Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly, Thursday 10 April 2025
Question Period focused heavily on health care staffing and oversight, particularly the Auditor General's findings on personal care homes, nurse recruitment and retention, and the Janeway bed vacancy controversy. The Opposition also challenged the government on rural economic development, tariff contingency fund details, uncollected fines, and the absence of a water bomber commitment for Labrador West. Ministers defended budget investments, recruitment successes, and oversight mechanisms while acknowledging the need for improvements in transparency and working conditions. The House of Assembly conducted routine business including ministerial statements on National Tourism Week, tabling of the Churchill River Negotiation Oversight Panel's first quarterly report, and notices of motion for four new bills. The Orders of the Day featured extensive debate on Budget 2025 (Motion 1), with Opposition Members delivering lengthy critiques of the government's fiscal management, health care delivery, poverty reduction efforts, and economic development strategies.
Members' Statements
Recognition of David Walsh, young music and theatre talent from Stephenville
T. Wakeham
Recognized 14-year-old David Walsh for winning multiple Rose Bowl competitions, achieving Platinum Standard at national music festivals, and performing internationally with the Atlantic Boychoir.
Tribute to hockey legend Alex Faulkner of Bishop's Falls
P. Forsey
Honored Alex Faulkner, the first Newfoundlander to play in the NHL (1962), who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings and later became a successful businessman. Offered condolences to his family.
Recognition of Downtown Safety Coalition in St. John's
J. Abbott
Acknowledged the Downtown Safety Coalition, established in 2022, for deploying private security patrols, improving safety, and supporting businesses and visitors in the downtown core.
Recognition of Kaiden Crocker, Taekwondo athlete from Paradise
P. Dinn
Celebrated 13-year-old Kaiden Crocker for becoming the first Newfoundlander and Labradorian on Team Canada for Taekwondo and winning a silver medal at the Pan American Games in Mexico.
Routine Proceedings
Ministerial statement on National Tourism Week
S. Crocker
Recognized National Tourism Week and tourism's $1.4 billion contribution to the provincial economy. Thanked industry partners and emphasized the importance of supporting tourism operators. Opposition responses acknowledged tourism's importance but criticized lack of support for interprovincial air travel.
Tabling of Churchill River Negotiation Oversight Panel report
A. Parsons
Tabled the initial quarterly report of the Independent Churchill River Negotiation Oversight Panel, noting it is also available online.
Notices of motion for four new bills
Multiple
Ministers gave notice to introduce Bill 112 (Revenue Administration Act amendment), Bill 114 (Human Organ and Tissue Donation Act), Bill 113 (Renewable Energy Resources Act), and Bill 111 (Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act amendment).
Notices of motion regarding House schedule
L. Dempster
Government House Leader gave notice of motions to cancel Private Members' Day on April 16 and to adjourn the House from April 16 until May 12, 2025.
Petition on Route 10 brush cutting
L. O'Driscoll
Presented petition calling for immediate brush cutting on Route 10 (Southern Shore Highway) to prevent moose-vehicle accidents. Noted work has begun but equipment was removed before completing vital sections.
Petition on medical transport from Bonavista to Clarenville
C. Pardy
Presented petition calling for investigation of medical transport system after non-ambulatory seniors were left waiting up to 16 hours on gurneys in emergency rooms because transport home was unavailable.
Question Period
Tariff contingency fund details and business incentives
Asked by T. Wakeham · Answered by S. Coady
The Deputy Premier stated the $200 million fund is set aside to address tariff impacts as they arise, guided by community, union, and business leaders. She emphasized monitoring global volatility and taking measures when needed, but provided no specific details on incentives or streamlining processes.
MRI wait times and rural healthcare access
Asked by T. Wakeham · Answered by J. Haggie
The Acting Minister highlighted 75,000 people rostered through Patient Connect and Family Care Teams, with virtual care available to those waiting. He encouraged unregistered residents to sign up for Patient Connect to access virtual care while awaiting a family doctor.
Rural economic development and budget priorities
Asked by T. Wakeham · Answered by S. Coady
The Deputy Premier rejected the claim that the budget neglects rural areas, citing investments in restaurants, technology, and economic development across all regions. She urged the Opposition to re-read the Budget Speech and recognize province-wide support.
Auditor General's findings on personal care homes and government oversight
Asked by T. Wakeham · Answered by J. Haggie
The Acting Minister stated that all serious incidents were dealt with promptly and appropriately, with law enforcement involved where needed. He noted 17 new FTEs added for supervision, announced and unannounced monthly inspections since 2020, and acknowledged the need to improve public communication of standards.
Publication of personal care home inspection reports
Asked by T. Wakeham · Answered by J. Haggie
The minister committed to publishing compliance reports online, noting the personal care home operators' association supports this. He emphasized the importance of highlighting compliant homes to avoid unfairly tarnishing all facilities.
