Church Teaching Catholic Teaching
Jesus said to the crowds, “Therefor I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? …[S]eek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” Matthew 6:25-33
“Some people are born into economically stable families, receive a fine education, grow up well nourished, or naturally possess great talent. They will certainly not need a proactive state; they need only claim their freedom. Yet the same rule clearly does not apply to a disabled person, to someone born in dire poverty, to those lacking a good education and with little access to adequate health care. If a society is governed primarily by the criteria of market freedom and efficiency, there is no place for such persons, and fraternity will remain just another vague ideal.” Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, 109
The Dignity & Importance of Work
The use of one’s gifts to seek and serve God necessarily includes work, by which humans cooperate with God in God’s continuing act of creation. Work has a place of honour because it is a source of the conditions for a decent life, and is, in principle, an effective instrument against poverty. But one must not succumb to the temptation of making an idol of work, for the ultimate and definitive meaning of life is not to be found in work. Work is essential, but it is God — and not work — who is the origin of life and the final goal of man.
The underlying principle of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. The demand of justice, which stems from it, precedes concerns for profit: “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it” (Prov. 15:16). “Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice” (Prov. 16:8). – 257, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Work is not only an essential part of life, but when we work in accordance with our inner passions – our individual vocations – it is a joy. And it is also an obligation to one’s family, neighbors, and nation. Man must work, both because the Creator has commanded it and in order to respond to the need to maintain and develop his own humanity. We are heirs of the work of generations and at the same time shapers of the future of all who will live after us. – 274, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
But work, and particularly dignified work, is not readily available for all who seek it. Those who are unemployed or underemployed suffer the profound negative consequences that such a situation creates in a personality and they run the risk of being marginalized within society, of becoming victims of social exclusion… –289, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
Poverty Reduction
The poor, the marginalized and in all cases those whose living conditions interfere with their proper growth should be the focus of particular concern. To this end, the preferential option for the poor should be reaffirmed in all its force… Today, this love of preference for the poor, and the decisions which it inspires in us, cannot but embrace the immense multitudes of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without health care and, above all, those without hope of a better future.” – 182, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
Catholics are called to remember Jesus’ own words: What we do to the least among us, we do to Him. – Matthew 25:31-46
“Helping the poor financially must always be a provisional solution in the face of pressing needs. The broader objective should always be to allow them a dignified life through work”. – Pope Francis, Laudato si’, 128
An Economy to Serve People
I encourage financial experts and political leaders to ponder the words of one of the sages of antiquity: ‘Not to share one’s wealth with the poor is to steal from them and to take away their livelihood. It is not our own goods which we hold, but theirs…’ Money must serve, not rule! –Pope Francis, Joy of the Gospel, 57-58
The development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to provide for the needs of human beings. Economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit or power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human community. For many people, a living wage and dignified housing are beyond reach. – 2426, Catechism of the Catholic Church
The planning capacity of a society oriented towards the common good and looking to the future is measured… above all on the basis of the employment prospects that it is able to offer. Maintaining employment depends more and more on one’s professional capabilities. Instructional and educational systems must not neglect human or technological formation, which are necessary for gainfully fulfilling one’s responsibilities.
Young people should be taught to act upon their own initiative, to accept the responsibility of facing with adequate competencies the risks connected with a fluid economic context that is often unpredictable in the way it evolves. -271-290, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Small businesses, trades, and crafts
The decentralization of production, which assigns to smaller companies several tasks previously undertaken by larger production interests, gives vitality and new energy to the area of small and medium-sized businesses. In this way, alongside traditional artisans there emerge new businesses characterized by small production interests at work in modern production sectors or in decentralized activities of larger companies.
