The MHA for Labrador West voted against the provincial budget in the House of Assembly last week.

Jordan Brown points to many reasons why he went against the budget including a lack of planning for recruitment and retention, the Medical Transportation Assistance Program, and lack of anti-scab legislation for workers.

Brown says another reason is that there was nothing in the budget to address the cost of living in his district. One example is the cost to travel.

He says if you went to the airport counter to buy a ticket to fly out, you’d be looking at $1,500. He says the cost of air travel has increased exponentially. He says a lack of competition is also driving the cost. He notes that years ago, there were three options out of Wabush: Provincial Airlines, Air Canada and Air Labrador. Right now, Provincial Airlines is the only one left.

He says subsidies earmarked for airports in the budget will not be used to help airports in Labrador.

He says the majority of Labradorians are not travelling for vacation, but to access services not available in the region.