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Labrador not benefiting significantly
from Northern Strategic Plan Yvonne Jones, Opposition Critic for Labrador Affairs and MHA for the District of Cartwright-L'Anse Au Clair, says that the strategic plan introduced by the provincial government to boost Labrador's viability as a region will not contribute significantly to growth and development as government is trying to advance. Government announced today that they will invest $250 million over five years to support the plan, but only $55 million will be spent for new initiatives. "While it is always good to see the injection of new funding in Labrador, when you consider that there is very little new money, it would hardly be considered a substantial boost to our fortunes," says Jones. The Liberal MHA points out that most of the new funding is over a five year period and when broken down, amounts to a little over $10 million per year. "This is equivalent to only 20 per cent of the new money government is receiving on the sale of recall power alone. Where is the other $40 million government is making on the backs of Labradorians? Outside the construction of two new schools and money for the Them Days Archives, what you see is a carrying forward with grants and subsidies that are already in place for this region." Jones says that the $1.6 million allocated towards the annual electricity rebate for home owners using diesel generated power in rural isolated communities is an example of a highly insufficient investment. "Any effort to reduce the high energy costs on the coast of Labrador is always appreciated; however, this small amount is disappointing and will do very little for consumers. It will mean a savings of pennies on their monthly bill. I hope this is not an attempt to buy support for a Lower Churchill development, since it falls short of addressing the real issue of high diesel costs and does not come close to addressing the demands of the people along the coast. "I was also disappointed that there was no community infrastructure announced. The people of Labrador deserve road upgrades and water and sewer that are on par with other areas of the province. Further, there was no economical stability plan announced for Labrador communities, nor any job creation plan to address increasing unemployment and outmigration in our region. "Overall, for government to term this a strong commitment towards meeting social and economic needs is certainly over inflating their diligence to Labrador. Like most rural areas of the province, Labrador could have used a mightier involvement of government's commitment and investment than this latest weak show."
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