The following are speaking points from an address by Premier Brian Tobin to the Canadian Council on Public-Private Partnerships, Toronto, Ontario, November 22, 1999:

•  I am delighted to speak to you today. I am delighted because the news from Newfoundland and Labrador is exciting indeed.

• This year, Newfoundland and Labrador is celebrating 50 years of Confederation with Canada. In those first 50 years, Newfoundland and Labrador has reaped enormous benefits from Confederation. The benefits to Canada have also been enormous.

• Newfoundland and Labrador is rich in natural resources. We brought to Canada an abundant fishery, thick stands of timber, the power of our rivers, great mineral reserves, and the wealth of oil and gas hidden beneath the ocean floor.

• We are finally realizing our potential. We are taking our place in the Canadian federation. We are generating wealth.

• Statistics Canada has reported that after lagging behind the national average for several years, Newfoundland and Labrador's economy led the country in 1998 as strength in the new oil sector and related spin-offs propelled our GDP growth to 6.2 per cent.
  
• We expect growth of about five per cent this year � the highest level among all the provinces of Canada, and leading financial institutions agree with our projections.

• Most recently, the Bank of Montreal forecast that Newfoundland and Labrador's economy would grow by 5.6 per cent this year, faster than any other province in Canada. They base that projection on our energy and related industries and the strengthening fisheries sector.

• In early November, Husky Oil confirmed significant offshore oil and natural gas finds on Newfoundland's Grand Banks. I'll speak to this in more detail later.

• Of course, our economic projections have not always been so rosy. Newfoundland and Labrador has experienced great challenges this past decade. Most notably, the collapse of the groundfishery in 1992 could have been catastrophic.

• But in typical fashion, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians drew upon their indomitable strength of character and innovative spirit. We have not only survived difficult years but have come out on the other side stronger and wiser. We have built on our traditional industries and created new ones.

• Today our economy is richer because of manufacturing, advanced technologies, fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, cultural industries, mining, forestry, agrifoods and oil and gas. Armed with fresh ideas and an innovative spirit we are ready to face the future and tap the full potential of all of these sectors.
  
• Our economic plan is working. Our economy is stronger and more diversified than ever before.
  
• Gains in economic activity have translated into more jobs for our people. We are now creating them at a level that leads Canada. More than 18,000 new jobs have been created in our economy since we recorded a 10-year low of 187,100 in May 1997.
  
• In 1998, total value of exports reached $5 billion for the first time in our history, and are on track to reach $5.5 billion this year. Consumer spending increased and capital investment is growing - by 29.2 per cent this year alone. We are leading the country in so many categories.
  
• Based on information from Statistics Canada, the total investment in the province is expected to reach $3.5 billion this year, up 29.2 per cent, a growth rate that is four times the national average.
  
• In the first eight months of this year, retail sales here increased by 6.8 per cent, compared to the national performance of 4.9 per cent.
  
• Sales by the province's wholesalers in August totalled $234 million - up 3.4 per cent from July and a whopping 38.5 per cent from August last year.
  
• We've reopened negotiations on the Churchill River hydroelectric development, we've reached a critical phase in our land claims negotiations, and are committed to ensuring full and fair benefits from major projects such as Voisey's Bay.
  
• We've achieved substantial success, but we don't intend to rest on our laurels. There is still a lot of work to be done, and that is exactly where we are now focusing our attention.

 REINVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE

• With this as our backdrop, I'd like to take the opportunity now to talk with you about the ways that Newfoundland and Labrador is reinventing itself for the 21st century. When we came to office in 1996, we started with a sound fiscal and economic plan. Over the past three years we have essentially had balanced budgets. The small deficits we have incurred have been the result of a conscious effort to spend in priority areas. For example, we have reinvested savings from education reform into school infrastructure. Currently, we are involved in a $125 million schools construction program which is the largest in the province's history.
  
• Along the same lines, we have major hospital construction ongoing, with a $130 million construction project which will update our Health Science Centre and provide brand new facilities for the Sir Charles A. Janeway Child Health Centre. In addition, our current budget has allotted $90 million for hospital facilities in nine other sites around the province.
  
• Because of sound fiscal management we are able to address the needs of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador through careful investment in primary services, but also by providing quality facilities for the delivery of those services.

