MLA Pat Murphy excited to start working in newly created portfolio

Alberton-Roseville MLA Pat Murphy says he's looking forward to working in the newly created portfolio of Rural and Regional Development, even though some of the details of the departmentmay be unclear.

"I'm really excited to learn the whole department and what it consists of,"said Murphy, who was sworn in as a cabinet minister on Wednesday.

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Murphy said the province already has staff and offices in rural P.E.I. working on development, including business development. But he was unclear how much of a budget the new department has available.

Even so, Murphy is aware of the challenges facing rural P.E.I.

Retaining our youth

"I think the challenges have always been population retention. And a lot of our young people are getting out of the province to go to other parts of the country to work. Retaining our youth is a big challenge in rural P.E.I,"he said.

"That's one of the things I'd like to tackle and hope we can provide employment and promote rural P.E.I. and show people they can make a living and raise a family."

Murphy has also been outspoken about proposed school closures in the province.

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Now that he is a cabinet minister, Murphy said he has "a bigger voice."He also noted that the recommendations involving school closures could change.

"I'm sitting around the cabinet table now. If those closures reach that point, then I'll have a voice I don't think it's any secret where I've been previously on this issue."

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