Good morning, and welcome. Welcome to RuralEXPO 2001, our first province-wide forum and exhibition about rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is pleased to have helped organize and make this unique event happen. But we can�t take the credit for the concept of it. In fact, by hosting RuralEXPO, Government is responding to a challenge � a challenge presented to us during the public consultations on our Jobs and Growth Renewal Strategy.

This Government doesn�t run from challenges. We meet them head on. And this particular challenge is one that we have been very pleased to address on your behalf.

As I indicated at the official opening, one thing that became very clear during the Jobs and Growth consultations was the general positive attitude and renewed confidence in the province�s economy.

Again and again, presenters alluded to the critical role that confidence and positive attitude can play in moving the economy forward.

And in that context, they told us that Government must be more active in promoting the multitude of economic opportunities available to us, especially in rural areas. And they told us that we need to do more to showcase and learn from our best kept secrets � our successes, your successes.

With RuralEXPO, we are responding to that challenge. This is your event. And Government is very pleased to be able to respond to your invitation � no, your request � to hold it.

As we move forward into the new millennium, it is clear that a new Newfoundland and Labrador is emerging. It is a Newfoundland and Labrador of enterprising, educated and self-reliant people. It is a Newfoundland and Labrador that is working together to create a competitive economy and a balanced social agenda. It is a Newfoundland and Labrador where community is foremost in our minds. And most of all, it is a province made up of people who are confident in their future.

We are making fundamental changes in our province -- changes that allow us to seize new opportunities, generate economic momentum, and build a better quality of life for our people.

This comes on the heels of unprecedented challenges that confronted us over the past decade � the most significant of which was the collapse of the groundfishery in 1992.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians confronted this situation head on. We did it with a renewed, strong sense of determination. It forced us to reconsider our future as never before.

We became pioneers all over again. We sought out new opportunities and when we found them, we captured them, and took ownership of them. We developed new opportunities � in both traditional and emerging new industries.

We used our energy and creativity to produce new innovative products and services. And we used it to increase our presence in the world marketplace.

• We�re building an entire community in Chile from pre-fabricated homes made right here in this province, in Cottle�s Island.
  
  
• We�re cleaning up oil spills in Australia with a unique peat-based product made right here, just outside Bishop�s Falls.
  
  
• We have the only producer of kosher wine in Canada, right here, in Markland � one of the select few to sell into the large American Jewish market.
  
  
• We�re sending educational software around the world in English, Korean and Spanish � software developed right here, in Stephenville.
  

Yes, we�re breaking ground on many fronts. In communities around the province, people have charted new directions. Right here at home. In Newfoundland and Labrador.

We have built on a new vision for our province. Our confidence in ourselves has been restored as a result of this.

We have worked hard to rebuild the economy. And we have made great progress. We unquestionably have economic momentum propelling us forward.

Simply put, our shared Jobs and Growth Renewal Strategy is working. It is producing results. It is working because we are acting on the advice and recommendations you gave us on a multitude of fronts during the consultations for renewing our jobs and growth agenda.

The results speak for themselves:
Over the past several years, we have been leading the country in economic growth.
New job creation has been strong.
Unemployment in the province has fallen substantially.
New investments in our economy are at historic highs.
The net out-migration trend has been reversed, and is slowing significantly.
Exports are expanding rapidly, having more than doubled since 1992.
And the economy is more diversified than it was even just five years ago.

And � most importantly � these results have people working. In fact, more people are working today in Newfoundland and Labrador than at any time since 1990. And based on year-to-year data, we expect employment in the province to reach an all time record high in 2001.

And despite what some might have us believe, the growth we have seen in new jobs has not been confined to St. John�s. In fact, almost two-thirds of all the jobs created in the province in the last four years have been created outside the Northeast Avalon area. Yes, rural Newfoundland and Labrador is driving much of the economic and employment growth we are witnessing today.

We also recognize and acknowledge, however, that significant challenges remain.

We need to bring the unemployment rate down even further.
We need to continue to address the out-migration situation, especially among our youth.
We need to ensure that all regions of the province share in the recovery of our economy.
We also need to ensure that all our people have an opportunity to participate productively in our economy � that they have meaningful jobs and the ability to provide for themselves and their families.

But our economic recovery is real, and it did not happen by accident. It is the result of a clear and shared vision among our people. It is the result of a plan of action for jobs and growth, a plan that is based on the results of extensive consultation with the people of this province.

It is a plan fueled by our confidence in our ability to take control of and shape our own future.

A course for this province has been charted, and we are traveling a well piloted journey. It is a journey with a clear destination, a course to steer by, and a crew of more than half a million Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to pull on the oars to get us there.

Our Renewal Strategy for Jobs and Growth is a concrete action plan for long-term, sustainable economic growth and job creation.

