Provincial and Territorial Update – November 11, 2024
Provincial and Territorial Update: An overview of the Provincial Legislative and Territories Legislative Updates for the week of November 11, 2024. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- Atlantic salmon returns were at their lowest level ever this year, say researchers, who are nevertheless refusing to give up hope that the species can rebound. “The times have never been this dire,” said Tommi Linnansaari, a biology professor at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, whose research laboratory almost exclusively studies Atlantic salmon.
- N.B. Power has won approval to keep charging rates that it increased on customers by an average of 9.25 per cent on April 1, and to repeat the increase next April, with only minor modifications. In an oral decision released Friday morning, the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board granted N.B. Power almost everything it asked for in an application the company launched late last year to raise its rates significantly over two years.
- The interim leader of New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservatives used the party’s first meeting since the election to warn members against dividing into “ideological camps.” That comes after former leader Blaine Higgs, who lost his seat as the Liberals surged to a majority, faced criticism from elected members and party faithful over his direction — most notably on gender-identity policy and endorsement of a Christian conservative activist as a candidate.
- Carleton County is getting another wind farm proposal, this time with involvement from a First Nation. Sitansisk, also known as St. Mary’s First Nation, is partnering with Eolectric, a wind energy company, to propose a 50-megawatt farm near Florenceville-Bristol. A notice from the Municipality of Carleton North, the proposed location of the project, said Sitansisk and Eolectric will host a public meeting, in an open house format, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Amsterdam Inn in Florenceville-Bristol.
Nova Scotia
- Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony. Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
- Independent incumbent Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin is back on the campaign trail in Cumberland North, but opponents say the riding would be better represented by an MLA from an official party. Smith-McCrossin, first elected as an MLA in 2017, was booted from the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative caucus in 2021 over her involvement in a protest related to COVID-19 guidelines. Still, 53 percent of voters supported her bid to represent Cumberland North as an Independent in the last election.
- Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston says his party’s election platform is “a continuation of a plan that is already working,” while also vowing to cap the amount power rates can increase in Nova Scotia and providing no new money for housing. “When we took office, Nova Scotia’s economy was falling behind the rest of the country and our health-care system was just breaking at the seams,” he told reporters during a news conference on Friday. “We’ve come a long way since 2021. Our economy is growing and there’s a strong foundation to build on.”
- Former employees of a Nova Scotia drop-in centre for youth with mental illness say a “toxic work environment” caused their own mental health to suffer, and ultimately led the organization to close. Laing House, a non-profit providing support to people aged 16 to 29, shuttered its Yarmouth location in March and closed its doors in Halifax in August. The organization calls it a temporary closure, but won’t say when it will reopen. Colin Bullard, who worked for Laing House for more than three years, said this occurred just as complaints from staff were mounting.
Prince Edward Island
- A deal between the P.E.I. government and the National Hockey League continued to be a hot topic in the Island’s legislature Friday, with more questions about whether the province plans to renew the deal for another year, how much renewal would cost, and even the date a second year would begin. The controversial contract with the NHL saw the Island branded as the league’s official travel destination, beginning in February 2024.
- P.E.I.’s capital budget has allocated $2.5 million to build up to five provincially owned cellphone towers, but so far no telecommunications companies have committed to using them. Finance Minister Jill Burridge said Thursday that the province would go it alone on building the towers, given the poor state of signals in some parts of P.E.I., and would work with service providers to get them to affix infrastructure onto them. She said there has not been any discussion of whether companies would pay to use the structure, or whether such fees would ultimately be passed on and show up on Islanders’ cellphone bills.
- About 80 Islanders attended a symposium at the University of Prince Edward Island Thursday night that zeroed in on the intersection of food insecurity and homelessness. “We need to have a conversation between consumers [and] farmers — and maybe cut out the guys that have chateaus in France and extra yachts,” said Rita Jackson, a district director for the National Farmers Union, adding that farmers don’t make enough when trying to get their products into big corporate grocery stores. “There is greed; it is not the farmers,” she said. “We’re getting older and we are being forced out by all kinds of international forces.”
- After a North Lake lobster fisher was killed this summer, Green MLA Peter Bevan-Baker is pushing for more to be done to compensate injured workers in the P.E.I. fishing industry. “The nature of the job is such that it’s an inherently very, very dangerous situation,” he said Thursday. “I think there’s a limit to how much can be done. I think absolutely we should be doing everything we can to make sure that conditions onboard boats are as safe as they possibly can be.”
