Elected officials must put politics aside and develop a plan to fix the fiscal crisis

The Employers’ Council sent a letter to all elected officials in NL yesterday, asking them to use the reopening of the House of Assembly today as an opportunity to develop a long term fiscal plan for the province.

Read the full letter.

The letter urges elected representatives to give the same focus and urgency to the economic and fiscal impact of COVID-19 as was given to the public health impact. In it, Employers’ Council Executive Director Richard Alexander asks officials to use the reopening of the House of Assembly as an “occasion to rally the province to overcome the devastation caused to our economy and provincial treasury by this disease.”

The letter encourages government to release a full fiscal and economic projection and for parties to work together to develop a plan to resolve the fiscal crisis immediately, in order to inspire hope and certainty to the people and businesses in the province. This plan must be decisive and based on the best, long term interest of the province versus short-term political motivations. We cannot afford to wait for the next premier, or to rely on the federal government to save us. We can, and should, solve this problem for ourselves.

“I can think of no other piece of business that could take priority for you at this time,” said Alexander. “I implore you to capture the momentum of success and use it to propel us to a brighter fiscal future.”