Cardigan – Concrete action on settlement road blocks would be a more effective way to entice former Islanders home and future Islanders to make Prince Edward Island their home, says Georgetown-St. Peters MLA and Opposition Workforce Critic Steven Myers.

“Contests with free one way plane tickets may be well-intentioned but they don’t get at the real barriers people face in making Prince Edward Island home like access to health care, the highest taxes and lowest wages in Canada, limited availability of housing that’s affordable and poor Internet access in rural areas,” says Myers.

Myers comments come in response to a new marketing campaign launched by the province this week targeting former Islanders to return home, enticed by the prospect of winning a one way ticket from anywhere in the world..

“We all know what makes life on Prince Edward Island so special – our people, our beautiful natural environment, and our community spirit. Islanders who have left knew those things too. Government’s own research shows that the main factor why Islanders have left is economic and until we take meaningful action to improve wages and lower taxes we won’t have sustained success,” says Myers.