Nurse recruitment, retention, and workplace safety
Asked by B. Petten · Answered by J. Haggie
The minister cited $2.3 million for internationally educated nurses, 760 new RNs, and a drop in RN vacancies from 750 to 300. He stated 222 of 246 graduating student nurses accepted full-time permanent employment and that the department is working with the Nurses' Union on improving working conditions.
Nurse practitioner billing and compensation
Asked by B. Petten · Answered by J. Haggie
The minister said most nurse practitioners prefer salaried arrangements with benefits. He acknowledged a small group seeking private practice arrangements and stated the department is working toward using public funds for primary care delivered privately or publicly, but not through fee-for-service.
Unpaid clinical placements for nursing students
Asked by B. Petten · Answered by K. Howell
The Minister of Education acknowledged the issue and stated ongoing conversations with the student union about recognizing the value nursing students bring during clinical placements. She committed to continuing discussions until an agreement is reached.
Internationally recruited nurses awaiting placement
Asked by B. Petten · Answered by J. Haggie
The minister noted 178 internationally educated nurses are working in the province, with $2.3 million budgeted for new recruits and $500,000 for a mentoring program. He agreed to provide the number of nurses still awaiting placement and bring the data back to the House.
Social worker vacancies
Asked by C. Pardy · Answered by P. Pike
The minister stated there are 277 social workers and 65 social work assistants delivering front-line child protection services as of March 31, 2025. He noted new student assistant worker positions are helping alleviate workload but did not provide the current number of vacancies.
Adult Protection Act and review of personal care home neglect
Asked by C. Pardy · Answered by P. Pike
The minister emphasized collaborative relationships with Health, NLHS, police, and justice when dealing with adult protection matters. He did not commit to a review, stating the Adult Protection Act applies only when an adult is legally and clinically determined to be in danger.
Uncollected fines totaling $51.7 million
Asked by H. Conway Ottenheimer · Answered by A. Parsons
The minister acknowledged this is a longstanding issue across multiple governments and noted the Fines and Administration Division collected just under $10 million last year through 407 active payment arrangements. He expressed openness to creative solutions but offered no new commitments.
Fine options pilot program for community service
Asked by H. Conway Ottenheimer · Answered by A. Parsons
The minister acknowledged the 2019 pilot program has not been established and stated he is unsure what technical issues prevented its implementation. He invited the Opposition to propose solutions to the longstanding problem of uncollected fines.
Janeway bed vacancy and proposed gynecology move
Asked by J. Dinn · Answered by J. Haggie
The minister stated there is no intent to diminish services at the Janeway and that discussions are preliminary and exploratory, including a potential visit to the IWK in Halifax. He emphasized the CEO is responsibly examining resource utilization across the Health Sciences site and denied any concrete plans.
Satellite wildfire infrastructure and water bomber for Labrador West
Asked by J. Brown · Answered by G. Byrne
The minister defended the Atlantic Wildfire Centre plan as based on expert wildfire science, involving multiple assets deployed on an at-risk basis. He rejected the Opposition's call for a single water bomber in Wabush, arguing the government's strategy uses forecasting and multiple assets for more effective wildfire response.
Orders of the Day
Budget 2025 debate - comprehensive Opposition response
L. Paddock
Delivered extensive critique of Budget 2025, calling it a 'recycled budget' and 'missed opportunity.' Criticized government's decade-long record on poverty (cancellation of Poverty Reduction Strategy), seniors (inadequate Seniors' Benefit increase, failure to fund shingles vaccine for all seniors), health care (163,000 without family doctors, refusal to fund nurse practitioners, inadequate medical transportation), housing crisis, food bank usage, disabilities support (no Advocate created despite 5-year promise), and fiscal mismanagement (ranked last by Fraser Institute). Highlighted opportunities in fishery, forestry, agriculture, mining, and tourism. Called for red tape reduction, elimination of sugar tax, 20% Seniors' Benefit increase, and comprehensive poverty reduction strategy.
Budget 2025 debate - health care and community services focus
C. Tibbs
Spoke about the Lionel Kelland Hospice in Grand Falls-Windsor, the province's first community hospice celebrating one year of operation. Criticized inadequate government funding ($2.3 million vs. $3 million needed) while $1 million is spent on the Premier's mostly-empty Grand Falls-Windsor office. Raised concerns about emergency room overcrowding, ongoing wrong-way traffic incidents on the divided highway, lack of forestry allotments for small harvesters, and need for improved health care infrastructure in Central Newfoundland.
This is Tabled's summary of the sitting, written from the official record; Hansard is only ever quoted at the link above. Search Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard for the words themselves, or read this sitting in the archive.