Rachel Notley has refused to condemn a website launched by by an affiliated union urging a boycott of struggling Alberta businesses who support the UCP..Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Jason Kenny has attacked the move by the Alberta Federation of Labour..“I think that if folks are going to engage their money to use third-party organizations to attack the rights of working people, then the conversation needs to be wide open,” Notley said at a Tuesday press conference..While not addressing the allegation directly despite several questions, Notley noted there are thousands of Alberta businesses struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic..But she said the NDP has the only party with a plan to help businesses.. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .Kenney took aim at the boycott campaign, saying businesses should not be targeted by a “smear campaign” because of their political beliefs..“Unsurprisingly, most businesses and most business groups support free enterprise policies,” Kenney said Tuesday..“To say that supporting that position should put you in the crosshairs of a smear campaign, a bully campaign . . . I think is un-Albertan.”.The AFL site has a list of dozens of businesses across Alberta who have donated from $500 to tens of thousands of dollars to UCP Political Action Committees..“Why should a nurse, a teacher or a firefighter buy a car from an auto dealer who wants them to be fired or have their wages cut? Why should Albertans who believe in a strong public health care system and a strong public education system patronize a business that is cheerleading cuts and privatization? Why should workers spend their hard-earned money in establishments run by people who want to suppress their wages, eliminate their overtime, silence their voices and limit their rights?” said AFL president Gil McGowan..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
