Provincial and Territorial Update – August 23, 2024
Provincial and Territorial Update: An overview of the Provincial Legislative and Territories Legislative Updates for the week of August 23, 2024. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- The family of a man who died waiting for care at the Fredericton hospital’s emergency department two years ago is suing health-care providers for negligence over his death, alleging “reckless and outrageous acts and omissions” in his care and treatment. Susan Mesheau of Fredericton, executor of the estate of her brother Darrell Mesheau, has filed a notice of action against Horizon Health Network and two nurses.
- Two temporary foreign workers are suing a northeast New Brunswick lobster plant for lost wages, wrongful termination and emotional pain and suffering. Juan Pablo Lerma Lopez and Adriana de Leon Silva say that LeBreton Fisheries Inc. owes them about $7,000 each in contracted wages and are seeking $12,000 in damages after the company ended their contract early in 2023.
- An accounting expert was the final witness to testify during an Energy and Utilities Board hearing Wednesday about N.B. Power’s proposed rate increases. Dustin Madsen is a Calgary-based consultant hired by the public intervener to review the utility’s proposed power rate increases. Madsen called for the board to impose lower increases to avoid rate shock, which could see people unable to pay their bills and put some businesses at risk of closure.
- In the second quarter of this year, Horizon Health Network hired 44 new physicians in the province’s cities — but only one of them went to Fredericton. Over the same time period, data from the regional health authority shows the capital region lost three family doctors. Will Stymiest, a physician who also chairs the family practice section of the New Brunswick Medical Society, is not surprised by the net loss. He said recruitment and retention have been a problem in the Fredericton area ever since he began his residency in family medicine 10 years ago.
Nova Scotia
- An internal review into whether federal Crown attorneys are refusing to prosecute infractions related to the turbulent baby eel fishery in the Maritimes has reportedly determined that proper discretion is being used and suggests at least two dozen cases have been brought to court. The examination was launched following a formal complaint by a commercial licence holder who alleged the Public Prosecution Service of Canada was failing to prosecute cases involving the unauthorized fishing of the juvenile eels, also known as elvers.
- The unions representing teachers and school support staff in Nova Scotia say more resources, staff, professional development and compensation are needed to improve inclusive education in this province. In July, CBC News spoke to more than 10 families from across Nova Scotia who had removed their kids from the public education system. Their children have disabilities, and parents said their respective schools were not equipped to support their complex needs.
- Flights between Sydney, N.S., and Halifax are back after a nearly two-year absence, breathing new life into a regional airport that’s been battered and bruised since a global pandemic put a big dent in the airline industry. Quebec-based carrier Pascan Aviation is now selling tickets on return flights between Sydney and the capital, with flights starting on Oct. 7. J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport CEO Myles Tuttle was all smiles after the announcement in front of more than 100 people inside the terminal on Thursday.
- Elementary students in Nova Scotia public schools will be the first to get servings from a new provincial school lunch program in October. Education Minister Becky Druhan says the first phase of the pay-what-you-can program will serve more than 75,000 students in 250 schools. Druhan says families can choose to pay the full $6.50 price of the lunch, part of that cost or nothing at all, adding that all payment information will be kept confidential.
Prince Edward Island
- New poll results from Narrative Research suggest the Conservatives Party of Canada is ahead in all four Atlantic provinces, although that lead in Prince Edward Island over the federal Liberals is within the margin of error. The telephone poll included 300 Islanders contacted between July 31 and Aug. 18. Among the 179 who expressed a party preference, 41 percent of decided voters supported the Conservatives, compared to 35 percent for the Liberal Party. The Greens found support from 13 percent, and the NDP 10 percent.
- P.E.I.’s new lieutenant governor will be Dr. Wassim Salamoun, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in a news release Friday. Salamoun replaces Antoinette Perry, who has served in that role since 2017. In a news release from the prime minister’s office, Salamoun is described as a respected community leader and medical professional. “Dr. Salamoun has dedicated his life to the well-being of his community,” said Trudeau. “I am confident that he will continue to serve the people of Prince Edward Island with enthusiasm, selflessness, and dedication.”
- Julia Smith doesn’t want to think about what might happen if her horse Titan needs emergency care, because there are very few people on P.E.I. in a position to help. “We don’t have a vet at all,” she said. “There’s nothing we can do.” Smith said there is no access in central P.E.I to a large-animal veterinarian, and estimates there are about 800 horses on the Island without any type of coverage. “It is very frustrating and very terrifying because these guys are part of our family. And if you can’t get your mother help — that’s how we feel about our horses,” she said.
