FIRST NATIONS INDUSTRY 

Manitoba First Nations appear a step closer to gaining a casino in Winnipeg

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday he is open to considering a First Nations-run casino in Winnipeg, reversing long-standing opposition to the idea under previous governments.

"We don't have a specific proposal in front of us, but what we're saying is that we're open to working together on economic reconciliation," Kinew told reporters.

"And if that includes a future proposal from the Naawi-Oodena site (in Winnipeg), or other urban Indigenous economic development zones around the province, we'll certainly consider it."

First Nations groups were rebuffed more than a decade ago from setting up a casino in the provincial capital, which is home to more than half of Manitoba's population. The NDP government of the day said the market was already full with two government-run casinos in the city.

In 2013, the NDP government allowed Shark Club, a gambling centre with slot machines, table games and more, operated by True North Sports and Entertainment, to open in downtown Winnipeg. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs later filed a lawsuit over the matter. 

In 2018, the Progressive Conservative government announced a pause on any new gambling facilities.

Kinew's NDP government, elected Oct. 3, lifted that pause earlier this week in a mandate letter to Crown-owned Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries. The letter said gambling expansion is to be done "in a targeted fashion to include supporting economic reconciliation and local economic development."

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs welcomed the change Wednesday.

"We're very hopeful that we'll be able to sit down with them … to be able to talk about moving forward," Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said.

"The majority of the population of Manitoba is in Winnipeg, so that would be an ideal place to have a First Nations-run casino."

Naawi-Oodena is a 64-hectare piece of land in Winnipeg that was formerly part of a military base. Seven Treaty 1 First Nations took over ownership of the site in 2019 and are in the process of building a large urban reserve that is to include commercial, residential, educational and health facilities.

Kinew said he's open to proposals for a casino from anywhere.

"It's not really about what we envision. It would be led by a proponent," he said.

"Whether it's Treaty 1 or a (western Manitoba) First Nation — if we're talking about that part of the province — they would have to come forward and say 'all right here is a plan' and then we'd take it from there."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2023.

QUEBEC NATIONALISM IS FASCISM

McGill calls tuition hike, new French rules 'targeted attack' on English universities

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

McGill University is seen Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, in Montreal. The Quebec government is raising tuition rates for out-of-province and international students beginning in 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)

 

Quebec says it will hike tuition by 30 per cent for out-of-province Canadian students and force universities to ensure most of those students are proficient in French when they graduate.

In a letter Thursday to the province's three English-language universities — Concordia, McGill and Bishop's — Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry says the government is imposing the new measures so anglophones attending the schools better integrate into Quebec society.

The universities had warned that a tuition increase could lead to a steep drop in enrolment and devastate their finances. They recently proposed a different tuition model that they said would inflict less harm, but Déry said Thursday their plan wasn't good enough.

She also said the schools' proposals to boost the French skills of students from elsewhere in Canada were insufficient. "To reverse the decline of French in Quebec, we believe it is imperative to aim for more ambitious targets," Déry said in her letter.

The minister says that in order for McGill and Concordia to avoid financial penalties, 80 per cent of non-Quebec students enrolled in an English-language program will need to have intermediate "Level 5" proficiency in spoken French by the end of their undergraduate studies. Under Quebec's "scale of proficiency in French," Level 5 means a person "understands the essentials of conversations on everyday topics" and "grasps a varied vocabulary."

The government has softened its position slightly on tuition for out-of-province Canadian students, after threatening in October to nearly double it to $17,000 from $8,992. Instead it will rise to $12,000 beginning next fall, with Bishop's exempted because of its location outside Montreal. The French requirement is new, however, and will apply to all three schools by the 2025-26 academic year.

"The measures that the government released today are devastating," McGill University principal Deep Saini told a news conference. "They are far worse than those announced on Oct. 13 — worse for Quebec, worse for its universities, worse for Quebec businesses that need talent and worse for McGill."

Saini said proposals made by the universities since November have been turned against them.

"I can only view this as a targeted attack on institutions that have been part of Quebec and have contributed to Quebec for hundreds of years," Saini said.

The revised tuition amount is still double what students would pay elsewhere in Canada, said Graham Carr, president and vice-chancellor at Concordia University in Montreal.

