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PC PARTY BLUEPRINT - 6/10
Strong People
The family is the foundation of our communities. Over the decades, our communities have lost many families and many parents have opted to bear fewer children, leading to declining school enrolments, labour shortages, reduced consumer demand and other economic and social consequences. Promoting family growth can reverse these trends, bring new growth in schools, residential construction, consumer markets and business opportunities. With progressive family growth and immigration policies, we will begin the process of reversing the decline, rebuilding our population and strengthening our communities.
Many families are striving to achieve personal self-reliance, but barriers have kept many from achieving their potential and left them feeling helpless and miserable. Children are particularly vulnerable. Their inability to reach their full potential has repercussions throughout their lives and for generations to come. We as a society and through our government must always demonstrate a strong social conscience, a progressive vision of empowerment and a willingness to provide the tools and special assistance people may need to realize their potential. Our Poverty Reduction Strategy [link] has earned the praise of anti-poverty leaders across the country, who say it is a model for others to follow. We are ready and determined to build on these major advances.
Women have consistently faced special barriers to equality in modern society. We have adopted a progressive approach to equality by investing in poverty reduction, education, apprenticeship and violence prevention, and we are ready to do more to build a more-inclusive society.
We are especially committed to improving the lives of our seniors, many of whom face significant barriers to enjoyment - concerns about health, housing, income, violence and crime. We as a society have a moral obligation to help our elders face such challenges with dignity, grace, compassion and the reassurance that they are secure. With our long-term care and community support strategy and our Healthy Aging Policy Framework to guide us, we are determined to ensure our people in their golden years can live self-fulfilling lives in a community of friends where they can pursue new opportunities with freedom and joy while appreciating the comfort of a strong social support network.
Strong communities are dynamic circles of citizens caring for one another and working cooperatively to build a society in which every person has the opportunity to apply his or her special talents in pursuit of dreams. The spirit of sharing and volunteering has been alive and well here for generations and is deeply ingrained in who we are. Approximately 23,000 people in our province are employed in the voluntary and non-profit sector. Approximately 187,000 people in our province volunteer, contributing a total of 35 million hours of valuable unpaid time to their communities and community organizations in a concerted effort to make our province stronger - the equivalent of 19,000 person-years of employment. It is through initiatives like volunteering that we strengthen one another and allow the 'rising tide' of economic self-reliance to 'lift all boats' and spread the opportunities throughout our communities.
A Progressive Conservative government in its second term will:
- develop and implement a Progressive Family Growth Policy to promote higher birth rates and population expansion by providing $1,000 for each child born or adopted in Newfoundland and Labrador, at a cost of $4.5 million
- review and improve the process for adopting children within the province, from other parts of Canada and from other countries with a goal of simplifying and accelerating adoption procedures without undermining measures to protect children
- add to the Employment Insurance parental leave supplements for the mothers and fathers of young children by $100 a month, at a cost of $5.4 million
- implement a 10-year early learning and child care strategy, which will include increasing the number of child care spaces by 30% and the number of low-income subsidies by 30% in the next four years, the provincial share of which will cost $5 million
- enhance our Early Learning and Child Care Plan in terms of affordability, recruitment and retention of early childhood educators, increasing the numbers of child care spaces available particularly in rural areas, improving the quality of child care services and including children with disabilities; specifically, by increasing the family income threshold for access to the child care subsidy program, increasing the educational supplement paid to early childhood educators, providing an operating grant to non-profit groups in communities where the group is the only child care service provider and need has been demonstrated, providing funding for additional centre staff who care for children with special needs, and other measures
- provide additional opportunities for training in appropriate pre- and post-natal care to new parents
- enhance training and supports for foster families
- continue to implement our Immigration Strategy [link] and work with the federal government to streamline the immigration process
- introduce job protection legislation for Canadian Forces reservists
- maintain the lowest personal income tax rates in Atlantic Canada to the extent that it is fiscally possible
- reduce the fees for registering a motor vehicle from $180 to $140 - passing $10 million back to consumers
- continue the home heating fuel rebate, at an annual cost of $12 million
- develop a comprehensive strategy to encourage our youth to stay in our province
- continue to work to change Newfoundland and Labrador, over the ten-year period that began in 2004, from the jurisdiction with the highest poverty rates to one with the lowest poverty rates in Canada
- increase the current poverty reduction budget of $92 million by at least 10%
- release a guide to poverty reduction services for individuals and families
- undertake a measurement of poverty midway through the term to determine the extent to which the poverty reduction initiatives are working
