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Government's commitment to Stephenville shallow and shocking
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Eddie Joyce, MHA for the District of the Bay of Islands, says the provincial government continues to show that its commitment to the Stephenville Mill is shockingly shallow and that it is waning as more time passes. During question period in the House of Assembly today, Joyce questioned government on several aspects relating to the Stephenville mill, including a funding request from the union and the releasing of the full report prepared by consultants. The MHA for the area, Joan Burke, stood in for the minister responsible, but she did not provide any satisfactory answers, nor any reassurance government was willing to meet its commitments. AGiven the premier=s hard commitment that no stone would be left unturned when it came to the mill, there has been little or no action by government to address this very serious issue for the citizens and workers of the region,@ says Joyce. AThe MHA of the area could not even give a commitment today that this government would even hold a public meeting in the town so that some dialogue could take place to discuss options. AIt is shocking enough that the premier=s personal commitment on the mill that it would not close on his watch has not been met. He also stated to the union that he would expropriate the mill and that is not happening. That fact that he committed to leaving no stone unturned obligates his ministers to, at the very least, meet with the union who are willing to try every possible route and who remain confident they may have a potential operator. Government is not even willing to release the entire consultant=s report into the mill and its future.@ Another question raised by the Liberal MHA in the Legislature today was whether government would commit the less than $150,000 tagged by the union for consultants to explore a potential operator=s interest in running the mill. The union members have offered to cost share this with the government by committing $10,000 of its own money. AI call upon government to help out these individuals who are willing to put in their own money to try and find a solution to their problem. AFor the people of this province, and most especially to the citizens of the Bay St. George=s region, the mill and its closing will forever be etched as a significant broken promise by this government. Their refusal to even release pertinent information surrounding this issue reinforces just how shallow their commitment has also been to openness and accountability.@
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