Reminder: conservatives are hoping to reverse a century of progress. We came out of the Great Depression with the beginning of a social safety net and a middle class. Cons want us to come out of this crisis without any of that. They see this as an opportunity....
... and they don't care what damage it causes. In Ab, Kenney pushed through a budget based on fantasy, because he NEEDS those government jobs gone. He needs those people brought low and desperate. He needs education and healthcare privatized. It's what he's being paid to do.
It's also what modern conservatism needs. A well educated population sees through the lies of trickle down economics, and sees through the racism that conservatism uses to rile up its base. When you hear cons talk about how educators are "liberal" this is what they really mean.
Let me be upfront about this and say that Kenney is not likely to apologize. The wording was very specifically chosen, designed to appeal to two types of conservative voters.
Their reflexive dislike for anyone other than themselves means they have no sympathy for people suffering from addiction.
These are the guys fed a steady diet of Fox, The Sun, and in some cases, Ezra and other like-minded rw grifters and goons.
These are also the very same people who sneer at the poor, the unemployed, and really, anyone who is having a tough time. It all boils down to "you're not my problem" or "it's tough all over" or, all too often "if I'm suffering for something, you should also feel pain."