“Our government thanks the members of the Fair Deal Panel, and all Albertans who took the time to participate in the process, for their hard work on an issue that is vital to the well-being of our province. I look forward to giving this report and its recommendations the proper attention it deserves once we have safely started to implement our relaunch strategy.”
Premier Jason Kenney created the panel in November 2019 in response to the unprecedented levels of frustration Albertans have experienced with the province’s voice in Canada. The report deals with how best to define and secure a fair deal for Alberta in Canada’s Confederation, and is informed by the input of tens of thousands of Albertans.
The Fair Deal Panel gathered input for the report through in-person town hall engagement sessions, a survey, interviews with experts and stakeholders, polling, and online submissions and emails. Subjects covered include potentially moving towards a provincial pension plan, establishing a provincial police force, appointing a Chief Firearms Office for Alberta, and more. The report contains an assessment of Albertans’ positions on how these issues relate to Alberta’s role in Canada, and recommendations on how to strengthen the province’s voice on the national stage.
“Connecting with Albertans and hearing their stories and ideas about how our province fits into the Canadian federation has been the experience of a lifetime. The members of the panel are incredibly proud of the work we have done together, and we fully support government’s decision to postpone its assessment and response to the report until we are safely through the current public health crisis.”
Government will announce a date for the public release of the report once the urgency of the COVID-19 response has subsided.