Government of Newfoundland News

Advanced Education and Skills

Newfoundland and Labrador is again leading the country with progressive student aid. As of August 1, 2015, work will be completed to replace provincial student loans with up-front needs-based grants. To further advance the Provincial Government’s commitment to affordable, accessible post-secondary education, Budget 2015 provides $66,000 to launch a Part-time Incentive Grant Program to assist residents pursuing part-time studies in the province.

Seniors, Wellness and Social Development

The Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador have provided conditional approval to 60 private and non-profit sector groups to develop a total of 481 new affordable housing projects throughout the province. A combined federal-provincial investment of $27.9 million, announced in November 2014 through an extension to Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Agreement for Investment in Affordable Housing (IAH) 2014-19, will help support the development of these new homes.

Health and Community Services

The Honourable Steve Kent, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Community Services, will attend an event to mark the conclusion of the Pathways Foundation’s Hope Walk on Sunday, August 2. The event will take place at the Mount Cashel Memorial on Elizabeth Avenue in St. John’s at 4:00 p.m.

Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs

The Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs, will announce funding for capital works projects in the Avalon region on Monday, August 3. The event will commence at 11:00 a.m. at the community centre in Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove.

Advanced Education and Skills

The next round of Workforce Development Roundtable Discussions will take place in August throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. The sessions are a key component of the Workforce Development Action Plan, which is an initiative of the Population Growth Strategy.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

The Forestry and Agrifoods Agency advises that the Paradise Lake Forest Access Road, located south of the Exploits River behind the former Abitibi-Bowater newsprint mill in Grand Falls-Windsor, will be closed for approximately three days beginning Monday, August 3 to allow for the replacement of the Island Pond Bridge.

Environment and Conservation

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

Executive Council
Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs

The central region of the province will benefit from over $9.3 million in cost-shared investments for projects which include upgrading water and sewer systems, improving roads and enhancing town halls. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Paul Davis, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Transportation and Works

The Provincial Government recently awarded a contract for the construction of a new bridge over Stoney Brook in Grand Falls-Windsor leading to the Exploits River Salmonid Interpretation Centre. Construction is currently underway and the tender was awarded to Horseshoe Hill Construction Inc. of St. John's at a cost of approximately $1.1 million.

Seniors, Wellness and Social Development: Sport Newfoundland and Labrador
Executive Council

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation has awarded four contracts, valued at a total of $299,000, to upgrade 41 social housing homes in Hopedale, Makkovik and Nain on the northern coast of Labrador.

Executive Council

The Honourable Paul Davis, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, was at the town hall in Charlottetown, Bonavista Bay, today, to announce an investment of more than $365,000 investment for new firefighting equipment for Central Newfoundland. He was accompanied by the Honourable Sandy Collins, Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services and MHA for Terra Nova.

Health and Community Services

Through a Provincial Government investment of more than $800,000, residents of Clarenville and the surrounding area will benefit from enhanced health care equipment at the Dr. G.B. Cross Memorial Hospital and the new protective care residence.

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development

Eight organizations in the Isles if Notre Dame Region are better situated to take advantage of economic and tourism development opportunities as a result of a Provincial Government investment of over $215,000. Funding will support operational sustainability and expansion for the organizations in order to improve economic viability and promote future growth.

Transportation and Works

The Department of Transportation and Works advises that Veterans Memorial Bridge is now reopened to all traffic. All repairs and a full inspection of the bridge, which crosses the Churchill River, have been completed. The bridge was restricted to light vehicle traffic (under five tons) late yesterday afternoon to allow crews to conduct an inspection and to repair and replace some bolts.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

Through, Budget 2015, the Provincial Government is investing more than $1 million over two years for oceanographic research to support aquaculture sustainable management practices and future expansion of the industry. The research will inform the further development of aquaculture bay management areas along Newfoundland’s South Coast. The creation of new bay management areas will help to enhance the health, biosecurity and performance of aquaculture sites as well as preserve the environmental integrity of the ecosystem that both aquaculture and wild fisheries rely upon.

Transportation and Works

The Department of Transportation and Works advises that it is anticipated Veterans Memorial Bridge will reopen to full traffic by the end of day today. The bridge, which crosses the Churchill River, was restricted to light vehicle traffic (under five tons) late yesterday afternoon to allow crews to conduct an inspection and repair and replace some bolts.

Health and Community Services

The Honourable Steve Kent, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Community Services, will announce health care funding for Clarenville today (Wednesday, July 29). The event will take place at 3:00 p.m. in the atrium of the Dr. G. B. Cross Memorial Hospital at 67 Manitoba Drive in Clarenville.

Executive Council
Justice and Public Safety

The Honourable Paul Davis, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, together with the Honourable Darin King, Minister Responsible for Fire and Emergency Services-Newfoundland and Labrador (FES-NL), will announce firefighting equipment funding for the Central Region tomorrow (Wednesday, July 29).

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development

The Honourable Darin King, Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development, will attend the official launch of Murder on the Rock: True Crime in Newfoundland and Labrador by Robert C. Parsons tomorrow (Wednesday, July 29). The event will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the Grand Bank Lions Club, 5 Church Street, Grand Bank.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

The Honourable Vaughn Granter, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, will provide details of Budget 2015 investments in oceanographic research to support sustainable management practices and future expansion of the province’s aquaculture industry tomorrow (Wednesday, July 29). The event is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the Marine Institute’s Holyrood Marine Base in Holyrood.