Carr said the university has seen drops of 20 and 30 per cent, respectively, in Canadian and international applications since Quebec first announced a tuition increase. With application deadlines fast approaching, the university faces a challenge persuading prospective students to choose Concordia and Montreal.

"And that's a real tall order again, you know. I think once more we've been set up to fail on this, this is kind of Mission Impossible on the 14th of December," Carr said.

Déry says Bishop's will be spared the tuition hike because it is located in Sherbrooke, Que., where the French language is not under threat in the way it is in Montreal. Bishop's, with an undergraduate full-time enrolment of about 2,400 students, will be able to offer up to 825 out-of-province students the current tuition rate. And while the new French-language rules will apply to the school, its financing "won't be conditional" on Bishop's attaining them.

There are currently no French requirements for out-of-province students, and the English universities had already said they were open to what they called an ambitious objective of ensuring 40 per cent of non-French-speaking undergraduate students achieve proficiency in French by the time they graduate.

Fabrice Labeau, McGill's deputy provost, said the 80 per cent number is academically unfeasible. He said a student with no previous knowledge of French will need the equivalent of a full semester of language courses to reach that intermediate level.

Bishop's called Thursday's decision a positive outcome for the university. Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, principal and vice-chancellor, said in a statement that the school's community was able to "convince the Quebec government that we and the students we welcome to campus from the rest of Canada are not a threat to the French language but rather an essential part of what makes our region unique."

Quebec also announced earlier this year it would charge universities $20,000 for every international student they admit and reinvest that money into the French-language university network.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2023.

'It will get worse over the next 10 to 15 years': What to expect from Canada's labour market as the workforce ages

Aging population contributing to labour shortages


Jennifer Ferreira
CTVNews.ca Producer
Published Dec. 14, 2023

As more Canadians leave the workforce over the next few decades, experts say this will likely exacerbate existing labour shortages. In this stock image, a senior couple appears stressed while looking at bills. 

(Getty Images / whyframestudio)

There will likely be more Canadians leaving the workforce than entering it over the next few decades as the country’s senior population grows, according to new data from Statistics Canada. Experts say this will not only exacerbate existing labour shortages, but could result in higher wages for employees.

As of November 2023, there were approximately 2.7 million Canadians aged 15 to 24 who said they were employed, compared to more than 4.4 million people aged 55 and older(opens in a new tab) who had a job. This is based on data from Statistics Canada’s latest labour force survey, which also shows a wide difference in the total population of Canadians 15 to 24 years of age compared to those aged 55 and older, with 4.7 million and 12.4 million people, respectively.

“This means that there are potentially more people prepared to leave the labour force because of retirement than there are entrants to replace these workers,” reads a note prepared by Jane Badets, senior adviser at Environics Analytics, a marketing and analytical services company owned by Bell Canada.

The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

This comes amid new statistics from Environics Analytics that show Canada’s senior population is projected to surpass 11 million by 2043. The data, based on a special analysis for CTV News, paints the senior population as the fastest-growing age group in the country.
LABOUR SHORTAGE LINKED TO AN AGING POPULATION: EXPERTS

Canada is already facing labour shortages(opens in a new tab) across several sectors, largely due to the country’s aging population, said Stephen Tapp, chief economist for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Over the next few years, more Canadians born between 1946 and 1964 – also known as the baby boomer generation – will be entering their senior years and likely retiring. Without a boost in the number of young Canadians entering the workforce, existing labour gaps will only become larger, Tapp said.

“(We’re) in a more labour-scarce world,” Tapp told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview. “Things are getting tighter and more difficult … It will get worse over the next 10 to 15 years.”

Businesses of all sizes and across every industry have complained of labour shortages for months(opens in a new tab), with experts saying Canada’s aging workforce is among the factors to blame. These shortages could lead to a reduction in labour input as well as economic growth, a recent study shows.

Conducted by the RAND Corporation, a research organization based in the United States, the study published in 2016 and revised in 2022(opens in a new tab) shows a link between an aging workforce and national economic performance. Looking at U.S. data, researchers discovered that with each 10 per cent increase in the fraction of the population aged 60 and older, per-capita GDP decreased by 5.5 per cent.

“Our estimate implies population aging reduced the growth rate in GDP per capita by 0.3 percentage points per year during 1980 (to) 2010,” the paper reads. Aging in Canada: What a growing senior population means for you(opens in a new tab)

A study published in August by the Fraser Institute(opens in a new tab), a conservative think tank, came to a similar conclusion. Researchers determined that every 10 per cent increase in the senior population is linked to a slight decrease in the real GDP per capita growth rate.