- The Town of North Rustico is trying to get a loan of up to $3.5 million from the P.E.I. government to help pay off some of the debt associated with its rink, which was built to help host the Canada Games. The centre was supposed to cost $10 million but that price tag has more than doubled to about $23 million.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Thursday night’s byelection win for Liberal candidate Jamie Korab was hailed as a referendum on Andrew Furey’s record — and no one seemed to be smiling as broadly as Newfoundland and Labrador’s premier himself. Korab received 2,067 votes in Waterford Valley, nearly 46 per cent of ballots cast. Korab, an Olympic athlete and St. John’s city councillor, outmatched Progressive Conservative Jesse Wilkins, a former Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and RCMP officer, who had 1,423 votes, and NDP candidate and social worker Nicole Boland, who received 1,027 votes.
- The company that installed a new runway lighting system is suing Stephenville Dymond International Airport for $2.4 million plus interest and costs. Tristar Electric filed a statement of claim at Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in late July — two months after the company slapped a lien on the airport property, claiming it hadn’t been paid for all of its work there. In court filings, Tristar says it entered into an agreement with the Stephenville Airport Corporation in October 2022 “to perform rehabilitation work on airfield lighting fixtures, cabling, and power sources and the airfield lighting control system.”
- On the heels of the news that the St. John’s Telegram would reduce its printing schedule from daily to weekly, employees have learned there will also be a 30 per cent reduction in staff, including the elimination of all photojournalist positions. “I found out this morning that my job is changing, there’s no more photojournalists at the Telegram,” Keith Gosse, president of Unifor Local 441 at the Telegram — and one of the paper’s photojournalists — told CBC News on Thursday afternoon.
- The Newfoundland and Labrador government says a $16-million federal funding shortfall for non-profit Choices for Youth came as a shock to the province — and is calling on Ottawa to rethink its decision. “This has come as a complete surprise,” Housing Minister John Abbott told reporters Wednesday. “The way this whole funding arrangement has worked … is not working to anybody’s benefit. If the province had been engaged and there was a collaborative effort here, right from the get-go, we wouldn’t be facing this.”
Quebec
- Saying the rapid rise in the number of non-permanent residents is causing Quebec’s housing crisis, straining public services and hastening the decline of the French language, Premier François Legault announced new regulations Tuesday that will reduce the number of temporary foreign workers on the island of Montreal. Quebec will also attempt to introduce new legislation in the fall that would limit the number of international students allowed to study in the province.
- A group of mayors from the Montreal region says the Quebec government has fallen short of its promise to increase financial aid for victims of torrential rain that hit the province earlier this month. Last week, Quebec Premier François Legault suggested the province would expand its disaster assistance program to include sewer backups, which are typically covered by private insurance. But this week, the government says only people whose sewers backed up because of flooding from a nearby waterway will be eligible.
- A $1-million complaint was filed this week against Bill 96, the CAQ’s law to protect the French language in this province, at the Quebec human rights commission (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse). Human rights advocacy group the Red Coalition, one of many Quebec organizations to have voiced criticism of the law since it was passed in 2022, is seeking punitive damages for affected organizations and individuals advocating for the rights and freedoms of people in Quebec due to “the widespread discriminatory impact” of Bill 96.
- Quebec Premier François Legault announced Tuesday his government will table new legislation this fall to cap the number of foreign students at certain schools, to stop what he called “abuses” at some institutions. The premier offered few details and would not say whether English universities in Montreal – McGill and Concordia – would be targeted by the bill. In a statement to CityNews Wednesday, a representative for McGill said, “we trust that institutions which have consistently engaged in ethical and sustainable recruitment practices, will not be the focus of the proposed legislation.”
Ontario
- Ontario’s major political parties have been spending the summer nominating candidates, running “campaign schools,” and canvassing after remarks from the premier this spring fuelled speculation he will call an early election. The province’s next fixed election date isn’t until June 2026, but Doug Ford set off alarm bells in political circles this past May when he repeatedly refused to commit to that timeline during a news conference, saying only that he wants to make sure he fulfils his agenda and keeps the promises his majority Progressive Conservative government has made.
- A national union leader has refused to step down despite his organization calling for his resignation over an online post that it said violated its policies. On Tuesday, the national arm of the Canadian Union of Public Employees passed a motion asking vice-president Fred Hahn to resign. In a message to union members late Thursday afternoon, Hahn said he will not resign because he believes the decision must be made by members, who democratically re-elected him earlier this year. His response came after Ontario Premier Doug Ford called Hahn a “disgusting human being” at an unrelated news conference on Wednesday – while praising one of his ministers for recent criticism of Hahn over the Israel-Hamas war – and asked union members to vote him out.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford said having a safe injection site is the “worst thing that could ever happen to a community.” That hasn’t been Rev. Mark Lewis’s experience. Lewis is the interim moderator at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in downtown Hamilton. Since 2021, the church has hosted a supervised injection site run by the Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre. It’s been “very moving” to see people in need get help at the site, Lewis told CBC Hamilton on Wednesday, and the congregation has welcomed the centre.