Work in small and medium-sized businesses, the work of artisans and independent work can represent an occasion to make the actual work experience more human, both in terms of the possibility of establishing positive personal relationships in smaller-sized communities and in terms of the opportunities for greater initiative and industriousness. In these sectors, however, there are more than just a few cases of unjust treatment, of poorly paid and, above all, uncertain work. – 315, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Innovation
Thanks to technological innovations, the world is being enriched with new professions while others are disappearing. In the present phase of transition there is a continuous movement of workers from the industrial sector to that of services… In particular, there is an increase in…part-time, temporary and “non-traditional” employment… – 313, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Unions & Workers’ Rights
The demands of competition, technological innovation and the complexities of financial fluxes must be brought into harmony with the defense of workers and their rights. – 313, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Any form of materialism or economic tenet that tries to reduce the worker to a mere instrument of production, a simple labour force with an exclusively material value, would hopelessly distort the essence of work and strip it of its most noble and basic human quality. 270-271, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
Among the rights of workers, the Church recognizes:
– the right to a just wage;
– the right to rest;
– the right “to a working environment and to manufacturing processes which are not harmful to the workers’ physical health or to their moral integrity”;
– the right that one’s personality in the workplace should be safeguarded “without suffering any affront to one’s conscience or personal dignity;
– the right to appropriate subsidies that are necessary for the subsistence of unemployed workers and their families;
– the right to a pension and to insurance for old age, sickness, and in case of work-related accidents;
– the right to social security connected with maternity;
– the right to assemble and form associations.
301, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
The Church recognizes the fundamental role played by labour unions… Such organizations, while pursuing their specific purpose with regard to the common good, are a positive influence for social order and solidarity, and are therefore an indispensable element of social life. Work, because of its subjective or personal character, is superior to every other factor connected with productivity; this principle applies, in particular, with regard to capital.
The Church’s social doctrine teaches that relations within the world of work must be marked by cooperation: hatred and attempts to eliminate the other are completely unacceptable. This is also the case because in every social system both “labour” and “capital” represent indispensable components of the process of production.
No Christian, in light of the fact that he belongs to a united and fraternal community, should feel that he has the right not to work and to live at the expense of others (cf. 2 Thes 3:6-12). Rather, all are charged… to make it a point of honour to work with their own hands, so as to be dependent on nobody (1 Thes 4:12), and to practise a solidarity which is also material by sharing the fruits of their labour with “those in need” (Eph 4:28). – 264, 305-307, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Corporations & Competition, and Consumers
You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
– the 10th Commandment
The individual profit of an economic enterprise, although legitimate, must never become the sole objective. Social utility is an objective of even higher order. When the free market carries out the important functions mentioned above it becomes a service to the common good and to integral human development. When focused on profit alone, however, the market can degenerate into an inhuman and alienating institution, with uncontrollable repercussions.
Freedom in the economic sector… must be regulated by appropriate legal norms so that it will be placed at the service of integral human freedom… A great deal of educational and cultural work is urgently needed, including the education of consumers in the responsible use of their power of choice, the formation of a strong sense of responsibility among producers and among people in the mass media in particular, as well as necessary intervention by public authorities. In order to balance the principle of solidarity with the rights and obligations of the individual, the State’s intervention in the economic environment must be neither invasive nor absent, but commensurate with society’s real needs. “The State has a duty to sustain business activities by creating conditions which will ensure job opportunities, by stimulating those activities where they are lacking or by supporting them in moments of crisis. The State has the further right to intervene when particular monopolies create delays or obstacles to development. -305-307, 351, 376 Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
There is a growing loss of the sense of history, which leads to even further breakup. A kind of “deconstructionism”, whereby human freedom claims to create everything starting from zero, is making headway in today’s culture. The one thing it leaves in its wake is the drive to limitless consumption and expressions of empty individualism. –12, Fratelli Tutti
Transportation & Infrastructure
The demands of the common good… are strictly connected to respect for and the integral promotion of the person and his fundamental rights. Among other things, these demands concern commitment to the provision of essential services to all, some of which are at the same time human rights: food, housing, work, education and access to culture, transportation… -166, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador Economy for All
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-in order to promote a sustainable future for the province, in its prior term in office it established an economic recovery team consisting of a talented, diverse group of individuals volunteering to generate big ideas for a sustainable future, as the province emerged from the COVID pandemic.
-the team was tasked with providing recommendations to address the Province’s immediate fiscal challenges and suggesting options to revitalize the economy and identify growth opportunities.
-on the basis of the team’s report, the government was to conduct broad consultations with stakeholders and the general public on the recommendations, which would be made public and tabled in the Assembly upon receipt, with meaningful steps to address the Province’s fiscal situation and ensure a prosperous future.
-it proposed creation of a new office of provincial Chief Economic Recovery Officer (CERO). a non-partisan civil servant to lead a coordinated approach across the whole of Government and identify opportunities to advance the Province’s economy.
