Newfoundland and Labrador's cabinet representative, Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn, plans to meet with new Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay as soon as possible about past commitments to the province.

Fisheries and Oceans Minister Loyola Hearn, shown in the House of Commons, says he will press new Defence Minister Peter MacKay to keep the promises of his predecessor.
(Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

Hearn said he wants to hear MacKay's views on assigning more soldiers to the Canadian Forces Base, 5 Wing Goose Bay in Labrador. Former defence minister Gordon O'Connor had committed Ottawa to a 650-member rapid reaction army battalion for Labrador.

"Timelines are not easy to pin down because if you say we're going to do this August 2008, something happens where you have to move forces, then everybody's complaining," Hearn told CBC. "But Gordon O'Connor's commitment was ... everything was moving in the right direction so I have no doubt about the fact that will happen."

Activity at 5 Wing Goose Bay has been reduced in recent years following the withdrawal of Allied partners who had conducted low-level flight training over Labrador. Since then, the military and the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay have been marketing base facilities for specialized training.

Meanwhile, Hearn held onto the fisheries portfolio in Tuesday's cabinet shuffle, but told CBC News he isn't sure if he will run again in the next election.