page_title: Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
section_title: Paul Davis (2014 to 2015)
hierarchical_section_title: Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador / History / Paul Davis (2014 to 2015)
caption_attribution_description: English: Paul Davis (Canadian politician)
context_page_description: The Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a provincial political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party was founded in 1949 and most recently formed the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador from the 2003 general election until the 2015 general election. The party has served as the official opposition to the government of Newfoundland and Labrador since December 14, 2015. On April 28, 2018 St. John's lawyer Ches Crosbie was elected leader.
context_section_description: Davis was sworn in as the 12th Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador on September 26, 2014. It is believed that Davis is the first premier in Canadian history to have previously worked as a Police Officer.
  At the swearing in ceremony for his cabinet on September 30, 2014, Davis announced that the Department of Justice would now be titled the Department of Public Safety and that the Fire and Emergency Services portfolio would now fall under the department. In a surprise move Davis announced that St. John's lawyer Judy Manning would serve as the department's new minister, despite not being an elected member of the House of Assembly. Davis received criticism for dropping justice from the department's name as well as the appointment of Manning, due to her being unelected and not willing to seek a seat in the House of Assembly until the next election. Representative from the provincial branch of the Canadian Bar Association met with Davis on October 10, 2014, to question him on why the former Department of Justice was replaced with the Department of Public Safety. Following the meeting Davis announced the department would be renamed the Department of Justice and Public Safety.
  On January 15, 2015, Davis announced that the House of Assembly would be opening the following week so that his government could bring forth legislation to reduce the number of electoral districts in the province by 8. Under the province’s current legislation a committee was supposed to be set up in 2016 to review electoral boundaries. Davis announced he was speeding up the process in order to reduce the number of districts before the next election, which is supposed to be called by September 2015. Previously there were 48 electoral districts in the province. His government expects that by reducing the number to 40 the government will save $10 million over four years. Along with reducing the number of electoral districts, the Davis government will also review MHA pension plans and identify measures to increase the participation of elected members in the House of Assembly.
  On April 29, 2015, Davis along with his Minister of Health and Community Services and Minister of Seniors, Wellness and Social Development announced a plan to partner with private and non-profit providers to create 360 long-term care beds throughout the island portion of the province. A private or non-profit provider would construct and operate new long-term care facilities and the provincial government would pay a per-bed fee. The Davis government hired Partnerships BC - a crown corporation in British Columbia specializing in public private partnerships - to facilitate between government and the potential providers. The move was condemned by the public sector unions who called the move an attack on their workers.
  On October 22, 2015, Davis announced the Downpayment Assistance Program, to be administered by the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation. The program was a two-year pilot project which provided downpayment loans to first-time homebuyers who have low-to-moderate incomes. Applicants must have a household income of $65,000 or less. The downpayment loans range from between $4,500 and $12,500 and successful applicants will not have to begin repaying their loans until five years after the purchase of their home.
caption: Paul Davis
exif: {"Image XResolution": "96", "Image YResolution": "96", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Paint.NET v3.5.11"}