Alberta Pension Plan, carbon tax and CEBA : CFIB statement on today's meeting of the finance ministers

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2023 /CNW/ - As federal and provincial finance ministers meet today to discuss Alberta's proposal to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is urging all governments to work together to ensure Albertans and other Canadians are provided with the full picture of the facts associated with an Alberta Pension Plan (APP).

 Albertans are understandably unhappy about unfair treatment from the federal government, including new examples like the unlevel treatment of home heating costs with changes to the federal carbon tax. But permanent changes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) should only be made after a detailed analysis of the facts, benefits and risks, not as a protest against other government policies. 

Business owners, who pay 50% of the costs of the CPP, deserve an unbiased assessment of any proposed changes. Establishing the terms of any potential exit, including the amount of CPP assets and liabilities a province would inherit, is critical to understanding the merits of any province exiting the fund. 

We urge governments to go into the meeting setting aside political rhetoric and committing to an open and honest conversation of the facts.

For its part, CFIB will be working with experts to ensure small business owners in Alberta and across Canada are armed with facts, including the impact on premiums.

CFIB is also encouraging provincial/territorial finance ministers to use the opportunity of this meeting to push the federal government hard to extend the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) forgivable deadline by a full year. This followed a recent letter endorsing CFIB's proposal signed by all 13 Canadian premiers. 

Finally, CFIB asks all ministers to push for further carbon tax changes to expand the exemption for heating oil to all other types of heating fuel, including natural gas. Ministers should also seek clarification on how the government is funding recent changes to ensure that the feds are not using the portion of carbon tax revenue that is earmarked to be returned to small businesses.

-Dan Kelly, President, CFIB

About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 97,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners' chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca. 

SOURCE Canadian Federation of Independent Business