For Immediate Release
11 March, 2024
Jim Dinn (St. John’s Centre), Leader of Newfoundland and Labrador’s NDP presented his caucus’ budget 2024 expectations to the Liberal Government.
“While we were happy to see the announcement for a poverty reduction plan, major adjustments to social support programs like those made in November 2023 occur too infrequently,” Dinn said. “In the spirit of robust public services, spending on private healthcare services like travel nurses should be scaled back and eliminated where possible. That money should be re-profiled into shoring up the public system by:
Introducing further measures to retain the dedicated healthcare professionals already in our public system;
Purchasing a third air ambulance plane to allow the air ambulance system to be run publicly;
Providing paid work terms to students in the nursing, education, and social work fields; and
Increasing resourcing for the public school system to provision for guidance counselors, instructional resource teachers, student assistants, educational psychologists, etc.
“Fair pay for equivalent work will help adjust the inequality felt by employed women. We would like to see adjustments in this budget for the shift in salaries expected as a result of pay equity legislation being implemented in the public service.
“Here are some other immediate actions government can take to ease the rising cost of living:
Remove the HST from all home heating.
Increase funding to the First-time Homebuyers Program to double the number of applicants assisted.
Increase the wage replacement rate for injured workers to 90%.
“Finally, we ask that your government commit to a moratorium on the use of P3s and roll back existing privatization of our public goods and services. As we have seen with the use of agency nurses, such “solutions” merely cost the public more and erode the quality of services provided.”
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A full transcript of the letter to the Minister of Finance is attached.
For further information, contact Eddy St. Coeur, Director of Communications, NDP Caucus at 729-2137 (o), or eddystcoeur@gov.nl.ca