“This result implies that, in 2021 dollars, Canada’s GDP per capita will be lower by $4,300 (per person) by 2043 under Statistics Canada’s slow-aging population projection scenario and by $11,200 under its fast-aging scenario,” reads a press release issued earlier this year(opens in a new tab).

A report published by the federal government in 2018(opens in a new tab) already indicated that Canada was seeing “proportionally fewer young people moving into the workforce to replace the increasing number of older individuals retiring.”



Adding to this is what is expected to be an increase in the number of Canadians who are retiring year-over-year. An analysis of labour force survey data by the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) revealed 73,000 more people retired in the year ending August 2022(opens in a new tab) compared to the year prior.

HEALTH CARE, CONSTRUCTION WILL NEED MORE WORKERS

Some sectors can expect to see greater labour shortages than others, Tapp said. Amid a lack of nurses and physicians, Canada’s health-care sector is likely to continue facing labour shortages as demand for services increases with an aging population, said Ted McDonald, a political science professor at the University of New Brunswick.

“Those labour shortages have direct implications for patient outcomes as well as the broader economy,” McDonald told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview.

Health care is among the industry sectors that are currently seeing some of the highest job vacancy rates, according to the most recently available data from Statistics Canada(opens in a new tab).

Across all industries, the job vacancy rate was 3.9 per cent as of September, but within the health-care and social assistance sector, that rate was 5.6 per cent. Other sectors with job vacancy rates above the four-per-cent mark include construction, and accommodation and food services, at 4.7 and 6.2 per cent, respectively.

Sectors such as transportation are also likely to experience tighter labour market conditions in the years to come, as they have a higher number of older workers, according to a research note produced by Environics Analytics.

The ratio of older to younger workers varies by occupation, according to the latest census data from 2021. Younger workers include employees aged 25 to 34, whereas older workers includes those aged 55 and above. Examples of some of the occupations that have more older than younger workers include bus drivers and other transit operators. In these occupations, the number of older employees is more than four times higher than the number of younger employees.


Alternatively, the employment rate among 25- to 54-year-olds born in Canada from 2010 to 2021 has seen a two-per-cent increase, according to data from Statistics Canada(opens in a new tab).

As more of Canada’s older employees exit the workforce, transferring their knowledge to younger workers can become a challenge, Tapp said. As a result, providing adequate training will be key, he said. This not only includes properly training new hires, but also offering technical training to older employees who may choose to continue working beyond the age of 65. Some of these workers may need to be trained on how to use new tools or technology to perform old tasks, he said.

“If we have older people staying in the labour force longer, they're going to need to stay up on their on their skillsets and to be retrained more frequently than they would have been before,” he said.

WAGES WILL SEE AN INCREASE: EXPERT

Although the road ahead may present challenges for employers facing an increasingly tight market, conditions may be beneficial for workers, said Tapp.

With more Canadians expected to leave the workforce than enter it, workplaces may struggle with obtaining and retaining employees. As an incentive when hiring, they may be more likely to offer increased wage rates to fill gaps within their labour force, he said.

“In any kind of market where there’s fewer workers … the market is going to have to pay them more and their wages are going to be increased to entice them to come in,” he said. “It’s good news if you’re looking from a household perspective … The balance of power has really shifted.”

Tapp said he expects to see wages increase more than two per cent each year to account for annual inflation.

Another trend McDonald expects to see emerge is a continued boom in the use of artificial intelligence technology. Struggles to secure labour will likely prompt more businesses to explore ways to automate processes, he said, which may allow them to hire fewer people.

“You look at alternative ways to continue to operate,” McDonald said.

SOME DELAY RETIREMENT TO KEEP WORKING

While Canada’s workforce may be aging, some employees are continuing to work for longer, data shows. In 2022, nearly one million Canadians were working at the age of 65 or older, making up five per cent of the total labour force in Canada that year, Statistics Canada data shows(opens in a new tab).

Additionally, the average retirement age in Canada has been steadily increasing over the last two decades. In 2022, the average retirement age was 64.6 years(opens in a new tab). This is approximately four years older than the average age reported in 1998, which was 60.9.

