Finance
July 11, 2013

Minister Outlines Progress in Implementing Blue Book Commitments;
Reiterates Importance of Protecting Province’s Finances

Less than two years into its current mandate, the Provincial Government has completed or substantially completed 43 per cent of its Blue Book commitments. The Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, today said that 228 of the 534 commitments have been acted on,while considering the fiscal situation of the province and ensuring long term sustainability.

“The Blue Book represents our government’s vision for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and lists out the priorities that our government will achieve during the current four year term,” said Minister Kennedy. “The Blue Book states, and the Premier has stated, that the commitments are dependent on the fiscal situation of the province. In implementing future commitments, we will continue to ensure that we manage the province’s finances in a prudent manner. To do anything less would be irresponsible.”

Some examples of commitments achieved to date include; maintaining personal income tax cuts, the low income seniors’ benefit, the home heating rebate and other tax cuts and programs; lowering the age for breast cancer screening; producing a provincial strategy on reducing wait times in emergency rooms; continuing a freeze on post-secondary tuition rates; and continued implementation of the Continuum of Care Strategy to improve the placement options for children and youth in need of out-of-home care. See backgrounder below for a complete list.

“Our government is proud of our record in implementing commitments we have made to the people of the province and we will continue to do so in a responsible manner,” said Minister Kennedy.

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Media contact:
Tansy Mundon
Director of Communications
Department of Finance
709-729-6830, 693-1865
tansymundon@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER
2011 Blue Book Commitments Either Complete or Substantially Complete

The following 228 commitments, representing 43 per cent of the 534 commitments in the Blue Book, have been confirmed by Provincial Government departments, agencies and offices as being either complete or substantially complete and moving towards implementation.

Advanced Education and Skills

• Ensure students are given regular information on the status of their loans and repayment options.
• We will allow social assistance recipients to wait until age 65 to apply for their Canada Pension Plan benefits so they do not have to take a lifelong lower rate by applying at 60.
• We will develop a program to offset the costs of making modifications to private vehicles to accommodate persons with disabilities affecting mobility.
• Continue to promote opportunities for women to enter trades and other careers in which women are particularly underrepresented.
• Continue to invest in the Self-Employment Assistance program.
• Provide educational opportunities in...post-secondary settings to forge stronger connections with people in countries that are current or prospective trading partners.
• Identify ways to ensure that members of society who continue to be under-represented in some areas of the mining sector - particularly Aboriginal people and women - can avail of the opportunities.
• We will continue to finance programs that will provide funding to employ persons with developmental disabilities.
• We will expand the Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities, which provides support for post-secondary students, offsetting some of the significant costs of the additional educational supports many require.
• We will review the Labour Market Development Agreement and Labour Market Partnerships to better integrate the employment needs of individuals while providing important and timely support to community groups in meeting their missions.
• Continue to support the female industrial training officer position with the Department of Education, based in Corner Brook.
• Expanding the government apprenticeship hiring program to allow for additional apprenticeship placements within government departments and agencies.
• Working with employers and unions to set goals for female participation in skilled trade employment opportunities.
• Working with labour to encourage greater use of apprentices among employers and greater participation of member journeypersons in mentoring apprentices.
• Develop a strategy on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. In the term ahead, we will publish and implement this strategy.
• Continue to freeze public post-secondary tuition fees.
  Office of Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Emissions Trading
• Examine best practices to strengthen initiatives that advance residential and industrial efficiency.

Office of Executive Council – Communications Branch

• We will utilize social media as public information vehicles.

Department of Child, Youth and Family Services

• We will be vigilant in examining and identifying any deficiencies in child protection in Newfoundland and Labrador; consolidating the recommendations of reports regarding child protection; examining the best practices of other jurisdictions; and making recommendations for improving child protection.
• Provide supports for home-based child care business providers offering regulated child care for children of a mixture of ages, with a maximum of six children per home.
• Provide start-up grants for operators.
• Provide annual infant stimulus grants for offering regulated infant care to children 24 months of age and younger, with a maximum of three children per home.
• Improve the child protection case management system to ensure all children in need receive the timely and effective care they require.
• We will build on actions we have already taken to provide greater resources to support foster parents.
• We will develop and implement a continuum of care for children in care including additional support for specialized foster homes.
• We will bring forward progressive policy changes that free foster parents from unnecessary administrative responsibilities.

