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December 17, 1997
(Executive Council)

The following statement was issued today by Beaton Tulk. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Yesterday the Honourable Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Human Resources Development for Canada, made a significant announcement regarding the TAGS Program. This announcement comprised three main points:

Firstly, he announced that the current EI attachment rules, which were due to expire on December 31, have been extended until the end of the TAGS Program. This means that TAGS recipients will be eligible for Employment Insurance benefits on the basis that they are currently active within the labour market. This is a very fair approach, and one which our province has strongly advocated.

Secondly, it was indicated that Eugene Harrigan will be reporting on his findings related to TAGS in early January and that his report would be made public. Mr. Harrigan has been appointed by HRDC to report on the impact of the TAGS Program and the implications of its pending termination for the Atlantic region.

Finally, and most importantly, Mr. Pettigrew announced that the federal government will be continuing the TAGS Program until the end of August 1998, rather than the previously scheduled termination date of May 1998. This is very encouraging in that it provides adequate time for the federal government to fully assess Mr. Harrigan's report and that of MP George Baker and the Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. In the interim, income benefits will continue for many TAGS clients for an additional period of time. It also demonstrates that the federal government is taking the TAGS issue very seriously.

I believe that the reports from Mr. Harrigan and Mr. Baker will clearly demonstrate the devastating impact that the groundfish resource crisis has had on families and communities in Atlantic Canada, and most especially in Newfoundland and Labrador. It will also be very evident to the federal government that an appropriate replacement program for TAGS is absolutely essential to the continued viability of our coastal communities and regional economies.

Yesterday's announcement by the federal Minister of Human Resources Development provides us with a measure of assurance that the federal government is taking the necessary steps to properly address this continuing crisis, and in the words of the federal minister himself, "find a forward-looking solution to the post TAGS situation".