Through the Northern Strategic Plan, the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador works closely with the people of
Labrador to improve social and economic circumstances throughout this
vast and diverse region. Today, as Minister of Labrador Affairs, it is
my pleasure to provide a progress update on the NSP through the release
of our mid-term report.
This report chronicles a record of unprecedented
investment in Labrador since the launch of the plan in April 2007. These
investments are helping to build the Trans Labrador Highway, a hospital
and a college campus in Labrador West, and K-12 schools in Port Hope
Simpson and L'Anse au Loup and enhanced winter trail infrastructure for
coastal communities. They are funding programs and services, including
an energy rebate for isolated coastal communities, an energy efficiency
pilot project in coastal Labrador, a pilot project for year-round ferry
service to the island, the Medical Transportation Program, the Labrador
Travel Subsidy, and the Cultural Travel Subsidy.
The NSP is a five-year progressive strategy aimed to
improve the lives of Labradorians through social and economic stimulus
investments, including a record investment of more than $135 million in
the current fiscal year. This mid-term report presents an important
snapshot of the evolution of the NSP and initiatives that will be
spearheaded in the coming years.
This report deals with accomplishments that have taken
place up until fall 2009. Since then we have marked a number of
additional milestones. Most notably the historic opening of Phase III of
the Trans Labrador Highway, connecting Labrador West, through Lake
Melville, to Southern Labrador, which will cost approximately $138
million when completed. Other achievements include the opening of a
francophone school in Happy Valley Goose Bay, the establishment of a
boundary for the Mealy Mountain National Park Reserve, and, the
initialing of formal documents for the New Dawn Agreement reached
between the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Innu Nation.
Groups and individuals across Labrador continue to
help shape the Northern Strategic Plan. In April, a series of
meetings in communities throughout Labrador are planned to provide
updates on the NSP.
We will be making published copies of the NSP mid-term
report available to the public in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I
invite people to view our report online at the Department of Labrador
and Aboriginal Affairs website.
2010 03 25
2:00 p.m.