Government of Newfoundland News

Justice and Public Safety

Executive Council

The Honourable Paul Davis, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, will open the Mount Pearl Summit Centre and make a multi-year capital works funding announcement tomorrow (Thursday, December 18) at 12:00 p.m. The event will take place at the Mount Pearl Summit Centre, 126 Smallwood Drive.

House of Assembly

The fall sitting of the House of Assembly concluded today with several new acts being passed, most notably regarding public safety, child care and pension sustainability – areas that are important to and impact the well-being of individuals and families across Newfoundland and Labrador.

Environment and Conservation

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is investing $23,500 in Snow West 2015, a winter festival organized around Marble Mountain ski resort that forges partnerships between tourism operators, community groups and municipalities on the west coast, with events taking place throughout the region.

Education and Early Childhood Development

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend congratulations to the students of Newfoundland and Labrador on the impressive results they are achieving across a broad range of subject areas. Their determination to learn, their understanding and use of information and their willingness to engage have earned them above average scores on two recent national and international assessments: the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program and the International Computer and Information Literacy Study.

Health and Community Services

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in this Honourable House to speak to the continued success of the Operation Tooth program. Again this year, Operation Tooth is bringing vital dental services to children in rural areas who require specialist dental surgery.

Natural Resources

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House to highlight today's announcement by the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board that reserves for the Hibernia field have increased to an estimated 1,644 million barrels of oil.

Health and Community Services

The primary health care forum for the Clarenville area will take place tomorrow (Wednesday, December 17) at the Clarenville Inn, 134 Trans-Canada Highway, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

The Provincial Government established a new long-term approach to fostering future aquaculture development today with the release of Newfoundland and Labrador Sustainable Aquaculture Strategy 2014. The Honourable Vaughn Granter, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, presented the strategy, which is focused on achieving gains in three areas: enhancing sustainable management practices, growing capacity within the industry, and promoting research and development.

Natural Resources

The Provincial Government welcomed the news today by the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board that reserves for the Hibernia field have increased to an estimated 1,644 million barrels of oil.

Finance

Today the Provincial Government released the province’s 2014-15 Fall Update. The projected deficit has been revised to $916 million, an increase of $378 million over the budget projection of $538 million.

Transportation and Works

The Department of Transportation and Works is advising that in addition to the helicopter service that has been coordinated to transport persons across the washed out area on the Burgeo Highway, a 10-person shuttle service is available to transport passengers to Stephenville and Corner Brook.

Seniors, Wellness and Social Development

Almost $333,000 has been invested to support local recreation programming through the Provincial Government’s 2014 Community Recreation Development Grants Program. The Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister of Seniors, Wellness and Social Development, along with Kevin Parsons, MHA for Cape St. Francis, were in Flatrock today to announce that more than 90 communities throughout the province will benefit from the program this year.

Health and Community Services

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is assessing the delivery of primary health care services in our province and has been seeking feedback from the general public through a series of consultation activities over the past month. These activities have been held across the province and have included both public forums and online consultations. Information received is being used to inform the planning of the Premier’s Summit on Health Care, which is taking place in St. John’s on January 14, 2015.

Finance

The Honourable Ross Wiseman, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, will provide the 2014-15 Fall Update for the province at a news conference today (Tuesday, December 16). The news conference will take place at 11:45 a.m. in the Media Centre, Ground Floor, East Block, Confederation Building.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

The Honourable Vaughn Granter, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, will make an announcement regarding the provincial aquaculture industry today (Tuesday, December 16). The event has been rescheduled for 1:00 p.m. and will take place in the Media Centre, Ground Floor, East Block, Confederation Building.

Transportation and Works

The Department of Transportation and Works is advising that a helicopter has been coordinated to transport persons across the washed out area on the Burgeo Highway.

Natural Resources

Today, the Honourable Derrick Dalley, Minister of Natural Resources, announced that 94 of the 107 commitments outlined in Focusing Our Energy have been completed or are operational. The progress made in implementing the goals and objectives of the energy plan was acknowledged in the Auditor General’s Annual Report released today.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

The Honourable Vaughn Granter, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, acknowledged recommendations in the Auditor General’s annual report today regarding programming that supports provincial aquaculture. Minister Granter noted that with support of these programs, aquaculture activity has grown over the last ten years so that it now supports more than 1000 jobs within the province.