Alberta NDP Critic for Advanced Education David Eggen made the following statement in reaction to the introduction to Bill 67:

“On the same day that we see post-secondary proposing tuition hikes to compensate for the UCP’s budget cuts, Jason Kenney and his government have introduced Bill 67 where they are attempting to dictate what classes post-secondary should be offering Albertans.

“The Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Education Act reads more like the UCP’s failed Jobs Now program, which we still haven’t seen roll out and we still haven’t heard confirmation if the federal money for this program has expired. 

“I’m concerned that the UCP are attempting to dictate to our post-secondary schools what classes they should be providing after cutting their budgets by $690 million, and that they do not have a jobs plan for Albertans to apply these apprenticeships to.

“I will look into Bill 67 further as I am worried that this will put Alberta farther behind in our retraining and in our economic recovery.”