News Release
Office of the Official Opposition

Joyce questions whether Grenfell announcement is another election ploy by government

Eddie Joyce, MHA for the District of Bay of Islands, is questioning whether government’s position related to the establishment of Sir Wilfred Grenfell College (SWGC) as the province’s second university is sincere, or simple politicking on the verge of an election campaign.

"I support the concept of SWGC becoming an independent university," said Mr. Joyce. "I’ve heard plenty of rhetoric from the premier and his ministers related to this initiative, but I have not seen any action to back up this concept. I have questioned the premier and his ministers as to why they refused to move forward with necessary legislative changes that would be required before a two university system could be established. If they were truly serious about this plan, why weren’t consultations held with the Board of Regents to hear their opinions on this initiative before now? Why didn’t the premier bring forward any plans to deal with this before October’s election?

"This is the same approach used by Premier Williams and Humber East MHA Tom Marshall in the 2003 election campaign. In his campaign literature, Minister Marshall promised that a new state-of-the-art Exhibition Centre announced by the Liberal Government would go ahead for the Fine Arts building at SWGC. Instead, even though groundwork such as the water and sewer connections were complete, the PC Government cancelled this project and erased a valuable piece of education and culture for the Corner Brook area.

"I have also heard the premier commit several times to the establishment of a Centre of Excellence at SWGC. The premier committed millions of dollars for this project, but to date none of this money has been spent. If this government was serious about strengthening SWGC, I would have expected their actions to back up their empty words.

"I fear that the establishment of SWGC as an independent university is just another in a long-list of empty election ploys by this government. I can assure the premier that I will not let this issue drop. The premier and his ministers know and understand that legislative changes must be made before another university can be established in the province and they have so far refused to make these changes. I hope this is not just another attempt to get votes through empty promises."

Media Contact:
Darrell Mercer
Director of Communications
Office of the Official Opposition
709-729-6151 or 709-687-0477