November 25, 1999
(Development and Rural Renewal)

The following statement was issued today by Beaton Tulk, Minister of Development and Rural Renewal. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

I am pleased today to update members of the House of Assembly on the progress of the Cabinet Committee on Jobs and Growth, which began public consultations in October. We are undertaking a broad-based public consultation to renew the province's economic agenda.

I am delighted to inform the House that to date we have heard from close to 200 individuals and groups. Upwards of 1,300 people have attended the public forums in Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Harbour Breton, Marystown, St. Anthony, Corner Brook, Port aux Basques, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador City-Wabush, Whitbourne, New-Wes-Valley, Clarenville, and St. John's.

In fact, public interest has been so high that we had to add meetings in Gander, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Stephenville and St. John's. In the St. John's area, four meetings have been added to our original schedule to accommodate all the people who wanted to make presentations to the committee. We held an extra meeting in St. John's just last night and two more will be held on December 2 and 9. Another will be held in Mount Pearl on December 8. We also extended our schedule to meet public demand for a meeting in Stephenville. That will be held on November 27.

The committee has been hearing from people representing a broad range of sectors and interests. People are taking the process seriously, they are eager to participate, and we are getting constructive advice on how to build on our economic momentum and community strengths.

The jobs and growth consultation will continue this month and into December with a series of sectoral forums. These round-table discussions will engage key stakeholders in major sectors of our economy to explore their unique challenges and opportunities. Sectoral forums will cover the following areas: manufacturing, advanced technology industries (including information technology), fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, cultural industries, mining, forestry, agrifoods, and the petroleum industry.

As chair of the Cabinet Committee on Jobs and Growth, I want to thank all those who have made presentations to date and who have attended the forums. I also want to thank my Cabinet colleagues and area MHAs who joined me and who have heard from so many.

There is tremendous optimism for the future and this shows wherever the committee has traveled. There is confidence among our people that we have turned the corner economically and that we are capitalizing on the opportunities before us. As our "friends" at the Globe and Mail recently reported, "the Rock is on a roll".

We are creating more jobs than ever before. Our economic growth rate is leading the nation. Investment is up. Exports are growing. Out-migration is slowing.

But we still have a way to go and we fully acknowledge that point. That is why the work of the Cabinet Committee on Jobs and Growth is so important. We will be reviewing carefully all the views, advice and suggestions we have heard and, after thorough analysis, use that input to move the economy of this province forward even further.

The momentum is building and we must all work together to ensure that momentum continues to secure our future together.

1999 11 25                                         2:30 p.m.