Minimum wage meaningless to Kenney

Millionaire has no idea what it’s like living week to week, writes Irfan Sabir

Jason Kenney claimed on social media last week that he knows what it’s like to make minimum wage because he no longer collects his member of Parliament paycheque.

Kenney has been working in politics his entire adult life, and has collected more than $3 million in government salary along with expenses paid for by taxpayers. He can also look forward to a pension worth millions.

Since no longer being an MP, Kenney has been campaigning all around the province, wining and dining conservative elites, driving a new Dodge Ram to events and taking his backers out to dinner in fancy restaurants.

News flash: minimum wage workers don’t make millions; or have expense accounts and new trucks to roam around this province.

I know first-hand what it’s like trying to get by while making minimum wage.

For years, I worked at convenience stores and minimum wage jobs. It was hard work to pay my bills, make rent, and put food on the table — all of which was made even harder by the conservative government of the time that prided itself on having the lowest minimum wage in the country.

They were difficult times, but I was fortunate enough to go to school, only with the help of student loans and scholarships, and become a social worker and eventually a lawyer. In 2015, I decided it was time to run for office and try to give a hand up to those who come after me.

Today, I am a cabinet minister, and I am so proud to be part of a government that is bringing in a $15 minimum wage. I will never forget the hard work it took to get here and I know how hard people in Alberta work. Only by rewarding hard work with a fair wage can we open doors and opportunities.

The fact that Jason Kenney is saying his financial situation is like that of a minimum wage worker in Alberta shows just how out of touch he is. It’s a little rich for Jason Kenney to pretend he knows what it’s like to live on minimum wage when he has spent 20 years in Ottawa living well off his MP and cabinet minister salaries — all the while getting expenses paid for by taxpayers in Calgary, including those barely making their ends meet.

By all means, let’s have an honest discussion about why a higher minimum wage helps Alberta families put food on the table.

Let’s have an honest discussion about how we can grow the economy and see all Albertans share in the prosperity of this province.

But Jason Kenney should stop pretending he relates to someone who sold him that carton of milk in a convenience store. He doesn’t.

Only by rewarding hard work with a fair wage can we open doors and opportunities.