CALGARY (660 NEWS) — Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley is responding to the new restrictions announced by Alberta premier Jason Kenney on Tuesday.
“This announcement should have helped and I’m sure it just created more questions,” she said.
Notley questioned how the new restrictions will work across the province, calling them a “profound failure” if they are implemented on a regional basis.
WATCH: Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley responds to new restrictions.
“The regions described last week were based not on evidence, or science, but on the location of UCP MLAs,” she said. “That means many, many Albertans will be let down.”
Notley went on to say Kenney is continuing his pattern of “overpromising and under delivering” by creating false hope and making false promises, setting up further challenges and disappointment in the weeks to come.
“I’m referencing, in particular, the announcement that these measures will apply for slightly over two weeks only, this is confusing and it creates instability and unpredictability.”
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She says these new measures are going to have an immediate impact on small business owners struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic, adding they do not have adequate support.
Notley then called on Kenney to provide much greater support to help these businesses out.
“With broader eligibility and greater grants, and to enact many other measures we’ve proposed to support small businesses outlined at AlbertasFuture.ca.”
Notley then shifted her focus to schools and how Kenney “minimized the problem in schools for months.”
“He claimed school boards were safe and sat on his hands while school boards, teachers and parents begged for help,” she said. “He’s failed each and every student in our province.”
She then called on the UCP government to immediately establish an Alberta Learn From Home fund to help support families as students move online.
Notley then raised concerns with workers in the province having to choose between getting paid, or staying safe.
She says since most of these workers don’t have a sick pay program, they will continue to work at our grocery stores, gas stations and more.
“We know scientists in Ontario have suggested that provision of sick pay could drop infection rates by 50 per cent, yet today there was no mention of that from Jason Kenney at all.”
Finally, Notley raised questions surrounding UCP MLAs, saying she is concerned to hear they oppose the new measures.
“In advance, I condemn this behaviour in the strongest possible terms. And, I call on Jason Kenney to finally throw these MLAs out of his caucus. If you can’t support keeping Albertans safe, then you just can’t sit in the government caucus. Period.”
