Premier Andrew Furey has delivered his State of the Province Address.
In a pre-recorded video that ran nearly nine minutes, Furey hammered home the idea that changes and difficult decisions need to be made. He references the province’s $47-billion debt, saying that for a province of over 500,000 people, that is an “unbearable load.”
Furey states that the province is operating with a population model from the 1970s, when the province had six children for every senior. Now, there are two seniors for every child.
The province and world have changed, according to Furey, who says that Newfoundland and Labrador must take action.
“These urgent actions include things like raising taxes on those who can afford it; eliminating bonuses and reviewing salaries to protect jobs; evaluating the future of Nalcor, and our future positions in oil equity; investing in technology innovation and the green economy; amalgamating health authorities; creating a new deal with Memorial University—and examining the purpose of a school district that continues to keep empty schools open.”
-Premier Furey
The Premier states that the province’s problem wasn’t caused by the vulnerable or seniors on fixed incomes, and says they will not “bear the burden of this weight.” Instead, he says, the focus is on eliminating waste and redundancies and being more accountable.
Ending his speech with a call to action, Furey says the easy path is to fight amongst ourselves and use the report as a “mechanism of division.” But he says the province’s problems must be tackled together, and that those problems must be faced head-on because “division has never made us stronger.”
