The following statement was issued today by Joan Marie Aylward, Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Today I stand to update my colleagues on the $23 million Northern Coastal Labrador Strategic Initiative announced in March of this year, for the five communities of Nain, Hopedale, Rigolet, Makkovik and Postville. Approximately $8 million of this initiative has been allocated for a housing component with another $6 million for roads, and $9 million for water and sewer servicing.

Our government recognized the need to provide and upgrade basic infrastructure in these communities to meet current needs and respond to future growth. This work is being done in partnership with the Departments of Municipal and Provincial Affairs and Works, Services and Transportation and with the help of my colleagues, Ernie McLean, Minister of Government Services and Lands, Rick Woodford, Mnister of Works, Services and Transportation and Wally Andersen, MHA-Torngat Mountains.

The coordination of the initiative and consultation with communities has been overseen by a strategic initiative team. The team is chaired by a representative of Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation and includes senior regional officials from Municipal and Provincial Affairs and Works, Services and Transportation. The continued commitment and partnership of the local communities in the development and the delivery of this project has also been a crucial factor in enabling the project to move forward this quickly.

While time constraints meant that year one focussed on the delivery of basic family housing, the next two years will provide an opportunity for additional consultation in the community to best meet the needs of residents. I am very pleased to advise that in its first year, the housing component of this initiative has provided 18 families with new homes and another 57 families have undertaken repairs and renovations to their homes. Construction began in August 2000, and completion of the new houses and the majority of renovations is expected within a week.

The focus on new homes was in Nain this year, where 10 houses were constructed. Home repairs were emphasized in the other communities. Over the three-year life of the initiative, we expect that about 65 new houses will be built and approximately 125 homes will be renovated..

Within the next few weeks, we expect meetings to take place for the planning of the housing program, for years two and three. A plan for year two will be presented for approval to the Advisory Committee early in the new year, along with preliminary plans for year three. In addition to family housing, it is hoped that we will be in a position, in consultation with the community, to address special needs requirements such as seniors and other groups.

In the community of Makkovik, almost 15 kilometres of road work was completed this year. A contract for 8.7 kilometres of local road upgrading in Nain has been awarded and work has begun. Next year road work in Nain and Makkovik will be completed. In addition, the design work is in place to call tenders for the remaining $3.0 million of work to upgrade local roads in the three communities of Postville, Rigolet and Hopedale

This year, $3.0 million was spent on water and sewer services, with minor clean-up and restoration work remaining for next year. This funding has provided for new serviced lots in four communities including: 17 in Nain; 24 in Hopedale; 20 in Rigolet and 10 in Makkovik.

Engineering work for next year�s projects has been commissioned and is proceeding to allow an early tender call and start of construction next spring. This work will allow for the construction of new serviced lots and houses, especially in Hopedale and Nain. We expect that an additional 20 new serviced lots can be provided for Hopedale, 10 for Nain, 10 for Rigolet, 10 for Makkovik, and five for Postville.

Through the Northern Coastal Labrador Strategic Initiative, approximately $7 million has been spent in the area this year. This has provided much needed infrastructure and this initiative will continue over the next two years. This initiative has also created numerous employment opportunities for the local construction industry, generated a variety of associated spin-off jobs and stimulated economic activity in these Labrador communities. We look forward to a continued partnership with these five communities over the next two year as we improve infrastructure to the benefit of the residents.

2000 12 14 1:55 p.m.