Provincial and Territorial Update – November 22, 2024
Provincial and Territorial Update: An overview of the Provincial Legislative and Territories Legislative Updates for the week of November 22, 2024. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- The Holt government has introduced two pieces of legislation aimed at keeping its promises to make life more affordable in New Brunswick. The rent cap bill will limit residential rent increases to three per cent a year starting on Feb. 1, 2025. And the repeal of the so-called “carbon cost adjustor” will shave around four cents off the per-litre price of gasoline before the end of the year.
- A continued decline in literacy scores among younger students, even as other grades improve, is a warning sign for the education system, according to New Brunswick’s child, youth and seniors’ advocate. Kelly Lamrock says the latest provincial assessment results, issued on Wednesday, show an urgent need for changes to either classroom size or composition.
- A New Brunswick judge has ruled that Aboriginal title can be declared over privately owned land — even land they’re not fighting to reclaim, according to a recent decision by the Court of King’s Bench. Justice Kathryn Gregory also ruled that land owners can’t be directly sued for the return of land. Instead, the fight is with the Crown.
- A measles outbreak in New Brunswick is set to push Canada’s annual case count to the highest it’s been in five years, highlighting how infectious the disease is and how low vaccination rates have allowed it to take hold, says an immunologist. Forty-four cases have now been confirmed in the province, all in health Zone 3, which includes Fredericton and parts of the Upper Saint John River Valley area, the Department of Health said late Wednesday.
Nova Scotia
- The board that regulates funeral directors in Nova Scotia says a law needs to change so that its members are held individually responsible when the wrong body is cremated. Adam Tipert, a funeral director in Bridgewater and chair of the Nova Scotia Board of Registration of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, said a recent Court of Appeal ruling that exonerated a Cape Breton funeral director who was involved in the second wrongful cremation in the province in five years sends the wrong message.
- Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Zach Churchill says if his party wins the provincial election, their first 100 days in office will be focused on reducing taxes, trying to remove the carbon tax and promoting women’s health. Churchill outlined the plans Thursday morning, the same day he was scheduled to appear with NDP Leader Claudia Chender and PC Leader Tim Houston at a televised debate on CTV.
- New poll results released by Narrative Research suggest the Progressive Conservatives are heading into Tuesday’s provincial election with a commanding lead over their political rivals. “Findings suggest the PCs will achieve a majority win in the upcoming election,” Margaret Brigley, CEO of the Halifax-based company, said in a news release Wednesday. “The question now is which party will be the official opposition.” The 526 decided voters surveyed were asked which party they will cast a ballot for in the Nova Scotia election. 44 per cent said the PCs. 28 per cent said the NDP. 24 per cent said the Liberals. Three per cent said the Greens.
- A group of Halifax residents is asking the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to look at a provincial decision to greenlight a controversial Fall River development. The project from Perry Lake Developments would see three multi-unit buildings on the 12-hectare site, creating about 120 housing units. “There’s a lot of issues here. It’s complex and doesn’t quite fit,” said resident David Nunn. Although the development was rejected by Halifax regional council in 2022, the province designated the site as a special planning area in February. The designation allows Housing Minister John Lohr to make decisions on developments in the Halifax Regional Municipality, and so far there are 15 sites.
Prince Edward Island
- P.E.I. government MLAs could have breached the Conflict of Interest Act if they accepted tickets to NHL games or other gifts without claiming them on their public disclosure statements, opposition MLAs charged in the legislature Wednesday. The Conflict of Interest Act says all MLAs have to declare any gifts worth $200 or more, and they can’t accept any gifts or personal benefits “connected directly or indirectly with the performance of the member’s duties of office.”
- P.E.I.’s minister of education has asked that Island schools refrain from removing any memorials to deceased students and staff until it takes a better look at the policy that led at least one high school to take action. On Wednesday, CBC News reported that Kensington Intermediate Senior High school had decided to remove memorials to students, including a sign naming a soccer field after student Aidan Harrington and a tribute wall that includes the names and photos of students and teachers who had died while attending or working at the school.
- The Canada Revenue Agency has laid off roughly 25 temporary employees on Prince Edward Island and 126 across the Atlantic region, leading a union official to warn the move will cost the federal government money. The organization announced on Nov. 15 that 580 term employees from across the country, many of whom were debt collectors, will lose their jobs next month. Term employees are hired for a defined and limited period of time.
