"The individual projects themselves seem to be positive initiatives, but what is lacking here is any evidence of an overall plan to deal with the crisis that is being faced by people in rural areas of this province," said Ms. Foote. "The government has grouped together a series of minor projects and some ongoing initiatives in an attempt to try to give the impression that something significant is happening. In actual fact, they are doing very little and the people of this province will see right through this attempt to misrepresent what is really happening."

The Liberal MHA says she is disappointed that the current government has not followed through on their election promise of having a plan for rural Newfoundland and Labrador. "They raised expectations during the election, but the results of their cutbacks have hit rural areas of this province the hardest. We have seen layoffs, office closures and service reductions rather than the plan for prosperity they promised.

"The Premier has talked a lot about having a two pronged approach. One prong involves controlling expenditures by instituting cutbacks and the other prong is supposed to involve investing in economic development. It is interesting to see that this government has already announced over $400 million in cuts, but are now only announcing $1.2 million in regional economic initiatives.

"There are many opportunities for development and growth in rural areas of this province, but what is needed is a government that truly believes in this agenda and is willing to take actions that result in the development of these opportunities."