Department of Education

• Place interactive white boards in all schools in our province.
• We will encourage young women in our K-12 schools to consider taking courses that lay a solid foundation for careers in skilled trades and other professions in which women are underrepresented.
• We will encourage educators to promote to young women in secondary school the benefits of the skilled trades and technology program.
• Expand the Futures in Skilled Trades and Technology program to all schools in the province.
• We will encourage schools and boards to partner with industry and labour to promote career options in the skilled trades and technology occupations.
• We will encourage schools to engage professionals in many different career disciplines to give students early insights about career paths.
• Coordinate an online body of information to enable teachers and career counsellors of junior and senior high school students to provide the facts students need to make sound career and curriculum decisions, including information on emerging provincial career opportunities.
• Provide educational opportunities in K-12...settings to forge stronger connections with people in countries that are current or prospective trading partners.
• Adjusting the physical education curriculum to engage students who face particular challenges.
• We will ensure healthy foods are available in all schools and other public institutions. We will require these institutions to limit access to sugary, fatty and salty foods at the same time that they are improving access to healthier food choices.
• In selected classrooms, we will pilot the “Move 2 Improve” program.
• Explore the reintroduction of the Canada Fitness Test program, or an updated version, in schools to promote fitness targets by age level. We need to work with health care professionals and others to ensure this program is designed to include the least fit individuals and also to include males and females with disabilities and health conditions that pose special challenges.
• We will work with educators, parents and students to develop and apply a wide range of initiatives to combat bullying (including cyber-bullying) and other forms of aggression and violence against students.
• Support high school initiatives, such as the Skilled Trades and Technology program, that encourage greater participation of females in skilled trades.

Department of Environment and Conservation

• Establish a risk alert system to warn local residents and travellers when flood risks are high.
• We are committed to developing a Moose Management Strategy. This strategy would address issues like an appropriate target population, hunting quotas and research requirements.
• We will provide seniors with a 35 per cent discount on licences to hunt, fish and engage in various other activities for which permits are required.

Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture

• Continue to invest in aquaculture.
• Complete and implement the Aquaculture Sustainable Management Framework.
• Work to grow fish species that can be processed locally into lucrative value-added products, and work with processors to make this happen.
• Promote local consumption of locally-grown fish.
• We will ensure optimal use is made of the Centre for Aquaculture Health and Development, located in St. Alban’s.
• Explore new opportunities to develop farmed and wild fish products that cater to Asian markets.
• Explore new ways to process farmed and wild fish and add value to the products we market.
• Continue to address trade concerns such as tariffs so our products can compete more effectively in the marketplace.
• Ensure aquaculture developers file rehabilitation and close plans and post financial assurances for site liabilities prior to starting operations.\
• Continue to invest provincial funding in our new fisheries scientific research initiative.
• We will continually update information on best practices in aquaculture health on a global basis.
• Follow through in putting the Coastal and Ocean Management strategy and policy framework into practice.
• Examine the best practices of other jurisdictions with a view to establishing a fisheries loan board that will strengthen the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Forestry and AgriFoods Agency

