‘The division today on the CPP is entirely the result of Justin Trudeau attacking the Alberta economy,’ Poilievre told the National Post in a statement
In his first public comments on Alberta’s proposal to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that Albertans are seeking to “get some of their money back,” and says “I encourage Albertans to stay in the CPP.”
The statement, sent exclusively to the National Post, marks the first time Poilievre has explicitly addressed the issue of Alberta’s proposal to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and set up its own pension fund.
“We would not be having this CPP debate if I were today prime minister because Alberta would be free from carbon taxes, unconstitutional anti-energy laws, and other unfair wealth transfers.”
Poilievre’s statement comes one day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent a fiery open letter to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith saying that his government would defend the CPP against Alberta’s withdrawal.
In an emailed statement to National Post Friday morning, Smith said “I appreciate the tone and sentiment” of Poilievre’s statement “regarding the multiple destructive policies the Liberal-NDP coalition have imposed on the Albertan and Canadian economies.”
“As it relates to the Alberta Pension Plan; this is an opportunity Albertans are discussing that has potential to improve the lives of our seniors and workers without risk to the pensions of fellow Canadians,” Smith said. “After this broad consultation and discussion are complete, Albertans will ultimately decide whether or not to pursue this opportunity further.”
That figure, which has been hotly debated by economists and politicians, is based on what LifeWorks deemed to be “equal to Albertans’ contributions less benefit payments and expenses accumulated with net investment earnings.”
The Alberta New Democrats have been fierce opponents of such a proposal and the Alberta Federation of Labour, a major grouping of unions, vowed on Thursday to fight against the proposal. Additionally, CPP Investments, the board that manages the CPP, has slammed the Alberta government’s consultation process as it seeks feedback from Albertans on leaving the CPP.
Advocates for creating an Alberta pension plan have argued that the province’s young population, relative to the rest of the country, would end up paying less in CPP contributions from their paycheques, and an independent pension fund would see increased retirement benefits paid out to seniors.
“Alberta’s withdrawal would weaken the pensions of millions of seniors and hardworking people in Alberta and right across the country. The harm it would cause is undeniable,” Trudeau wrote. “We will not stand by as anyone seeks to weaken pensions and reduce the retirement income of Canadians.”
Smith shot back with her own open letter, raising concerns that Trudeau had threatened to block Alberta’s withdrawal.
“Any attempt to do so will be seen as (an) attack on the constitutional and legal rights of Alberta and met with serious legal and political consequences,” Smith’s letter states. “If Albertans choose to withdraw from CPP, I expect that you will respect their choice.”
Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Calgary’s Mount Royal University speculated that Trudeau’s open letter was meant to force Poilievre’s camp to say something about his views.
“It’s not going to help (Trudeau) in Alberta,” said Bratt. “But I think Trudeau did that, in part to call out Poilievre — like what’s Poilievre going to do? Because Scott Moe hasn’t said anything. Doug Ford hasn’t said anything.”
Poilievre and his Conservative party are highly popular in Alberta. Just four members of Parliament representing Alberta are Liberal or NDP MPs. Recent polling from the Angus Reid Institute shows that 55 per cent of Albertans have a favourable view of Poilievre.
“As prime minister, I will protect and secure the CPP for Albertans and all Canadians, by treating every province fairly and freeing Alberta to develop its resources to secure our future,” said Poilievre.
Smith’s statement concludes with a similar sentiment, saying the UCP government “very much (looks) forward to working with Pierre Poilievre … to restore respect for the constitutional rights of provinces to the economic benefit of all Canadians.”
Said Bratt: “It matters in the rest of the country. If you’re going to be prime minister of Canada, how can you not support the Canada Pension Plan?
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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