Government of Newfoundland News

The following is being released at the request of The Council of Atlantic Premiers:

Atlantic Premiers met to discuss regional approaches to health care, economic recovery, cost of living, immigration and energy security.

As Chair of the Council of Atlantic Premiers, Premier Tim Houston of Nova Scotia welcomed Premier Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick, Premier Dennis King of Prince Edward Island and Premier Andrew Furey of Newfoundland and Labrador for the first in-person meeting of the Council since January 2020.

Premiers also met with Dominic LeBlanc, federal Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities and Sean Fraser, federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

Premiers condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and expressed solidarity with Ukrainian people. The international crisis precipitated by Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought into focus the need to strengthen Canada’s energy security and enhance self-sufficiency.

Premiers urged the federal government to work with them to improve the region’s energy security through the development of Canadian energy sources. They called on the federal government to provide financial support for the Atlantic Loop project to assist in the transition off coal by 2030. They invited federal ministers to work with them to further diversify the region’s energy supply through the development of clean and renewable power from sources such as wind, solar and tidal power and small modular nuclear reactors.

Premiers expressed concerns with expected supply chain issues in relation to the Canadian Pacific rail strike. Given world circumstances and current supply chain issues, Premiers urged the federal government to address the issue immediately.

Atlantic Premiers expressed optimism about the region’s ability to transition to a new phase of living with COVID-19. They look forward to welcoming visitors to the region and discussed ways to further promote economic recovery and growth.

Premiers recognize the mental and physical toll of the pandemic on residents and continue to express their appreciation of frontline and essential workers who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. They expressed their gratitude to those who followed public health measures throughout the past two years and urge those who have not already done so to book appointments for vaccines and boosters.

Busing is an important part of the transportation network for many Atlantic Canadians and the pandemic has highlighted the importance of accessible and affordable service. Premiers agreed to explore opportunities for regional solutions in busing.

Sustainable and quality health care continues to be a top priority for Atlantic Canadians. Premiers discussed progress on the Atlantic Health Care – “Accord of Guiding Principles” signed in September 2021. The Atlantic Provinces are working collaboratively to advance key health priorities under this Accord.

Premiers noted the recent vote in the United States Senate, approving a bill for permanent Daylight Saving Time in the US. Atlantic Premiers will work with other Premiers and the federal government to explore options for consistency should the Senate bill become law.

Premiers also discussed areas of shared priorities for federal partnership through the Atlantic Growth Strategy, which launched the Clean Power Road Map for Atlantic Canada and the successful Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program. Premiers look forward to further developing partnerships with the federal government in areas such as immigration, labour market and workforce development, flexible and responsive infrastructure funding, the ocean economy, and clean energy.

Premiers will meet in June for their next meeting.

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Les premiers ministres de l’Atlantique discutent des priorités régionales

Media contacts
Meghan McCabe
Office of the Premier, Newfoundland and Labrador
709-729-3960

Catherine Klimek
Office of the Premier, Nova Scotia
902-717-1020

Nicolle Carlin
Office of the Premier, New Brunswick
506-453-7494

Adam Ross
Office of the Premier, Prince Edward Island
902-368-4400

The post Atlantic Premiers Meet to Discuss Regional Priorities appeared first on News Releases.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner, Michael Harvey, has released his Report A-2022-004 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015. A summary of the Report is included below.

To view the Report in its entirety, please go to www.oipc.nl.ca/reports/commissioner

Report: A-2022-004 Report Date: March 18, 2022 Public Body: Town of Witless Bay Summary: The Complainant submitted an access request to the Town of Witless Bay under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015 for records relating to rescinding motions that the new Town’s Council addressed at its first two meetings. The Town provided the records it had to the Complainant, but the Complainant believed that there were more records and filed a complaint with this Office. The Commissioner concluded that there was no evidence that additional records exist.

