Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly, Wednesday 6 May 2026
Question Period was dominated by the Churchill Falls MOU and the government's undisclosed hiring of two special advisors, with the Official Opposition and Third Party accusing Premier Wakeham of secrecy and paying reviewers to review earlier reviewers. Debate grew heated as the Minister of Energy and Mines traded accusations with the former premier over past deals and negotiations. Other topics included changes to the Multi-Year Capital Works program and lack of municipal consultation, urgent care and MRI service disruptions in health care, Labrador freight service, and the removal of the Baltic III shipwreck. The House sat morning and afternoon focused primarily on legislative business. Bill 10, An Act to Amend the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act, 2022, passed second reading and cleared Committee of the Whole without amendment after extensive debate on how retirement benefits are calculated for injured workers. Committee of the Whole also began considering Bill 12, An Act to Amend the Children's Law Act and the Family Law Act, with detailed clause-by-clause questioning before reporting progress. In the afternoon the Speaker ruled on two points of order, Members made statements, ministers delivered statements on the new Governor General, Hope Air's 40th anniversary and Corrections Week, and a private member's motion urging expansion of the food fishery to seven days a week was debated.
Members' Statements
Corner Brook Storm 14U volleyball team
E. Joyce
Recognized the Corner Brook Intermediate 14U volleyball team, Storm, for winning silver at the 2026 U14 Volleyball Canada Nationals in Moncton.
Labrador West music achievements
J. Power
Congratulated Menihek High School band and choir and J.R. Smallwood Middle School choir on their Gold and Silver Standard achievements at the Atlantic Festivals of Music, thanking directors and supporters.
Catherine Burry, menopause advocate
K. Russell
Paid tribute to Catherine Burry of Churchill Falls, founder of the NL Menopause Support Group and founding member of the Menopause Foundation of NL, for her advocacy for women's health.
Herring Neck Dory Festival
M. Butt
Recognized the Herring Neck Dory Festival, now in its 12th year, as a volunteer-driven community celebration showcasing local heritage, music and the iconic Rodney Races.
Ryan Harding, NTV weatherman
L. Stoyles
Recognized Mount Pearl native Ryan Harding, NTV's weatherperson, for his broadcasting career and role as an ambassador for the province.
Routine Proceedings
Appointment of new Governor General
Premier Wakeham
The Premier congratulated the Honourable Louise Arbour on her appointment as the 31st Governor General and thanked outgoing Governor General Mary Simon; the Leader of the Official Opposition and Leader of the Third Party concurred.
Hope Air Day and 40th anniversary
L. Evans
The Minister of Labrador Affairs and Indigenous Relations recognized May 6 as Hope Air Day and the organization's 40 years of supporting non-emergency medical travel; L. Dempster and J. Dinn responded, with Dinn calling for full coverage of medical travel costs.
Corrections Week
H. Conway Ottenheimer
The Minister of Justice recognized Corrections Week (May 3-9) and thanked correctional staff; P. Parsons responded noting no new positions in the budget, and S. O'Leary invited Members to a restorative justice panel.
Question Period
Secret hiring of MOU advisors and Churchill Falls disclosure
Asked by J. Hogan · Answered by Premier Wakeham
The Premier denied any secrecy, saying government routinely hires lawyers and experts to get the best deal for the province, named advisors including Dan Levert and Vanessa Newhook, and insisted no definitive agreement was ever signed. He refused to be rushed into a decision on the province's resources.
Deputy Premier's remarks on hiring timing and NL talent pool
Asked by J. Hogan · Answered by L. Parrott
The Minister of Energy and Mines deflected to attack the previous administration, claiming 173 days without a definitive agreement, referencing past deals and secret bonuses, and did not directly address the talent-pool concern.
Appointment of former PC ministers and plans for Gull Island
Asked by F. Hutton · Answered by L. Parrott
The minister defended the appointments, saying Gull Island can only be discussed because Muskrat Falls exists, and committed that the government will electrify Labrador and build Gull Island to develop the province's resources.
Payment amounts for new MOU advisors/reviewers
Asked by F. Hutton · Answered by L. Parrott
The minister deflected with attacks on prior Liberal land and hotel deals, and later said advisor pay is covered by non-disclosure agreements so amounts cannot be disclosed, while asserting the government pays its people well.
Changes to Multi-Year Capital Works program and lack of consultation
Asked by J. Parsons · Answered by B. Petten
The minister said the program was in bad shape and needed reform, claimed he did consult Municipalities NL and most municipalities, and explained the four-year cycle results from carried-over money before reverting to a three-year cycle. He said only Mount Pearl lost funding because it had been over-funded under a per-capita formula.
Urgent Care Centre closures and health worker retention
Asked by B. Davis · Answered by L. Evans
The Health Minister committed to a human resources investigation into staffing and call-in procedures and said the government would not allow the Urgent Care Centre to keep closing early, blaming the prior government for rolling out services without adequate staffing plans.
