Leaders answer key questions
The St. John’s Board of Trade sent four questions to the leaders of three political parties on issues of importance to the business community. Here is the first question, and the leaders’ responses.
The St. John’s Board of Trade sent four questions to the leaders of three political parties on issues of importance to the business community. The first question dealt with population. Read what they have to say.
Premier Paul Davis, Progressive Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
Does your party consider population growth a priority?
Yes
If yes, and if elected, what initiatives would your party implement to grow and sustain the working age population of Newfoundland and Labrador?
The PC Party has a plan to grow the population in Newfoundland and Labrador. On June 25, under Premier Davis’ leadership, our government released a new Population Growth Strategy, a multifaceted plan to grow the population through a range of initiatives involving all sectors of government and the economy. Entitled “Live Here, Work Here, Belong Here”, this strategy describes specific initiatives to encourage and enable individuals and families to choose Newfoundland and Labrador as their home. The details are online at “www.gov.nl.ca/populationgrowth”.
Our Population Growth Strategy is composed of four action plans, which focus respectively on workforce, families, communities and immigration. We are driving its implementation with funding of $29 million over the next five years. The strategy is forward-looking and far-reaching, with a lifespan stretching over a decade to 2025.
The PC Party has also launched the Home for Good campaign to help create awareness of the opportunities to live and work in Newfoundland and Labrador. Our vision is to encourage people to choose Newfoundland and Labrador as their home and to support the long-term sustainability of our communities and regions. We will work with our community partners and make important investments that support family-friendly communities, economic and community development, and encourage population growth.
Newfoundland and Labrador has the lowest tuition fees in the country, making our postsecondary education system the most affordable and accessible, while maintaining the high quality. The strategy includes measures to help and encourage international students and graduates to remain in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The PC Party will build on the investments of the past decade by expanding child care access, improving health care and education, keeping tax rates competitive for families and employers, driving economic growth in all regions through strategic investments in energy, fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, R&D and other growth sectors.
Dwight Ball, Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
Does your party consider population growth a priority?
Yes
If yes, and if elected, what initiatives would your party implement to grow and sustain the working age population of Newfoundland and Labrador?
We recognize to grow the economy we need to expand and sustain our base of working-age people. Building a stronger, more diversified economy is at the core of the Liberal policy platform. That combined with specific policies centered on people and our province’s overall competitiveness will drive business growth and job creation. In turn it will help in attracting and retaining qualified working-age people and their families to our province.
We will take action on labour force development through initiatives such as our youth entrepreneurship retention program. The program will encourage innovation, providing an incentive for youth to stay home, invest here, and build businesses and stable careers. This will support succession planning as many of our local business operators age.
Youth unemployment is an important issue and supporting more young people to be entrepreneurs is not enough. We also need to help our youth enhance their skill-sets through adult education and apprenticeship programs. Many young people are worried about their future, and we will make it a priority to help them by opening as many career paths as possible.
Putting into place a comprehensive human resources plan will help us build a local workforce with the skills needed for jobs available now and in the future. This plan goes hand-inhand with an aggressive immigration strategy to help recruit and retain people who also have the skills and qualifications needed to build our economy. It has been well-documented that we must increase our immigration levels to sustain the current population base and to foster growth. We will also create a recruitment strategy to encourage expatriate Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to return home.
Our focus on population growth will include familyfriendly polices such as improving the availability and affordability of childcare, and policies that support women in the labour force.
Recently, Atlantic Canada’s provincial Liberal Party Leaders met to discuss population renewal from a regional perspective. Recognizing that this is a priority for the region highlights an opportunity for regional cooperation focused on the attraction and retention of expatriates and newcomers.
Earle McCurdy, Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party
Does your party consider population growth a priority?
Yes
If yes, and if elected, what initiatives would your party implement to grow and sustain the working age population of Newfoundland and Labrador?
The New Democratic Party believes it is vital to develop a vibrant economy with a satisfactory quality of life for all our citizens. Population growth will be a key part of any future economic plan, and critical to addressing the province’s rapidly aging population.
The latest Labour Market Outlook indicates 64,000 job openings during the next decade; a full third of those new positions will be in the retail and service industry, traditionally low-waged and precarious.
New Democrats would not continue the current government’s five-year attrition plan for the public service. Cutting the public sector by not hiring new employees to replace retirees and other departures hurts our province in three ways:
1. The loss of stable, relatively well-paying jobs from an economy facing a serious downturn;
2. The loss of employment opportunities for new graduates and young people, resulting in their departure from our province, possibly permanently;
3. Diminished government services. There is little slack left to cut in the public service, so fewer workers mean longer waiting times for services such as permits and inspections, and slower response times in general.
New Democrats believe in supporting our tradespeople and the companies that employ them with practical measures. Government could hire more apprentices, giving these learners the chance to work towards journeyperson certification.
Universal, affordable childcare is also a key NDP objective. The NDP has a plan to work with the federal NDP to develop affordable, low cost universal child care for the province. This approach is a proven economic stimulus. Canadian studies show that $1.49 to $2.78 in economic activity has been generated for every dollar spent on childcare.
Low cost, universal child care also encourages young people to raise families, while freeing more people (primarily women) to enter the workforce.
Keeping post-secondary tuition low contributes to population growth. Lower tuition encourages local youth to stay, and attracts thousands to come here every year; many remain after graduation to live and work in the province.
Encouraging immigration is another key NDP priority for population growth. Immigration brings much-needed labour to the province, while enriching the economy and society.