AFL calls on the Kenney UCP government for immediate action to disperse federal money to help Albertans

EDMONTON – Back in November 2020, the AFL discovered the Kenney UCP government was leaving over $300 million on the table for low wage essential worker top-ups, this week’s CCPA report shows that the UCP is failing Albertans in many more ways by not even using federal funds for job retraining, rapid housing initiatives, long-term care supports, and help for early childhood educators.

“This Kenney UCP government wins the ‘least likely to help Albertans when they need it’ award by leaving the most federal transfers untouched and grants not accessed, making it the worst provincial government in the country,” says AFL president, Gil McGowan. “We are calling on this UCP government to do the right thing now and access these funds, provide its portion of funds where needed and help Albertans struggling during this pandemic.”

“Don’t you think workers who have lost their jobs in hard-hit sectors, for example oil and gas workers, could use training? Or that other Albertans need housing? Our long-term care and daycare workers don’t need extra funding to help them during COVID? Ottawa is trying to help Canadians and there are so many Albertans hurting right now. This looks like the UCP government just doesn’t care enough about Albertans to disperse this funding. This is another example of Kenney’s callousness.”

“The top-ups were announced in May 2020, why is the UCP government holding up these and other federal funding supports for Albertans? My fear is that they somehow want to use these federal funds to apply it to the provincial deficit. Whether this is ideology, negligence or incompetence, it’s time this government stepped up, did the right thing and helped Albertans.”

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Ramona Franson
Director of Communications, AFL
rfranson@afl.org