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Infrastructure Minister Fred Hutton says an agreement to purchase land for a new St. John’s hospital is almost complete — with the same company that announced it was donating 10 acres of land to the province for the hospital on Monday. The site for the healthcare campus to replace the St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital was announced on Monday. On Friday, Hutton said there’s an agreement with H3 Development to purchase 54 acres of land in the Kenmount Crossing area.
- A Labrador foster parent and head of a group working to better the Labrador foster-care system is stressing the importance of keeping Indigenous children with Indigenous parents in their Indigenous communities. Amanda Rich, agency director of Innu Child and Family Services with the Innu Round Table Secretariat — a collective organization of some of Labrador’s Indigenous First Nations — said the group has worked with the Newfoundland and Labrador government to push for more Indigenous children to remain in their communities instead of being sent elsewhere.
- They might be out of sight, but the industrial freezers that were holding dozens of bodies in a parking garage outside the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s are not out of mind for PC health critic Barry Petten. On March 6, CBC News first reported that 28 bodies were being stored in freezer units in an alleyway outside the Health Sciences Centre due to a lack of space in the morgue, which doubles as the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
- A Ukrainian living in Newfoundland is on edge in the wake of the Donald Trump victory in the United States. The Biden administration is a supporter of Ukraine in the war against Russia, but things are much less clear with Trump as he frequently criticizes the billions of dollars in weapons and financial aid the U.S. has sent overseas for the war effort. Yuliia Veretennyk fled from Ukraine and now lives in Chapel’s Cove on Newfoundland’s Conception Bay.
Quebec
- Quebec Premier François Legault is raising concerns about the prospect of a “massive influx of immigrants” to the province following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, and he says Quebec has already reached capacity. During a news conference Wednesday in Quebec City, Legault said Canada must “act quickly” to secure its borders against a possible wave of migrants looking to escape Trump’s threat of mass deportations.
- Liberals back away from MAID debate with Quebec, not wanting to ‘butt heads.’ Quebec is allowing advance requests for medical assistance in dying, violating the Canadian Criminal Code. Unchallenged, the precedent could ‘influence other provinces’ to do the same, says UBC law professor Brian Bird.
- Quebec Premier Francois Legault says his government is prepared to use the notwithstanding clause to force doctors trained in Quebec universities to begin their careers in the province’s public system. Speaking to reporters at the legislature on Wednesday, the premier said his government is considering requiring medical graduates in Quebec to reimburse the government for the cost of their education unless they practise in the province for an unspecified period.
- CAQ elected officials to deny profiling citizens who visit their offices based on their political views. A report from the National Assembly’s ethics commissioner revealed that constituency office employees and CAQ elected officials are cross-referencing data from the electoral list to tally up votes for electoral purposes. The National Assembly unanimously reprimanded CAQ MNA Sylvain Lévesque, who was under investigation by Commissioner Ariane Mignolet, with one abstention on Thursday morning. The opposition has strongly denounced this practice, but the CAQ defends the use of its electoral tool, Coaliste, in constituency offices.
Ontario
- An audit of Ontario school boards has been ordered by Premier Doug Ford following a report the Lambton Kent District school board spent more than $32,000 to send three employees to a conference in Hawaii. “Parents expect school boards to be responsible stewards of public education dollars to prioritize student achievement,” Education Minister Jill Dunlop said in a statement Friday.
- From October 31 to November 5, 2024, Abacus Data conducted a survey of 998 eligible voters in Ontario exploring several topics as part of its regular national omnibus surveys. Doug Ford’s and Ontario PCs lead by 16 over Bonnie Crombie’s Ontario Liberals. If an election were held today, 42% of committed voters in Ontario would vote PC. The Ontario Liberals are at 26%, with the Ontario NDP trailing behind at 22%, and the Greens at 7%.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford has congratulated U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on another term in office as the Associated Press has projected him as the winner of the U.S. election. “I want to congratulate the president-elect and the vice-president elect but if it would have gone the other way, I’d be working with them as well,” Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park. “It’s about a strong Team Canada, Team Ontario approach. And I’m very confident we’ll have a very rewarding relationship with the new administration.”
