Government of Newfoundland News

Transportation and Works

The Provincial Government has awarded a contract valued at over $5.7 million for rut repairs on various sections of the Trans Canada Highway (TCH) from St. John’s to Salmonier Line. The contract, awarded to Farrell’s Excavating Ltd., is in addition to $6.8 million in road upgrades already underway from Salmonier Line to Whitbourne.

Environment and Conservation

The Honourable Dan Crummell, Minister of Environment and Conservation, has announced the following event relative to Part 10 Environmental Assessment of the Environmental Protection Act.

Health and Community Services

The Honourable Steve Kent, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Community Services, will announce new regulations for pharmacists under the Pharmacy Act, 2012 tomorrow (Tuesday, September 22). The announcement will take place in the main boardroom of Apothecary Hall located at 488 Water Street in St. John’s at 11:00 a.m.

Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs

The Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs, will unveil the design for a new Campia gymnastics facility tomorrow (Tuesday, September 22) at 12:15 p.m. The event will take place at the softball building at the Team Gushue Complex.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

Dwayne Goodyear, a Grade 6 student at Phoenix Academy in Carmanville, is the provincial winner of the 2015 National Forest Week Poster Contest and was honoured today for his artistic talent and knowledge of fire prevention techniques. As the overall provincial winner, his poster is featured on the cover of the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency 2016 Calendar.

Service NL
Health and Community Services

The Provincial Government is recognizing the work of public sector workers in the environmental public health field by proclaiming September 21-25 as Environmental Public Health Week in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Honourable Dan Crummell, Minister of Service NL, and the Honourable Steve Kent, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Community Services, made the proclamation earlier today. This year's theme, Moving Forward, Looking Back; Building on 100 years of success, recognizes the public health system's past successes, while continuing to focus on emerging challenges to public health and illness prevention in the future.

Executive Council
Environment and Conservation

Next week an official representing the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will arrive in the province to begin the Mistaken Point field visit - the next step in the site's quest to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development

The First World War was a formative moment in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador. A century later it remains a story of courage, perseverance and pride. September 19, 2015, marked the 100th anniversary of the First Newfoundland Regiment’s landing at Gallipoli and entry into the battle. As a part of the Honour 100 commemoration activities, 60 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians were in Turkey to mark the anniversary.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

The ecological impacts of wildfire and the importance of fire safety and prevention are the focus of National Forest Week 2015, which runs from September 20 to 26.

Executive Council

The Honourable Steve Kent, Deputy Premier and Minister Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement, will speak at the H.M. Wireless Station Centennial Celebration tomorrow (Saturday, September 19). The event will take place at Admiralty House Museum and Archives in Mount Pearl at 12:00 p.m.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

The agriculture industry generates direct and indirect employment for approximately 6,500 men and women in Newfoundland and Labrador. Together with agrifoods processing, the industry is valued at nearly $500 million per year. Since 2003, the Provincial Government has invested more than $260 million in agriculture and agrifoods development to grow the industry, assist producers and increase food security.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

Clayton Forsey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Vaughn Granter, Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency, will announce the winner and 12 finalists of a provincial poster contest on Monday, September 21, 1:00 p.m. at Phoenix Academy in Carmanville. Mr. Forsey will be joined by Eli Cross, MHA for Bonavista North.

Health and Community Services

The Honourable Steve Kent, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Community Services, will speak at the fourth annual Multiple Myeloma March on Sunday, September 20. The event will take place at the Pearlgate Track and Field Complex in Mount Pearl at 9:00 a.m.

Service NL

The Honourable Dan Crummell, Minister of Service NL, will be at the St. John’s Remax Centre tomorrow (Saturday, September 19) at 10:00 a.m. to address the opening of the 2nd Annual Newfoundland and Labrador Wellness Expo.

House of Assembly

The Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Honourable Wade Verge, announced today that the House of Assembly Management Commission will hold its next meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 22.

Environment and Conservation

The Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Advisory Council (WERAC) is hosting public hearings in the Town of Milltown-Head of Bay d’Espoir on Thursday, October 29, to discuss proposed changes to the Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve. The council will discuss removing a parcel of land from the reserve to allow for construction of a new transmission line and adding a parcel to the reserve for conservation value, and will discuss proposed changes to the management plan.

Justice and Public Safety

The Honourable Darin King, Minister of Justice and Public Safety, and the Honourable Felix Collins, Attorney General, today announced that Paul G. Noble, Q.C., has been appointed as a Judge with Provincial Court in Clarenville. Mr. Noble most recently served as the Deputy Minister and Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Justice and Public Safety.

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner

The new Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA, 2015) contains a number of improvements to help ensure that the personal information of citizens is collected, used and disclosed appropriately and securely by government and other public bodies. One of the new requirements in ATIPPA, 2015 is that public bodies must report any and all privacy breaches to the Commissioner. In the Report of the 2014 Statutory Review of the ATIPPA, Chair Clyde Wells wrote:

Health and Community Services

Residents of the Northern Peninsula region will benefit from an investment of approximately $1.75 million in health care equipment and infrastructure.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

The Honourable Vaughn Granter, Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency, will officially open the 47th annual Humber Valley Agriculture Home and Handicraft Exhibition tomorrow (Friday, September 18). The opening ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m. and will take place in the Hodder Memorial Recreation Complex, Deer Lake.