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Premier Rachel Notley accused United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney on Tuesday of looking to make life harder for young minimum-wage workers and those in the service industry if he’s elected.

Notley spoke to members of the Rotary Club of Calgary during a luncheon at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel, where she responded to comments made by Kenney earlier that day in Edmonton.

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Speaking to restaurant owners, Kenney said that if his party wins power it would seriously consider bringing in changes to reduce the minimum wage for youth and for alcohol servers.

“The truth is the NDP raising wages during the middle of a recession, including on teenagers in entry level positions, was a massive job killer,” Kenney told reporters.

“I think there’s a very compelling case to do what many other provinces do, which is to have a youth employment rate that encourages employers to hire those teenagers for their first job. These are young people who — often it’s their first job — they require a lot of training and supervision. They do not require a living wage because they are, in almost every case, dependents, and what they really want is a job.”