P.E.I. finance minister applauds Islanders for supporting local last year

Prince Edward Island Finance Minister Darlene Compton says Islanders "stepped up for each other"last year, as local businesses were one of the strongest economic areas in the province.

P.E.I. has released its statistical review of 2020, which suggests that the economy could've been a lot worse.

Minimum wage workers were affected heavily by the COVID-19 closures, Compton told CBC's Louise Martin during an interview for Compass.

"People that make minimum wage, they were really affected with the closures and the downturns through service industries and through retail sales. Those are some of the people we are concerned about moving forward."

It's an issue she and her counterparts hope to resolve, Compton said.

"I think that's something that we're going to look at across the country," she said."It's really difficult to get those people back to work because a number of them have moved on to a different job and maybe a little bit better paying job."

Compton said she anticipates P.E.I'seconomy will bounce back to its growth before COVID-19.

"Going into the pandemic, we were in a really good place and we anticipate getting back there," she said.

"I think overall there's a real positive buzz on P.E.I. as far as moving forward. But we have to ensure that we are there for the industries that really did suffer."

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