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced millions of dollars in funding for Ottawa during a visit to the capital on Tuesday, but it was not the transit funding the mayor has been seeking from senior levels of government. Instead, the cash will go toward police and other public safety initiatives and to aid asylum seekers and homeless residents. While the government said it was new funding, it is part of the previously announced “New Deal for Ottawa” between the provincial and municipal governments. Ford was in Ottawa Tuesday to deliver remarks to the Economic Club of Canada, which included a “fireside chat” with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.
Manitoba
- Every two weeks when the winter road opens, Mabel Bruce makes the approximately seven-hour drive south from the northeastern Manitoba community of Poplar River First Nation to Winnipeg. She goes to stock up on groceries and supplies, since “they’re a little cheaper,” Bruce said. “We bring a lot of stuff home when we go shopping in Winnipeg.” Leaders in the remote First Nation, approximately 350 kilometres as the crow flies north of Winnipeg, have been pushing for an all-season road for the past four decades, according to Vera Mitchell, who was chief when CBC visited Poplar River in late September.
- The family of the late Murray Sinclair remembered his life as being “a beacon of integrity and compassion” as they were joined by members of the public, the Canadian Governor General and the prime minister during a commemorative service at Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre to honour his legacy Sunday afternoon. Murray Sinclair, an Anishinaabe lawyer who was the first Indigenous person appointed as a judge in Manitoba and went on to become chief commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into residential schools and a senator, died early Monday morning in Winnipeg at the age of 73.
- The City of Winnipeg is looking to hire a collections agency that can help it cash in on about $12 million in unpaid tickets — some of which date back to 2016. The city has issued a request for proposals looking for an agency to collect the unpaid tickets, which shows a yearly breakdown dating back to 2016 of the number of tickets outstanding and the amounts due. It shows more than 102,000 tickets outstanding, for a total of $11.9 million.
- Natalie Anderson says she shared the first moments of Xavia Skye Lynn Butler’s life, taking care of the toddler for her biological mother before Manitoba’s Child and Family Services took her away. Three years after being separated, the remains of the Pinaymootang First Nation toddler were discovered in June in a barn off Highway 6 in the rural municipality of Grahamdale, in Manitoba’s Interlake. RCMP believe Xavia was one or two when she died. She would have turned three the month her remains were found. Anderson’s family is demanding justice in Xavia’s death, which the RCMP is investigating as a homicide while looking for answers as to why the toddler was stripped from their care.
Saskatchewan
- The vote count from the 2024 Saskatchewan election has officially been finalized, with one seat decided by under 100 votes. It was a close race throughout the province, as some seats in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert were too close to predict. Elections Saskatchewan confirmed Saturday that the candidates who were leading in two Saskatoon ridings, which CBC considered too close to call, were in fact victorious. The Saskatchewan Party avoided being overtaken in Saskatoon by the NDP, with Saskatchewan Party’s Ken Cheveldayoff re-elected in Saskatoon-Willowgrove by 136 votes.
- Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, fresh off a challenging election campaign, announced a new cabinet Thursday while also deprioritizing a change room directive he had touted as his first order of business. Moe told reporters he misspoke on the campaign trail when he said his first job if re-elected would be to ban “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls.” Terms like “biological boys” and “biological girls” can be used to imply that transgender people are still their assigned sex at birth, despite their identity.
- Saskatchewan’s police watchdog is investigating an incident that led to the suspension of five Saskatoon police officers. A sixth officer is also off work because of an unrelated incident, Chief Cameron McBride confirmed Friday at a news conference. Police did not issue any public statements about the suspensions. Rather, they called the news conference in response to media inquiries.
- After Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election, a Saskatchewan farmer and industry experts say Canada’s economy could face significant challenges if Trump follows through on plans to impose sweeping tariffs. Saskatchewan’s economy heavily relies on exports to the international market, with the U.S. being one of its biggest trading partners. Sectors that could be impacted include agriculture, mining, steel and energy. Rene de Moissac, a third-generation farmer near Biggar, Sask., said farmers like him are already in a difficult financial position dealing with high costs and inflation — and any added trade tariffs could drive down already slim margins.
Alberta
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith received 91.5 percent support for her leadership from members of her United Conservative Party who voted in Red Deer, Alta., on Saturday. “I’m truly humbled and honoured by the overwhelming support of our party members in your vote of confidence in my leadership,” Smith told the cheering crowd after the result was announced. “Our conservative movement is stronger than it’s ever been. Our party is more united than it has ever been.”
