NOTE TO EDITORS:

Government, labour and business leaders have scheduled their second Strategic Partnership Forum for Tuesday, June 4 at Holiday Inn in St. John�s.

Premier Roger Grimes will chair the full-day session.

As the result of initial discussions held during the first forum in March, working groups of business, labour and government representatives were established to review specific issues that would be discussed in more substantive detail at subsequent forums.

One of the issues addressed by the working groups will be the subject for discussion at the forum on June 4: the federal equalization program and its impacts on Newfoundland and Labrador.

Premier Grimes and spokespersons for labour and business will be available to speak to media about 4 p.m. in Salon A. Media will be advised of any change to the time.

Media contacts:

Carl Cooper, Office of the Premier (709) 729-3960
Josephine Cheeseman, Industry Trade and Rural Development (709) 729-4570
Lana Payne, communications contact for labour (709) 576-7276
Richard Alexander, communications contact for business (709) 368-6576

BACKGROUNDER

In January 2002, government, business and labour announced a strategic partnership initiative that has evolved over the past two years. The initiative is designed to foster a collaborative, consensus-building approach to advancing the socio-economic interests of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Strategic Partnership Forum is the core of the new partnership initiative. The forum is a semi-annual meeting among labour, business and government leaders, to be chaired by Premier Roger Grimes. The forums are designed to improve communication among major players in the economy. They will also serve as a vehicle for sharing and developing common perspectives on the performance of the economy and for identifying key areas where business, labour and government need to work together to address specific opportunities and challenges in the economy.

Earlier collaborative approaches to economic challenges have resulted in joint solutions on key issues. The Strategic Partnership Forum builds on the encouraging results of the Workers� Compensation Task Force and the review of the Labour Standards Act.

The concept of a government-business-labour partnership to advance the economy was raised during government�s public consultations on the Renewal Strategy for Jobs and Growth. Business and labour leaders across the province consistently advised government of their interest in exploring a more cooperative approach on economic issues. In response, government brought together a team of senior business, labour and government leaders to explore new models of cooperation. The group reviewed partnership models in several countries, including Iceland, Ireland and the Netherlands, to see how this challenge has been successfully approached in these jurisdictions. The strategic partnership initiative agreed to by the three parties and announced in January 2002 has the benefit of experience and lessons learned in other jurisdictions, but is a "made-in-Newfoundland-and-Labrador" initiative to suit the province�s particular needs.

2002 06 03                             4:10 p.m.