Delegates vote during the UCP AGM this weekend in Calgary. (The Canadian Press/Dave Chidley)

By The Canadian Press and Josh Hall

UCP AGM

NDP refutes claim the UCP is keeping its promises

Dec 1, 2019 | 4:21 PM

CALGARY – Alberta’s premier says the Opposition and union leaders are treating public sector cuts as though they are the arrival of the apocalypse.

But Jason Kenney says his United Conservative government is taking a much more measured approach to trimming its budget than former premier Ralph Klein did in the 1990s.

He says the Klein-era cuts were based on arbitrary targets and many had to be undone later.

“Day after day we are keeping our promises,” said Kenney. “We are focused relentlessly on jobs, the economy, and pipelines. Our team is acting with unprecedented speed to get Alberta back to work, to make life better for Albertans, and to stand up for our province.”

A day earlier hundreds of protesters gathered in the cold outside the airport hotel to speak out against education and health-care job losses.

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Some in the crowd were chanting about a general strike, but Kenney says he doubts Albertans would take kindly to such a move when public sector workers have fared relatively well in recent years.

Meantime, the opposition NDP announced Sunday that they are demanding an emergency debate over the UCP’s plan to cut what they describe as 5,150 frontline public health care positions.

“During budget debate, I sat with the Minister of Health for six hours and not once did he mention that he would be cutting thousands of badly needed public health-care workers,” says NDP Opposition Health Critic David Shepherd.

“The Premier promised to protect public health care. He signed a guarantee in front of the TV cameras. He has now broken that promise.”

(with files from The Canadian Press)