Premier Rachel Notley says the Opposition’s proposal to return Alberta to a flat tax on income would deliver hundreds of millions of dollars to higher-income earners at the expense of everyone else.
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Notley says it speaks volumes that United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney is expressing concerns about increases to the minimum wage while his party considers a tax plan to aid the well-to-do.
She says if Kenney was in the theatre as a kid watching “Robin Hood,” he was the only one who thought it was a scary movie.
Notley made the comments as she weighed in on media stories in Calgary about the viability of restaurants, with some owners blaming NDP policies such as the minimum wage increase for shutting their doors.
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Notley says it’s a traditionally volatile industry and that, overall, restaurant openings are up, sales receipts are up and restaurant employment is growing.
The owner of the upscale Bears Den restaurant near Calgary is blaming Notley’s policies for his closing at the end of the month, but Notley says she questions any business model that rejects minimum wage hikes while having an $85 steak on the menu.