CTVNews.ca heard from a handful of Canadians who said they are considering delaying their retirement in an effort to save more money – Anita Newson is one of them. Living in Halifax, the 60-year-old said she plans to delay her retirement “indefinitely” due to the elevated cost of living.

“I had hoped to pay off some debt and retire this year but that didn't happen and I am actually further in debt,” she wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca. “I may not ever retire.”

Instead, Newson said she plans to work for as long as her health permits. In response to the rising cost of daily expenses, Newson said she has begun to scale back spending on birthdays and holidays, as well as eating at restaurants and visiting movie theatres.

“It is becoming more frightening thinking about how I will support myself when and if I retire,” she wrote. “I am a renter and rent goes up every year, pensions do not.”

Newson said she only expects her pension to be able to cover her monthly rent payments, leaving her with no choice but to continue working to cover other expenses such as food.

Stewart Turnbull said he finds himself in a similar position. The 56-year-old living in Victoria, B.C., owns a single-family home and works full-time as a customer service manager. Upon retiring, he planned to sell his home and purchase a smaller property farther from the downtown core, he said.

However, when his three-year mortgage agreement went up for renewal in March, the rise in interest rates increased his payments by about $900 per month, he said.

Turnbull and his partner recently put their home up for sale, but they are unsure of whether they will receive enough money to purchase a new home and comfortably retire at 65. Without much money accumulated in savings, Turnbull said he is not convinced his pension will be enough to cover daily expenses if he stopped working.

“We are trying to leverage whatever equity we have in this house into sort of a rescue mission after interest rates totally annihilated any extra money we had on a monthly basis,” he told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview. “I hoped it would be worth enough that we could possibly retire but I’m not 100 per cent sure that that’s going to happen.”

Stewart Turnbull, 56, planned to sell his home in Victoria, B.C., and use the extra money to retire. But with increasing mortgage payments as a result of high interest rates, and little money saved up, he's unsure of whether selling his home will leave him with enough money to comfortably retire at 65. Turnbull, left, appears in this image with his partner. 

(HANDOUT / CTVNews.ca)

Instead, Turnbull is not planning for retirement and anticipates he will have to continue working beyond the age of 65 to continue to afford his daily expenses. He has also made some lifestyle changes over recent months in order to adjust to the elevated cost of living. This includes hanging his clothes to dry in order to lower his electricity bill, and downgrading his cell phone bill so monthly fees are less expensive, he said.

“It has become clear to me that retirement is no longer an option,” he wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca.

National labour force survey results(opens in a new tab) released in August show that many Canadian workers would delay their retirement if given the option to work fewer hours without affecting their pension. Additionally, employees aged 65 and older have been making up a larger proportion of the total working population in Canada over the last few years, data shows.

In 2010, employed seniors made up three per cent of the total workforce, according to Statistics Canada. Fast forward to 2022, and working seniors accounted for five per cent of all Canadians employed that year.



But according to Tapp, this could be due to the growing number of seniors in Canada as opposed to a shift in retirement patterns.

WHAT ROLE DOES IMMIGRATION PLAY?

In order to fill existing gaps within the country’s workforce throughout the years, the federal government appears to be relying on immigration, McDonald said.

Over the last decade, the share of new and recent immigrant workers grew the most quickly in accommodation and food services, as well as transportation and warehousing, according to 2021 Statistics Canada census data(opens in a new tab). Other sectors that saw relatively high levels of immigrant workers include manufacturing and health services.

Many of Canada’s new immigrants are skilled workers(opens in a new tab) who apply for permanent residency through the Express Entry program. Using a comprehensive ranking system, points are awarded to applicants based on their age, language proficiency, level of education and work experience, and those with the highest scores are admitted. In an effort to address labour market shortages(opens in a new tab), it was recently announced that the program would prioritize skills and work experience(opens in a new tab) in fields such as health care, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), trades, transport and agriculture.

In a recent announcement, Canada’s immigration minister also shared federal government plans(opens in a new tab) to increase permanent resident targets to 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025 before holding this number steady at half a million permanent residents in 2026.

But how much these policies will help strengthen the country’s workforce remains to be seen, McDonald said.

CTV News is a division of Bell Media, which is part of BCE Inc.

