PEOPLE MAKE THE FUTURE
Better Education for a Better Future
Mr. Speaker, when we look to the future of the Province, nothing is more important than building a culture that values education and provides opportunities for life long learning wherever people live. Education is the foundation that will allow us to compete successfully in the global marketplace and keep our economy growing.
This means we must provide the resources for our students to become the best educated in the country. Our goal is to have student achievement levels in three years that match or exceed the best in the country. We are already out-performing much of the industrialized world. In setting a goal to attain the best achievement levels in Canada we will be producing students whose performance ranks among the best in the world. To do this, we will ensure all our students, whether in urban centres or rural schools, have access to quality educational programming.
KinderStart Kindergarten Orientation Program
Our commitment to education begins with early literacy initiatives such as the KinderStart Kindergarten orientation program, which was implemented for the first time this school year. It is an innovative program providing supports to families so children are well prepared and ready to learn when they enter the school system.
Greater Spending per Student in K-12
In the K to 12 school system declining enrolment is an inescapable reality. As of September 2003, enrolment will have declined almost 20 percent over the previous six years. But rather than spend less on education, this government continues to reinvest in our future. Spending per student has risen over the same period from $5,557 to $7,688, an increase per student of over $2,100, or 38 percent.
Reinvesting the Savings of Reform
In 1996-97, we made a commitment that school districts could retain the savings resulting from school consolidations for a period of three years, rather than have those savings revert to government. This meant that if a district needed fewer schools, government would continue to fund the school boards as if the original number of school facilities were still operating. School boards agreed to use these funds for upgrading and capital improvements to other schools within their district. As a result of this initiative, to date government has reinvested $28 million in school facilities.
In 2000-01, this commitment was extended so that even after the three year period the savings realized from consolidations would continue to be retained in the education system. To date, this has resulted in an additional $17 million being reinvested, bringing the total to $45 million.
For the coming year, savings of $8.5 million are anticipated. Honouring its commitments, this government is allowing boards to reinvest the full amount in education. Despite declining enrolments and school consolidations, total funding has not been reduced since the advent of education reform.
Acting on the "Facing the Challenge" Report
We are also taking additional steps in the coming year to support school board operations. In 2001, as part of its agreement with NAPE, government convened a panel chaired by Dr. Philip Warren to examine the hours of work for secretaries, janitors and maintenance staff in the school system. Dr. Warren�s report entitled "Facing the Challenge" was received in January and its key recommendations have been accepted by government.
An amount of $2.5 million is allocated to phase in implementation commencing in September 2003.
Leading the Country in Teaching Resources
In this budget we are again taking steps to protect teaching positions. In 2000, the Ministerial Panel on Educational Delivery in the Classroom recommended a new formula for the allocation of teachers based primarily on student enrolment. In 2001-02,
the formula would have reduced the number of teacher positions by 218 due to declining enrolment. Instead, we provided the funding to retain these teachers in the education system. Despite further enrolment declines, we retained these teachers again in 2002-03.
The coming fiscal year will mark the third year we will make the required investment to retain these teaching positions. If we followed the formula, there would be 218 less teachers in the education system this September. The $12 million provided in this budget brings our total investment over three years to maintain higher teacher allocations to $35 million.
This will contribute to the Province again leading the country with the best pupil-teacher ratio. The national average is one teacher for every 16 students, but our ratio is nearly 20 percent better at 13.5 students per teacher.
School Facilities Construction and Upgrading
Since the beginning of education reform, this government has remained committed to providing school facilities which offer the best possible educational environment for our students. The result has been the largest program of school construction and upgrading in our history. To date, $170 million has been spent to build 23 new schools and undertake major renovations on 49 existing facilities all around the Province.
A further $6.8 million will be committed in the coming year, including $3.5 million for priority repair and maintenance needs that arise during the year.
This government has renewed its commitment by pledging to bring every school in the Province up to a level that meets or exceeds national standards within five years.
Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation
This Province is recognized as a national leader in the development and delivery of quality educational programming via distance education. This is offered through the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation, which was established by this government on the recommendation of the Ministerial Panel on Educational Delivery in the Classroom. There are currently 21 courses available online in e-learning format to 73 of our smaller schools. We are planning to almost double the number of courses offered to 40 by the 2004-05 school year. When our plan is fully implemented, every student in every school will have access to a broader choice of courses to complement the regular course offerings at the school they attend.
In addition, we are working in co-operation with the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers� Association to also provide enhanced professional development opportunities online for all our teachers.
School districts are asking for more distance education programming in e-learning format. They have our commitment that we intend to deliver it.