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Media contact
Sean Murray
Director of Research & Quality Assurance
709-729-6309

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During National Impaired Driving Prevention Week (March 20-26), the Provincial Government is encouraging all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to take a moment to think about the senseless and preventable injuries and deaths caused by impaired driving.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), impaired driving is the number one criminal cause of death in Canada. An average of 10 federal criminal charges and provincial short-term licence suspensions are laid every hour for impaired driving. An average of 238 impaired driving charges and short-term suspensions are laid daily, and almost 87,000 annually. Last year, in Newfoundland and Labrador, there was a total of 377 impaired driving convictions.

It is the collective responsibility of all drivers to prevent serious injuries and deaths on our roads. Motorists have a responsibility to their fellow citizens to ensure they are operating vehicles in a safe manner. It is also important to keep the conversation going about ways to improve safety on provincial roadways.

Besides impairment due to alcohol or drugs; fatigue, distraction, even over-the-counter and prescription medications can all impact a motorist’s judgement, coordination, and reaction time behind the wheel.

The Provincial Government remains committed to enhancing road safety. Continuous improvement and updates to the Highway Traffic Act help reduce the number of traffic deaths and injuries to make roads safer.

Quote
“Although the dangers and consequences of impaired driving are widely known, we continue to see stories in the news of impaired driving arrests. Anyone who chooses to drive impaired has no place on our province’s roads.”
Honourable Sarah Stoodley
Minister of Digital Government and Service NL

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Media contact
Krista Dalton
Digital Government and Service NL
729-4748, 685-6492
kristadalton@gov.nl.ca

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The Department of Health and Community Services has been made aware of a fraudulent text message that has been circulating regarding payment for COVID-19 vaccinations.

The message, which appears to originate from a local number, states that MCP will be paying everyone who was vaccinated $15 each, and a link is included to claim the money. MCP does not engage in such practices and does not pay residents for their adherence to vaccinations. The public is advised to delete this message and not click on the link.

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Media contact
Laura Thomas
Health and Community Services
709-729-6986, 727-0341
laurathomas@gov.nl.ca

The post Public Advisory: Fraudulent MCP Text Message Circulating in Province appeared first on News Releases.

The Honourable Krista Lynn Howell, Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs, and the Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, will make an announcement tomorrow (Tuesday, March 22) at 1:00 p.m. regarding the Regional Water and Wastewater Operators Program.

The announcement will take place at the annual Water Operators Provincial Conference, being held this year at the Quality Hotel and Suites in Gander.

Those in attendance are being asked to wear masks and follow other public health guidelines.

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Media contact
Lynn Robinson
Municipal and Provincial Affairs
Environment and Climate Change
709-729-5449; 691-9466
lynnrobinson@gov.nl.ca

 

 

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The Honourable Steve Crocker, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation, and the Honourable Pam Parsons, Minister Responsible for Women and Gender Equality, are congratulating Carmella Gray-Cosgrove on winning the 2021 BMO Winterset Award for her debut story collection, Nowadays and Lonelier. The award, which celebrates excellence in Newfoundland and Labrador writing, was presented yesterday afternoon at a ceremony at Government House in St. John’s.

Carmella received an award of $12,500 for her work, while the other two finalists each received an award of $3,000. The other two finalists were Aimee Wall for We, Jane and Claire Wilkshire for The Love Olympics. This is the second year in a row that all three finalists for the BMO Winterset Award have been female.

Nowadays and Lonelier is one of 35 works by Newfoundland and Labrador authors (either native-born or resident) that were submitted by publishers from across the country. Books in any genre, published in 2021, were eligible. The jury consisted of Petrina Bromley, Eva Crocker, and Nelson White.

Sponsored by BMO Financial Group and the Sandra Fraser Gwyn Foundation, the BMO Winterset Award honours the memory of Sandra Fraser Gwyn, a St. John’s-born award-winning journalist and author, as well as a passionate advocate of Newfoundland and Labrador’s arts community. Her husband, journalist and author Richard Gwyn, established the award in her memory in 2000.

