Thread by @KevinCTV

NEW: Premier Kenney says 12 frontline health care workers will be able to watch the Edmonton Oilers' playoff game in person tonight.

https://twitter.com/CTVCalgary/status/1395092057287503877

Premier Kenney is preannouncing the ALberta Jobs Now program. He says it'll help 22,000 unemployed Albertans get back into the workforce, and is the province's biggest re-training program ever.

The program will help employers hire up to 20 new workers. It will cost the province $136 million over three years. The feds are also contributing

Minister of Labour and Immigration Jason Copping is up now. He corrects the funding total announced in the newest budget. It's actually $185M from the province, matched by the feds.

It's essentially a grant program. Employers get their first check on week 12 and their last on week 52. The idea is to create long term jobs.

Employers can apply starting TOMORROW:

alberta.ca/alberta-jobs-n…

Employers can get up to $25,000 per new employee, up to 20 per company.

There is an extra incentive in the program to hire people living with disabilities. Employers who hire persons with disabilities will receive a grant 1.5 times higher than the amount they receive for other new employees.

There are two hiring windows:
May 20 - Aug. 31
Sept. 15 - Dec. 31

The portal opens tomorrow at 9 a.m.

alberta.ca/alberta-jobs-n…

Q: How will you ensure companies use this to hire new people they wouldn't otherwise?

A: Minister Copping says the program is meant to create new jobs, but doesn't offer any specifics for how that will be enforced.

"The best last barrel of oil will come from Alberta in Canada," Premier says when asked about the new IEA report which calls for no new investment in energy projects.

Kenney says new investment is coming back to Alberta oil companies. He says the companies are now doing well

Premier Kenney was asked about outbreaks at oilsands camps. Kenney says the outbreaks came from international travel, for which he says the federal government is responsible. He says the oil companies are doing a good job keeping people safe.

Kenney was asked how anyone could trust the Steve Allan inquiry when it has been delayed 4 times.

Kenney blames Eco Justice's lawsuit for delaying the process.

Kenney says public inquiries never come in on time and this is normal.

On paid sick leave:

"That would impose another massive cost on employers, many who are barely surviving right now," Kenney says.

Kenney calls paid sick leave a "job killing policy."