Broadband Internet Connectivity Project
Over the next two years, we are prepared to contribute $5 million
towards a Broadband Internet connectivity project in partnership
with the federal government and the private sector. We look forward
to receiving confirmation from our partners of their involvement so
this project can commence. By bringing Broadband Internet service to
more rural and remote communities, students, teachers and community
residents would have reliable, high speed access to the Internet.
Community Access Program
We have a program in place that puts computers into Community Access Program sites in 96 communities throughout the Province. These sites, located in schools, libraries and community facilities, offer free access to Internet services. In the coming year, we are allocating $1.8 million to enable various sites to increase their hours of operation or purchase new equipment and resources.
Resource Materials for Libraries
In each of the past three years, in addition to our regular operating grant, we have allocated an extra $1 million to our public libraries system for the purchase of new library resource materials. This budget will add a further $1 million in the coming year.
Making Post-Secondary Education Accessible
Mr. Speaker, implementing educational reform in the K-12 system is only one part of our plan to better education. Another is to ensure a post-secondary education is accessible to all those who choose to pursue it. No government in the country has done as much to make a post secondary education affordable as we have. Last year students across the country planned a national day of protest against high university tuition. That protest happened everywhere else in the country, except in this Province, because of what this government is doing for students. We are alone, not just in holding the line, but in actually lowering university tuition.
Best Record on Tuition in the Country
Allow me to recount our record on tuition at public institutions. Beginning with the September 1999 academic year, this government provided funding to implement a tuition freeze for two years at Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic. This was followed up by a 10 percent tuition reduction at Memorial in each of the 2001 and 2002 years, as well as an extension of the tuition freeze at the College, the Marine Institute and the Faculty of Medicine.
Today, I am announcing funding for a further 5 percent tuition cut at Memorial to take effect in September 2003 and the extension for another year of the tuition freeze at the other institutions.
This means that students at the College of the North Atlantic and the Marine Institute, where tuitions are already lower than Memorial, as well as students at the Faculty of Medicine, will enjoy a tuition freeze for the fifth consecutive year. Students at Memorial University, in addition to a two year freeze, will see a 25 percent tuition reduction over three years.
These measures are all the more significant when one considers that tuition generally has been increasing across the country over this period. This province stands out in the country as the only one lowering university tuition.
This is a practical measure taken by this government that demonstrates how post secondary education is made more accessible and affordable to students. For students from this Province, tuition rates at Memorial are the lowest Canadian rates in the country. This is just one way this government is building the future of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Memorial University Opportunity Fund
We are also fulfilling our commitment to match dollar for dollar the money raised by the Memorial University Opportunity Fund, a special fundraising project undertaken by the University. An allocation of $2.1 million at fiscal year end will bring our total contribution to date to $26.4 million.
The Fund provides scholarships and fellowships on an ongoing basis, and has made possible the construction of the new Field House athletic complex, plus new student centres at both the St. John�s and Corner Brook campuses.
Highest Grant per Student to any University
By far, the largest financial contribution government makes annually to the university is our sustaining grant. This year that grant will increase by $13.1 million, over 10 percent to $145 million. This will fund the new tuition reduction, as well as other operating and infrastructure costs. This latest increase builds on our record of giving the highest grant per student of any provincial government to any university in Canada.
Student Investment and Opportunities Corporation
The Student Investment and Opportunities Corporation was established in 2001 as an initiative of this government. Its objective is to provide students the opportunity to reduce their need to borrow for their education by giving them meaningful jobs and to further their education by giving them the benefits of work experience. In 2002-03 this initiative created over 3,900 positions for youth and student employment, and over 7,000 since its creation.
Funding of $9.2 million is allocated to continue the present youth employment programs and includes $3 million to fund the employment incentive portion of our new initiative, Youth Opportunities Newfoundland and Labrador.
Youth Opportunities Newfoundland and Labrador
Youth Opportunities will provide incentives for employers who hire cooperative work term students and new post secondary graduates. This new program will make it easier for new graduates to find meaningful employment and pay off their student loans by working right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The second major thrust of Youth Opportunities will be tax incentives for graduates who remain in the Province to work after completing their post secondary studies.
Newfoundland and Labrador Student Loan Tax Credit
We are proposing the implementation of a new Newfoundland and Labrador Student Loan Tax Credit. In concept, eligible residents of the Province who are repaying their student loan will be able to reduce their Provincial personal income tax by an amount of up to 20 percent of the principal payment of the Provincial portion of the loan. This $3 million measure complements the existing tax credit of 10 percent for the interest portion of the payment. This tax credit would be unique in Canada and would assist new graduates and those who have previously graduated and are working in the Province and repaying their debt. We will be taking this proposal to a roundtable of stakeholders in the near future to get their input before proceeding.
