Progressive Conservative Leader Danny Williams was thronged by hundreds of residents of a southern Newfoundland town on Thursday night, as he vowed to halt an exodus of labour.
About 500 people showed up to meet Williams at a shopping mall in Marystown, where the town's shipyard has fallen on difficult times and the fishery has been weak.
'There'll be as much work for the Burin Peninsula as the Burin Peninsula wants,' Danny Williams said.
(CBC)
Williams promised things will change.
"But now as a result of getting that Hebron agreement, I can tell you there'll be as much work for the Burin Peninsula as the Burin Peninsula wants," said Williams, referring to a tentative deal his government reached in August to develop the province's fourth offshore oil field.
"My goal is to get the husbands and the fathers and the sons and the daughters and the mothers who have gone away to work, gone away to Alberta, gone across this country and get 'em back home," Williams told the crowd.
Surrounded by the crowd, Williams had difficulty moving about the mall.
Though he received enthusiastic support, many of the people who showed up wanted to share their issues and concerns, with some giving him letters as he passed.
Barbara Noseworthy, a nurse living in Garnish, asked Williams to relieve the workload in her profession.
"I just got off. I haven't eaten since noon," said Noseworthy, who came to the rally after a 12-hour shift.
"I hear you loud and clear," Williams said.
"We need you," Noseworthy said as Williams left.
The PCs held 34 of Newfoundland and Labrador's 48 seats when the legislature was dissolved last week. The Tories headed into the campaign for the Oct. 9 election with a soaring lead in public opinion polls.
Related
| Party | Elected | Leading | Total | Vote Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | 43 | 0 | 43 | 69.56% |
| LIB | 3 | 0 | 3 | 21.98% |
| NDP | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8.21% |
| OTH | 0 | 0 | 0 | .25% |
| Last Update:October 9, 10:58:12 PM NDT | ||||
| Unofficial results were updated at the time shown. For more recent results, visit Elections NL. The CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. External links will open in a new window. |
NL Votes 2007 »
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