It is an agenda to re-energize our efforts to ensure that we build on the economic momentum we have achieved, and ensure that this momentum is not lost. It is an agenda for the province to keep pace with and adapt to the ever changing global economy. It is a plan to secure opportunities before us, and to look ahead and capture new opportunities. And, most importantly, it is a plan to ensure that all our people share in our economic recovery.

As I have already indicated, while our economic progress has been substantial, we still have challenges to overcome, especially in rural areas.

I am confident that our Renewal Strategy for Jobs and Growth will meet those challenges head on. That strategy is structured around five key building blocks � building blocks that will give our province a strong, sustainable, and vibrant economic foundation for the long-term.

The five building blocks are:

• First, capturing strategic new opportunities for growth in our traditional industries, such as the fishery; in our maturing industries, such as tourism; and in emerging new industries such as information technology.
  
  
• Second, creating the right environment for attracting new investment to our province and keeping our local business community competitive. You told us that the private sector is the engine of our economy, but that businesses can only drive the economy when government creates an environment conducive to success and growth. We agree, and we are working hard to improve the overall business climate in the province....

By removing the burden of the payroll tax on business as our financial situation permits;

By introducing a new venture capital tax credit initiative; and

By reforming the workers compensation system to make it more competitive and effective ....... Just to cite a few examples.

• The third building block focuses on education and youth -- critically important elements to our continued growth. Simply put, it is about investing in people. We listened, and we are acting. That is why, we have created a new Department of Youth Services and Post-secondary Education, and why we have established a Youth Advisory Council. And it is why we have invited more than 100 youth delegates from across the province to participate as full delegates at RuralEXPO.
  
  
• Fourth, forging new strategic partnerships between government, business, and labour to maintain our forward momentum and ensure the benefits we reap are shared by all.

For example, the reform to our workers compensation system was developed and is being implemented on the basis of a partnership between government, business and labour.

This is a model that can guide us in other areas of the economy.

• The fifth building block, but certainly not the least, is building stronger communities and stronger regions through the 20 regional economic development boards, our other partners at the local level, and also through the implementation of the Strategic Social Plan at the regional level.

Our Jobs and Growth agenda is your agenda. And while it is an agenda for the entire province, it pays particular attention to rural Newfoundland and Labrador. In fact, more than two-thirds of the priorities for action outlined in the Renewal Strategy for Jobs and Growth focus specifically on rural Newfoundland and Labrador. What more visible and concrete testament can there be to our confidence in and commitment to rural Newfoundland and Labrador than that!

Some of our priorities that focus specifically on rural Newfoundland and Labrador are:

• Working constructively � but forcefully � with the federal government to ensure that the fishery resources off Newfoundland and Labrador are made available for the maximum benefit of our rural communities, in keeping with the long standing principle of adjacency.
  
• Engaging community and industry stakeholders to develop a Northern Agrifoods Development Strategy for Labrador that addresses both the high cost of importing food products to this area of the province and the potential to create new jobs in Labrador.
  
  
• We are committed to improving our manufacturing "investment prospecting" initiatives, especially in rural areas, by working with the private sector more effectively.
  
  
• We are committed to working with the federal government and the private sector to develop a plan that will ensure that all regions of the province have access to modern telecommunications infrastructure to participate in the knowledge based economy.
  
  
• We are sharpening our EDGE program to address the challenge of attracting new investment to rural areas.
  
  
• We have introduced a venture capital tax credit program that gives a higher tax credit to those who invest their money outside the North East Avalon area.
  
  
• And we are committed to the establishment of a Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation, whose goal will be to level the playing field between urban and rural schools and communities.
  

These are just a few of the many rural initiatives we have targeted for action.

Yes, rural Newfoundland and Labrador is alive and well today, and this Government is determined to ensure this remains the case well into the future.

How do we do that? The key is for everyone pull together � to put old ways and approaches aside for the greater good of the province. Success will come when we adopt, as our own, a new way of working and thinking. We are well on our way.

This is an exciting time in the history of our province. There is optimism, confidence and the belief that Newfoundland and Labrador has truly turned the corner.

We must now reach out and seize the opportunities before us. The building blocks are in place, and we have the benefit of momentum.

We need to focus � and we need to work together.

We have made good progress. We should take pride in our accomplishments. But we can do more. And we will do more.

What we will experience over the next two days here in Gander will help all of us achieve these goals.

We should use the time we have together to share the many good things that are happening throughout our province, and to learn from one another � to take the positive back to our home communities and apply our wisdom and leadership to build a better and stronger Newfoundland and Labrador.

All of us should leave this forum as even greater champions of rural Newfoundland and Labrador than we were when we arrived.