- evaluating demographic trends throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, determine the relative need for appropriate-size public housing units that better accommodate smaller families, and ensure future construction and retrofitting projects are adjusted to reflect demographic realities
- continue to provide rent supplement for low income persons, including seniors, residing in Newfoundland Labrador Housing
- continue to work with income support clients, low-income earners and others to promote labour force attachment in effective and innovative ways
- establish a Division for Disabilities
- commission a study of the barriers encountered by people with various disabilities - such as mobility challenges, vision impairment, hearing impairment and many others - including barriers to public services, to education and to opportunity; and in consultation with persons with disabilities, develop recommendations and strategies to address these barriers
- having announced that the minimum wage (which was $6.00 an hour in 2005) will rise to $8.00 an hour on April 1, 2008, plan for future increases in the minimum wage in a predictable and incremental manner by undertaking consultations in 2008 to provide stakeholders with a meaningful opportunity for input and the time necessary to prepare for increases, with a view to achieving a minimum hourly wage of $10 by 2010
- promote and support women in standing for elected office, and direct the Women's Policy Office to identify and address barriers to representation by women
- under the direction of the Women's Policy Office, work to enhance equality for women by developing and implementing a communications strategy to promote women in occupational areas including entrepreneurship where they are currently under-represented; by exploring with government departments and women's organizations strategies to enhance individual departments' participation in advancing the status of women; by developing and implementing a communication strategy to encourage women's participation in leadership and decision making positions; and by exploring innovative ways to ensure women share more equitably in social and economic benefits
- increase Women's Centre funding by 5% a year
- do our part, in cooperation with Aboriginal communities and other governments, to help curb violence affecting Aboriginal women and to help Aboriginal women become empowered to influence public policy, programs and legislation in ways that will improve the quality of their lives
- continue to work collaboratively to increase the participation of women in skilled trades and professions in Newfoundland and Labrador, enhancing women's work skills and preparedness for trades identified by the Skills Task Force
- remove barriers to ensure women can more fully participate in the energy sector
- increase opportunities for women's apprenticeships in various career disciplines using, as a model, the partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), which developed a mentorship program for female apprentices and matched female students in their first year with appropriate employment
- ensure, through the meetings and initiatives of the Provincial Advisory Council, Ministerial Council and Division for Aging and Seniors, that the concerns and priorities of seniors are addressed in government policies, programs and legislation on an ongoing basis
- develop a strategy to prepare for the health care realities and challenges associated with increased numbers of seniors, and adjust the delivery of health care services to ensure seniors are able to access the care they need
- implement the Provincial Healthy Aging Policy Framework [link]
- work to eradicate elder abuse by improving legislation, policies, programs and services that work toward older adults being free from violence and neglect
- implement anti-crime and violence prevention initiatives to ensure seniors can feel safe in their own homes
- launch a chronic disease prevention and management strategy, which incorporates chronic pain management; partner to reduce chronic diseases and conditions; and ensure that health promotion is age-inclusive
- commit to a comprehensive long-term care policy for the province, building on the initiatives already underway
- continue to redevelop and modernize the province's long-term care homes
- continue to improve home care services to enhance independence and quality of life
- review and redevelop standards for long-term care homes, personal care homes and home support services to achieve greater accountability
- establish programs and standards for end-of-life care throughout Newfoundland and Labrador to improve the quality of life for seniors
- consult with seniors to develop innovative ways to identify housing solutions for the elderly to advance their autonomy; specifically by supporting affordable and accessible rental housing for seniors through the Affordable Housing Program; by continuing to provide rent supplements for low income persons, including seniors, residing in Newfoundland Labrador Housing; and by supporting and enhancing the Provincial Home Repair Program
- designate a Minister Responsible for the Volunteer and Non-profit Sector and establish in the government a Volunteer and Non-profit Sector Office
- formalize a policy and program framework to strengthen and support the community-based sector and to enhance the development of social economy enterprises, especially in rural regions, as means of improving services, providing additional employment
- recognize and celebrate the work of community volunteers
- through discussions with the Community Services Council and other community organizations in the volunteer sector, produce a scope of work document to set the terms for an initiative to strengthen the relationship between the government and the volunteer sector, to improve the grants process, and to identify opportunities for cooperation and collaboration
- increase funding for the Community Services Council
- continue to implement the recommendations of the task force on the not-for-profit sector
- work with volunteer and non-profit organizations on measures to enhance employment stability for organizational staff
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