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she wants to host town halls in Calgary to determine the future of the city’s only supervised drug-use site after the municipal government voted not to take an official position on whether it should remain open. City council had a robust debate on the site late last month with Mayor Jyoti Gondek and several other councillors arguing that health falls exclusively under provincial jurisdiction and it was unfair for the government to pass the buck on such a contentious issue. Alberta Addictions Minister Dan Williams criticized local leaders for supporting the status quo.
- The provincial government has removed the entire board of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), saying its ballooning costs demand intervention. In a statement Thursday afternoon, the province announced it will “reset” the focus of the government-owned pension management fund, and will be appointing a new board chair within 30 days. The province’s statement says the move comes “after years of AIMCo consistently failing to meet its mandated benchmark returns.”
- After several years of hearing demands from condo owners, the Alberta government plans to implement a dispute resolution body that will provide an alternative to court. On Monday, the province tabled Bill 30 — the Service Alberta Statutes Amendment Act 2024 — which proposed changes to the Condominium Property Act. Under the new bill, condo owners will finally see the establishment of the Condominium Dispute Resolution Tribunal and enable chargebacks to be treated as contributions.
British Columbia
- It’s unclear how quickly B.C. families will get the rebate cheques promised by the NDP during the election. Premier David Eby recently told CKNW radio host Jas Johal recently that officials are working to get the rebate of up to $1,000 into the hands of families as quickly as possible. One tax expert told Postmedia it might be possible to distribute the money with only a simple regulatory change that doesn’t require action by the legislature.
- Political leaders in British Columbia offered their congratulations to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, as concerns loom about the impact his administration will have on the province’s economy. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to impose minimum tariffs of 10 percent on all imports – something that raised significant alarm in B.C., given the U.S. is the province’s largest trading partner. In a brief public message responding to Trump’s election victory, Premier David Eby said he’s “looking forward to working collaboratively on our shared priorities.”
- British Columbia Premier David Eby’s new cabinet will be sworn in on Nov. 18, and it will have to feature a significant number of new ministers after last month’s election saw several incumbents defeated while others didn’t run. Eby will also have to figure out how the cabinet will represent rural regions, given that the party won only five of its 47 seats, pending recounts, outside Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
- On the heels of President-elect Donald Trump’s resounding win this week, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad says the incoming U.S. government could be positive for British Columbia. “I’m hopeful for a win with Trump, it’s going to change a couple of things,” said Rustad on Thursday. While Trump has threatened to impose a minimum 10 percent tariff across the board for U.S. imports, Rustad pointed to the increased softwood lumber tariff of 14.54 percent, implemented under Joe Biden’s presidency, that’s already hurting B.C.’s forestry industry.
Northwest Territories
- The Northwest Territories Power Corporation says people living in the North Slave region will be getting a lot more of their electricity from hydro power this winter. Extremely low water levels on the Snare River have been forcing the power corporation to lean heavily on diesel to produce power for Yellowknife, Behchoko, Dettah, and N’dilo since the fall of 2022. Doug Prendergast, a spokesperson for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC), said he expects that by the end of March, it will have generated 72 percent of the power for the North Slave region from hydro, and 28 percent from diesel.
Yukon
- Reliable access to emergency services such as an ambulance, or a fire truck, can mean the difference between life and death. And that’s a serious concern for people who live in West Dawson, across the Yukon River from the main town site in Dawson City, Yukon. There’s no easy way across the river once the ferry stops running for the year and before the winter ice-road crossing opens. It’s become even more of an issue in recent years when the river hasn’t always reliably frozen over to allow for an official winter crossing.
Nunavut
- Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok will stay on the job after MLAs voted Wednesday afternoon on whether to remove him. Ten MLAs voted to keep him as premier, while eight voted to remove him. Akeeagok’s family, including his wife, mother and aunt, all sat behind him in the Nunavut Legislature during the vote. Akeeagok, 40, was chosen as premier by MLAs in 2021. Aivilik MLA Solomon Malliki, also chair of the regular members’ caucus, issued a notice of motion during Monday’s sitting of the Legislative Assembly that he planned to bring a motion to have Akeeagok removed from his position.