NDP Innovation, Business & Rural Development critic Christopher Mitchelmore (MHA, The Straits-White Bay North) says government’s lack of vision is contributing to low employment rates in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. Mitchelmore brought his concerns to the House of Assembly today.
“This government claims there will be 70,000 job openings in the next few years, yet operates without a plan. This failure to create a climate for opportunity is harming rural Newfoundland and Labrador,” he said. “When asked about rural successes, this Government repeatedly points to the Coast of Bays and their investment in the many wharves that created hundreds of jobs.
“I ask the Minister of Natural Resources, when will his department see the value in maintaining hundreds of long-term forestry and potential mining jobs on the Great Northern Peninsula by investing in one wharf in Roddickton-Bide Arm?”
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Mitchelmore says a bureaucratic delay at the Department of Advanced Education and Skills will cause harmful delays in staffing for the opening of the season for tourism operators.
“Employment applications made for targeted wage workplace skills enhancement and others are told to wait until the end of May, while a new application is developed,” he said. “It is a critical time for tourism providers to add employees to a billion-dollar industry; this poorly-planned change is discouraging.
“Will the Minister of AES reduce employer barriers by permitting the use of the old application until the new one is fully implemented?”