- Tensions are spilling over in the municipality of Three Rivers over land use, draft development bylaws and concerns about foreign ownership connected to a group of Buddhist monks and nuns who have settled in eastern Prince Edward Island. Words were exchanged again this week between residents and the chair of the town’s planning board during a nearly three-hour meeting — a meeting that saw one person storm out.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- The government of Newfoundland and Labrador made a big deal about recruiting foreign medical professionals to reduce the boiling pressure on the province’s health-care system. But, as CBC News has confirmed, at least 60 internationally educated nurses from India are waiting to get to work as registered nurses, with some waiting nearly a year so far. The internationally trained nurses were recruited as personal care attendants and have been working in St. John’s. They were told by recruiters that if they got their Canadian nursing licence they could then apply for RN positions. That process can often take a year.
- There’s stiff competition among prospective home buyers in the St. John’s region because the number of listings are unusually low and demand is surging. One real estate agent said deep-pocketed buyers from outside the province are primarily to blame for inventory levels that are the lowest he’s ever seen. “The market is very robust, inventory is low and you’re going to need to compete for the most part,” said Jerry Boyles, an agent with Royal LePage Property Consultants.
- Certain items on your holiday shopping list will be cheaper in Newfoundland and Labrador this December, after the provincial government announced Thursday that it will match the federal government’s GST/HST tax break between Dec. 14 and Feb. 15. That means toys, children’s clothes, Christmas trees, alcohol, and many grocery items will become tax-free across the province for two months. But NDP Leader Jim Dinn raised an eyebrow at the move after the legislature met Thursday.
- Capping power rate increases due to the vastly over budget Muskrat Falls project will cost more than $3.5 billion between now and 2030, according to the latest forecast prepared by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. Last May, the provincial government instructed the Crown corporation to cap rate increases for island customers at 2.25 per cent per year until 2030, despite the monumental cost overruns at the hydroelectric dam and its transmission system. A letter submitted to the Public Utilities Board last month reveals that the full cost of doing so will be between $483- and $569-million a year from now until the end of the decade.
Quebec
- Despite running a historic deficit this year, Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard has announced more than $2 billion in new spending, crediting a slightly stronger than expected economy and some newly found government savings. The new spending measures are part of the government’s fall economic update, which Girard unveiled in Quebec City on Thursday. Wearing a smile, Girard said the government’s coffers may be in bad shape now, but things are looking up.
- The Quebec government has issued a ministerial order to prevent optometrists from leaving the public health system. Optometrists have been threatening to go private since October as a pressure tactic during stalled negotiations with the province. The order, which comes into effect Thursday, will last six months and can be renewed. However, it cannot exceed a total of two years unless the health minister deems it necessary, in which case it can be extended for up to two additional years at a time.
- Environmental groups are praising Quebec’s plan to ban fossil-fuel-based natural gas heating in homes by 2040 in an effort to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “Basically the idea is to stop the hemorrhage,” said Jean-Pierre Finet, analyst with Le Regroupement des organismes environnementaux en énergie (ROEE), which advocates for sustainable energy in Quebec and a shift away from fossil fuels. “We need to reduce our greenhouse gas production and it’s not by adding gas to the grid that it will work.”
- Quebec Premier François Legault says the province can’t afford to welcome a new wave of immigrants and asylum seekers like the ones who arrived through Roxham Road a few years ago. That illegal crossing was closed in March 2023. Legault made the statement on Tuesday morning during a meeting with the Quebec-United States ministerial working group. He also announced that the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) will now patrol the border with the United States.
Ontario
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he wants bilateral trade deals with the U.S. and Mexico “now” instead of in 2026, when the three countries review their North American trade agreement. Ford spoke to reporters on Thursday and repeated his criticism of Mexico over Chinese investment in the country. “They’ve had an opportunity to fix these concerns for years and they just don’t want to,” Ford said. “So they’ve shown their cards and we’ll do a bilateral trade deal with them, and a separate one with the U.S.”
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford is dismissing the City of Toronto’s estimates to remove bike lanes from three major Toronto streets, calling the $48-million price tag “hogwash.” The Ford government is fast-tracking a transportation-related law that would give the province the power to decide where a municipality can install separated cycling infrastructure along with the authority to remove dedicated bike lanes at will.
- Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday that the provincial government would be giving back $2.5 billion aimed at easing the burdens of doing business in Ontario. The four major components of the initiative include the distribution of a $2-billion surplus rebate from the Workers Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) back to eligible businesses, a reduction in the board’s premiums to reportedly historic lows, a $400-million investment in worker health, and the removal of certification exam fees for skilled workers.
- Premier Doug Ford’s office has dismissed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s temporary GST holiday and $250 relief cheques as ”insufficient,” calling instead for a halt to the federal carbon tax hike scheduled for April 1. “These are short-term measures that won’t solve the real cost-of-living pressures Canadians are facing,” Ford’s office said Thursday. “The best thing the Liberal government can do right now is ditch, or at the very least pause, any hike in the carbon tax.”
Manitoba
- A countrywide arrest warrant has been issued for a 25-year-old Ontario man accused of driving a semi-trailer truck through a stop sign before a crash that killed a Manitoba mother and daughter. RCMP charged Navjeet Singh with two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and one count of obstructing a police officer on Wednesday, police said in a news release. Efforts to find the 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., in Winnipeg were unsuccessful, and police say they’ve issued a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest.
- The City of Winnipeg may need to find millions of dollars in next year’s budget to cover overspending after its latest financial report shows the forecast deficit for this year has grown. The city estimates its deficit for this year will be $23.4 million — down from a projected $40-million deficit in June, but an increase of more than $4.2 million from the $19.2-million deficit forecast in the last financial update, delivered in September.
- Housing advocates in Manitoba are calling on the federal government to redirect funding and help put shovels in the ground to build at least 10,000 new affordable units in Manitoba over the next decade, in hopes of addressing the housing and homelessness crisis. The Right to Housing Coalition made the call during a news conference at the Manitoba Legislature on Thursday, as housing advocacy groups gather at locations across the country this week in recognition of what they’ve designated as National Housing Day on Friday.
- The NDP government is taking aim at restrictive covenants for grocery stores, but those in the industry say the move may not make groceries more affordable. During its throne speech Tuesday, the government vowed to introduce legislation that will target restrictive covenants, a legal practice that limits the kinds of stores that can open in the vicinity of a particular company’s location.
Saskatchewan
- Domestic violence rates rose across all three RCMP jurisdictions in Saskatchewan in 2023, according to a new report. The federal police service recorded 813 cases of domestic violence per 100,000 inhabitants last year in Saskatchewan’s north, central and southern districts, while family violence rates were 890 per 100,000 inhabitants. These areas, which mostly cover rural areas and do not include Saskatoon and Regina, are higher than both the provincial and national rates. Combining the number of victims in these two categories, the report says RCMP dealt with an average of 718 victims per month in 2023, an increase from 549 in 2018.
- The RCMP is rolling out body cams across Canada. Saskatchewan got its first taste Tuesday as officers in Fort Qu’Appelle donned the technology. Other communities like Black Lake, Fond du Lac, Pelican Narrows, Onion Lake and Punnichy are next, with the rest of province’s detachments to follow in the next eight to 12 months.
- A Saskatchewan NDP MLA is being investigated by the province’s conflict of interest commissioner after complaints about her promoting her cheese shop on social media alongside legislative matters. Regina Albert South MLA Aleana Young’s social media is being reviewed, the commissioner’s office confirmed Friday. Young’s social media is being flagged for containing a blend of legislative content mixed in with her small business achievements, such as her holiday cheese boards and shop’s five-year-milestone.
- A Saskatchewan Crown corporation is challenging a fine it’s been ordered to pay in the deaths of two of its workers. In October, a Weyburn court gave SaskPower a $840,000 fine for an October 2020 workplace accident. The accident involved two workers with 19 years of experience, Scott Bill and Cole Crooks, according to court documents. The two were working on power lines and fell to their deaths after the bucket they were in tipped over in October 2020.
Alberta
- The Alberta government has hired former prime minister Stephen Harper as the chairman of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) board of directors less than two weeks after it sacked all 10 prior board members. Harper’s hiring was announced via a news release on Wednesday morning in which Harper said he would not be paid for his new role, describing it as a “meaningful act of public service to my adopted home province of the last 46 years.”
