EDMONTON — Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has called for individuals to stop using "brain-dead flag politics," claiming that Alberta’s flag should not be tarnished amid the Alberta independence movement. According to Kenney, individuals "smeared the beautiful and historic Red Ensign," adopted the Canadian flag as part of the Freedom Convoy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lowered Canada's flag for six months "in a humiliating ritual of national abasement," and now the Albert flag is under attack. "All of this reflects the sad contemporary tendency to infect everything with politics," wrote Kenney in an X post on Thursday. "But flags are pre-political. They are unifying symbols designed to be a focal point of common loyalty and devotion. Let's treat them that way.".Kenney's post came in response to a thread by Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan, who was commenting on a story about United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 401 filing a grievance against Sobeys Inc. over its use of the Alberta flag to promote Alberta-made products."I took this picture this morning in the Safeway where I shop," wrote McGowan in an X post. "As a long-time, loyal customer, I want @sobeys to know that I’m not happy. They can’t pretend that they don’t know what they’re doing."Sobeys claims it is its policy to use flags to show a product's origin and promote local goods."It is a simple hard truth that the Alberta flag has become a symbol of the Alberta Independence Movement," reads the online document released by the union that represents the stores' workers in Alberta. "The effect of Employer’s conduct is to politicize the workplace, stigmatize its business, and associate the enterprise with the Independence Movement. This is embarrassing and hurtful to employees." .Sobeys’ situation is one of numerous conflicts that have arisen in Alberta as the Alberta independence movement has grown. A political storm brewed around the Sundre Pro Rodeo parade in June, sparked by an initial decision to deny entry to a float decorated with Alberta flags, but the committee later reversed the decision after determining that something could be "pro-Alberta" without being "pro-independence." Despite overturning the decision, parade organizers said volunteers continued to face harassment over the float, which prompted them to eventually cancel the event.
