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| Last updated at 2:26 PM on 16/06/09 |
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The cabinet ministers that accompanied Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune MHA Tracey Perry to the area were Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy Premier; Paul Oram, Minister of Business; Charlene Johnson, Minister of Environment and Conservation; Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Finance; Clyde Jackman, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation and Trevor Taylor, Minister of Transportation. Photo submitted by Caroline Collier |
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Cabinet ministers visit Coast of Bays 
CLAYTON HUNT
Coaster
Six members of the provincial government's Economic Policy Committee (EPC) of Cabinet were in the Coast of Bays on June 8 and 9 to get a firsthand look at economic activity in the area and to view the aquaculture industry.
The cabinet ministers that accompanied Tracey Perry, MHA of Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune, to the area were Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy Premier; Paul Oram, Minister of Business; Charlene Johnson, Minister of Environment and Conservation; Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Finance; Clyde Jackman, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation and Trevor Taylor, Minister of Transportation.
The group visited several aquaculture related sites in St. Alban's, Pool's Cove, Belleoram and Harbour Breton on June 8. The committee members received two private presentations from two area organizations on June 9 at Conne River.
Ms. Perry said that she wanted to bring the EPC members to the Coast of Bays to have them look at the various economic sectors in the area such as aquaculture, the traditional fishery, forestry and tourism.
"The Coast of Bays is a rural area that has great potential for sustainability and growth," Ms. Perry said. "I wanted the EPC to look at the economy down here as a whole so they can continue to give us great support for a number of activities in our region."
Ms Dunderdale is the chair of the EPC. She said that the EPC is a standing committee of Cabinet and reviews all economic policy papers before they actually reach the Cabinet level. She noted that the EPC attempts to visit a part of the province each year that is seeing a particular growth in economic activities.
"We especially wanted to visit the Coast of Bays to look at what is happening in the aquaculture industry. This industry has seen intense involvement from our government because we have always felt this area has great potential for growth in the industry," Ms. Dunderdale said. "When you're doing policy or program planning, it's great to have a number of ministers with firsthand knowledge of an industry and to see what's happening in any particular region. We basically wanted to visit this area to talk to community and industry leaders, and to people in the communities, to see how all of this development is working for them."
She said government realizes the aquaculture industry is still in its early stages and that there will be challenges ahead. She said her government would be willing to continue working with the industry to help the industry expand in the future.
Mr. Taylor said his department is fully aware of the road infrastructure needs in the Coast of Bays and that a good aquaculture program needs a solid infrastructure base.
He said that his department is repairing the bigger trunk roads in the province this year and that about $3 million dollars was allotted to repair sections of the Bay d'Espoir Highway.
"I expect that in 2010 the focus in this area will be on the section of Route 360 between the Bay d'Espoir intersection and Harbour Breton," Mr. Taylor said. "This stretch of road is seen as a priority and we recognize that this particular section of the route is important to the continuing growth of aquaculture in the Coast of Bays."
Mr. Jackman said that the Coast of Bays has great potential for further tourism development. Mr. Jackman was really impressed with the Elliott Premises in Harbour Breton.
"When people visit our province they want to see what we're all about," he said. "A theatre stage is often a place to present that knowledge. You have the infrastructure in place now at this facility to present stories about the region and its history."
Mr. Jackman said that tourism is becoming more of a way to employ people. He noted that tourism is an $850 million industry annually in the province.
"We want to rise that figure up to 1.6 or possible even $2 billion by 2020," Minister Jackman said. "This area has much to offer, and it gives people another perspective of the province. I know that my officials will continue to work with people here to further develop the tourism industry."
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16/06/09
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