-it further proposed to leverage its close working relationship with partners in the federal government. It had previously secured a $320 million investment from Ottawa to support workers in the struggling provincial oil and gas sector, including supports relating to the Muskrat Falls and Lower Churchill Projects, and progress on electrification priorities to advance the Atlantic Loop.
The party’s 2025 budget summarizes the current economic outlook. Noting that tariffs placed on Canadian goods entering the United States and China have been broadly captured in its economic forecast, the party states that it expects:
-Newfoundland and Labrador to lead real GDP growth among all Canadian provinces with a forecasted increase of 4.4 per cent, primarily due to increased oil and mineral production.
– capital investment to accelerate in the medium term, driven by construction activity associated with wind-hydrogen projects, the Bay du Nord deepwater oil project, and construction activity related to Churchill River hydroelectricity.
-a 2.0 per cent increase in retail sales for 2025.
-a provincial population rise of 0.2 per cent for 2025, with net natural losses being more than offset by international and interprovincial in-migration.
-employment to decline by 1.2 per cent in 2025, primarily due to the effects of United States tariffs on the Canadian and local economy; unemployment rate expected to be 10.8 per cent.
-consumer inflation to increase to 2.5 per cent, mainly due to Canadian counter-tariffs on the United States driving up consumer prices.
Housing and Poverty Reduction
Poverty Reduction
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-review by the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development of existing actions related to housing and food insecurity, poverty reduction and will lead development of a renewed strategy to reduce poverty in consultation with stakeholders, experts and community leaders. Of immediate concern were single parents and seniors in poverty were particularly negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-indexing the provincial minimum wage to inflation, so that future adjustments would keep pace with the cost of living, and considering harmonizing the provincial minimum wage with other Atlantic provinces.
-working with stakeholders to ensure that the annual provincial poverty-reduction budget of $286 million works best for those who need it most.
The party’s 2025 budget states that to ensure a consistent and reliable income and support improved well-being, the provincial Poverty Reduction Plan has introduced:
-the Newfoundland and Labrador Disability Benefit, including up to $400 per month to those who qualify and a $1,200 annual contribution to a person’s Registered Disability Savings Plan.|-a basic income for youth aged 16-21 receiving residential services from the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development. This is an increase to existing financial supports to 1,080 per month, including rent, food, clothing and other supports.
-a targeted basic income pilot for people aged 60 to 64 who receive Income Support, as well as supportive services through the Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services’ Community Supports Program.
-the above are in addition to the increase to the Seniors’ and Child Benefits, expansion of the Prenatal-Early Childhood Nutrition Supplement up to age five, and enhanced funeral benefits.
-approximately $3 million in combined investments are allocated for accessible and affordable transportation, including provision of free Metrobus and Go Bus passes for Income Support recipients and seniors who receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement and Youth Services Program clients.
Housing
The party’s 2025 budget states that:
-it will continue to make meaningful investments this year totalling $113 million in public housing, creating housing that is affordable, and supporting people experiencing homelessness.
-construction is currently underway on 180 affordable homes, which will be ready for occupancy in late 2025. Construction is expected to begin this year on 50 new homes in Corner Brook, a 40-unit apartment building in St. John’s, and four homes in Labrador West; and a multi-unit housing project in Labrador City is in planning and development. New homes in Central Newfoundland are planned to be complete in 2027-28.
-extensive work is undertaken to maintain provincial housing that includes over 5,500 homes, ranging from routine maintenance, with over 14,000 work orders completed each year, to major repairs to vacated properties, with over 800 homes refurbished over the last two years. For 2025 $26 million is allocated to ensure public housing is repaired and made available for families that need affordable housing at the earliest opportunity, including an $8 million increase in last year’s budget.
-in partnership with End Homelessness St. John’s and an investment of $11.7 million, the Transitional Housing Initiative will continue to support people experiencing homelessness.
-$5 million is allocated to expand access to staffed emergency shelter beds, with 120 new beds added since 2020.
-the Five Point Housing Plan has helped over 240 low-to-moderate income families afford the down-payment and associated costs on their first home. The plan supports the construction of more than 450 rental homes within the next three years, and making Crown land available.
-the Five Point plan also makes it easier for homeowners who wish to add a secondary and/or basement suite for rental purposes. To date, over 40 homeowners have pursued this initiative.
