Upcoming events, the latest news, videos, podcasts and reports from the Harris Centre.
Events
Thriving Regions
Lights. Camera. Grow! 
An Exploration of Farming, Food Security and Community in the Codroy Valley
Join us for a discussion about Paul De Decker’s short documentary film exploring issues of food security and the experiences of community members from the Southwest Coast region as they come together to learn about farming and gardening.

The film was the product of a Harris Centre Thriving Regions project stemming from a series of workshops held in 2018 in the Southwest Coast region in partnership with Grenfell Office of Engagement.
Panelists:
Dr. Paul De Decker, Memorial University
Roshni Caputo-Nimbark, Bert Bark Inn
Josh Smee, Food First NL
Peter Elliott, Cranky Goat Entertainment 
WHEN: June 24th
6:00PM - 7:00PM
WHERE: Online
You can view the film in advance of the panel discussion. The film will be available on the Harris Centre's YouTube channel beginning Wednesday June 23rd.
CANCELED: NL's Offshore Oil: Opportunity or Dependence?
Please note that the FORECAST NL session, NL's Offshore Oil: Opportunity or Dependence? originally scheduled for June 22 has be canceled. A session covering this topic will be rescheduled for the fall.
News
New Reports on Immigration - Attitudes of Employers and System Complexities
Newfoundland and Labrador is currently facing both a fiscal crisis and a population crisis.
What role can immigration play in helping to address these issues? How open are we as a province to welcoming newcomers and how easy or appealing is it for newcomers to make a home here? What do we need to do to improve the attraction and retention of immigrants? These are some of the questions these latest reports try to answer.
Employer Attitudes Towards Hiring Newcomers and International Students in the Atlantic Provinces
Tony Fang, Jane Zhu, & Alex Wells
Atlantic Canada is facing a population crisis due to declining fertility rates, an aging population, and continued outmigration. Increased immigration is one solution to this crisis.

This study investigated attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of employers in Atlantic Canada to better understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the integration of newcomers in the regional labour market.
“Employers play a critical role in the immigration process: no one wants to move to, or stay in, a place where they cannot find work.

While many employers are willing to hire immigrants, there are still many who aren’t familiar with how the immigration process works.

This disconnect presents a missed opportunity for the individual, the employer and the province as a whole.”
Immigration in Newfoundland and Labrador
Michael Clair
Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province in Canada whose population is forecast to decline at least until 2043, according to Statistics Canada. In the worst-case scenario, the population would decline by nearly 20%. If Newfoundland and Labrador is to remain sustainable over the long term and not simply survive but thrive, it has no other option than to significantly increase the number of immigrants to the province. Clair argues that this is not the responsibility of governments alone, but of all of society - everyone has a stake in ensuring that the population of the province increases.
“We have the lowest immigration rate of any province in Canada and so immigration isn’t something we have a lot of experience with. This needs to change if the province is to remain sustainable in the long term and if we are to play our role in the Canadian Confederation and in the global economy.”
Missed the Session? Watch Online
Featuring: Economists Dr. David Freshwater and Elizabeth Beale
& Panelists: Dr. Kelly Blidook, Kay Riggs, and David Vardy.

Moderator: CBC's David Cochrane

Galbraith Lecture
Governing the Economy:
Prospects for Government Action
The current fiscal crisis is not the first time NL has found itself in dire straights. In fact, the recent Greene Report is just one of many economic recovery reports commissioned by government in the past 75 years. So what is it about our governance, and our economic and political structures, that keeps us cycling back to near bankruptcy?

This Galbraith Lecture featured national and international economists, former public servants, and policy & governance experts in a discussion about how government can impact our economy. How are key decisions about our economy decided? How do politics intervene? What’s the role of the public service? And what needs to be done to improve our ability to make decisions about our economy and how we govern it?

Featuring economists Dr. David Freshwater and Elizabeth Beale, with panelists Dr. Kelly Blidook, Kay Riggs, and David Vardy.

Moderated by CBC's David Cochrane.
Synergy Session:
The Northern Coalition
Reinvesting Fishery Profits for Economic and Social Development
What if we could use the fishing industry to diversify our economy, improve the quality of life in our communities, and ensure long-term economic and social sustainability? That is not a hypothetical question for the Northern Coalition, a group of enterprises based in Canada’s Eastern Arctic and on the Labrador coast, whose members have a mandate to reinvest the profits from income generated by their fisheries into their communities and regions.

Listen to Keith Storey, Alastair O’Rielly, Keith Watts, and Jerry Ward discuss the impacts the Northern Coalition members have on their region.
FORECAST NL
Climate Change & Our Society
On May 18th, we were joined by Prof. Mark Stoddart (Dept. of Sociology, Memorial), Megan Samms (artist, entrepreneur, and farmer), Josh Smee (Food First NL), & Dr. Barb Neis (Honorary Research Professor, Dept. of Sociology, Memorial). These panelists discussed the impact of climate change on NL's society. They considered questions such as: How is climate change affecting society in NL? What changes are we already seeing in our way of life as a result of climate change? What will the changes needed for climate change mitigation and adaptation mean for how we live, work, and play in NL?
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