ALBERTA’S UCP AMONG PARTIES SEEKING WAGE AID

EDMONTON • Alberta’s United Conservative Party says it is applying for the federal wage subsidy program during the COVID-19 pandemic while the Opposition NDP says it is holding off.

Party spokesman Evan Menzies says it is the best option for its workers with the locked-down economy leading to reduction in fundraising opportunities.

“We have lost fundraising events in our 2020 calendar due to the restrictions on gatherings,” Menzies says in a statement.

“Rather than fire staff, we plan to apply for the temporary federal program, like thousands of other businesses and non-profits have across the country, to help maintain our eight staff and the families that rely on them.

“The alternative was laying off staff and putting those individuals on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)/Employment Insurance.”

NDP provincial secretary Brandon Stevens says the NDP also has eight staffers.

“Our team has worked hard since mid-March to make sure that our fundraising respects the very real health and economic anxieties of Albertans,” Stevens says in a statement.

“To date, we have met our fundraising goals and have not had to apply for the federal wage subsidy or the federal rental assistance program.

“We continue to closely monitor our fundraising so that, if needed, we can make adjustments to keep staff employed and maintain our operations.”

Alberta’s UCP, led by Jason Kenney, won the provincial election in the spring of 2019, but finished the year with a $2.3-million deficit and net liabilities of $1.1 million.

The NDP, the only other party with members in the legislature, recorded a surplus of almost $750,000 in 2019 with net liabilities of close to $377,000.

In Manitoba, the governing PCs and the Opposition NDP say they have not applied for the benefit. nor has the Saskatchewan Party nor the Opposition NDP.