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-during its term in office, significant amendments have been brought in to modernize and streamline Crown Lands with a focus on improved service.
-$500,000 is allocated to support our new tools and pathways for obtaining home property titles through the Primary Residence Property Title Program, to simplify the process of claiming adverse possession also known as squatters rights, to create certainty around longstanding legacy lands within communities and to simplify all steps and processes for these applications while creating a quasi-judicial administrative oversight body. This is anticipated to increase to $821,000 for 2026.
Period Poverty
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-period poverty occurs when those on low incomes can’t afford, or access, suitable period products. A 2018 report from Plan International Canada found that one in three Canadian women under the age of 25 struggle to afford period products, and the cost is often higher in rural areas.
-nearly one in seven Canadian young people have either left school early or missed school entirely because they did not have access to the sanitary products they needed to manage their periods. This results in missed opportunities, uncomfortable conversations, and unhygienic solutions.
-creation of InvestNL, a one-stop trade desk for investors to access opportunities in the Province through an online portal providing companies and entrepreneurs with access to customers and investors on an international level.
-a meaningful and involved approach to growing our provincial economy, focusing on sustainable solutions to attracting new and growing businesses to NL by investing in provincial educational institutions, fostering diversity in provincial industries, building basic infrastructure, and prioritizing development of a thriving and prosperous startup ecosystem in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Business and economic development
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the province must continue to champion business and industry development to ensure economic resilience and prosperity for our communities. By fostering local innovation and competitiveness, it hopes to secure a future that withstands external pressures and empowers Newfoundland and Labrador citizens.
-in addition to industry-centric initiatives, it remains committed to supporting commitment to support businesses and economic development with programming totaling $35 million. The budget includes $400,000 to continue the Business Navigator service to ensure businesses are connected with the correct resources to help streamline processes.
-to improve connectivity, $16.5 million is available to support provincial work with community and industry partners. The province is on track with its objective of providing high-speed Internet access to 400 communities by the end of 2027.
-in recent budgets, it improved commission discounts for provincial producers of craft beer, wine, spirit, and cider producers. Building on these initiatives and appreciating the pressures on the food and beverage industry, this year it proposes allocation of $1 million to increase wholesale discounts for restaurants, bars, and lounges; and, $800,000 to increase compensation on products purchased by brewers’ agents and liquor express retailers.
-up to $10 million is allocated for a restaurant loan guarantee program to assist locally-owned restaurants.
-the reduction in the Small Business Tax rate at 2.5 per cent set in the 2024 budget is maintained, as well as the increased exemption to HAPSET that was made in Budget 2023.
Agriculture
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it will continue to support the growth of the agricultural sector and meet the goal of increasing provincial food security to 20 percent by 2022, continuing to identify opportunities to grow, buy, and export healthy food from Newfoundland and Labrador, including exploring investments to assist local food producers to increase productivity and scale up.
-to encourage healthy eating and improve food self-sufficiency, it advocates increased support for Community Gardens, which invests up to $100,000 annually to establish new and enhance existing community gardens and has implemented 124 projects with upwards of 5,900 gardeners and students participating.
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-with an investment of more than $11 million, it continues to work with farmers on a wide range of initiatives such as subsidized crop insurance to protect root crops and fresh market vegetables, to projects that increase the environmental resiliency of farms and community gardens.
-an additional $618,000 is being provided to the Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Development in Wooddale, for research and programs that increase food self-sufficiency in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Centre’s Vegetable Transplant Program gives farmers a head-start on our short growing season by providing high quality, low-cost vegetable transplants – more than four million annually – to promote higher marketable yields, more crop variety, and earlier harvest and returns.
Aquaculture
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-aquaculture is a promising industry with large, growing demand from export markets around the world. Newfoundland and Labrador is well positioned to establish itself internationally and capitalize on the growing global aquaculture market.
-it advocates strategic investment in aquaculture to promote competitive advantage, including development of a multi-species strategy for resilience and job growth.
-it seeks to ensure that growth of the aquaculture industry is inclusive and creates economic and business opportunities for all gender and Indigenous entrepreneurs, and serves as a platform for entrepreneurial and technology sector growth.
