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Lower wages for youth and a minister of de-regulation could be in the cards for Alberta if the United Conservative Party wins a provincial election in 2019.

Bits and pieces of the official Opposition’s platform continue to leak into the public sphere, including these plans outlined by leader Jason Kenney at a recent Calgary Chamber of Commerce speech.

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Swift changes to avoid opposition

Kenney said the UCP will hire people to draft orders in council for cabinet to adopt the week it’s sworn in if the UCP wins. One of the key elements of structural reform, Kenney said, “is to move quickly.”

“Speed creates its own momentum. It also makes it harder for the opponents of reform to obstruct it,” he said.

Kenney said he doesn’t want to get “bogged down” with public consultation, so his party is doing as much as it can now “on the big issues.”

Minimum wage changes

Kenney said the UCP would freeze minimum wage increases (the NDP recently increased it to $15 per hour). He would also consider restructuring the minimum wage to something that resembles the age-graduated system used in Australia, in which youth get paid less than adults.