rock-solid credentials as defenders of provincial rights against Ottawa’s nasty machinations.

In this, they possess the perfect foil: Justin Trudeau’s government.

Come on, was there ever a bunch easier to dislike or a federal government so endlessly disparaging of Alberta? (OK, Trudeau’s dad has a shot, but at least he possessed substance and smarts. The apple fell a long way from that familial tree.)

So, this isn’t about Mounties or retirement money. It’s something else entirely. But, before getting to the heart of that matter, let’s put these two red herrings through some cursory filleting.

First, the RCMP. Alberta already has more than half a dozen civic police forces, including Calgary and Edmonton. Other larger municipalities could join them if they wanted. But most rural areas are happy enough with the Mounties, as a gaggle of rural mayors recently attested

And, if we changed to a provincial force, whom do you imagine would fill the roles of these suddenly much-needed officers? Could it be the same cops that patrolled those same streets the previous week who’d now don an Alberta police force uniform? So, we get the same people doing the same things and, government being government, we’ll probably shell out a few billion bucks for that privilege.

Oh, but that would be chump change compared to what’s at risk switching to an Alberta pension plan.

Look no further than the woeful Heritage Savings Trust Fund to understand why we shouldn’t allow the province to get ahold of our retirement savings. It’s 46 years since Peter Lougheed set it up to provide our grandchildren with a high standard of living when the oil and gas run out.

Today, it stands at a piddling $19 billion. Norway’s nest egg, originally based upon Alberta’s, sits at around $1.5 trillion. Why? Because, whenever things got a tad tight, we changed the rules. Do you want your retirement funds blowing in that particular wind? The CPP runs at arm’s length from government. It currently has about $520 billion in its coffers. Why change that?

So why is oxygen given to such daft ideas? Because it’s virtue signalling from those seeking power and who’d merrily leave you poorer in the process.

Instead, we should concern ourselves with what actually matters.

We live in a huge, federated country, where each region has its own strategic issue. Ours is energy and what we seek is guaranteed future access to global markets. Focus on that and let the Mounties and the CPP slide.

And no, we don’t need any Sovereignty Act to bring this to the fore. We could have done so already if we’d stopped wasting time on ideas only university professors could swallow.

AYE AND HERE IS THE RUB:

Oil and gas remain our resources. So, we can turn off the taps whenever we decide. We should have done it 18 months ago, but, hey, the option remains. It will result in mayhem and widespread anger, reaching deep into the U.S. It will also cost us many billions. But it will ensure Alberta’s issue is everyone’s problem.

All this virtue-signalling stuff is cowardly puffery from those refusing to get to the root of our soured national relationship. Yes, acting just like those once-upon-a-time lovers.

THAT SOURED RELATIONSHIP IS A FANTASY OF THE RIGHT USED AGAINST THE LIBERALS IN OTTAWA

Chris Nelson is a regular columnist for the Calgary Herald.