• We will work to increase the production of food to enhance food security and reduce the carbon footprint associated with food transport.
• We will work with farmers to ensure Newfoundland and Labrador is able to supply increasingly more of the foods we consume, thereby increasing food security.
• We will work to encourage Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to purchase and consume more locally produced food products.
• We will promote the growth of a local food security network, develop domestic produce markets and assist growers.
• We will cooperate with our agricultural industry to aggressively market the full gamut of homegrown products both locally and in markets beyond Newfoundland and Labrador.
• Advance the establishment of an online database identifying locally-produced agricultural products.
• Maintain the provincial Agrifoods Assistance Program.
• Work with the Egg Producers of Newfoundland and Labrador to strengthen and expand the local industry, seizing opportunities to claim a greater share of the production of egg-based value-added products.
• Work with the Chicken Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador to facilitate an expansion in the size and value of the local broiler (chicken) industry, addressing barriers to competitiveness such as the high costs of feed and rations.
• Work to expand the local sheep production industry, facilitating the introduction of sheep that are specially suited to the local environment and work with producers to identify opportunities to increase the value of trade in local sheep products.
• Work to expand the size, diversity and value of the local fur industry, working with farmers to facilitate expansion in an environmentally-responsible manner.
• Support research and development initiatives focused on the development of new or improved crops.
• Work to increase the value and marketability of local cranberry, strawberry, bakeapple, partridgeberry and blueberry products.
• Maintain support for the Fruit and Vegetable Storage Program.
• Continue to provide off-farm access roads and electrical services for agricultural operations.
• Work with farmers to promote professionalization and succession planning in the province's agriculture industry.
• Explore opportunities to gain a greater share of the growing market for organic foods.
• Work with organic farmers to identify incentives and other assistance that may facilitate growth.
• Complete the establishment of the Centre for Forest Science and Innovation.
• Continue to partner in the Model Forest of Newfoundland and Labrador.
• Continue to invest in developing our province's expertise in forest management and research.
• Invest, through the Forest Research and Innovation Fund, to advance the work of the Centre for Forest Science and Innovation and the Forest Innovation Strategy. Grants will support research as well as modernization and diversification of forestry operations.
• Continue to require timber resource analyses and forestry development plans to assess and manage our forestry resources responsibly, strategically and sustainably.
• We will continue to examine the impact of climate change on our forests and seek ways to avoid the worst consequences, such as soil erosion, vulnerability to forest fires and pest infestations.
• Continue to work with Kruger to promote the success of the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper mill.
• Continue to work with all sectors in the forest industry - newsprint, sawmills, wood pellets - to promote competitiveness and diversification.
• Continue to sponsor the Junior Forest Warden Association, through which young people have opportunities to learn about forest ecology.
• Build on the success of the 2009 "Futures from Forests" initiative which was designed to get senior and junior high school students thinking about the forest industry.
• Build on the success of the 2010 "Kids in the Woods" event, tree-planting ceremonies, forest tours and presentations to school-age children that coincided with National Forest Week.

Fire and Emergency Services Agency

• Continue to invest in firefighting equipment, vehicles, infrastructure, training and services.

Department of Finance

• At least a third of any surplus will be invested in the pension funds.
• Work to make Newfoundland and Labrador one of the most competitive tax regimes in North America to promote growth and jobs.
• Review the tax regime - the Revenue Administration Act, … - to ensure it strikes the right balance between providing appropriate revenue to the province while remaining competitive in the global mining industry.
• We will assess and deal with seniors housing issues such as property taxes, home heating costs and other home expenses.
• Review our income tax rates and provisions to ensure that our income tax system is progressive and competitive.
• Maintain…Personal Income Tax cuts.
• Maintain...Low-Income Tax Reduction.
• Maintain...Home Heating Rebate.
• Maintain...Low-Income Seniors’ Benefit.
• Maintain...Refundable Tax Credit for Seniors.
• Maintain...Heating Allowance.
• Maintain…Residential Energy Tax Rebate.
• Maintain...Voluntary Firefighter Tax Credit.
• Maintain...Child Tax Credit.

Department of Health and Community Services

• Undertake a comprehensive review of emergency response services throughout our province, including our ambulance services, ambulance operators, emergency responders, paramedics and other services and personnel.
• We will establish a Healthy Living Division of the government’s new Population Health Branch to provide cohesive and focused oversight of the government’s policies and programs promoting wellness, healthy living, healthy aging, physical education, fitness, recreation and sport.
• We will establish a transportation fund of $1 million to partner with community organizations to improve transportation options for seniors.
• Within 90 days, we will conclude a review of whether it is appropriate to lower the age to begin breast cancer screening.
• We are moving forward this year to release our new Chronic Disease Management Strategy.
• We will support education and training for unpaid caregivers.
• We will assess the role of assistive technologies in helping seniors remain in their homes and communities.
• We will commission research on housing requirements and supportive care needs of persons as they age. We will improve the range of housing opportunities that support healthy aging.
• We will also continue to invest to make these houses more secure, ensuring they have ‘panic button’ connections with local police.
• We will work to make medications more affordable for patients.
• We will work with our schools and health care institutions to reduce access to unhealthy foods and teach students about healthy food choices.
• We will work with tattooing, body piercing and pedicure practitioners and identify the best practices of other jurisdictions in developing appropriate standards for the non-surgical cosmetic industry to protect public health and safety.
• Develop an interactive, web-based e-mental health service.
• We will also continue with our prudent, incremental approach to improving access to dialysis services based upon need, number of people impacted and availability of health professionals to ensure delivery of a safe and high-quality service.
• As a pilot project, we will enable personal care homes that meet certain criteria to accept clients who require a degree of care beyond Level II.
• Build on investments in health research and facilities, including the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Human Genetics.
• Within the first 120 days in office, we will produce a provincial strategy on reducing wait times in emergency rooms.
• Within the first 120 days in office, we will produce a provincial strategy on reducing wait times for orthopedic surgeries for joint replacement.

