{"id":13840,"date":"2025-06-25T15:30:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T15:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/13840\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T15:30:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T15:30:20","slug":"alberta-next-survey-asks-if-province-should-withhold-social-services-for-immigrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/13840\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta Next survey asks if province should withhold social services for immigrants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether Alberta should withhold social services from immigrants is among the issues Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is tabling for debate this summer when she travels the province to consult citizens on potential referendum questions.<\/p>\n

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The tour is part of what Smith has dubbed the \u201cAlberta Next\u201d<\/a> panel. At a news conference Tuesday, she announced details of its work and named its 15 members.<\/a><\/p>\n

At the same time, six online surveys were launched on the panel\u2019s website<\/a>, which are to help inform what questions the government puts to a referendum next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Alberta isn\u2019t satisfied with the number or kind of newcomers moving to our province, we may have the option to withhold provincial social programs to any non-citizen or non-permanent resident who does not have an Alberta-approved immigration status,\u201d says a video participants are required to view before taking the immigration survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The speaker in the video says although the federal government decides who is let into Canada, provinces pay for most social programs that they need.<\/p>\n

The video says immigration is to blame for high housing costs and unemployment rates, adding that \u201cmany of the divisions and disputes that plague other countries have begun making their way into ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first of two survey questions on the topic asks how Albertans feel about last year\u2019s immigration level.<\/p>\n

The second asks whether the province should refuse to provide programs to non-citizens and non-permanent residents \u201cunless they have been granted an Alberta government-approved immigration permit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The surveys also ask about a provincial pension plan<\/a>, a provincial police force<\/a>, tax collection<\/a>, constitutional changes<\/a> and federal transfers and equalization<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the news conference, Smith said six issues had been put forward by a previous panel that she thinks Albertans might want to have a referendum on, but she didn\u2019t provide details.<\/p>\n

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She said she doesn\u2019t want to prejudge what ideas or proposals might be considered for a referendum. She encouraged Albertans to attend the town halls and fill out a the online surveys.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYour voice matters and our province\u2019s future depends on it,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOttawa has been interfering in every aspect of our provincial jurisdiction in deeper and deeper ways for about a decade now, and we\u2019ve had enough of it,\u201d the premier added.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s not so much the West wants in, as the West wants Ottawa out of its hair.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Smith hinted at her new panel earlier in the year, saying it would poll Albertans on what the province should do after the federal election if her list of demands made to Prime Minister Mark Carney in March weren\u2019t met.<\/p>\n

She has previously said a referendum on Alberta separation could also happen next year, though she repeated Tuesday that she wouldn\u2019t initiate one herself and the panel\u2019s mandate is to improve the province\u2019s position in Canada.<\/p>\n

The surveys don\u2019t touch on separation.<\/p>\n

The other surveys suggest several ideas the province could advocate for, including abolishing the federal senate, expanding the Supreme Court of Canada to include more Western judges and allowing the province to appoint Court of King\u2019s Bench judges.<\/p>\n

They also revisit a potential Alberta pension plan \u2014 an idea the province pursued through town halls and surveys in late 2023.<\/p>\n

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Smith said last month she doesn\u2019t see an appetite for a referendum on the issue.<\/p>\n

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