People in Newfoundland and Labrador are discouraged by this government’s focus on balancing the budget. The real crisis facing the province is not how to balance the books, but how to stop rising unemployment. The unemployment rate in Newfoundland Labrador is “officially” 12.1%, more than twice the Canadian average. The real rate – counting people who are involuntarily working part-time, waiting for jobs, or have given up looking.
According to RBC economists, the fall in population that started in 2017 is both a symptom and a cause of the problems in our economy. In the second quarter of 2019, the largest number of people left the province since 2006: a net interprovincial migration figure of – 1500. Outmigration is eroding our tax base and threatening our sustainability as a province. We need to bring people here and keep them here.
Thankfully, we know exactly how to accomplish that goal. A recent government- commissioned report has found that major incentives for the return of expatriate Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to the province include better employment conditions, job security, and better government services. With leadership from the provincial government, we must invest in the people of our province by supporting and retaining our workers, attracting newcomers, and retaining young people in our communities.
CUPE NL urges government to focus on protecting existing jobs in the public and private sectors and invest to stimulate economic growth in the short term.
RECOMMENDATIONS
CUPE NL offers three recommendations to government:
- Stimulate economic growth by investing in public services,
2. Raise the minimum wage to $15/hour to boost local spending and help retain young people, and
3. Reduce expenditures and create efficiencies by cancelling the P3 deals.
In 2018, the provincial government asked expatriate Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to tell them what, if anything, would make them decide to move home. Jobs were a serious concern – only 65% of respondents to the survey the report was based on had jobs when they left the province; now 95% of them are employed. 50% of respondents said they’d come home if there were better job opportunities.
But jobs weren’t the only concern. The respondents also talked about public services: health care, education, and public transportation. They wanted to come home to a
province which prioritizes making life easier for people and more enjoyable: a province with a lower cost of living and more leisure and cultural options.
Our young people are leaving because they don’t want their lives to be defined by boom and bust industries. They want good, full-time, permanent jobs, and they want high quality, dependable public services. If we want to stop outmigration from draining our young people, we need public investment to lead the way.
To read the full submission click here.