Alberta premier says phone is better than in-person meetings for pension feedback

Danielle Smith said the goal is to get more voices and opinions to gauge public opinion on quitting the Canada Pension Plan, and the best way for that is by phone.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says phone beats face to face when it comes to gauging public opinion on quitting the Canada Pension Plan — but the Opposition NDP says something this big needs to be in person.

Smith, speaking Saturday on her provincewide call-in radio show, said 300,000 or so people attended public information sessions in late 2019 and early 2020 for the Fair Deal panel, which later urged the government to pursue a referendum on quitting the CPP.

Her office confirmed Monday she misspoke and meant to say 3,000.

Smith said the goal is to get more voices and opinions, and the best way for that is by phone.

“We don’t want to have any barriers,” Smith told listeners on her Your Province Your Premier Corus program. Corus is the parent company of Global News.

“We don’t want people feeling like they have to drive for hours to get somewhere. Sometimes it’s not convenient to be able to drop everything and come out for an evening, but it’s (easier) being able to be on a telephone town hall. We think we’ll get more feedback on it.”

The first telephone town hall session by former finance minister Jim Dinning’s panel was set for Monday night, for residents in northern Alberta.

There are to be five 90-minute telephone town-hall discussions over six weeks, each session focused on getting feedback from a different region.