Government of Newfoundland News

Education and Early Childhood Development

The Honourable Al Hawkins, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, will speak at the 26th Annual Provincial Association of Early Childhood Educators of Newfoundland and Labrador (AECENL) Conference tomorrow (Saturday, October 13). The conference is being held at the Holiday Inn, 180 Portugal Cove Road, St. John’s. The minister will speak at approximately 8:45 a.m.

Fisheries and Land Resources

The Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources, and Gudie Hutchings, Member of Parliament for Long Range Mountains, at the Agriculture Expo in Corner Brook today provided details on investments focused on growing the agriculture industry and supporting entrepreneurs through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP).

Fisheries and Land Resources

Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Officers on the province’s west coast have laid a number of charges under the Wildlife Act following three recent investigations.

Fisheries and Land Resources

Provincial Fish and Wildlife Enforcement staff – working with a contingent of 43 active officers – laid almost three times more charges for inland fish-related offences in 2018 compared to the previous year. Provincial officers laid 50 charges in 2018, compared to 17 in 2017. To date this year, the division has received 128 public complaints of suspected illegal fishing activity – including 67 in the eastern region, 53 in western and eight in Labrador – and spent approximately 27,000 person hours in related investigations and enforcing inland fish-related legislation.

Municipal Affairs and Environment

The Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment is monitoring Environment and Climate Change Canada weather forecast information on post-tropical system Michael, which is tracking southeast of the province. Rainfall warnings are a possibility for the Burin and Avalon Peninsulas as rain is forecast to begin Friday afternoon. High breaking waves and large swell waves may affect the south and east coasts of the island as the system passes on Saturday. As a safety precaution, the public is advised to keep away from the shoreline.

Health and Community Services

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, in partnership with the Strongest Families Institute, has launched I CAN (Conquer Anxiety and Nervousness), a new e-mental health program designed to support young adults ages 18-30 with anxiety.

Fisheries and Land Resources

The Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources, and Gudie Hutchings, Member of Parliament for Long Range Mountains, will announce investments focused on growing the agriculture industry and supporting entrepreneurs in this industry through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership tomorrow, (Friday, October 12). Minister Byrne will also announce projects approved under the Provincial Agrifoods Assistance Program.

Health and Community Services

The Honourable John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services, in partnership with Strongest Families Institute, will launch a new e-mental health program to support young adults tomorrow (Friday, October 12) at 10:30 a.m.

Finance

The 2017-18 Public Accounts, the audited financial statements of the province for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, have been released and tabled with the House of Assembly.

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation

The Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, and Ken McDonald, Member of Parliament for Avalon, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), today attended a demonstration at Manuels River of WaterLily, a power harvesting system that can harness river or wind energy to recharge USB based devices.

Education and Early Childhood Development

The Honourable Al Hawkins, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, will make a child care funding announcement tomorrow (Friday, October 12) in Labrador City. The event takes place at the Labrador West Child Care Centre, 121 Matthew Ave., beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Municipal Affairs and Environment

The Honourable Andrew Parsons, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment, together with the Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Innovation and Industry and MHA for St. Barbe - L'Anse aux Meadows, will present a new firetruck tomorrow (Friday, October 12). The ministers will be joined by Dale Colbourne, Mayor of St. Lunaire-Griquet, and Fire Chief Tyler Hillier. The event will take place at the St. Lunaire-Griquet Recreation Centre at 9:00 a.m.

Office of the Child and Youth Advocate

The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate has completed its investigation into protection services provided to a child. The focus of this investigation has been to determine the appropriateness of services, and whether the child’s rights were upheld during the family’s involvement with the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development (CSSD).

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation

The Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, and Ken McDonald, Member of Parliament for Avalon, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, will attend a technology demonstration of the WaterLily by Seaformatics Systems tomorrow (Thursday, October 11).

Advanced Education, Skills and Labour

Following preliminary discussions with members of the leadership and student organizations of the province’s public post-secondary institutions, input on a Terms of Reference for a review of the post-secondary education system is now being sought from Memorial University and College of the North Atlantic. The institutions will undertake their own consultation processes with their respective communities.

Natural Resources

The Honourable Siobhan Coady, Minister of Natural Resources, will give the keynote address at the Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association’s (NEIA) Newleef conference tomorrow (Thursday, October 11). The event takes place at 8:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn, 180 Portugal Cove Road, St. John’s.

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation

With assistance from the Governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada, Vision 360 Productions will present the first-ever “Live at Heart” international music showcase to take place in Canada.

Health and Community Services

The Honourable John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services, will speak at Memorial University’s Science, Health and Research Education (SHARE) summit tomorrow (Thursday, October 11) at 8:30 a.m.

Health and Community Services

The Provincial Government is seeking input from youth between the ages of 12 and 25 through an online questionnaire on their opinions and experiences accessing mental health and addictions services. The purpose of the questionnaire is to help build better programs and services for young people when and where they are needed.

House of Assembly

The Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections (PEC) is continuing its work toward the development of a legislature-specific harassment-free workplace policy, as ordered in the Private Members’ Resolution (PMR) on May 2, 2018. In accordance with parliamentary procedures, the Committee’s recommendations will be reported back to the House of Assembly for debate and approval.