Edited by Mary Nersessian, graphics produced by Jesse Tahirali

 

Enbridge to sell Alliance, Aux Sable stakes to Pembina Pipeline for $3.1 billion

The Canadian Press

Enbridge Inc. is selling its stakes in the Alliance pipeline and Aux Sable gas processing facility to Pembina Pipeline Corp. for $3.1 billion.

The Alliance pipeline is a 3,848-kilometre pipeline stretching southeast from B.C. that brings gas into Chicago's Aux Sable, one of the largest natural gas liquids processing facilities in North America.

Enbridge currently owns 50 per cent of Alliance and 42.7 per cent of Aux Sable, while Pembina Pipeline owns the remaining 50 per cent of Alliance and 42.7 per cent of Aux Sable.

As part of the transaction, Pembina, which is the current operator of Aux Sable, will become the sole operator of Alliance.

Enbridge said Wednesday the proceeds from the sale will fund a portion of its previously announced US$14-billion acquisition of three U.S.-based gas utilities from Virginia-based Dominion Energy.

That deal, which was announced in September, is expected to close next year and will see Enbridge double the scale of its gas utility business through the purchase of the East Ohio Gas Company, Questar Gas Company and its related Wexpro companies, and the Public Service Company of North Carolina.

For its part, Pembina said the acquisition increases the company's exposure to natural gas and natural gas liquids, as well as expanding Pembina's presence and reputation in the U.S. market.

Pembina also said that supply and demand projections for the North American natural gas market support a favourable outlook for both Alliance and Aux Sable. 

The company said the expected completion of LNG Canada as well as a projected significant expansion of U.S. Gulf Coast LNG (liquefied natural gas) export capacity should boost demand for natural gas transportation.

The $3.1 billion purchase price includes $327 million of assumed debt.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in the first half of 2024

 

Canada's biggest banks come in at bottom of low-carbon finance ranking

Ian Bickis , The Canadian Press

A report by BloombergNEF finds that while Canada's top five banks are among the biggest energy financiers globally, they rank among the worst of the top 100 when measured on how much of that funding is directed to low-carbon sources.

The report found that in 2022 banks globally directed an estimated 73 cents toward low-carbon energy for every dollar supporting fossil fuel supply, or a 0.73-to-one ratio. That's well off the four-to-one ratio the report notes they need to hit this decade to limit global warming to 1.5 C.

Canada's biggest banks ranged in ratios of between 0.45:1 for BMO's $18.9 billion in energy funding, enough to place it 88th in the ranking, down to 0.32:1 for Scotiabank's $35.9 billion in funding, which pushed it below the top 100.

In between, CIBC had a 0.41:1 ratio for its $17.9 billion in funding, RBC had a 0.37:1 ratio for its $42.7 billion, and TD Bank had a 0.35:1 ratio for its $30.2 billion in funding, putting it at the bottom of the list of 100 banks.

National Bank was a notable outlier, coming in at $1.10 in low-carbon funding for every dollar put toward fossil fuels in its $14.9 billion in financing, enough to rank 52nd globally.

The report showed BMO, TD and Scotiabank's ratios worsened from 2021, while CIBC and National Bank improved.

RBC's ratio was the same as in the 2021 report, but a downward revision to last year's low-carbon ratio left the bank as improving this year.

RBC spokesman Andrew Block said the report highlights the importance of increasing low-carbon energy supply that's needed to meet global net-zero goals.

He said the bank expects to continue to improve its ratio ahead, as RBC has strengthened its ability to scale up financing of low-carbon energy.

"The shift in global energy systems is picking up, and we will provide further updates on our own progress in early 2024."

Richard Brooks, a climate finance director at environmental organization Stand.earth, said in a statement that he was disappointed to see the lack of progress by banks on driving climate solutions, as the world is already feeling the effects of extreme weather.

"No bank is doing its fair share of the work required to transition our global energy systems. In fact, they continue to make the problem worse,” he said.

Other banks did not immediately provide comment.

 

52 commerical and backyard flocks in B.C. have been infected with bird flu

The Canadian Press

More than 50 poultry farms in British Columbia have been infected with avian flu since October, but animal health officials say that rate is slowing as the fall migration of wild birds ends. 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday 47 commercial farms and five small-flocks have been infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus this fall. 

B.C.'s Agriculture Ministry says in a news release that it is working with the agency and B.C.'s poultry producers to ensure enhanced biosecurity measures are in place to limit the spread of disease. 

