NAPE opposes moving Crown lands office
It is unfortunate the province’s largest labour union opposes the decision to move Crown lands operations to Corner Brook, Advanced Education, Skills and Labour Minister Gerry Byrne says.
The provincial government announced the move last week as part of a reorganization of government departments.
The departmental shifting includes transferring the Crown lands office and about 40 employees from St. John’s to Corner Brook.
On Tuesday,
Jerry Earle, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE), issued a news release claiming the move makes no sense from a service delivery or cost perspective.
Earle, whose union represents affected workers in the department, said in the release that none of those affected workers understand the decision.
The move will make it more difficult for professions that rely on the services provided by the office — lawyers, real estate agents, title searchers and surveyors — and this has the potential to lead to increased costs and delays for the public, Earle said.
Byrne, who is the Liberal MHA for Corner Brook, said the decision is not only about stimulating the economy of western Newfoundland by bringing these jobs to the region. He said it also makes sense to have this office located near the offices of the assistant deputy ministers responsible for agriculture, forestry and wildlife, all of which are in Corner Brook.
“The move of (Crown) lands service to Corner Brook completes a natural, pre-existing synergy,” said Byrne. “It just balances it out.”
As for the jobs being moved across the island, Earle said the union’s members have been given little information since the announcement was made, and that has created a lot of stress.
Byrne said there will be other opportunities for anyone who opts not to make the move.
“There are always emerging job opportunities in a public sector the size of Newfoundland and Labrador’s,” the minister said.
Anyone who doesn’t move to Corner Brook means another job opportunity opening up on the west coast, Byrne added.