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George Sweeney, MHA for the District of Carbonear-Harbour Grace and
Opposition Critic for Government Services, says the loss of employment
insurance processing services is another unfortunate and unnecessary cut in
services to his district and he is calling upon all levels of government to
intervene to protect the service and associated job losses. Personnel at
the Harbour Grace Service Canada centre were advised on May 15th,
2006, that the federal government intends to immediately consolidate this
service with four other centres in the province, including St. John’s,
Gander, Corner Brook and Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The eclipse of this public
service is not sitting well with union members as they participated today in
a lunchtime demonstration to protest the announcement.
" I fully support the staff in their request to government to reverse the
loss of these scarce federal jobs in the district. Furthermore, I am calling
upon my provincial and federal counterparts to join me in a show of support
for this area and the people and services affected. Rural Newfoundland and
Labrador is being forced to make yet another sacrifice and it is not fair,
nor acceptable. We cannot stand by without voicing our concern and passively
allow this decline in service to take place. More than ever, with the lack
of job opportunities in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, we need this
essential service.
"Understandably, staff are not only concerned about the relocation of
this service, but what it will mean to them personally in terms of their own
employment opportunity with the federal government. While they have been
reassured they will not lose their current positions at this time, such
positions are slated to be eventually phased out through attrition and
demographics. Any career advancement cannot be attained through the Harbour
Grace office unless staff accepts positions at one of the four centres
across the province. There is much uncertainty and upheaval surrounding this
announcement, not only for the district but for those personnel who work at
the office.
"I will strongly be making my views known to the Harper Government on
this vital matter and I am encouraging the Progressive Conservative members
to do the same. The prime minister may have referred to Atlantic Canadians
as a culture of defeatists, but ironically he is now defeating himself and
his rural constituents with his government’s insensitive cost-cutting
measures."
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