Dear Premier Graham…from an expat NBer
Posted by newbrunswickpolitics on March 24, 2009
This letter appeared in today’s Fredericton Daily Gleaner, and states wonderfully the position thousands of young New Brunswickers find themselves in, bombarded by the hypocrisy of the government’s Repatriation initiatives and the Self-Sufficiency 2026 fantasy land.
Re: Moving back home
As a former New Brunswicker who has been trying desperately to move my family back to the province, I must express my disappointment with the government of New Brunswick.
My husband and I are professionals in our early 30s and supposedly the target demographic for the repatriation efforts. We contacted the repatriation secretariat, only to find out that all they do is send you links to job hunting websites (which we already search daily).
It seems that all they are trying to do is track people so they can take credit if someone actually manages to find a job and move back.
Now, this budget. Why is the government punishing its own loyal employees by chopping 700 positions? Why are they cutting services, why are they punishing school libraries? We are in a recession and they are cutting taxes.
I am currently in a competition for a provincial government job, and I had a small hope that I would be successful and my family could finally move back home. Now I see that even in-progress competitions are being halted and all hiring in the civil service has been frozen.
How are you going to repatriate talented professionals if you have nothing to offer them? The job I applied for pays over $20,000 less per year than my current job. This was a sacrifice that I was willing to make to come home.
Professionals will not return to New Brunswick for call centre jobs.
Please, take the future of New Brunswick seriously.
Laura Peters
Gatineau, Que.
