Stop covering up our Economic Crisis and DEAL WITH IT
Rural Newfoundland and Labrador is near death while the government shops for band-aids all over the planet. Our fishery and fishing communities have and are collapsing due to inaction by this administration.
Danny took the time to write Stephane Dion a day after his election to leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of the Official Opposition in Ottawa when he has yet to act on the promises in writing he has from the current Conservative PM.
We are looking at a population in our schools of about 50,000 children and youth within a number of years. This represents the death of our province and an inability to finance the necessary services required for the remaining population which will comprise mostly of retired and elderly people.
The time for bragging about artificially favourable employment figures is over - and we cannot allow ourselves to be seen as a joke by other jurisdictions in the country and beyond. We are counting people who have left to find work but maintain a residence here - the Finance Minister does not talk about the lost income taxes as people working away take advantage of a lower tax base in other provinces - especially Alberta - he is not talking about the loss in federal monies which are subject to per-capita calculations.
You want to see what I'm talking about? We need the real information and what it says about Newfoundland and Labrador - what is says to people who want to invest in retail and the consumer sector in our province - what is says to industrial potential when our skilled people have moved to Ontario - Europe - or the USA.
And what does the Federal Government think?
Well here's a quote from Philip Cross - Chief of Economic Analysis - Statistics Canada - in a Globe and Mail story.
“We've scratched our heads for decades in this country about what to do about the chronic double-digit unemployment in the Atlantic provinces. And it turns out, the answer was: Fire up growth in Alberta”.
If we do not take the necessary action to deal with the crisis in the fishery - by suing the feds - and if we insist on exporting our hydropower - we will witness - in our lifetime - the death of Newfoundland and Labrador.
1 comment:
I just read the article that appeared in the Globe and Mail contained within your blog. I am now more enlightened as to why all the people from Atlantic Canada, especially Newfoundland and Labrador are making a mad dash for Alberta. It was a scheme cooked up in Ottawa. The article states: “We've scratched our heads for decades in this country about what to do about the chronic double-digit unemployment in the Atlantic provinces. And it turns out, the answer was: Fire up growth in Alberta,” commented Philip Cross, chief of economic analysis at Statistics Canada.
My question, is this the reason for the fallow fields in Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil reserves? Is this the reason Prime Minister Harper does not want to change legislation on fallow fields because it will cause problems with Alberta’s labour market? Otherwise he is saying keep NL's offshore oil in a state of inertia then more people will have to pull up stakes in NL and go find work in Alberta. Yes, keep it in a state of inertia so that Alberta can benefit. Also, I think the other plan is that the Lower Churchill Hydroelectric Energy, must be developed for the benefit of Ontario so that Ontario can once again create more jobs, so that its population does not have to go to Alberta?
Why couldn't the same plan hatched for Alberta's resources been hatched for Newfoundland and Labrador?
Post a Comment