Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly, Tuesday 17 March 2026
Question Period was dominated by economic and social policy themes, with the Official Opposition pressing the PC government to support an amendment to actually cut the gas tax rather than maintain it, and to fund promised pension and benefit improvements for early childhood educators. Sustained exchanges over roadwork budget cuts saw the Transportation minister repeatedly declining to confirm whether major twinning projects are included in the $250-million Roads Plan, while the Energy minister fielded questions on Churchill Falls, a national energy grid, and Bay du Nord's UNCLOS payment. The Third Party and independents raised child care worker supports, the Folk Festival, and the release of the basic income report. The Speaker ruled that no prima facie point of privilege had been established regarding a recess meeting raised by the Leader of the Official Opposition. Members' statements recognized community volunteers and local achievers, and Ministers made statements on the retirement of Victim Services manager Anita Stanley and the 2025 tourism season results. Routine proceedings included document tablings, notices of motion (including a private Member's motion on MCP funds and Bill 11), and several petitions. In Orders of the Day, Bill 7 (Endangered Species Act amendments) passed third reading, and debate continued on an amendment to Bill 5 to lower the gas tax.
Members' Statements
St. James ACW volunteers and MSC Baltic III shipwreck
E. Joyce
The Member for Humber - Bay of Islands recognized the St. James ACW in Lark Harbour, led by Rev. Effie Organ, for providing shelter, meals and comfort to those responding to the MSC Baltic III grounding since February 2025.
Labrador Winter Games
J. Power
The Member for Labrador West honoured the Labrador Winter Games (Friendship Games) held in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, thanking organizers and volunteers and congratulating his hometown of Labrador City on winning the Labrador Cup.
Codroy Valley Winter Carnival
H. Cormier
The Member for St. George's - Humber recognized the success of the Codroy Valley Winter Carnival and thanked the organizing committee, volunteers, sponsors and community members.
Michael 'Awesome Mike' Austin
M. Butt
The Member for Lewisporte - Twillingate honoured Special Olympian Mike Austin of Lewisporte, who has won over 200 medals and had the local arena renamed the Mike Austin Arena.
Sheri Philpott, Mount Pearl Citizen of the Year
L. Stoyles
The Member for Mount Pearl North recognized community leader Sheri Philpott for her volunteer work with air cadets, the Frosty Festival and the Kinettes, and her selection as Mount Pearl's Citizen of the Year.
Routine Proceedings
Statement on retirement of Anita Stanley (Victim Services)
H. Conway Ottenheimer
The Minister of Justice and Public Safety recognized Anita Stanley's retirement after more than 30 years of public service, including 18 years as manager of Victim Services; the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave and the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi responded, the latter also calling for re-establishment of a child advocacy centre.
Statement on 2025 tourism season
A. Barbour
The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts celebrated the 2025 tourism season with over $1.4 billion in revenue and record park visitations; the Member for Gander credited previous investments and called for air/ferry access and labour supports, while the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi called for a funded plan to support working artists.
Tabling of Orders-in-Council on funding precommitment
C. Pardy
The Minister of Finance tabled four Orders-in-Council relating to funding precommitment for fiscal years 2026-27 to 2059-60 under the Financial Administration Act.
Tabling of annual reports
M. Goosney
The Minister of Government Services and Labour tabled four documents: annual reports of the Embalmers and Funeral Directors Board, Professional Engineers and Geoscientists, Chartered Professional Accountants, and the Architects Licensing Board.
Notice of private Member's motion on MCP funds
B. Davis
The Member for Virginia Waters - Pleasantville gave notice of a private Member's motion urging government to immediately stop using $275,000 of MCP funds per year to pay political support staff in the Office of the Premier, to be debated March 18.
Notice of Bill 11
L. Parrott
The Minister of Energy and Mines gave notice that he would introduce Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act.
Petition for permanent daylight savings time
L. Stoyles
The Member for Mount Pearl North presented a petition urging government to implement permanent daylight savings time; the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change responded that no official conversations are underway but he would raise it with department staff.
Petition for a new breakwater at St. Vincent's beach
S. Gambin-Walsh
The Member for Placentia - St. Mary's presented a petition urging government to assess and fund a new breakwater at St. Vincent's beach, citing coastal erosion, storm surges and hazardous road conditions.
Public safety petition for St. John's West
K. White
The Member for St. John's West presented a petition urging government to fulfill commitments to add RNC and RCMP officers and make communities safer; the Minister of Justice and Public Safety responded reaffirming commitments to invest in policing, courts and corrections.
Petition for First Light Indigenous Health Clinic
S. O'Leary
The Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi presented a petition urging government to establish a funding partnership with First Light St. John's Friendship Centre to support an Indigenous Health Clinic; the Minister of Health and Community Services responded that they met with First Light and are reviewing the plan to increase access for Indigenous people across the province.
Question Period
Gas tax cut versus maintaining the 2020 Liberal tax cut
Asked by J. Hogan · Answered by Premier Wakeham
The Premier argued the Liberals had no budget or plan to continue the tax cut, and committed to making the current 7.5-cent gas tax reduction permanent through $67 million per year, along with the Seniors' Benefit increase and income tax relief. He did not commit to supporting the Opposition amendment for a further cut.
Daycare spaces and $10-a-day child care funding
Asked by J. Hogan · Answered by Premier Wakeham
The Premier committed to increasing daycare spaces and said the government would review what he called an overregulated industry to cut red tape while protecting children.