Human Resources Secretariat

• Through programs like Opening Doors, we as a government will continue to provide meaningful and rewarding employment opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities.

Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development

• Work with Memorial University’s Faculty of Business and representatives of the business community to identify and address barriers to survival and growth facing local businesses.
• Initiate a review of the suite of programs available to the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise sector with a view to coordinating efforts and filling gaps to strengthen the sector.
• Review all programs available to enterprises in Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure they are properly focused and flexible to meet the needs of local entrepreneurs.
• Work with the Government of Canada to examine and improve programs offered either jointly or exclusively by the federal government to ensure they are properly focused and flexible to meet the needs of local entrepreneurs.
• Partner again with NLOWE and the Government of Canada in organizing international trade missions to identify new opportunities for business sales and international partnerships that can lead to greater success.
• Partner with NLOWE in sponsoring Supplier Development Sessions, connecting businesses with government purchasers.
• We will promote youth entrepreneurship by encouraging successful young entrepreneurs to provide advice and mentoring to other young people interested in establishing small businesses.
• Identify opportunities to promote successorship planning, especially in rural areas.
• Continue to support forums that encourage networking among businesses.
• We will strengthen efforts to work with existing firms to take advantage of emerging global value chains in order to produce and service products that are international in scope.
• Work with immigrant communities to build a better understanding of the economies, cultures and languages of old and new trading partners.
• Adopt an improved technology incubation model.
• Support product development and marketing efforts of post-incubation and independent start-up companies.
• We will advocate for businesses, departments and agencies to use technologies developed by the local ocean technology cluster.
• We will explore the role of research and educational institutions in developing and transferring skilled people and new technologies to industry.
• Appoint an Assistant Deputy Minister for Oceans to coordinate the government's activities in the ocean technology sector in cooperation with the RDC.
• Under the Business Networks Program, continue to work with NLOWE to make Newfoundland and Labrador an international leader in developing a supplier diversity strategy for certified women business owners, and to enable business owners to leverage the advantages of being certified as a women-owned business by WeConnect Canada.
• Move forward with the Entrepreneurship Forum to target youth entrepreneurs.
• The Innovation Strategy identifies promising clusters in a range of disciplines….. By nurturing collaboration and cooperation, we will increase the number of high-value jobs, strengthen our industrial base, aid in research and development, and bring homegrown efficient solutions to market.
• We will continue to emphasize collaboration and partnerships among institutions, between education and industry, and within strategic clusters throughout our regions.
• Continue to demonstrate due diligence in working to capture venture as well as research financing from a wide range of sources.
• Through the Rural Broadband Initiative, work with industry and government partners, and within the confines of a sector that is heavily-regulated by the federal government, to advance initiatives that improve broadband access. The call for proposals creates the environment to have formal discussions with industry and protects their intellectual property while providing the government with the ability to address broadband availability.
• Provide greater access to funding for start-up firms and incubation facilities through a new Ocean Technology Development Fund to complement existing provincial and federal programs.
• Work with industry associations and private sector firms to systematically identify and take advantage of import substitution opportunities in all regions of the province.
• The Public Tender Review Committee will examine possible impediments to local firms succeeding in procurement opportunities due to the nature of tender and bid packages, and will provide suggestions with respect to removing these impediments.
• We will put a special emphasis on working with young entrepreneurs interested in creating sustainable businesses based on renewable resource development, ecotourism or environmental protection to promote economic diversification.
• Continue to work toward the establishment and successful operation of a comprehensive ocean observing system in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean as a means of growing the ocean technology cluster in the province.
• We will collaborate with key stakeholders to identify international markets where technologies, services and expertise developed by locally-based companies fill an identified market niche or are competitive.
• We will cooperate with industry associations and non-governmental organizations to develop improved market intelligence and provide a more receptive channel for industry input into future government actions and policies.
• We will target potential investors from traditional and emerging markets.
• Work collaboratively with local business associations to develop a plan for producing an online BUYNL catalogue to showcase locally-manufactured products and their producers.

Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs Secretariat

• Work with the affected Aboriginal governments and groups to ensure that developments in areas under claim or subject to treaty are managed efficiently and effectively for the benefit of those Aboriginal peoples and other residents of the province.
• Identify ways and means of increasing our support for the Native Friendship Centre.

Department of Justice

• We will provide additional resources to enable the police to identify and combat child exploitation.
• We will continue to build on our significant investments to strengthen our police forces, to train more officers, to hire more personnel and to provide the resources and infrastructure our Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and RCMP officers require.
• We will provide additional resources to our police forces to identify and combat cybercrime, including online child exploitation, identity theft and online fraud.
• We will remain vigilant in adhering to the recommendations of the late Justice Antonio Lamer regarding wrongful convictions and shortcomings of our justice system.

Labrador Affairs Office

• Move forward to build on the achievements of the Northern Strategic Plan.
  Labour Relations Agency
• Convene an advisory committee on the minimum wage in 2012 and every two years thereafter.

Department of Municipal Affairs

• Introduce the new Municipal Operating Grants (MOG) formula.
• Provide incentives to sharing to advance regional cooperation initiatives.
• Government will not force amalgamation on any municipality against the will of its citizens.
• We will continue to fund regional recreational facilities such as new arenas.
  Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
• We will support affordable and accessible rental housing for seniors through the Affordable Housing Program.
• We will continue to provide rent supplement for low income persons, including seniors, residing in Newfoundland Labrador Housing.
• We will identify and support other programs and services that allow seniors to maintain or modify current housing.
• Universal design guidelines will promote accessibility for all including seniors.
• We will apply the age-friendly lens to policies, programs, and services that address seniors housing.
• We will explore measures that would encourage and assist homeowners to add rooms and apartments and to undertake other renovations to address local housing supply issues.
• We will explore ways to encourage the construction of small-size dwellings to meet the needs of smaller families with limited financial means.
• We will provide incentives to the private sector to stimulate the building of additional affordable housing units for persons with disabilities.

Department of Natural Resources

• Ensure the agreements we enter into for resource development include skills transfer components so Newfoundland and Labrador acquires enduring expertise.
• We will promote underground mining in the Voisey's Bay region.
• Provide $2.5 million to further study small-scale hydroelectric projects for Labrador coastal communities.
• Through Nalcor, continue to purchase existing proprietary seismic data for reevaluation and acquire new data to fill the gaps.
• Establish a policy to obtain a 10 per cent equity position in all future oil and gas projects requiring a Development Plan approval, where it fits our strategic long-term objectives.
• We will focus on benefits requirements that target maximum sustainable supply and service industries and employment where we have the potential to create or capitalize on our competitive advantages.
• We will continue to promote the creation of rock kits for schools.
• We will also work with developers to put in place reserve funds to finance cleanup work when industrial operations cease.
• Continue to facilitate the work of prospectors through support of the Matty Mitchell Prospectors Resources Room in collaboration with the Newfoundland and Labrador Chamber of Mineral Resources.
• Continue to invest in improving the collection of geoscience data.
• Ensure our legislation, regulations and permitting process for mineral exploration, mine development and quarry development are modern, balanced and reflective of the needs of the industry and the province.
• We will promote the development of technological solutions that may assist in locating deeply buried mineral deposits, improving the efficiency of exploration, providing metallurgical solutions to improve extraction and efficiency of mining, developing innovative mining techniques, and providing means of reducing the environmental impact of mining.
• We will promote the search for commercially-attractive new deposits of both conventional and unconventional mineral commodities.
• Take measures to ensure our mining workplaces are respectful, free of discrimination and harassment.

Office of the Chief Information Officer

• Install Consolidated Service Architecture, including redundancy backups to guard against catastrophic failures, in order to improve reliability and reduce risk to government.
• Continue to expand the Information Management Capacity Assessment Tool (IMCAT) across government departments to enable them to assess and improve their information management capability.\
• Develop an e-government framework to facilitate an orderly implementation of service improvement opportunities both within the organization and for clients of government departments and agencies.
• Where appropriate, network with Newfoundland and Labrador-based information technology firms and professionals to support the government's initiatives while promoting growth in our province's IT sector.