COMPETITIVENESS AND TAX REDUCTIONS

• Part of our success has come from the hard lessons of the past, and we have applied that knowledge to our plan for the future. One of those lessons is that competitiveness is essential for success. In this truly global marketplace, we have to offer an attractive, competitive investment environment if we are to succeed.
  
• For some years now, Newfoundland and Labrador has had one of the most attractive business tax climates in the country. On November 16, my government took the historic first steps toward significant personal income tax reductions.
  
• A $175 million personal income tax reduction strategy will commence January 1, 2000 to be phased in over three years. This will put $175 million back into the hands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians over that period by reducing the basic personal rate to 49 per cent of federal tax from its current 69 per cent, and implementing a progressive surtax.
  
• The net effect will be that the amount of provincial income tax that our taxpayers pay will decrease by more than 15 per cent. The first year of our three-year plan for tax reductions will see $30 million in tax savings. The multi-year strategy will see a reduction of $60 million in 2001 and $85 million in 2002.
  
• Once the strategy is fully implemented, Newfoundland and Labrador will have a personal income tax regime which is competitive with the other Atlantic Provinces.
  
• As of January 1, 2000, Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayers will pay at least five per cent less tax.
  
• We are able to undertake these tax reductions because we are at a point in our economic development where it is appropriate to share the fiscal dividends with the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.
  
• These measures will not only put money back into the hands of residents of our province, but will also make our personal income tax regime competitive with the other Atlantic Provinces, and indeed, the rest of Canada. This is vital if we want to attract more taxpayers to live and work in Newfoundland and Labrador.
  
• We have one of the most attractive business tax regimes in the country. Our general corporate income tax rate is the second lowest in the country, next to Quebec which also has a 4.26 per cent payroll tax with no exemption threshold.
  
• We currently have the lowest corporate income tax rate for manufacturers and processors, and for small business. The implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in 1997 has greatly benefitted business through the removal of sales tax from business inputs.
  
• The payroll tax remains an irritant for most businesses. However, the exemption threshold has been increased from $100,000 to $150,000 over the last two budgets and may be reduced further, as our economic circumstances permit. Even with the payroll tax, the total tax burden on business is relatively small compared to the tax burden on individuals. However, within business sectors, the burden may be unevenly distributed.
  
• Government will undertake a review of recommendations by the Advisory Council on the Economy and Technology which suggest phased-in elimination of the payroll tax and increases in manufacturing and processing taxes. Decisions on these matters will be included in the 2000 budget process.

SMALL BUSINESSES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY:

• Not everyone realizes that 2/3 of businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador are small businesses - small businesses have created more than 80 per cent of all new jobs in the province since the 1980s.
  
• Small business owners are helping to make our economy the fastest growing provincial economy in Canada. One of the ways we have supported this growth is through the establishment of 20 economic zones, each with its own Regional Economic Development Boards (REDB). This public-private partnering is allowing economic development at the grass-roots level, driven by communities and supported by government.
  
• The results are tangible. It has been small businesses that has contributed significantly to the diversification of our economy, particularly in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
  
• Small business, in many instances, has led the move into new areas such as aquaculture, tourism, manufacturing, innovative and advanced technologies, food services and special business services.
  
• Exciting things are happening in our province.
  
• We are exporting to countries around the world. We are sending pre-manufactured houses to Chile; fibreglass boats to France and Alaska and boots to Japan. We are designing and building roads in Kenya. Our foods are served in dining rooms throughout Europe.

 REVERSING THE OUT-MIGRATION TREND:

• Out-migration has begun a reverse trend. The latest Statistics Canada figures show a significantly higher level of population than had been previously projected.
  
• The number of people moving to Newfoundland and Labrador from other parts of Canada totalled almost 11,000 in 1998/99, up close to 50 per cent from levels recorded in the previous census year.
  
• It was the largest in-migration total since the mid-1970s.
  
• People are returning as a result of significantly improved job prospects. In the first nine months of this year, the average level of employment rose by 11,000 for a growth rate of 5.6 per cent - the highest of any province.
  
• It is most comforting to me as premier that this job growth also helped end an upward trend in out-migration as the number of people leaving for other provinces declined in 1998/99.

FISHERIES:

• Newfoundland and Labrador was founded on the fishery. It is as important today as it was 500 years ago. The sea has been central to the development of this land from time immemorial. It will continue to be an important part of the economic foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador as we prepare to enter the new millennium.
  
