NOTLEY CALLS ON UCP TO PROVIDE REAL RELAUNCH SUPPORTS FOR BUSINESS

EDMONTON – Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley issued the following statement following the announcement that Phase 1 relaunch will be slower in Calgary and Brooks:

“Today’s announcement that Calgary and Brooks will enter Phase 1 more slowly is disappointing for many particularly those who live in Calgary. I feel for the Calgarians who were given a reopening date prematurely by Jason Kenney. There are going to a lot of business owners who were expecting to reopen. There are a lot of restaurants that stocked up on food and may now have to watch it spoil.

“Over the past two weeks, we have heard from hundreds of Alberta businesses that feel left behind by this UCP government. While they are anxious to greet customers, start earning revenue and return to some level of normal operations, many are hesitant and feel unprepared to open their doors immediately. There are still serious cash flow problems, safety concerns and unanswered questions. The UCP government still has not provided any support to help small businesses struggling with the cost of reopening their doors and meeting safety guidelines.

“Our NDP Caucus supports reopening our economy but we have to be smarter. We shouldn’t be working backwards from an arbitrary date and pressuring businesses to figure it out on their own, incurring additional costs in the process. We need a successful relaunch that makes everyone feel confident and safe, not a scrambled relaunch where no one knows whether they are open or closed. We can’t have businesses opening just to have a ‘going out of business’ sale. The UCP says they’ve done enough but they’re clearly not listening to the hundreds of Alberta businesses who feel unprepared and unsupported. Jason Kenney must do better.”