Youth Apprenticeship Pilot Projects for the Manufacturing Sector
In partnership with the federal government, we have recently launched Youth Apprenticeship pilot projects in Clarenville and Marystown to help address the skills gap which exists in our manufacturing sector. Funding of $100,000 is allocated for a new initiative in the St. John�s region in cooperation with local manufacturers. This third pilot project will develop pre-employment workshops to ease the transition for new employees to the manufacturing work site.
Our Plan for a Healthier Future
Federal Response to the Kirby and Romanow Reports
Mr. Speaker, on the future of health care, both the Kirby and Romanow reports only underscored what Premiers have been saying for some time. That is, for the health care system to be sustainable the federal government must provide greater financial support to provinces. Premiers put forward an affordable proposal to return the level of federal support to what it had been before deep cuts were made to federal transfers in the mid 1990s.
The lacklustre increment in federal support offered may be a start, but it falls far short of what is needed to sustain existing services and at the same time move forward on needed reforms. This means it is more important now than ever that all the key stakeholders work together for the delivery of a high quality, accessible and sustainable system.
Healthier Together: Our Strategic Health Plan
In September 2002 this government launched Healthier Together, a strategic health plan for the Province. This plan describes the challenges currently faced by the health and community services system and sets out new directions for the next five years.
The key priorities this year are strategies for wellness, mental health and long term care and supportive services. A provincial committee of stakeholder groups has been established to lead the development of wellness priorities.
The plan sets out a new direction for primary health care as the central focus of the delivery of health and community services. A newly appointed Primary Health Care Advisory Council consists of representatives of key stakeholder groups who are advising government on the development and implementation of the Provincial Primary Health Care Framework.
A New Health Charter
In February, the Minister of Health and Community Services released a draft Health Charter and is seeking public input. The Charter, to be finalized this Spring, will outline the commitments which citizens can rely upon related to service delivery. The people of the Province will know what they can expect from the health system and have an understanding of the importance of their own responsibility in achieving optimal health.
Funding Health Care
The strategic health plan, Healthier Together, and Health Charter articulate our public commitments to better health. Consistently increasing our budget allocation to the health system demonstrates this government places the same high priority on health as do the people of the Province. Sustaining adequate funding for health care has been the most significant fiscal challenge for this government, as it has for all provinces and territories.
In the new fiscal year, the operating budget for health will increase by a further $52.5 million, excluding additional funding for physician increases. The increase since 1994-95 in the annual amount allocated by this government to health operating expenditures will be over $620 million, an increment of 63.6 percent. Federal transfers in support of health, however, will be $58 million lower, even after taking into account the federal response to the Romanow report. Health operating expenditures for 2002-03 account for 42 cents of every program dollar we spent compared to 33 cents in 1994-95.
Faced with the challenge of a rising deficit for the coming year, and with the rise in health costs being a prime contributor to it, a less committed government may have reneged on their obligations to fund health. Not this government. Not only are there no cuts to the health care budget, we are responding to the needs by making some priority enhancements.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, per capita public sector spending on health in this Province has exceeded the Canadian average for the past five years, and for 2002 should exceed that average by almost 11 percent.
Stabilizing Health Board Budgets
In contributing greatly to the sustainability of the health care system, the majority of regional health boards have made significant improvements in their financial positions over the past year.
In the coming year, government will provide the boards with additional funding of $4.5 million. With these increases, further progress will be made by boards in moving toward achieving balanced budget operations. The success the boards have achieved in financial management relieves some of the pressure on our fiscal position, and will contribute to our deficit control objectives in the coming years. Government commends the institutional boards on the progress they have made to operate with balanced budgets.
A Commitment for a Second MRI
In the coming year every health board will benefit from $26 million allocated to further enhance medical, diagnostic and patient/resident care equipment. To act on a broad consensus of government, medical professionals and patients, a second Magnetic Resonance Imaging unit (MRI) will be acquired for the Province as part of this funding. The MRI presently in service is fully utilized and patients can face long waitlists. Consultation with the medical community and boards will begin shortly to determine the type of MRI that best suits our needs, as well as where it should be located to maximize its benefits for diagnostic services and patient care.
Evaluating Renal Dialysis Service for Gander
In Fall 2002, the Provincial Renal Dialysis Advisory Committee recommended deferring a decision on a dialysis unit service in Gander for one year to allow for the evaluation of the satellite units operating as pilot projects in Clarenville and Stephenville. We will be considering this issue after receiving a report from the Committee this Spring, and will respond appropriately to its recommendations.
Health Care Facilities
As well as equipment, this government has consistently made major investments in health care facilities all around the Province. The list is long and the projects many. Of the $19.4 million we are allocating for construction and renovation of health facilities, $16 million will fund major construction projects in progress at Stephenville, Grand Bank and Fogo. The balance of $3.4 million will assist various facilities with renovations and repairs.
The provision of more suitable space for cancer patients of the Central West Institutions Board is a priority for this government. A definitive plan to address this need will be finalized this year.