Office of Public Engagement

• We will build on the ‘Who Cares’ campaign to draw attention to the work of volunteers.

Research and Development Corporation

• We will engage the province’s Research & Development Corporation (RDC) and our province’s post-secondary R&D professionals, including Memorial University’s Department of Earth Sciences and the Inco Innovation Centre, to stimulate strategically-advantageous research and development activity in our province’s mining and mineral exploration sector.

Service NL

• We will explore new ways to monitor violations.
• Improve mine safety of worker regulations in light of the findings of consultations undertaken through the Department.
• Introduce strengthened mine health and safety regulations.
• We will review and continually monitor occupational health and safety legislation and regulations regarding mines, to ensure our people are operating in healthy and safe workplaces.

Department of Tourism, Culture and Recretation

• Work to develop new tourism products in places such as Twillingate and Labrador.
• Work with the Province's outfitters on ways to provide more moose-hunting opportunities for non-resident hunters.
• Increase funding for the Labrador sport travel subsidy so more Labrador teams can travel to compete.
• Explore new opportunities for forest-based ecotourism.
• Consider opportunities to develop and interpret the ruins of the original Fort Townshend, which are in large part beneath The Rooms.
• Explore opportunities to expand educational travel initiatives that give more students valuable opportunities to visit sites of military significance.
• Provide support for multi-artist performing arts symposiums and festivals.
• Open a discussion about the next step in promoting Marble Mountain, including targeted advertising to capture a greater share of the eastern North American market.
• Continue to invest in snowmaking equipment for Marble Mountain.
• Continue to develop and promote shoulder-season and multi-season tourism opportunities.
• Take our online tourism tools to the next level of interactivity.
• Be even more sophisticated in targeting online marketing to web users according to search keywords, site themes and location identifiers.
• Work collaboratively with artists to find effective ways to steadily expand our cultural tourism offerings to increase the value, diversity, and attractiveness of our tourism product.
• Invest in improving the look, friendliness and functionality of the province's tourism gateways in such places as Port aux Basques, Argentia, Labrador West, southern Labrador and our airports.
• Encourage producers of adventure tourism television programming to showcase Newfoundland and Labradors' strengths.
• We will also partner with the private and community sectors on initiatives, such as the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program, that enable children to participate in sport and recreational activities their families might not otherwise be able to afford.
• We will find ways to expand programming and coaching, including volunteer coaching, so all students wishing to participate in team sports are able to do so, not exclusively the very elite.
• In the interest of promoting fitness and in the spirit of inclusiveness, we will also provide opportunities for all students to enjoy the benefits of team sports…We will promote an expansion of team sports to make room for teams of players not at the top level so all can participate in competition with those at their skill level.
• The Premier’s Athletic Awards will continue to provide opportunities to honour athletes who have risen to the challenge and excelled in their sports.
• We will continue to provide grants to our elite athletes.
• Continue to support high-level competitions .
• Continuing to provide funding for regional recreational infrastructure and initiatives.
• Maintain the Cultural Economic Development Program to grow our province's cultural enterprises.
• Focus greater attention on developing and marketing winter tourism opportunities in Labrador and on the island.

Department of Transportation and Works

• Satisfy our own transportation procurement needs to the greatest extent possible from within the province.
• We will continue to invest in provincial wharves and terminals for our provincial ferry services.
• Government is launching a suite of initiatives to reduce the number of moose-vehicle collisions on Newfoundland and Labrador highways. These include a wildlife fencing pilot project, a wildlife detection system pilot project, a Collision Data Management System...additional brush clearing , vegetation control and measures to improve driver awareness.
• Maintain the fleet of new waterbombers the province recently purchased to better protect us from forest fires.
• We will be vigilant in ensuring the public buildings we construct: are accessible to persons with physical disabilities that affect mobility; contain features that make them accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired; and, are equipped with visually-cued life safety alarms and text-based telephone devices to make them accessible to, and safe for, persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Women’s Policy Office

• We will continue to invest in the Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre.
• We will continue to engage the 10 Regional Coordinating Committees of the Violence Prevention Initiative, providing the resources required for them to work to identify regional needs.
• We will continue to sponsor campaigns in school, in the workplace and through the media to draw people’s attention to the need to respect women.
• Working to ensure all workplaces foster an atmosphere of respect for women and respond to disrespect promptly and effectively.

2013 07 11             4:40 p.m.