If the flu is detected in a flock, all the birds on the farm must be destroyed and the CFIA said in November about five million birds in B.C. have been culled due to H5N1 since the first case was detected in April 2022. 

The ministry says avian flu poses a low risk to public health with no risk to food safety, and there are currently no poultry food supply disruptions due to the virus. 

The B.C. government introduced a $5-million farmed animal disease program this year that helps farmers beef up their biosecurity measures, equipment for disease response, research and training to better prevent the flu from entering the barns. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2023. 

 

Rogers Sugar strike at impasse, company says as it pauses talks with union

The Canadian Press

Raw sugar storaged at the Rogers Sugar facility in Vancouver. Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Rogers Sugar Inc. says it is pausing negotiations after the union representing striking workers at its Vancouver refinery rejected the company's latest offer.

Workers at the refinery have been on strike since Sept. 28 over issues like wages, benefits and the company's proposal to increase refinery operations to 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

The Rogers Sugar refinery in Vancouver is one of only three large sugar refineries in the country that processes imported cane sugar.

The strike has caused intermittent sugar shortages in Western Canada this fall. 

But the company says there is currently ample supply of white sugar in the market, and it has restarted production of brown sugar at the Vancouver refinery.

Rogers Sugar has been operating the Vancouver refinery at reduced capacity, and says it has enough raw sugar on site to continue to do so until May 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2023.

Bill that lifts GST from rental developments, amends competition law to become law

The Canadian Pres

Legislation that lifts GST charges off rental developments and amends the country's competition law has passed in the Senate and is poised to become law.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland introduced the legislation this fall in response to growing concerns about housing and affordability in the country.

The federal government is lifting GST charges off rental developments to incentivize developers to build more purpose-built rentals, a segment of the housing supply that experts say is in very short supply.

The legislation also aims to boost competition in the country by giving new powers to the Competition Bureau.

It will be empowered to compel information from companies to conduct market studies and block collaborations that stifle competition and consumer choice.

It would also eliminate the "efficiencies defence" in the Competition Act, which allowed for anti-competitive mergers to be approved in cases where the efficiencies generated offset the competitive harm.

The NDP successfully secured other amendments to the Competition Act in the legislation, including increasing the maximum penalty for anti-competitive behaviour to $25 million for the first infraction, and to $35 million for subsequent infractions.

The Competition Bureau will also be able to go after businesses that abuse their market dominance to engage in anti-competitive behaviour.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2023.

STOP ALBERTA PENSION PLAN RIPOFF

Canadian retirees urge finance ministers to maintain CPP status quo

Ben Cousins, BNN Bloomberg

A group representing Canadian retirees is urging federal and provincial governments to protect the Canada Pension Plan as Alberta considers an exodus from the national program.

In an open letter to federal, provincial and territorial finance ministers ahead of their Friday meeting in Toronto, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons said “protecting the value and integrity of our pensions” is top of mind.

It called on the government officials to “step up to protect the national pension plan.”

“Older Canadians across the country are deeply worried by the Government of Alberta’s plan to undermine the integrity of the CPP,” the letter from CARP executive Bill VanGorder said.

“Its proposal that contemplates walking off with more than half the CPP’s accumulated value to create a new provincial scheme is reckless.”

He added that the “retirement security of seniors, including those residing in Alberta, is in question” in light of the Prairie province’s proposal.

“If it were to play out as intended, it could have huge impacts on the rest of the country. Already the idea spreads anxiety and uncertainty among seniors who fear their life’s contributions are at risk.”

Alberta has been considering a plan to leave the national pension plan and instead create its own provincial pension plan, similar to Quebec and Saskatchewan.

A study funded by Alberta’s government found the province could be entitled to $334 billion if it were to leave the national plan, more than half of the plan’s assets. Experts and analysts have disputed the figure.

Last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith cut off debate in the provincial legislature to pass a bill mandating a referendum on its plan for the Canada Pension Plan.

Provinces are free to leave the plan, but must give three years’ notice.

Still, VanGorder questioned why any province would want to go it alone.

“Seniors in Canada are part of a national pension plan that has become the envy of the world,” the letter said. “It is well managed and supported by one of the best performing institutional investors globally.”

Alberta’s pension proposal is not specifically mentioned on the agenda for the finance ministers’ meetings, which are meant to “discuss shared priorities such as housing, affordability, and economic growth,” according to a release from the federal government.  

