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Q & A’s with Honorable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland & Labrador

By: Darin King, Ph.D | Executive Director I NL Building Construction Trades Council I Resource Development Trades Council
Recently, Darin King, Executive Director with Trades NL presented Darin King:
Newfoundland Labrador Premier Dwight Ball with a series of Earlier this year, your Government was elected with a minority
questions important to skilled trade workers, ranging from government. How does this affect the way you govern the province
governance, pharmacare, and energy transmission, to workforce and how important is relationship building to getting things done?
development and job creation.
Dwight Ball:
Over the past four years, the council of Trades NL has Being in a minority government does not affect the way we govern.
development a very collaborative relationship with Premier Ball What it does is provide an opportunity to collaborate and advance
and his government, and acknowledge his continued support and the priorities of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. I’ll sit
assistance while continuing work on issues important to skilled down with anyone to listen to their ideas about advancing the
trade workers throughout the province and across the country. As future of our province.
recently as last fall, when Nalcor directed Astaldi to stop work at
Our government works closely with all levels of government;
the Lower Churchill Development project and leave site, through
municipal, provincial, and federal. There are conversations that
joint cooperation, we were able to ensure all unionized skilled
are happening in town offices, there’s conversations that are even
trade workers affected received their wages, health, welfare and
happening in people’s homes about how can we work together to
pension benefits.
provide important supports and services and make sure
In recent months, Trades NL launched the NL FIRST campaign, Newfoundland and Labrador is the best place to live, work, and
advocating for government to: raise a family.
- Maximize benefits from resource projects by negotiating an Darin King:
increased level of construction, fabrication and procurement to Much has been made of the recent all-male Council of Premiers
be completed in-province and in-country. photo, and you were one of the first to make mention of the lack
of females at these meetings. What do you think needs to be done
- Implement a NL Benefits Agreement policy on the construction
to attract and encourage more women to enter politics?
of public infrastructure, similar to Community Benefits
Agreements in other jurisdictions, ensuring provisions for Dwight Ball:
prevailing wages and the hiring of qualified local workers, Our government has taken an “all of government” approach to
apprentices, females and indigenous workers. issues impacting women and girls. For the first time in the history
of our province, our government created a dedicated ministerial
In recent public infrastructure announcements, Premier Ball and
portfolio with a sole responsibility for the status of women. This
the provincial government have been using Trades NL language to
is representative of the expanded commitment across our
include hiring local workers and the implementation of diversity
government to address matters affecting women and girls.
and apprenticeship plans. This is a significant move in the right
direction, and we will continue to work with the Premier towards Advancing women in leadership is a key priority for our
making this public policy on future work. government. We need to see more women at decision making

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