Labrador freight boat funding
Asked by J. Korab · Answered by L. Evans
The Minister of Labrador Affairs blamed the previous Liberal government for eroding Lewisporte dock services and stated freight would not be a problem this spring as the government would address the needs of her district and all of Labrador.
MRI allocation for Burin
Asked by P. Pike · Answered by L. Evans
The Health Minister said the government is delivering two MRIs to rural areas in its first year as part of a four-year mandate and rejected the suggestion of playing politics.
Transparency and independent review of the MOU report
Asked by J. Dinn · Answered by Premier Wakeham
The Premier denied secrecy in hiring and said the government lived up to its commitment to order an independent review; the report was delivered April 30 and would be made public May 19 and tabled for all Members to question.
Municipal consultation on Multi-Year Capital Works changes
Asked by S. O'Leary · Answered by B. Petten
The minister defended the changes as necessary, said only Mount Pearl loses funding while smaller municipalities should benefit from more money, and committed to work on guidelines and contact all mayors to reassure them.
Churchill Falls: negotiating with Quebec versus developing Gull Island alone
Asked by J. Dinn · Answered by L. Parrott
The minister reiterated the government's aim to get the best deal for the province and said it would be clear on May 19 whether the MOU was the best deal, without specifying the negotiation approach.
Long-term care beds at old Western Memorial Regional Hospital
Asked by E. Joyce · Answered by L. Evans
The Health Minister committed that 15 long-term care beds would open within the first 12 months and the remaining 30 within six months after, for a total of 45 beds in 18 months.
Removal and permitting status of the Baltic III shipwreck
Asked by E. Joyce · Answered by C. Tibbs
The Minister of Environment said his department has reviewed the Coast Guard's updated work plan for permitting requirements and is dealing with it, with officials in constant contact with the Coast Guard and federal government, and committed to keep the Member updated.
Orders of the Day
Bill 10 - Second Reading (Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act amendments)
M. Goosney
The Minister of Government Services moved second reading, explaining the bill implements a 2019 statutory review recommendation to include temporary earnings loss benefits beyond 24 months in retirement benefit calculations, retroactive to January 1, 2019, benefiting about 3,100 workers (over 700 retroactively) at an average of $5,800 each and a cost of $14.3 million to the Injury Fund.
Bill 10 - Second Reading debate
Multiple
Members from all parties spoke in support, including K. White, K. Russell, J. Dinn, J. Power, B. Davis, H. Cormier, L. Dempster and S. O'Leary, sharing personal stories of workplace injury and noting the fund's strong funded ratio; several called for further improvements such as raising the income replacement rate and covering mental health injuries.
Bill 10 - Minister's closing and second reading vote
M. Goosney
The minister thanked staff and Members, noted this was his second bill and committed to further progress, then the motion for second reading was carried and the bill referred to Committee of the Whole.
Bill 10 - Committee of the Whole
Multiple
K. White and J. Dinn questioned the minister on the 5%/10% benefit rates, the 24-month threshold, number of workers affected, the $14.3 million cost, retroactivity, back payments and notification methods; all clauses carried without amendment and the bill was reported without amendment, ordered read a third time tomorrow.
Bill 12 - Committee of the Whole (Children's Law Act and Family Law Act amendments)
Multiple
Members S. Gambin-Walsh, J. Hogan and J. Dinn questioned the Minister of Justice on definitions of family violence, decision-making responsibility, family member, relocation and best interests of the child, with the Minister explaining alignment with the federal Divorce Act; the Minister of Social Supports addressed social worker capacity, and the Committee reported progress and asked leave to sit again tomorrow.
Private Members' Business
Motion to expand the food fishery to seven days a week
J. McKenna
The Member for Fogo Island - Cape Freels moved a motion, seconded by the Member for Lewisporte - Twillingate, calling on the provincial government to advocate to DFO to expand the food fishery to seven days per week during the season with conservation-based management, framing it as a matter of heritage, food security, safety and fairness compared to other Atlantic provinces.
Debate on the food fishery motion
Multiple
Members S. Gambin-Walsh, J. Dwyer, E. Loveless, Minister L. O'Driscoll and L. Dempster spoke, sharing personal fishing stories and generally supporting expanded access while stressing the need for balance with commercial harvesters, conservation, monitoring, enforcement and safety given unpredictable weather.
Other business
Rulings on points of order
The Speaker
The Speaker ruled the Government House Leader's reference to the Opposition as 'a bunch of fools' unparliamentary and required withdrawal, which L. Parrott did unequivocally; a second point of order regarding the comment 'that's not the Premier' was found not to be a point of order, and the Speaker admonished Members for disruptions caused by speaking when not recognized.
Visitor introductions
The Speaker
The Speaker welcomed the Auditor General, visiting auditors from Vanuatu, NTV weatherman Ryan Harding and correctional staff visiting for Corrections Week.
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.