Researchers Travel Across Labrador for Mobility Research

In July 2017 On the Move Partnership (OTM) researchers Leanna Butters, Heather Hall, and Kelly Vodden travelled the coast of southern and southeast Labrador, Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Labrador West speaking to key informants about how employment-related geographical mobility (E-RGM) has impacted their communities. Representatives of Indigenous, municipal and provincial governments, businesses, economic and social services organizations shared their experiences with both incoming and outgoing workers associated with the Muskrat Falls, road construction and mining projects in the Big Land. Impacts discussed ranged from pressures related to housing, tourism development and small businesses, and community health to stories of economic prosperity in recent years due to job creation, wage increases, and business expansion. Stay tuned for a Labrador findings research report in early 2018! The team is grateful to the Bob Harding and Lois Claxton Humanities and Social Sciences Endowment Fund at the University of Waterloo, Grenfell Campus, and the Grenfell VP Research Fund for their support of the Labrador field research. We would also like to thank all the participants who shared their time and expertise with us. We hope that this research will contribute to the current conversations on the dynamics between small communities and large industrial projects across Newfoundland and Labrador and the country.