‘Not a lot of public appetite’ for Fair Deal policies: data scientist

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – The Fair Deal Panel has released its recommendations and there could be some referendums as a result.

But is anyone really pushing for these changes?

Premier Jason Kenney released details on the final report from the panel Wednesday afternoon.

He highlighted three big recommendations from the report including equalization payments, a new provincial police force, and an Alberta pension plan.

RELATED: Alberta’s Fair Deal Panel report released

Kenney said Quebec has its own pension plan and can’t see why Alberta shouldn’t have one as well.

He also tackled the idea of an Alberta police force and how that could replace the RCMP contracts and serve people better, similar to police services in Ontario and Quebec.

RELATED: Alberta RCMP focused on protecting public after Fair Deal Panel report released

Finally, Kenney stressed holding a referendum on equalization arguing Albertans showed up and agreed it’s not fair.

While the panel found people have a negative view on Alberta’s position within Canada, saying they’re not getting a fair deal over numerous policies, other polls show a different story.

Political data researcher John Santos says there’s been polling by several companies over the last few years which shows people don’t have the appetite for this sort of stuff.

He referenced the numbers from a poll he commissioned back in March.

“We found 31 per cent of Albertans support the idea of a provincial police force, 37 per cent support an Alberta pension plan, 34 per cent support the creation of an Alberta revenue agency. These are pretty muted support numbers. There’s support out there but no one is on fire about this.”

Following the release of the report, Opposition leader Rachel Notley criticized the panel, calling it nothing more than a political distraction which does nothing to help Albertans get back to work.

She added if the Kenney government wanted fairness for the province, he should introduce measures such as universal sick leave and reverse cuts to the education system.

While Santos agrees the panel could be nothing more than a distraction, he believes it can work in the UCPs favour.

“I think some cynics might look at the government and say, this is their attempt to give angry Albertans a pressure release valve to vent their frustrations. At the same time, sort of stoke that anger and be the political masters of it and can channel it into continued electoral support, political donations and that sort of thing.”

The report from the Fair Deal Panel came after months of in-person consultations and online feedback.

When it was introduced last November, Premier Kenney said Alberta has given more to the federation than it has received and that it’s time for Ottawa to start working for the province.

-With files from CityNews