For Immediate Release
August 29, 2017

ST. JOHN’S, NL – The Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association (NEIA) is encouraging its members to participate in ongoing public consultations and engagement on possible regional governance.

Last week the Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment announced the start of public consultations, both in person and online, seeking input to help inform the development of a potential regional government model for the province.

“NEIA has been advocating for regionalized service delivery within Newfoundland and Labrador for some time,” said Kieran Hanley, NEIA’s Executive Director. “We are pleased that this among the province’s priorities and that it is facilitating an open discussion on the topic.” Hanley noted that from the environmental industry’s perspective there would be a number of benefits to accrue from a regional governance model.

“In a regional context, economies of scale can be achieved to improve province-wide delivery of environmental services such as waste management, wastewater management, and water quality,” said Hanley. “The same can be said for setting environmental standards and enforcing them – activities important for the protection of our natural resources but very challenging for communities today to achieve individually and independent of one another.”

Hanley also said that there are economic development opportunities that could accrue from regional governance. “As it stands, the majority of municipalities and communities in the province do not have the capacity to engage in activities to contribute to their own economic development. Thus for organizations like NEIA, we have little ability to interface with communities when opportunities emerge,” Hanley said. “A regional model has the potential to institute a capacity for communities to work reactively – and more importantly proactively – with industry towards growth.”

“There is a significant opportunity to improve environmental outcomes and increase economic activity in Newfoundland and Labrador through regional governance,” said Hanley. “This is an important conversation for our province to be having right now, and we encourage its stakeholders in the green economy to participate.”

More information on the province’s consultation and engagement process can be found at www.EngageNL.ca.

NEIA is a not-for-profit association of businesses that promotes the development of clean technology and the growth of the green economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. NEIA has over 200 members. More information can be found at https://neia.org.

Media Contact
Kieran Hanley
kieran@neia.org

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