Quotes
“Newfoundland and Labrador is home to an enormous wealth of artistic talent that has fundamentally shaped our collective cultural identity and expression. This prestigious award gives authors like Carmella, Aimee, and Claire the recognition they deserve. Congratulations to each of you on your fine work and thank you for your contribution to Newfoundland and Labrador’s literary scene.”
Honourable Steve Crocker
Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation

“I applaud the three finalists for the 2021 BMO Winterset Award, who – for the second year in a row – are all women. Newfoundland and Labrador is home to many gifted women writers, musicians and creators, and our Provincial Government celebrates the talent and hard work of these incredible women authors. Well done on this deserved recognition, and congratulations to Carmella Gray-Cosgrove for winning this year’s BMO Winterset Award.”
Honourable Pam Parsons
Minister Responsible for Women and Gender Equality

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BMO Winterset Award

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Media contacts
Adrienne Luther
Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation
709-729-4819, 730-2953
adrienneluther@gov.nl.ca

Angela Picco
Office of Women and Gender Equality
709-729-4934, 687-4753
angelapicco@gov.nl.ca

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The Honourable John G. Abbott, Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development, will bring greetings at the Opening Ceremony of the annual Sharing Our Cultures event on Sunday, March 20. Minister Abbott will be joined by the Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Honourable Sarah Stoodley, Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

The event takes place at 1:00 p.m. at The Rooms, 9 Bonaventure Avenue, St. John’s.

The annual Sharing our Cultures event is held in recognition of the International Francophonie day (March 20), International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21), and in celebration of the Province’s Multiculturalism Month during March.

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Media contact
Khadija Rehma
Children, Seniors and Social Development
709-729-3768, 730-2977
khadijarehma@gov.nl.ca

Lynn Robinson
Environment and Climate Change
709-729-5449, 691-9466
lynnrobinson@gov.nl.ca

Krista Dalton
Digital Government and Service NL
709-729-4748, 685-6492
kristadalton@gov.nl.ca

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The Honourable John G. Abbott, Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development, and Jerry Earle, President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE), are providing a status update on the Child Welfare Social Work Joint Committee and next steps to address workload challenges.

As March is National Social Work Month, Minister Abbott and Mr. Earle are recognizing and celebrating over 1,600 social workers and thank them for their commitment and dedication in the work they do on a daily basis.

The Joint Committee, with representatives from the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development and NAPE, continues to work on resolving issues identified by child welfare social workers in three key areas: worker safety, workload, and stress.

In spring 2021, work of the Joint Committee helped to enhance personal safety and support by providing GPS devices and/or cell phones for all social workers to use when conducting home visits. Work also began on developing a risk assessment form that is reflective of the specialized work child welfare social workers are legislatively mandated to deliver.

Most recently, due to the ongoing work of the Joint Committee, a Risk Assessment Pilot Project began in February 2022. The pilot project is assessing social worker’s safety assigning a risk level of high, medium, or low. Once the risk level is assigned, it is determined if the work required of social workers is safe to complete alone; or if mitigating factors need to be put in place to improve worker safety.

Through the pilot project, valuable feedback will be gathered, which will have a direct impact on policy and procedure to ensure the needs of front-line child welfare social work practice is met. Once the pilot project has concluded and staff feedback has been incorporated into the policy and procedures, the Risk Assessment Project will be rolled out throughout the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development.

We are also pleased to announce that in response to recommendations of the Joint Committee to address workload issues in the field of child welfare, the department will issue a Request for Proposals to develop a service model and workload review. Further details on the Request for Proposals will be available soon.