With files from The Canadian Press

Freeland won't say how long it could take to

determine what Alberta entitled from CPP

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

Citing the "complicated" nature of pensions and need for all provinces and territories to weigh in, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland would not provide a specific timeline for determining how much Alberta would be entitled to if it leaves the Canada Pension Plan.

Speaking after a meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts, Freeland said officials reported back to the group Friday about the work involved with arriving at the number, which she requested from the chief actuary in November. 

Those officials suggested they needed to meet again in January to discuss progress, "and we all agreed that was a good idea," she said.

The ministers held a special meeting last month to discuss Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's push to quit the Canada Pension Plan for an Alberta-only version.

Smith began her push to exit CPP in September, when she released a Lifeworks report estimating Alberta is entitled to $334 billion, or 53 per cent, of the Canada Pension Plan if it starts its own pension program.

Other economists, including those with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, believe Alberta's share is closer to its percentage of the CPP membership, at about 15 per cent.

To settle the debate, Freeland is seeking a number from the chief actuary, but when pressed Friday about whether it could take months or even until summer to arrive at that figure, she offered no timeline.

"I learned during the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations never to answer hypothetical questions. It's not a good idea for an elected political leader," she said.

"What I think was very clear in the conversation today, when we heard back from officials was how technical this work is ... we agreed that we're going to do the work and define the tasking very carefully, very deliberately and crucially, really transparently."

Freeland said some ministers were "emotional" talking about the pension issue because many people are anxious about it and the certainty of receiving a pension is a "huge comfort" to Canadians.

Asked about the pension portions of the meeting, Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner said, "I am pleased Minister Freeland agreed that the chief actuary should rely on their own legal analysis and not what the federal government says."

"The decision to move forward with an Alberta pension plan is up to Albertans," he wrote in a statement.

Freeland said in her remarks that any province or territory can leave the federal pension plan.

"There's no debate about that," she said.

"The federal government's contention, though, is first and foremost that we have a great system. We have a system that works, which actually is the envy of the world."

After the day's meeting wrapped up, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said conversations around the pension issue had been "very collaborative."

"Alberta being in the pension plan... is good for Alberta, it's good for Canada, it's good for Ontario," he said.

"So we're going to continue pushing that we have a process that's clear, that's timely, that's deliberate and thoughtful."

But before the meeting began, Saskatchewan Finance Minister Donna Harpauer downplayed the need to take care of the pension issue immediately.

"That's a very long process and it's not what is pressing and urgent today," she told reporters as she headed into the meeting.

On top of Alberta's pension push, provincial and territorial ministers along with Freeland said they also discussed housing, inflation and the economy.

Also on hand for the meeting was Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, who provided the ministers with an update on the country's economic outlook.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2023.

WORKERS CAPITAL

Blackstone, CPPIB take US$1.2 billion stake in Signature Bank deal

Natalie Wong, Bloomberg News

A joint venture that includes Blackstone Inc. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has won a stake in a nearly US$17 billion portfolio of commercial-property loans from the failed Signature Bank. 

The companies are also partnering with funds affiliated with Rialto Capital to acquire a 20 per cent stake in the venture for $1.2 billion, according to a statement Thursday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is maintaining an 80 per cent stake in the venture and providing financing equal to 50 per cent of the value.

The FDIC has been trying to offload roughly $33 billion of real estate loans from Signature after the bank collapsed earlier this year. That also includes loans backed by rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartments mostly in New York City, which aren’t part of the Blackstone deal. The FDIC said it expects to announce results for those transactions soon.

The commercial-property loan portfolio won by Blackstone and its partners includes more than 2,600 first-mortgage loans backed by retail, market-rate apartments and office properties largely located in the New York metropolitan area. The debt is mostly considered performing.

Blackstone will be the lead asset manager of the portfolio, and Rialto will be the loan servicer and operating partner. 

“We are excited to invest in this compelling, large-scale opportunity,” Jonathan Pollack, global head of Blackstone Real Estate Credit, said in the statement. The venture includes Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. 

Bloomberg reported first in November that Blackstone was the frontrunner to win the portfolio. 

A team led by Doug Harmon and Adam Spies from brokerage Newmark Group Inc. advised the FDIC during the process. Blackstone and its partners were advised by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Ropes & Gray LLP, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP