Alberta ‘fair deal’ panel report submitted

Findings won’t be released until pandemic eases

A government-appointed panel aiming to get a ‘fair deal’ for Alberta has submitted its final report, but it won’t be released to the public until the COVID -19 pandemic abates.

The Fair Deal Panel was announced by Premier Jason Kenney in November to explore how to give Alberta more leverage with the federal government. Its mandate was to look at nine ideas, including holding a referendum on equalization, establishing a provincial police force and withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan.

The report was due March 31, but won’t be released to the public along with a government response until the “urgency of the COVID-19 response has subsided,” the government said in a statement released Saturday. A date has yet to be announced.

In an interview last Thursday, Kenney said he anticipated it could be released in June but right now the government’s focus is on the public health and economic crises.

“Nobody’s talking about sweeping this under the carpet, but we are talking about a temporary pause on some of those issues until we get past the worst of the pandemic,” he said.

Kenney said one thing he hasn’t lost sight of is the panel’s mandate to look at creating a provincial chief firearms officer to replace Ottawa’s appointee.

Kenney spoke out on the issue after the federal government announced its ban on assault-style weapons in April.

The panel, including Preston Manning and three UCP MLAS, held in-person town halls around the province beginning in Edmonton in December. They also completed surveys, interviews with experts and stakeholders, polls, and took online submissions and emails.

Panel chair Oryssia Lennie said in the Saturday release the panel fully supports the government’s decision to postpone its assessment and response until the public health crisis is over.

Former PC cabinet minister and panel member Donna KennedyGlans, who co-wrote the report, said while she does not disagree with the government’s decision to hold off on releasing it, keeping it private would be a breach of trust.

“For this to work, the people need to trust it, and they need to believe that they’re going to have access to this information, they’re going to understand how the decisions are made,” she said Tuesday.

“If we’re in July and we’re still having this conversation, I think that’s cynical. I’d be very upset.”

The report was finalized in mid-april and handed over to the government on May 5, she said.

The final report contains 25 recommendations, which shows the high level of interest Albertans have in these issues, she said.

“I like that we listened to people. I think it’s important for governments to listen to people in an unfettered way and to report that back honestly,” she said.

While Kennedy-glans has heard feedback from some Albertans calling into question the panel’s premise and intentions, she said its agenda was not predetermined.

“It wasn’t in the can at all,” she said.