Secondary processing
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it advocates investment to grow the value and volume of provincial exports by exploring secondary processing and manufacturing opportunities, including working with industry to research and identify opportunities, including new uses for materials currently considered to be waste or low-value byproducts.
Wild-caught fishery & aquaculture
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it is committed to supporting and growing the province’s wild caught fishing industry, guided by knowledge from DFO science, from fish harvesters and from other industry stakeholders. This industry is the backbone of many rural communities, and a pillar of the provincial economy as a whole.
-it advocates integrating the fishery as a key industry in the future provincial economy, in an inclusive and growth-minded way, creating synergies with the technology sector while creating new economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples, women and young people in the industry.
-it advocates managing transition to greater groundfish activity, and investigating threats and opportunities in the shellfish and seal industries, as well as working with the province’s Fisheries Advisory Council both to navigate the immediate future and chart the path forward for a modern, world class fishery.
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-fisheries remain a large part of the provincial culture, economy, and identity. Local seafood products are exported to 38 countries with exports totalling approximately $1 billion annually. It employees more than 16,000 workers in 400 communities.
-to help modernize and position the industry for long-term success, during its term in office the party has promoted enhanced seafood quality; enabled fish harvesters to bring their product to new markets; lifted caps on snow crab processing licenses; and launched a new Harvester Enterprise Loan Program.
-it has also recently introduced a $5.75 million Seafood Marketing Support Program to help identify and develop new markets for local seafood products.
-to maintain the Atlantic Fisheries Fund as a cornerstone of its strategy, driving innovation and transformation in the fish and seafood sector, the party proposes allocation of $4 million to support infrastructure, innovation, and science partnership initiatives.
-there is also $500,000 available in the Multi-Species Research and Development Fund which will support investment in the research and development of aquaculture species that are not currently commercialized in the province.
Clean energy “Centre of Excellence”
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it undertakes to address climate change with a dual sense of responsibility and opportunity. In order to reduce the province’s environmental footprint, it committed to achieve net zero by 2050. “Net zero” refers to striking a balance within a jurisdiction between greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) produced and GHGs eliminated or taken out of the atmosphere.
-demand for renewable energy solutions is growing around the world, and companies are ramping up investment in green industries. Newfoundland and Labrador can be a global leader in the green transition.
-it advocates working with the private sector to identify key clean growth industries and building on existing competencies in these sectors; and engaging with investors from around the world to promote Newfoundland and Labrador as the global destination for green investment.
Oil & gas
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-it will continue to support the hard-working women and men in the oil and gas industry. During its prior term in office it secured a $320 million investment from Ottawa, and established the Oil and Gas Industry Recovery Task Force to help distribute the funding to maximize value and employment.
-$32 million of that fund was dedicated to support the provincial service and supply sector, another $16.6 million to keep the Come by Chance refinery in warm idle and ensure employment while the owner continues towards securing a buyer or investor.
-it also established an accelerated exploration initiative to provide companies with the incentive to drill more wells in the best prospects. This is a policy measure that will allow all future bid deposit forfeitures to be reinvested, resulting in an injection of hundreds of millions of dollars into the provincial offshore.
-undertakes to ensure Newfoundland and Labrador is a globally-preferred location for investment in oil and gas, by emphasizing exploration in an environmentally sustainable manner to drive discovery and production.
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the party considers the oil and gas industry to be a major contributor to the provincial economy, directly employing more than 3,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The future is positive with West White Rose expected to produce first oil next year. Over its 14-year life span, it is expected to generate nearly $20 billion in gross domestic product, and over $7 billion in labour income. Equinor continues to work to advance the Bay du Nord project. We will continue to work with the company to maximize benefits for our province.
-with over 650 leads and 20 basins mapped there is much opportunity in offshore as well, especially with its low carbon per barrel.
-to increase exploration and encourage discovery, beginning in 2026, it proposes allocation of $90 million over three years to advance an offshore exploration fund. This measure will provide incentive for drilling activity, employment opportunities, enhance global competitiveness at a critical time, and position the province to realize its significant resource potential.
-$20 million is allocated through the Innovation and Business Development Fund to grow the province’s energy supply and service capabilities and position the province as a preferred location for energy development.
-almost $1 million is also allocated for phase two of a natural gas resource assessment to build an inventory of proven and prospective gas resources in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin.
