KENNEY FAILS TO SCRAP RIDICULOUS WAR ROOM

CALGARY -- Premier Jason Kenney continues to burn Albertans’ tax dollars on his ridiculous energy war room, but has temporarily slowed the waste of money during the pandemic.

“Tom Olsen and his war room buddies have been doing nothing for Albertans but waste $82,000 a day of their money on juvenile tweets and plagiarized logos,” said Irfan Sabir, NDP Opposition Critic for Energy. “It’s good that they will be wasting slightly less in the coming weeks, but the Premier should listen to the broad consensus of Albertans and scrap the war room altogether.”

In a release today, the Minister of Energy said the $30-million war room would reduce its spending to “functions such as continuing and preparing research, office infrastructure and administrative support.” The reduction is only planned for “three months or until regular operations can recommence.”

The expensive futility of the war room has been increasingly obvious as the OPEC-Russia price war and coronavirus pandemic have pushed energy prices to historic lows. 

“Over the weekend, Jason Kenney laid off more than 20,000 hard-working Albertans who support students with complex needs,” Sabir said. “Educational assistants and school bus drivers should have kept their jobs, and the war room budget should be reduced to zero, permanently.”