Peter Bevan-Baker Announces Plans for Addressing Labour Shortages and Enhancing Post-Secondary & Skills Training

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 9, 2023

Charlottetown, PE - Workers are the backbone of our economy. Labour shortages are limiting PEI’s economic potential, and are making it harder for Islanders to access important services like healthcare, housing, and maintenance services. This is impacting the quality of life of Islanders.

We have a generation of thoughtful Islanders ready to help us address the leading challenges facing our province, but they need our help.

Postsecondary education is associated with better overall employment earnings and better quality of life. By giving Islanders every opportunity to receive a quality education here on the Island, we can improve the economic and social wellbeing of individuals and our province.

A Green government would:

● Promote enrollment in programs that address key labour shortages on PEI. 

● Work with community organizations and employers to retain skilled graduates and recruit internationally-trained workers.

● Convene a panel of employer and employee representatives from the construction industry to explore the creation of a wage grid for the construction sector. 

● Improve our student financial assistance programs, including:

○ Cover expected student loan payments for the 2023-24 year to support recent graduates in this period of high inflation and economic uncertainty.

○ No longer require payments on student loans where a person has less than $40,000 in gross income.

○ Update student debt forgiveness programs to encourage more students to work on PEI after graduation.

○ Increase financial assistance for graduate students doing innovative research. 

● Review funding agreements with Island postsecondary institutions to make sure they have adequate and predictable funding.

A further announcement detailing the Green Party plan for supporting Island workers, businesses, farmers and fishers, will be released next week.

Quotes:

“Our Province has leaned on the next generation and our post-secondary students to help us get through our labour challenges, and we need to do more to support them. As Islanders struggle to put food on the table and afford housing, our plan will ensure no Islander has to make a payment on their student loan this year. Going forward, student loans payments will only be required if people can actually afford it. That’s the right thing to do and the fair thing to do.”

Peter Bevan-Baker, Leader of the Green Party of PEI

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Jonathan Hamel
Director of Communications
Green Party of PEI
Tel: (902) 916-7816
Email: jonathan.hamel@greenparty.pe.ca