After he was safely re-elected.
Speaking on a local radio call-in show, Hearn said that federal jobs just come from our tax dollars and aren't really sustainable. The real value in jobs will come from creating jobs in the private sector. Hearn linked the whole thing to the Connie Equalization changes which would remove non-renewable resources from the calculation of federal Equalization entitlements.
In one of his campaign brochures, Hearn said:
Since 1993, the number of people employed in Newfoundland and Labrador with the federal government has fallen by over 30 percent. This decline will stop under a Conservative government.He also pointed to putting a handful of weather forecasting jobs back in Gander.
A new Connie government can send the dozen or so forecasters back to Gander and meet Hearn's total commitment. Whether they do it or not will depend heavily on the costs involved. As for the promises to Goose Bay, the only thing the Connies can actually do is send the unmanned aerial vehicle squadron to Goose, for a hundred full-time jobs or fewer.
Anyone who thought a Conservative federal government will relocate thousands or even hundreds of federal jobs to the province can guess again.
Here's the thing, Hearn also made a point that he noticed the two ridings involved went Liberal, despite the Conservative promises.
For those who drank the local Connie KoolAid on federal presence, this issue will be an interesting one to watch in the next 100 days or so.