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is making major changes to auto insurance, including rate hikes and switching to a predominantly no-fault claims model. Under the new system, car accident victims in most cases won’t be able to sue the party responsible for their injury and, instead, insurers would pay compensation at rates set by the government. By cutting down litigation costs, the government estimates that when the new system is in place in 2027, it could lead to savings of up to $400 per year for the average insurance premium.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she agrees it could be time to cut Mexico out of the trilateral free trade agreement with Canada and the United States. “Mexico has gone in a different direction, and it’s pretty clear that the Americans have indicated that they want to have a fair trade relationship,” Smith told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday. “Mexico is not in a position to be able to offer that, especially with the investment that they have from China.” “We’ve got to put Canada first,” she added.
- Alberta is forecasting a $4.6-billion surplus for this fiscal year, but Finance Minister Nate Horner says “mounting pressures” threaten to soon put the province in the red. Horner made the comments Thursday as he delivered the new numbers in the second-quarter update to this year’s budget. Aside from Alberta’s traditional reliance on volatile oil revenues, Horner said there are other worries, such as a promise by incoming U.S. president Donald Trump to impose punishing trade tariffs. “We don’t forecast potential future policy, but we certainly monitor it,” Horner said.
British Columbia
- David Eby started his second term as premier by centralizing more power in his office, this time to control provincial dealings with municipalities, regional districts and other local government organizations. The premier did not highlight the shift when he announced his new cabinet lineup Monday. It was confirmed on page 2 of the 47-page cabinet order setting out the responsibilities of the premier and his 27 ministers. “The duties, powers and functions of the minister of municipal affairs respecting strategic relations and consultations with local government, local government organizations and others are transferred to the premier.”
- British Columbia Conservative Leader John Rustad says Premier David Eby’s new cabinet appears to be a taxpayer-funded loyalty program that rewards NDP caucus. Eby introduced his new cabinet this week, which includes 23 ministers, four ministers of state and 14 parliamentary secretaries. He also announced postings for caucus chair, deputy caucus chair, government whip, deputy government whip and nominees for deputy Speaker, Speaker and committee of the whole deputy chair.
- BC Greens Leader, Sonia Furstenau released the following statement on the announcement of Premier David Eby’s newly appointed cabinet: “The BC Green Party extends its congratulations to Premier David Eby and the newly appointed cabinet. We are pleased to see strong representation of women in leadership roles. “We are particularly pleased to see Niki Sharma appointed as Deputy Premier and Attorney General, Tamara Davidson as Minister of Environment and Parks, and Brenda Bailey as Minister of Finance. These critical roles will have a significant impact on shaping the future of British Columbia.
- B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad has assigned jobs to 41 out of 44 of his caucus members, including giving a critic’s position to MLA Brent Chapman, who faced calls to step down during the campaign over controversial social media remarks. Several groups called on Rustad during last month’s election to remove Chapman as his party’s candidate over the posts, including one in which Chapman called Palestinian children “inbred walking, talking, breathing time bombs.”
Northwest Territories
- The organization representing the Sahtu Dene and Métis in Norman Wells, N.W.T. is one step closer to establishing self-government. In a joint news release issued Tuesday, the community’s Indigenous government, Tłegǫ́hłı̨ Got’ine, along with the federal government and the territorial governments announced they “initialled” a draft Final Self-Government Agreement. There are no details on what’s been established in the draft agreement, it just says that Tłegǫ́hłı̨ Got’ine “will exercise its inherent right of self-government.”
Yukon
- A spokesperson for the Yukon government says the territory does not want to force a municipal byelection in Dawson City, despite legislation saying that may be necessary. Earlier this month, the newly elected town councillors in Dawson refused to take the oath of allegiance to the King while being sworn in to office. They cited the Crown’s troubled history with First Nations as the reason for their collective decision.
Nunavut
- An airline that launched flights from Iqaluit to Montreal this past summer has now cancelled its route. David Sade, the vice-president of operations at Chrono Aviation, said the decision was made after the company was unable to acquire a larger aircraft — the Boeing 737-800 — because of maintenance issues and delays. The route launched in August, with tickets going on sale in May this year. Now, its flights will shut down as of Dec. 1.