Mining
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-Newfoundland and Labrador has rich deposits of the minerals the world requires, including materials required for electric cars and other areas of growing demand. This presents opportunities for well-paying jobs and economic activity in our rural regions.
-during its prior term in office it allocated $1.7 million to support the mineral exploration industry through the Prospector Assistance Program and Junior Exploration Assistance Program. It will continue to support exploration and innovation in order to realize the potential of our mining sector in a productive, sustainable manner, including identifying high-potential opportunities for extraction and secondary processing, and reviewing the provincial regulatory regime to ensure timely and responsible development.
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the mineral industry continues to be a key economic driver for the province and a focus for investment attraction efforts. The estimated activity in 2024 resulted in approximately $4.4 billion in mineral shipments, $244 million in exploration expenditures, and employment of approximately 8,000 person years.
-in 2025, it expects to see gold production from Calibre Mining Corporation’s Valentine Gold Project and Maritime Resources Corporation’s operation at Pine Cove.
-as demand for critical minerals used for renewable energy and clean technology application increases, the province’s mineral potential provides a major opportunity. The party is focused on developing this resource for the benefit of the province with close to $6 million available to support mining activity, including a Mineral Incentive, Junior Exploration Assistance, and Labrador-specific geoscience programs.
Forestry
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the provincial forestry sector has a market value of approximately $340 million, with total direct employment of close to 2,000 people. Managing our forest habitat supports provincial wildlife and game populations.
-the province has taken the lead to deliver effective wildfire management and emergency responses for the long-term protection of Atlantic Canada’s forests, communities, and residents, including by allocation of $4.2 million for 2025, to establish an Atlantic Wildfire Centre, building on the province’s air services, procuring firefighting equipment, and providing extensive training for department wildfire-fighting staff.
-$4 million is allocated for the Spruce Budworm Early Intervention Strategy, which is a proactive approach to preventing outbreaks of forest pests that threaten our forests. The Provincial Silviculture Program supports reforestation efforts by producing approximately five to seven million high-quality tree seedlings annually at the Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Development.
Technology
The party’s most recent platform statement (dated 2019) states that:
-research and development activity is key to the development of emerging technologies. Researchers in Newfoundland and Labrador already lead the world in industries like fintech, health sciences, and marine technology.
-it advocates working with provincial innovation leaders to promote and grow research and development activity, including collaboration with academia, the private sector, and the NL Innovation Council in the creation of “NL 2030”, a roadmap for research and development activity in the Province.
Toward adoption of a clustered approach to growth in the technology industry, the party advocates:
-building upon the recent Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by TechNL for a new Innovation Centre for the tech sector, including earmarked funding and a commitment to collaboration with TechNL in support of diverse and useful technology hubs with focuses on key sectors such as oil and gas, fisheries and aquaculture, arts and culture, mining, and hospitality industries. This will include development of shared work space, networking initiatives, investment and incubation services, research and mentorship for the tech industry with a focus on key industries in the Province.
-using public challenges like hackathons to incentivize the creation of new businesses and products to create specific tech solutions for key industries.
-working with education stakeholders to expand the entrepreneurship ecosystem throughout MUN and CNA campuses across Newfoundland and in Labrador, leading to new businesses, new jobs, and increased investment in the province.
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-the technology sector continues to be a powerful economic force contributing $1.8 billion to provincial GDP in 2023 – an increase of 24 per cent since 2016. In 2024, there was more than $80 million in private investment in local technology companies.
-the provincial investment in the technology sector, especially through venture capital funds like VentureNL, has had a significant impact and leveraged funding from other investors. Its investment of $23 million in the VentureNL funds has helped companies supported by these funds to raise an additional $165 million from other investors.
-Budget 2025 includes a $10 million capital investment fund focused on local technology companies.
Infrastructure
The party’s 2025 Budget speech states that:
-it has allocated more than $1.1 billion for infrastructure, to help generate $690 million in economic activity and create thousands of new jobs for Newfoundland and Labrador tradespeople. These investments will positively impact communities and residents for generations to come, including:
-nearly 10,000 kilometres of provincial highways and roads. 1,300 bridges. 21 airstrips. 14 ferries. More than 270 municipalities.
