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February 6, 2003

Document entitled What We Heard released

The document is a reflection of what the commission (Chair, Vic Young and Commissioners, Elizabeth Davis and Jim Igloliorte) was told during the consultation process carried out from September 30, 2002 to January 27, 2003. During this time, the commission visited communities throughout the province and held 25 public meetings, attended by over 1,400 people. Twenty-three meetings were held in locations from Harbour Breton to Labrador City, from Bonavista to Nain and from Trepassey to Port au Choix. Meetings were also held at the St. John’s campus of Memorial University and at the Prince Philip Drive campus of the College of the North Atlantic.

The commission met with over 560 students representing 55 schools and held a further 18 sessions either in person or by teleconference with women’s groups attended by over 170 women. The commission also met with representatives of each of the aboriginal groups on the island and in Labrador and visited 25 business enterprises representing entrepreneurial success stories throughout the province.

The goal of the public consultation process was to encourage and provoke open discussion on all of the issues related to renewing and strengthening Newfoundland and Labrador’s place in Canada. In the view of the commission the process was a success "if success can be measured by the richness of the thoughts, ideas and passions which were openly and honestly shared by so many people in Labrador and on the Island."

Judge Igloliorte stated: "We are extremely grateful to all of the individuals who participated in our public meetings, our school visits, our women’s sessions, our meetings with aboriginal groups and our business discussions. Their input has been invaluable to the on-going work of the Royal Commission."

Sister Elizabeth Davis stressed: "The document is not an interim report. It is simply a reflection of what we have been told during our consultation process. It constitutes one of many building blocks leading towards our final report. The commission has not yet reached any conclusions or adopted any recommendations. These steps can only be taken after we have had an opportunity to review all of the written submissions, complete our roundtable discussions and analyze the contents of our research papers."

Commission Chair Vic Young indicated that "the What We Heard document fulfills a commitment made by the commission at each public meeting that we intended to give timely feedback to the public about what we were told during the consultation process. We encourage anyone who feels that important issues have been missed or misinterpreted to get in touch with the commission by letter, fax or e-mail expressing their point of view."

The mandate of the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada is to conduct a critical assessment of Newfoundland and Labrador’s strengths and weaknesses and to bring forward recommendations as to how they can renew and strengthen their place in Canada. The commission’s final report is due by June 30, 2003.

For a copy of What We Heard and other information on the Royal Commission, please visit the commission’s web site at: /royalcomm/pdf/whatweheard.pdf

For further information, please contact: Jacquie Brown at the Royal Commission:

Tel: (709) 729-3200 
Fax: (709) 729-3539 
Email: mailbox@royalcomm.gov.nf.ca


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