KENNEY LAYS OFF 428 FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE HEROES AMID THIRD WAVE

EDMONTON - Premier Jason Kenney is pushing 428 frontline healthcare workers into unemployment in the middle of a deadly pandemic and economic crisis.

“It’s truly disgusting that Kenney and Tyler Shandro are destroying these Albertans’ jobs after they have put themselves and their families at risk to keep our hospitals operating through the COVID pandemic,” said David Shepherd, NDP Critic for Health. “Kenney and Shandro have always tried to deny their plans to lay off Alberta’s health care heroes, but today the proof is in the pink slips.”

In a statement today, Alberta Health Services said 428 employees would be impacted by their decision to contract out laundry work.

“These Albertans are mostly women, mostly rural, and mostly people of colour,” Shepherd said. “They have been changing and cleaning bed linens through the most difficult and dangerous time in Alberta’s history, and this is the thanks they get from Kenney and the UCP. They will either be left unemployed, or forced to reapply to do the same job for less money for a private company.

“This move will pull money out of family budgets and out of rural communities at the worst possible time. Kenney’s agenda of Americanization is bad for our healthcare and bad for our economy.”