The appointment of a three person advisory panel by the NDP government to consult communities who will be devastated by a coal phase out shows the NDP only wants to pay lip service and has no regard for communities whose economies will be devastated, the Wildrose Official Opposition said today. The three panelists appointed to meet with affected coal communities are all closely related to the labour movement. Both Ritu Khullar and Ken Devaney have made donations to the NDP provincially and federally. Two of the panel members live out of province – Devaney in Toronto and Kerry Jothen in Vancouver. “Albertans deserve better than this group who have been hired to hand out pink slips, not listen to the concerns of residents who will see their local economy crash because of the rapid coal phase out proposed by the NDP,” Wildrose Shadow Electricity and Renewables Minister Don MacIntyre said. “Even when it comes to finding people to tell Albertans they will soon be out of a job because of NDP policy, this government goes out of province to find new hires who don’t understand what life in Alberta under the NDP is truly like.” Wildrose has urged for the NDP government to do no further harm during the current economic downturn, and to stick to the coal phase out targets developed by the federal government. “Our families, our friends and our fellow Albertans are losing their jobs and will be put under further economic stress because of the NDP government’s ideological plan related to coal,” Wildrose Shadow Energy Minister Leela Aheer said. “I have to wonder how everyday Albertans feel about a panel that will do nothing to help the struggling Albertans who are also facing the crunch of higher personal taxes and the fast approaching NDP carbon tax that will cost the typical family an extra $1000 per year when they can least afford it.”