• There is reason for excitement and optimism. This government has adopted the appropriate measures to ensure that the fishery remains sustainable well into the future. I am excited about the future prospects of our fishing and aquaculture industries.
  
• We now have a rejuvenated, more diversified fishery. Last year the export value of our fish products reached a record level of $800 million. The export value is projected to approach $900 million this year - almost double the level reached just before the groundfish moratorium. This is the highest value fishery in our history and we have, for the first time, surpassed Nova Scotia. It employs nearly 30,000 people.
  
• Shellfish dominates our fishery today, mainly crab and shrimp. Today we harvest 40 different species of fish. Our revitalized seal fishery had an export value of approximately $20 million in 1998.
  
• Business around the province benefit greatly from the harvesting sector of the fishery industry - boat builders, suppliers of netting, equipment and engines and, the trucking industry.
  
• The province's aquaculture industry has a promising future. Through determination and hard work, the industry, working with government has shown that it can be a player in the global aquaculture marketplace.
  
• In 1999 the export value of our aquaculture industry will be approximately $16 million. We expect the mussel production to reach 2,000 tons this year - nearly double production in 1998.
  
• A key focus of our fishery today is harvesting and producing top quality fish products. This fishing industry is now a dynamic player in our economy. The key point today about our fishery is that it is being driven - as it should be - by the private sector.
  
• Our goal, our responsibility, our duty is to rebuild, conserve and manage the resources of the sea and, I assure you that this will be done.
  
• As you are aware, government is placing a high priority on a national shipbuilding policy.
  
• We have had many meetings with labour and industry shipbuilding stakeholders and this province stands firmly behind their efforts to place a new national policy on the federal government�s agenda.

TOURISM:

• From Cabot 500 to Soiree `99 and Vikings 2000, we are developing our tourism industry. From 1996 to 1998, non-resident visitors grew by almost 25 per cent to a record 372,200 visitors to our province. They spent $240 million here. The 1999 year has been a record one for tourism performance in our province. While figures cannot be calculated until year end, we forecast that, for the first time ever, non-residential visitors will top 400,000. Spending by these non-residential visitors will be in the order of $256 million.

• Non resident auto visitation is up by 11 per cent
• Passengers visiting the province by air charter is up by 14 per cent
• Motor coach traffic from May-September is up by 26 per cent
• Airport activity is up 9.9 per cent
• Cruise ship activity increased 71 per cent during 1999
• Provincial hotel occupancy is up by 11 per cent overall

• We expect even further growth in 2000 during the Viking celebrations.
  
• We are achieving our overall objective, which is to increase visitation and to increase revenues from tourism. We are achieving this goal with a clearly focussed marketing strategy that highlights the natural and cultural strengths throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

PETROLEUM INDUSTRIES:

• Our province, which until late 1997 was not even an oil producer, is predicted to produce about one third of Canada's light crude in just a few years.
  
• Hibernia, as we know, has been the catalyst. There was, however, a time when Hibernia almost didn't make it off the ground. It now has five of the highest producing wells in Canada. This is yet another example of government and industry working together to everyone's benefit. To prove that the Grand Banks were as rich as they are required taking a calculated risk. Well, as we all know now, that risk has paid off for both government and industry and our fledgling industry has had a remarkable start.
  
• Terra Nova is expected to come on stream next year followed by White Rose and Hebron.
  
• As I mentioned earlier, the White Rose field has shown promising results. Husky Oil's White Rose field is actually two fields � one contains massive reserves of natural gas that may be bigger than Nova Scotia's Sable Island project and the other has at least 250 million barrels of oil.
  
• Husky officials say White Rose South could be producing oil commercially in just a few years. In addition, White Rose North is a major reservoir that could be the foundation for significant natural gas development in the region. The offshore oil and gas project, located about 300 km east of St. John's on the Grand Banks, will be the third for the province.
  
• In announcing the results of their delineation drilling this year, Husky also said that its engineering team will be located in St. John's and the entire front-end engineering, design and management of the White Rose project will be done in St. John's.
  
• I applaud Husky's commitment to have the project designed and managed in St. John's. The company's decision sets a new standard which all future project development will be expected to match.
  
