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Vol. 20, No. 22, Wednesday, March 5, 2025 www.LamontLeader.com
Alberta independence begins with APP says speaker at Lamont JANA SEMENIUK At least 60 people gathered in the Lamont meeting room at the arena on Feb. 27 to hear what Alberta First Pension organizer Mitch Sylvestre had to say. Sylvestre was accompanied by economist Tanner Hnidey to drive home their message; Alberta needs its own pension plan. “What we're looking for is a better deal within Canada for Alberta. What we want is what Quebec has, their own pension plan,” said Sylvestre. Sylvestre argues that Alberta contributes $9 billion per year in to the CPP while only receiving $6 billion per year. He said that Alberta’s share of the CPP equates to $335 billion which he said the Province should take back. “In order for us to get a better deal within Canada, one of the key things we have to get back here is our pension fund, because it is a massive asset,” said Sylvestre. According to the Fraser Institute, Albertans over-contribute to the CPP compared to the rest of Canada, due to our younger population, higher employment rate and higher earnings. The Smith government issued a report in 2023 on the possibility of an APP quoting the Canada Pension Plan Act as stating that a new plan would have to provide comparable benefits to the CPP. According to reports, Albertans pay a 9.9 percent contribution rate every two weeks which would fall to 5.91 percent if the Province had their own pension plan. However, it would drive up the contribution rate of the rest of the country to over 10 percent to maintain the CPP. Sylvestre said sovereignty is the solution for Alberta. “I'm not about being the 51st state, but the first step is you have to become an independent place,” said Sylvestre.
13-year old Shaye Walters gets some air while doing a double stag jump during Smoky Lake's annual Kalyna Dance Festival, Feb 28-Mar. 2. Walters' was one of 29 dancers from Xpressions Dance Studio in Bruderheim who took part in the festival. Photo: Jana Semeniuk Sylvestre has been collecting commitments from Alberta residents to sign a petition forcing a provincial referendum on the APP. He said he needs to collect signatures from 10 percent of the provinces’ population, totalling
300,000, to do so. So far, he has 55,000. Sylvestre, who owned a sporting goods store in Bonnyville for 47 years, said the APP is important to him because he believes the province is in crisis.
“I can’t unsee it. The corruption is getting clearer,” he said. “I’ve been on this path for three years and it’s not going the other way (for the province). We should be able to run our own stuff (and) take care of ourselves.”