An Alberta government panel has firmly rejected building a firewall around the province, but is urging Premier Ralph Klein to create a legal fund to fight federal incursions into provincial responsibility.
In a report released yesterday, the Tory MLAs also called on Ottawa to stop sending the provinces condition-laden transfer payments and instead allow them more control through a larger portion of the current tax load. "One order of government should not unilaterally dictate the expenditure priorities of another," it says.
The report, which comes as Mr. Klein is preparing for a possible fall election, was commissioned last year after hard-line party members urged the government to consider erecting a "firewall" by breaking away from federal programs, or even outright separation.
Entitled Strengthening Alberta's Role in Confederation, the 69-page document rejects such proposals, saying the province should work with Ottawa to fix problems instead of setting up its own pension plan and income tax system.
"I think it's fair to say that Albertans are privileged to be able to contribute to the national good. We're part of this national family. If there's a problem, it's that we want to make sure that our contribution is respected, understood and spent wisely," said MLA Ian McClelland, the committee's chairman.
Withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan and the federal tax system, the committee said, would be costly and ineffective.
Randy Thorsteinson, leader of the province's Alberta Alliance Party, said a firewall is the only solution.
"They've had 33 years to fix [the system]as a government and I think what has to happen is we need a government that will fix these issues and the firewall is the way to do it," he said.
Mr. Thorsteinson, who attended several of the committee's 12 public meetings across the province, said it was clear to him the MLAs did not listen to firewall proponents.
However, on whether Alberta should have a provincial police force rather than the RCMP, the MLAs said the government should study alternatives before a scheduled 2007 cost review. The current policing agreement expires in 2012.
The report, which largely mirrors government policy, supports the province's plans for changes to the health-care system and notes the federal government pays less than 20 per cent of health costs. Its recommendations will be reviewed by the government, which said it will also ask for public input.
In essence, the Alberta report supports the status quo on issues of provincial jurisdiction and reflects Mr. Klein's commitment to playing a key role in Canada. However, in what critics called an attempt to mollify the party's right wing, it takes direct aim at Ottawa on issues over which the province has no control, saying Alberta must ensure its views and rights are recognized.
Provincial New Democratic Party Leader Brian Mason called the $200,000 report a "bone thrown to the right-wing of the Conservative Party."
The nine-member committee recommended the province fix "the underlying structural problems of our Canadian institutions that feed the flames of western alienation."
In an attempt to wrest more control for the provinces, the MLAs recommended Ottawa scrap transfer payments for health and other social programs, which come with conditions attached, in favour of allowing provincial governments to keep more of the tax revenue from their residents.
If implemented, the proposal, which has long been advocated by the premiers, would mean the provinces would collect 100 per cent of funding for all programs under their control, including health care.
Asked whether the result would be different systems, Mr. McClelland said provinces should be able to experiment while still adhering to the principles of the Canada Health Act.
"We're saying if we have the responsibility to deliver a service, let us be responsible for collecting the resources," he said.
The proposal, the report says, would not affect equalization payments to less-fortunate provinces, of which Alberta is a net contributor. The province sends Ottawa $9-billion more than it receives back in services or transfers.
The report says the federal gun registry, and Ottawa's attempt to foist a one-size-fits-all program on a diverse country "frustrates Albertans and feeds federal-provincial acrimony." It recommends the province continue to press Ottawa to dismantle the registry.
More generally, it urges the province to take legal action aimed at "safeguarding Alberta's constitutional jurisdiction."