-the 2023 announcement of nearly $1.4 billion to improve provincial highways and roads over five construction seasons is enabling the industry to better action projects. As part of this historic investment, $340 million will be invested in 2025 to support thousands of kilometres of new paving, brush clearing, as well as new culverts and bridges. These include:
*completion of the Team Gushue Highway, as well as enhancements to the Trans-Canada Highway twinning project.
*replacement of the Canning Bridge is well-underway and supporting residents on the Burin Peninsula.
*a new overpass will be required on the Outer Ring Road between Topsail Road and Thorburn Road, which will facilitate access to the new acute care hospital and Kenmount Road. *a new access road to Paradise, which will help alleviate traffic issues.
-planning on these projects has already started. Construction could begin as early as 2026. To date, the province has received 44 snowplows, with 20 more scheduled by the end of April, loaders, tractor trucks, and an asphalt patcher truck.
-it is allocating $37.7 million in 2025 to continue replacing older equipment.
-$90.6 million is allocated to support the operation of provincial ferries, plus an additional $13 million for repairs, maintenance and rehabilitation of the fleet.
New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador Economy for All
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates a provincial Green New Deal aimed at social, economic, and environmental betterment throughout the province, including:
-consultation with community groups and stakeholders to explore the most effective approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide a just transition for workers in affected industries, strengthen environmental protections, update the provinces labour laws, and other actions with the goal of building a more just and equitable society while working to protect the environment.
Affordability
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates:
-creation of a public telecom crown corporation to provide low-cost telecom services such as internet and television, in order to provide high-quality, consistent and reliable coverage to the whole of the province.
-implementation of a public auto insurance program, designed to lower rates in a way that is affordable and protects consumers.
-support for the $15 and fairness campaign, and a minimum wage that is a fair wage.
Housing and Poverty Reduction
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates rent regulation policies that (i) strive to protect renters’ legitimate interest in remaining in their homes, (ii) advance the social interest in stable, mixed-income neighbourhoods; and (ii) curb the market power of landlords. Such policies must also protect tenants from threat of eviction or other pressure from landlords, and give them genuine security in their homes through an automatic right to renew their lease unless the landlord can demonstrate nonpayment of rent or other good cause.
Labour, Unions & Employment
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates:
-immediate action to protect pensions of all residents of the province, to include giving pensioners first priority in bankruptcy claims, establishing a requirement for trust accounts to hold pension funds for companies operating within the province but domiciled elsewhere; denying companies the right to withdraw funds from pension plans; and denying companies the opportunity to withhold payments to pension plans as required by the plan.
-adoption of the 90% income replacement rate for Worker’s Compensation, and ending the maximum compensable ceiling.
-raising the minimum wage to a living wage, to be adjusted annually to ensure that it remains so.
-supporting all workers, whether full-time, part-time, or gig, in efforts to unionize, including amendment of the NL Labour Relations Act (LRA) to support enforcement measures to force compliance of good faith bargaining, to balance the playing field and achieve fair collective agreement in the event of prolonged labour disputes, and to reinstate automatic certification of unions once 65% of workers have signed union cards.
-introduction of anti-scab legislation.
-banning use of urine or hair follicle tests in provincial workplaces, as they discriminate against medicinal and recreational users of cannabis; and exploring us of saliva testing, sobriety field testing, or future technologies to better determine workplace intoxication.
-complete review and improvement of the Labour Standards Act.
Corporations, Competition or Consumers
Aquaculture
The party’s latest published policy statement (dated 2021) states that it advocates:
-ending funding and expansion plans for net pen use in the province and for a responsible plan to transition to a land-based, zero-effluent, RAS-based provincial finfish aquaculture industry within 5 years.
Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador Economy for All
The party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019) states that:
-the lack of good jobs, or even make-do jobs, is a lived reality for almost every family in the province, and the real unsustainable drag on the provincial economy.
-job creation is the best economic policy for government and families, the best social policy in its own right and also to sustain public expenditure on health, education, and all other public services, and the only way to grow the population.
-attention to fairness and equity in employment is the best way to reduce economic and social disparities and build the more just society we all want.
-government cannot deliver jobs from the public purse, as the public purse has been drained. Government can no longer be the major job creator it once was or even the employer of last resort.
-it will not harm the livelihoods of working families.
The party’s latest platform document (dated 2019) advocates:
-collaborating with businesses to put people to work.