Long Term Care Facilities
Government is supportive of ongoing planning by boards to upgrade their nursing home facilities. Our objective is to ensure the delivery of care to our elderly population will be responsive to their expectations. The cost of delivering long term care in our Province on a per bed basis is the highest in the country. We must explore ways to bring our costs more in line with other provinces without impacting the quality of service. This will give us the flexibility to reinvest in this segment of the health care system. Government will be pursuing public private partnering as one avenue to provide quality long-term care.
Within the next 60 days, we will be issuing an Expression of Interest for a pilot project that would see a public private partnership arrangement for the provision of a new nursing home to replace our aging facilities in Corner Brook.
Increasing Nursing Enrolments
In the budget last year, funding was allocated to increase the number of nursing students admitted to the Bachelor of Nursing program in response to retirements anticipated in future years. This year we are increasing the allocation by $445,000 to bring the total to $745,000. This should allow at least 32 new students to begin nursing studies on a fast-track basis in September.
Personal Care Homes
An additional $1.3 million is provided to increase rates for personal care homes and subsidies for individual clients. This is the fourth consecutive year we have increased our financial support to this sector.
A Brighter Future for Those in Need
Strategic Social Plan and Social Audit
Mr. Speaker, our Strategic Social Plan has become the preeminent model for social development in Canada. It advances the goals of linking social and economic development, bringing a focus to prevention and early intervention, making decisions for policy and program
development based on evidence, and building partnerships and strengthening
communities. Funding of $2 million is allocated again in the coming year for Strategic Social Plan initiatives.
When the Plan was released, it included a commitment to a Social Audit by 2003. It is well underway and will be completed before the end of the calendar year. The first component of the Social Audit, the web-based Community Accounts, was launched in the Fall of 2002. The second component is a report on where the Province stands on key social and economic indicators, entitled "From The Ground Up" and will be released next week. It will provide information on strengths and areas of improvement in the social and economic fabric of this Province so that appropriate interventions can be made where necessary. Our commitment to the Strategic Social Plan and Social Audit advances our vision for a growing and prosperous Province.
Redesign of Social Assistance
Over the past several years we have been engaged in a process of redesigning programs that assist persons on social assistance. A major initiative over the past year has been the replacement of the outdated Social Services Act with the passage of the new Income and Employment Support Act. We now have more accurately reflected in legislation the new directions of programs and services we have been pursuing in recent years. Combining income support with employment and career services to assist people in preparing for and maintaining employment is now outlined in legislation. The new Act should be proclaimed in the coming weeks.
Declining Social Assistance Caseloads
Supporting people making the transition to employment through innovative programs delivered in partnership with community agencies continues to generate many success stories. Other initiatives, like extended drug card benefits, increased earnings exemptions and increased private child care rates, are now part of the redesigned income support program. Providing opportunities and options to clients shows results. The social assistance caseload has shown a steady decline for the past six years, and we anticipate it will decline again over the coming year.
Kids Eat Smart Foundation
The Kids Eat Smart Foundation will be supported by a $500,000 contribution in the coming year. This brings our total contribution to the Foundation and its predecessors since 1998 to $2.5 million. They have helped establish more than 130 meal and snack programs in schools and community centres throughout the Province, supported by over 4,000 volunteers who provide nutritious meals to more than 13,000 children daily.
Affordable Housing Agreement
The federal and Provincial governments will be entering into a new five year cost shared Affordable Housing Agreement early in the new fiscal year. The agreement will assist in meeting specific housing needs, including independent living housing for seniors, supportive housing for the mentally and physically challenged, specific housing needs in Labrador and affordable rental housing for lower income earners. It is anticipated that upwards of $4 million could be committed under this new agreement in 2003-04.
Enhancing the Disability Credit
We currently provide persons with disabilities a non-refundable personal income tax credit. The amount used to calculate the tax credit will be increased, effective for the 2003 taxation year, from $4,233 to $5,000.
In addition, we are introducing a new non-refundable disability tax credit supplement for mentally and physically infirm children under the age of 18 in the amount of $2,353.
This supplement is transferrable to a supporting person if the taxpayer has insufficient income to fully utilize the credit.
These measures represent an additional $1 million in annual tax savings for persons with disabilities.
Enhancing the Seniors� Benefit
In 1999 we implemented a Seniors� Benefit. For 2003, the benefit will be increased from $300 to $350. About 30,000 individuals receive the Seniors' Benefit under a program that we estimate will pay out $7.7 million annually.
More Officers for the RNC
Funding is provided for the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to hire an additional 15 new permanent officers. This will include a combination of first class constables and more junior officers. In funding this increase, government is responding to requests from both the Constabulary and community stakeholders. It is our objective to further increase the number of officers in the coming years.
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