Pensions and benefits for early childhood educators (ECEs)
Asked by J. Hogan · Answered by P. Dinn
The Minister said the Blue Book commits to looking at pensions, sick leave and wages for ECEs, but attacked the Liberal plan as empty and did not commit to including these measures in the upcoming budget.
Child care policy review and extension before March 31 agreement expiry
Asked by B. Davis · Answered by P. Dinn
The Minister said consultations have been extended and the government will continue to work with operators throughout the year to amend and revise the policies, but did not commit to a specific urgent update before March 31.
Roads budget cut of $66 million and rural highway funding
Asked by J. Korab · Answered by B. Petten
The Minister said the government is 'rightsizing' the budget to make it sustainable for future years, defended the $250-million program as among the largest ever, and said roadwork would be allocated fairly based on road condition rather than political stripe.
Alleged political bias in roads plan favouring PC districts
Asked by P. Parsons · Answered by B. Petten
The Minister said officials identified the worst roads by district and that seven or eight of the top ones were in PC districts, arguing he is playing catch-up and doing what is fair after years of Liberal 'pork barrelling.'
Whether twinning projects (Bishop's Falls-Grand Falls, Whitbourne-Chance Cove) are in the $250-million Roads Plan
Asked by E. Loveless · Answered by B. Petten
The Minister said the Bishop's Falls-Grand Falls twinning is in the Roads Plan document but repeatedly declined to give a straight yes/no on whether its cost is within the $250-million budget, citing that prices depend on bids and refusing to disclose figures to bidders.
Churchill Falls MOU and independent review panel
Asked by J. Hogan · Answered by L. Parrott
The Minister maintained the government supports Gull Island and Churchill Falls expansion and electrification of Labrador, defended the independent review panel, and criticized the previous administration's handling of its own review while not committing to proceed with the MOU.
Newfoundland and Labrador's exclusion from national energy grid agreement
Asked by J. Hogan · Answered by L. Parrott
The Minister said the province, like Quebec, did not sign on because it is awaiting the independent review panel results, and asserted the province is in discussions with the federal government and will not be left out of the national energy grid.
Bay du Nord $1-billion UNCLOS payment and tabling the agreement
Asked by F. Hutton · Answered by L. Parrott
The Minister stated the federal government has committed to paying the UNCLOS fee in its entirety, not the province or proponent, and said the agreement is within the benefits agreement which the Premier has committed to tabling once reviewed.
Funding for ECE pensions and benefits versus timeline
Asked by J. Dinn · Answered by P. Dinn
The Minister reiterated ECEs are central to the system and said a provincial advisory committee on child care will soon be established to gather feedback and address issues, but gave no commitment for this budget.
Provincial funding for ECEs versus subsidies to Equinor
Asked by J. Dinn · Answered by Premier Wakeham
The Premier defended the Bay du Nord deal as creating a new industry rather than a simple subsidy, and said the budget will include more child care spaces, more daycare investment and a review of regulations.
Early Learning Gateway portal deadline and cutting off operators
Asked by S. O'Leary · Answered by P. Dinn
The Minister said the government has extended the Early Learning Gateway process by at least six months to help operators who are struggling with the portal transition.
Support for the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival
Asked by S. O'Leary · Answered by A. Barbour
The Minister praised the Folk Festival, noting its 50th anniversary, and expressed hope to see it return but stopped short of a firm commitment to work with the interim board to ensure it proceeds.
Release of the All-Party Committee report on basic income
Asked by J. Dinn · Answered by C. Pardy
The Minister of Finance committed to releasing the basic income report in short course, while noting the first recommendation may be futile given federal action, and affirmed the value of the work.
Orders of the Day
Motion to not adjourn at 5:30 p.m.
L. Parrott
The Government House Leader moved, and the House carried, a motion under Standing Order 11(1) that the House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17.
Bill 7 - An Act to Amend the Endangered Species Act (Committee and third reading)
P. Forsey
The House considered Bill 7 in Committee of the Whole, with the Minister of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands answering questions on Indigenous and stakeholder consultations, enforcement officer equipment and staffing (49 trucks, 48 ATVs, 70 snowmobiles, 54 boats; 65 of 92 field positions active), telewarrants, fines and collection, extension of the LGIC response timeline from 90 to 180 days, and species recovery; the bill passed all clauses and third reading without amendment.
Bill 5 - amendment to lower the gas tax (Committee debate)
Multiple
Debate continued on the amendment to Bill 5 to lower the gas tax, with the Member for Mount Scio detailing gas pricing components and revenue estimates, and Opposition and NDP members (Hutton, Dinn, Hogan, O'Leary, Davis, King, Parsons) supporting the amendment and pressing the government to deliver on affordability promises; the Minister of Finance argued against making decisions based on 18 days of high oil prices, cited $1.1 billion in annual debt interest, and defended fiscal planning, while the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands (Joyce) said he would vote against the amendment. Committee rose and reported progress to sit again tomorrow.
Adjournment
L. Parrott
The Government House Leader moved that the House adjourn until Wednesday, March 18 at 10 a.m., and the motion carried.
Other business
Ruling on point of privilege
Speaker (Lane)
The Speaker ruled on the point of privilege raised by the Leader of the Official Opposition on March 11 concerning a recess meeting between the Speaker and a government Member, finding that no Member was impeded in their parliamentary role and that a prima facie point of privilege was not established, while acknowledging the importance of all Members being able to speak to procedural matters.
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.