-tailoring Community Benefits Agreements to create opportunities for apprentices and local suppliers.
-growing the provincial population; making post-secondary tuition and student aid the most competitive in the country.
-creating a New Venture Capital Fund.
-partnering with new technology growth sectors and naming a Chief Technology Officer to lead digital transformation; digital training programs for workers.
-implementing a new Energy Plan 2.0, to create new jobs at all stages of exploration and development.
-developing aquaculture to drive rural jobs without compromising wild stocks; implementing a cod and seal plan, based on science, to recover cod and seal populations grow rural NL; applying principles of joint management in the Atlantic Accord, to co-manage all fish, shellfish, fish habitat, and marine mammals including harvestable quotas for all marine species on and over the seabed that is a contiguous part of Newfoundland and Labrador.
-promoting provincial forestry, to bring jobs and create value-added spinoffs benefits to local communities.
-collaboration with farmers to grow agricultural potential, including a farm loan guarantee program.
-to promote the mining industry, applying the lessons of oil and gas by driving geoscience and exploration.
-developing a tourism strategy to bring people to rural communities to drive sustainable jobs.
-developing an Air Access Strategy to promote more flights, lower costs, more growth, more jobs.
-supporting ArtsNL sustain jobs for artists, promote tourism, educate and inspire.
-implementing a New Northern Strategic Plan for Labrador – seizing the potential for growth.
Housing & Poverty Reduction
As one of its three policy pillars, the party’s most recent platform publication (dated 2019), identifies providing jobs and hope to restore confidence in the future and assist in keeping young people in the province, including by:
-rate mitigation – provincial residents will pay zero on their power bills for Muskrat Falls.
-child care, as part of a plan to cut the costs of care and improve access.
-full removal of removal of sales tax from insurance.
Points to Ponder Points to Ponder: An Economy to Serve People
A conscience well formed by the social teachings of the Church will seriously consider the following questions:
Poverty Reduction
- “The poor you will always have with you,” Christ warned his disciples. Why would Christ say that? Is it possible that the poor will always be with us in order that we, who now form the living body of Christ on earth, will always have an opportunity to glorify God by examining the meaning and the causes of poverty, and working to eliminating it, without expecting that we will ever, on our own and without the assistance of God, be able to do that?
- How can Newfoundland and Labrador best strike a balance between the principles of solidarity – ‘we’re all in this together’ – and subsidiarity – ‘everyone should do what he or she can to support themselves, before burdening others?’
- What is an appropriate definition of poverty, particularly in a society overflowing with consumer objects and tokens of material wealth?
- Should such definition include as a condition the ability of individuals to seek personal fulfillment in the pursuit of truth? In other words, the ability to enjoy and make use of leisure?
- What, if anything, should be done to ensure that a dignified living wage, capable of providing a dignified home and opportunity to support a family, is available to workers and those willing to work?
- Should a basic income policy be considered? If so, what form should it take?
- What can or should be done by the provinces, and what should be left to the federal government, or to private or community organizations?
- It has been observed that debt levels among the elderly are increasing, especially as the costs of long-term, dignified care increase. What can or should be done to alleviate poverty and debt among the elderly?
GDP & Well-Being
For decades, governments have focused exclusively on gross domestic product – a measure of an economy’s sheer productivity – as the best measure of national social health. More recently, some voices have begun to advocate for a broader index of national well-being, to include factors such as the physical and emotional health of the people, the health of the environment, equity in housing, income, and opportunity, and food security, in addition to raw production.
- Which of these measures of national well-being is more amenable to promotion of Catholic values?
- What else can or should be done to ensure that Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy serves everyone–rather than the other way around? Should spiritual well-being be considered? If so, how could it be assessed?
- Is it reasonable to demand continuous economic growth, as business schools have taught for decades, or might it be preferable to seek sustainable contentment?
Businesses and Corporations
For decades, corporate lobby groups and business schools have taught that the only legitimate object of a business corporation is to make money for its shareholders. More recently, some business voices have begun to call for a broader role for corporations, one that includes service of its employees, its customers, and the community, and protection of the environment.
- Which approach is more consistent with Catholic social teaching?
- Should anything be done to encourage development of a corporate and business culture that aims to serve people, communities, and future generations, in addition to fair profits? If so, what, and by whom?