The official opposition is calling on the province to take immediate action to determine why outside workers are being brought in on provincial construction projects when there are “many skilled Newfoundlanders and Labradorians” looking for work.

MHA for Conception Bay South, Barry Petten says out-of-province workers who are not required to self-isolate, are working alongside Newfoundlanders and Labradorians at a number of key construction sites, including the Core Science Building, the Corner Brook hospital and the Long-term Care Facility in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Petten says many of those workers are from provinces like Quebec and Ontario, that have been particularly hard-hit by COVID-19.

He says skilled labourers in Newfoundland and Labrador have been impacted by a downturn in the economy, and immediate action is needed to get them working with a NL First policy.