I rise today to inform this honourable house that the Premier will be travelling to Happy Valley-Goose Bay on Wednesday to host a roundtable discussion on the proposed Gull Island project.

I will chair this discussion, and we�ll be joined by my parliamentary secretary, the MHA for Torngat Mountains, Wally Andersen, as well as Cartwright-L�Anse au Clair MHA Yvonne Jones and the MHA for Labrador West, Randy Collins. This will be an in-camera session, by invitation, and will include community leaders from such organizations as Labrador�s various Chambers of Commerce, regional economic development boards, Aboriginal groups and the Combined Councils of Labrador. The MP for Labrador has also been invited to participate.

The purpose of this roundtable discussion is to consult and provide information on the proposed project, as well as to clarify issues that have been raised in relation to the Alcoa discussions of some months ago.

A indicated in this year�s Speech from the Throne, this government firmly believes that the next few years will belong to Labrador. We have seen tremendous progress in Labrador on a number of fronts, mainly because we have consulted with and included the people of Labrador in our decision-making. It is important that we listen to what the people of Labrador have to say about the Gull Island project, so that we can work towards meeting their expectations.

I want to thank the Premier for his continued commitment to listen to the concerns of the people of Labrador.

2002 11 26                                         1:55 p.m.