• I am also pleased to say that the Hebron Oil Field could be as big, if not bigger than Hibernia. Test results to date have been extremely encouraging and the results from another well in the spring could determine just how big the Hebron Oil field will be.
  
• This year, up to $1.4 billion is expected to be spent in the oil industry, including $850 million in development and $225 million in exploration. We are, and intend to remain, a player in the world of oil and gas.

MINES AND ENERGY:

• Last year, our mining industry employed about 3,100 people.
  
• Voisey's Bay remains one of the world's richest nickel-copper-cobalt finds. Government is still awaiting a new proposal from INCO, but I believe the recent hike in nickel prices bodes well for the future negotiations. In the last week of October, nickel prices climbed above where they were at the time INCO originally announced its plans for the Voisey's Bay project.
  
• We propose to stick to the commitment we made to the people of our province in 1996 - This government will take every step necessary to develop and gain full benefits from the Voisey's Bay mine for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. Even without Voisey's Bay, mining remains an important sector with shipments of over $1 billion last year. And, mining exploration remains high despite a downturn in exploration globally.
  
• The Churchill River Development is a $10 billion project. It will have significant economic impacts for our province. It promises to be one of the largest construction projects in the world, creating up to 70,000 direct and indirect jobs. I assure you that this government is committed to developing this project in a manner sensitive to the concerns and interest of all concerned.

NEGOTIATING LAND CLAIMS:

• The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Canada and the Labrador Inuit Association have initialled the Labrador Inuit Land Claims and Self-Government Agreement in Principle.
  
• The next step in negotiations with the LIA and Federal Government is land selection. This process is expected to be completed in February. Following land selection, Cabinet will be asked to ratify the Agreement in Principle (AIP). The Final Agreement may take another two years to complete as issues such as how programs and services will be financed and how the Final Agreement will be implemented remain to be negotiated.
  
• Land claim negotiations with the Innu Nation are following a schedule of monthly meetings and substantial discussions are on-going on a large variety of issues.

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY:

• Innovative Technology is growing by leaps and bounds. Employment in the IT sector grew by 25 per cent -- it is an industry not limited by geography, only by imagination. The IT sector grew by more than 10 per cent each year from 1992 to 1997. In electronic communications, our Newfoundland and Labrador students are among the best connected in the world.
  
• We have had Internet access in all our schools since 1995. The US and the rest of Canada will not reach that level until 2000.

FORESTRY:

• Our forest industry employs 8,000 people in more than 60 communities. Investments in productivity, capacity and product quality have enhanced our competitiveness in the newsprint industry. Newsprint valued at $540 million is expected to be shipped to 40 countries this year.
  
• Our saw milling industry has experienced tremendous expansion to take advantage of value-added manufacturing opportunities. The sawmill industry employs more than 3,000 people. It is an industry generating $40 million - a 33 per cent increase over the last three years. More than half of these products are exported.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT:

• Securing our future together also reflects the directions we are pursuing under our Strategic Social Plan which was launched in 1998.
  
• The SSP put forth a vision of integrated social and economic development and established a process for community involvement in social planning. This integration of social and economic development is unique in Canada, and can be considered public-private partnering in a truly innovative way.
  
• The Strategic Social Plan is bringing together government, regional health, education and economic development boards and community agencies to focus on new and innovative ways to address both social and economic issues.

 A CLEAR VISION:

• We have turned the corner. It has been a balanced recovery. It is not a recovery rooted in one sector of the economy. It is not fuelled by one mega project centred in one geographic area. It is a recovery rooted in a diverse range of new opportunities that we have successfully explored and captured. We have reason to be proud.
  
• It is critical for us to keep pace with the global economy. We must capture new opportunities; ensure that our long-term economic development strategy remains sound, effective and clearly focused.
  
• We want to build on the new economy, forge partnerships, strengthen our traditional resources, and gain full benefits for major resource development.
  
• Government's plan for economic growth is about using innovative, imaginative ideas to enhance productivity and competitiveness of our produces and services in the local and global marketplace. But most importantly we are committed to achieving results.
  
• These results, which form the basis for the future prosperity of our province, depends upon the drive, commitment and success of the private sector. The efforts of government can only be successful if they support and enhance the creativity and competitiveness of the business community.
  
• The successes which we have achieved since coming to office tells me that we are on the right path to achieve and maintain positive levels of economic growth and social stability.

Thank you

1999 11 22                        5:15 p.m.