- One of Doug Ford’s first acts as premier of Ontario, just days after taking office in 2018, was cancelling more than 750 renewable energy projects, including a large wind farm that was already partially built. Fast forward to today, and Ford’s Progressive Conservative government is poised to oversee the biggest expansion of green energy that the province has seen in nearly a decade. Ontario has laid out plans to procure an additional 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2034. By comparison: the capacity of all wind power projects currently installed across the province totals about 4,900 megawatts.
Manitoba
- The Manitoba government is denying allegations that it caused injury or damage to a 31-year-old mother of two who had COVID-19 and died while waiting to be transferred to an Ontario hospital. Krystal Mousseau, from Ebb and Flow First Nation in western Manitoba, died on May 25, 2021, after her health deteriorated during an ambulance ride from the Brandon Regional Health Centre to the Brandon airport. Krystal was on a ventilator and put in a medically induced coma prior to her transfer, but then went into cardiac arrest and was taken back to the Brandon hospital where she had another heart attack, went into shock and suffered multisystem organ failure, according to a statement of claim filed in 2023 by her mother, Elaine Mousseau.
- Premier in talks with Chief Public Health Officer to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic. Cases of family violence continue to soar in Manitoba, and along with the increase, advocates say they are also seeing an escalation in the levels of violence — that’s why they are asking the province to work “across to the board” and prevent tragedies like the one from repeating yet again.
- A non-profit offering services for Inuit living in Winnipeg has now opened the doors of its new location for drop-ins. Clients of the Tunngasugit Inuit Resource Centre can now go to its centre at 618 Selkirk Ave. to access everything from laundry services to computers they can use to search for housing or jobs. Tunngasugit moved to the new 18,000-square-foot location — the former home of the Ukrainian Canadian Veterans Branch in the William Whyte neighbourhood — after receiving $1 million from the federal government.
- Premier Wab Kinew’s decision to allow municipalities to opt out of a regional planning framework has surprised some Winnipeg-area developers, who now fear there will be reduced co-operation between Winnipeg and its neighbouring municipalities. Lanny McInnes, the executive director of the Urban Development Institute, said he was surprised by Kinew’s Tuesday night announcement that the NDP government will bring in legislation next fall that would allow municipalities to withdraw from the 18-member Winnipeg Metropolitan Region.
Saskatchewan
- A provincial court judge has fined the Town of Kindersley $175,000 for the death of an employee two years ago. The town worker died while responding to an emergency sewage blockage. On Aug. 13, the Town of Kindersley pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to prevent a worker from exposure to hazardous substances. Four other charges were withdrawn. The judge imposed a $125,000 fine and ordered the town to pay a victim surcharge of $50,000.
- Regina city council has said no to renaming an avenue that bears the name of Edgar Dewdney, who helped institute Canada’s reserve system and establish residential schools. Community organizers have been advocating to change the name for years.
- A significant storm hit southern Saskatchewan Wednesday night, which was bad for farmers and their crops. The storm was thanks to a low pressure system in Montana, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. There were a number of tornado warnings issued, but no reports of touchdowns. Some areas saw wind gusts over 100 kilometres an hour. Others were hit with golf ball-sized hail. Wild weather was in action last week as well, according to the latest provincial crop report. “A few areas received severe storms which produced heavy rain and hail, causing extensive crop damage,” said Meghan Rosso, crops extension specialist for the province, of the period between Aug. 13 and 19.
- A leaked internal memo from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), released by the Opposition NDP, reveals that the long-awaited new payroll and scheduling software is continuing to cause problems for health-care workers in Saskatchewan. “We write to acknowledge and provide an update on delays in physician payments that some physicians have experienced stemming from process changes related to implementation of the new Administrative Information Management System (AIMS),” the memo read. “We apologize for the inconvenience this delay may have caused. We recognize that even a short delay in payments can cause stress and pressures.”
Alberta
- The Alberta government is creating a productivity review cabinet committee that will assess spending in every government program, Premier Danielle Smith said at two party events over the weekend. At a UCP constituency fundraiser in Westlock on Aug. 16, Smith said the committee will perform a program-by-program review with the aim of “finding savings so that we can deliver on that $760 per taxpayer personal income tax cut.” The committee is composed of the premier, Finance Minister Nate Horner, Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish, three treasury board members, and three private members, Smith said.