For social workers interested in providing input or obtaining more information on the Joint Committee, please contact:

• Kelly Codner, NAPE Servicing Representative – kcodner@nape.ca;
• Andy Parsons, NAPE Servicing Representative – aparsons@nape.ca; and/or
• Respective manager in r

Quotes

“The Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development is committed to supporting our most valuable resource, our staff. During Social Work Month, it is a perfect time to sincerely thank the members of the Joint Committee for their ongoing work and commitment to help address the needs of child welfare social workers throughout the province. I believe the Risk Assessment Pilot Project will help to improve the safety of child welfare social workers, and the upcoming service model review will provide the opportunity to further explore options to address workload challenges so that we can better meet the needs of children, youth and families.”
Honourable John G. Abbott
Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development

“Social workers give so much of themselves in the face of overwhelming workloads, threats of violence, expanded responsibilities, and the stress from the emotional and physical toll that their work has on them. Despite these obstacles, these workers continue to deliver the highest level of care, compassion, and support to their clients and their communities. This process is a welcome step towards addressing the concerns that social workers have consistently raised in recent years. We must ensure that this initiative leads to concrete action to improve the working conditions of Social Workers across our province.”
Jerry Earle
NAPE President

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Media contacts
Khadija Rehma
Children, Seniors and Social Development
709-729-3768, 730-2977
khadijarehma@gov.nl.ca

Keith Dunne
NAPE
709-631-9737
kdunne@nape.ca

 

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Health and Community Services

The Honourable John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services, will participate in a flag-raising ceremony for Eating Disorders Awareness Week on Monday, February 3 at 9:00 a.m.

Fisheries and Land Resources

The Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources Minister, is extending congratulations to Fire Training Specialist and Provincial FireSmart Liaison, Joe Russell, who recently arrived back in the province after a 38 day deployment to Australia to provide support and expertise to firefighting colleagues in that country.

Municipal Affairs and Environment

The Provincial Government is monitoring forecast information on a weather system that is anticipated to affect some areas of the province this weekend. Heavy snowfall is forecast to begin Sunday morning and heavy rainfall is possible for parts of the island later that day.

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation

The Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, will participate in the Friends of India Association’s annual Republic Day Gala tomorrow (Saturday, February 1). The gala takes place at the Delta Hotel, 120 New Gower Street, St. John’s, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation

Sarah Stoodley, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, will bring greetings at Stella’s Circle’s Transitions to Work graduation on Monday, February 3. The event begins at 2:30 p.m. at Wesley United Church, 101 Patrick Street, St. John’s.

Finance

The Department of Finance has set new dates for the pre-budget consultation sessions in Gander and St. Anthony, which were rescheduled due to efforts by Provincial Government departments in St. John’s in assisting during the aftermath of the recent winter storm.

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation

The public are reminded that snowclearing and vehicular access within the T’Railway Provincial Park is illegal unless a permit has been issued to do so.

Finance

As a result of the disruption caused to government operations during the recent snowfall event, online pre-budget consultations for Budget 2020 have been extended until February 10, 2020.

Municipal Affairs and Environment

The Honourable Derrick Bragg, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment, has announced the following events relative to Part 10 Environmental Assessment of the Environmental Protection Act.

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation

Due to damage suffered during the winter storm on January 17, the T’Railway Provincial Park has been closed in Conception Bay South from Lance Cove Pond to Delaney’s Road until further notice. The public is asked to avoid the area.

Municipal Affairs and Environment

As work crews continue to remove and clear snow as a result of the recent blizzard, the Provincial Government has begun assessing damage costs from the event. Residents, not-for-profit organizations and communities are advised that applications and information sheets for the Newfoundland and Labrador Disaster Financial Assistance Program are available online at www.gov.nl.ca/fes/faq/emergencymanagement.html. This information can also be attained by calling 1-888-395-5611.

Health and Community Services

Starting January 31, 2020, amendments to regulations under the Pharmacy Act, 2012 will allow pharmacists to prescribe for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis A and B (including the TWINRIX vaccine), shingles (Herpes Zoster), Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and chickenpox (Varicella Zoster). Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will be able to visit their local pharmacy for any of these vaccines without requiring a prescription from a physician.