Its very unfortunate that SERCO plans to eliminate 25 positions at 5-Wing Goose Bay. Upon learning of rumours of layoffs I immediately wrote to Minister Nicholson’s office on the matter and to arrange a meeting as soon as possible, which I have been pursuing for some time. I am disappointed to hear of these layoffs that affect the community of Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Its also disappointing that the recent SERCO contract extension was for a limited duration for two years, which does not demonstrate a long-term commitment to 5-Wing or the region. The Federal Government has not fulfilled its past commitments to 5-Wing including to: - Station a Rapid Reaction Battalion (RRB) with a complement of 650 regular force personnel for enhanced Atlantic army response at 5 Wing; - Station a long range Unstaffed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) squadron at 5 Wing to provide surveillance over the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Arctic; and, - Maintain a foreign military training program and encourage increased allied flight training operations at 5 Wing. In addition, there has been no apparent movement on other developments related to 5 Wing reported in the media in June 2013 to: - Increase the Canadian Rangers complement in Labrador and establish a regional training centre for the Rangers; - Shift responsibility for marketing the Base for foreign military training from Ottawa to 5 Wing; - Increase contracted maritime surveillance patrols; and - Enhance 5 Wing’s infrastructure and staffing complement. We have seen no concrete action or timelines to deliver to 5-Wing and the people of Labrador. Federal presence and federal spending are important to our economy, the effectiveness of federal-provincial relations and Newfoundland and Labrador’s place in Canada. I will push the importance of 5-Wing and promote the bolstering and expansion of its operational role at every available opportunity. I will be meeting in early February with Minister Lebel and will make a trip to visit 5 Wing, also next month. It is our position that federal jobs, programs and services here in Newfoundland and Labrador should not be disproportionately impacted as a result of federal budget reduction efforts. We continue to monitor federal presence in the province and will continue to push for the protection of current federally funded positions as well as offer proposals to expand federal presence wherever possible.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 17:42:56 +0000
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