For Immediate Release
17 November, 2022
While the Liberal government has been approving infrastructure projects with no explanation of what budgets items will be cut to finance the projects. Meanwhile people in this province are facing homelessness, soaring cost of living increases, and growing food insecurity. NL NDP Leader and MHA for St. John’s Centre, Jim Dinn, is raising concerns that the Liberal government is refusing to focus on the immediate needs of people.
“Investments in healthcare infrastructure is a positive announcement. However, it is worrisome that Liberal Ministers flippantly gave vague explanations about what would be cut from Budget 2022 to pay for the quadrupling of costs for the Health Sciences Centre Emergency Room,” said Dinn.
“On one hand I’m told we cannot invest in accessible housing, making healthier food more affordable, or any other of the social determinants of health because of budget restraints. On the other we’re being told ‘the job needs to be done and we’re going ahead regardless of the costs’. That attitude is how we ended up with Muskrat Falls.
“I can tell you that proposals for affordable housing infrastructure have been shelved, or delayed indefinitely because the bids were too high.”
The NL NDP Leader says that the cost overruns on provincial ferry retrofits, and the unjustifiably inflated salaries at Nalcor Energy are in large part due to a lack of due diligence by successive Liberal and Tory governments.
“The provincial government must learn to be more prudent with the public purse, and focus on the immediate needs of people,” Dinn said. “For healthcare workers, that’s a comprehensive human resources plan so we have staff to work in these facilities when completed. For the general public that is having a safe place to live, and being able to put food on the table so they can lead healthier lives and reduce the demands on our healthcare system.”
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For further information, contact Eddy St. Coeur, Director of Communications, NDP Caucus at 729-2137 (o), or eddystcoeur@gov.nl.ca