- There’s still much to be determined around how and when a labour dispute involving Canada’s two main rail companies — Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) — will fully resolve. On Friday morning, the Teamsters union served CN with a 72-hour strike notice. It came one day after federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to impose binding arbitration. The path ahead is still uncertain. But the haziness has, for days, prompted government officials, agricultural associations and industry organizations to warn of the outsized impact of a prolonged rail shutdown, especially in Western Canada.
- Alberta’s government says it is expanding the Northern and Regional Economic Development program to support a greater range of projects. Established in 2022, provincial officials say the Northern and Regional Economic Development (NRED) program is helping to attract job-creating investment and support economic growth and diversification across Alberta. Starting next month, enhancements to the NRED program will include increasing the funding cap by $100,000, allowing longer-term projects to apply for funding and extending the application window to be more flexible to applicants, note government officials.
- Edmonton’s NorQuest College says programs and classes have been cancelled for hundreds of students in September in a domino effect of reductions to federal employment preparation funding. Among the cancelled programs is an Edmonton-based, year-long experience for young adults with developmental disabilities to prepare them for work and offer job experience. “It really felt like a foolproof program,” said Janis Liston, whose 19-year-old son Gage was registered to start NorQuest’s transitions to employment program. Gage is on the autism spectrum and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Post-secondary opportunities for young adults with developmental disabilities are rare, Liston said.
British Columbia
- Premier David Eby says the province and the University of British Columbia will partner to create housing for more than 1,500 students at the institution’s Vancouver campus. He says funding will involve $300 million from the province and $260 million from the university. The 1,508-bed project will include five buildings ranging from eight to 18 storeys.
- The union representing Victoria firefighters is aiming to meet with Premier David Eby this week following the one-day suspension of a member who wrote a letter to the premier outlining downtown safety concerns. Jeremy Wilson, president of Local 730 of the International Association of Firefighters, is expected to comment publicly after the meeting with Eby, his office said Wednesday. Debate around the one-day suspension without pay for firefighter Josh Montgomery put the spotlight on differences between Eby and Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto. Eby said earlier that no one should be suspended for writing to the premier’s office.
- Just as John Rustad’s Conservative Party of British Columbia takes the lead in the polls, Premier David Eby is pulling no stops to scandalize his main opponent. A recent poll released Tuesday by Mainstreet Research showed that if the election were held today 39% of British Columbians would vote for the B.C. Conservatives while 35% would vote for Eby’s provincial NDP. At a press conference, Eby criticized Rustad for several candidates nominated under his party, most of whom have been removed.
- Less than two months ahead of a provincial election, momentum is gaining among the BC Conservatives. The latest Mainstreet Research poll shows the party leading the NDP by three points amongst decided voters. “I think people in British Columbia are looking for change and they’re looking, quite frankly, for an alternative that’s going to be putting people first rather than elitism and politics,” said John Rustad, BC Conservative Party Leader, in an interview with CJDC-TV. A website claiming to be created by members of the BC Conservatives is calling for the leader to step down for his “abandonment of conservative values.”
Northwest Territories
- Dehcho communities had the opportunity to develop and pitch clean energy projects to federal and territorial funders during an inaugural clean energy planning conference in Yellowknife this week. Throughout the three-day event, organizer Jason Collard said community representatives had gotten together in groups and came up with “quick projects” to pitch to funders on Thursday. Collard said the intent was to “build momentum and success” around green energy projects but also to get communities working together on projects rooted in traditional knowledge and traditional values.
Yukon
- Frustration in the Yukon over Bell Mobility’s service is continuing to build, and the premier’s office is encouraging residents to file complaints with the CRTC and ask their phone companies for a one-month credit. For months, residents have complained of frequently dropped calls, intermittent service and spotty coverage, which has affected individuals, businesses and even front-line workers — such as wildfire fighters and nurses — while they’re on the job. The issue even prompted the premier to send complaint letters on behalf of all residents.
Nunavut
- Direct flights from Nuuk to Iqaluit are not allowed to take off for another two weeks. Greenland Airports, which operates the Nuuk airport, was forced to suspend all international flights out of the capital last week when its security authorization was revoked following an inspection by the Danish Transport Authority. That affects the weekly flight out of Nuuk to Iqaluit, as well as to Keflavik, Iceland. Flights into Nuuk, as well as domestic flights, aren’t affected. In a statement to CBC, Greenland Airports spokesperson Mikkel Bjarnø Lund said the suspension was due to security concerns, like unlocked doors that could allow unauthorized access into restricted areas at the airport.