Provincial and Territorial Update – October 27, 2023
An overview of the Provincial and Territories Legislative Updates for the week of October 21 - 27, 2023.
New Brunswick
- The Higgs government has survived a confidence vote in the New Brunswick legislature, a key moment as Premier Blaine Higgs mulls a possible early election call. All six Progressive Conservative MLAs who broke ranks with the premier in the spring to vote with the Opposition Liberals on Policy 713 fell in line Friday morning, supporting the government. The motion to support the Oct. 17 throne speech passed 27-19.
- The Higgs government says it needs to renegotiate its 2022 child-care agreement with the federal government to address a long wait list for spaces in the province. Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan wants more flexibility to allocate some funding to for-profit daycares that would become eligible for subsidized spaces under the deal.
- A plan to give peace officers the power to arrest people for trespassing is being met with skepticism by some and hope by others that it will help address issues business owners have faced around panhandling and loitering on their property. On Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Kris Austin introduced a bill in the legislature he says would give police and bylaw officers “more teeth” to enforce the province’s Trespass Act.
- B. Power says it is unable to meet an extended deadline of Oct. 31 to file an application for an April rate increase, after missing its original filing date of Oct. 4. Instead it is asking the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board for permission to delay the matter further until sometime just before Christmas.
Nova Scotia
- Premier Tim Houston says the better paycheque guarantee, a key election promise intended to get companies to hire more people or pay existing employees more money, may no longer be possible. “We’ll continue to assess whether that’s still an appropriate tool to meet the objective that we’re trying to meet,” Houston told reporters at Province House on Friday. “I’m not sure today that it goes forward as it was in the platform documents, but those assessments are continuing to be done.”
- A data analyst who worked for Nova Scotia Health for four years says he was let go for speaking up about what he perceived as serious issues with the emergency department wait-time prediction project. Jesse Yang said he escalated concerns about the data used in the project, both verbally and in writing, over a year. He said he sought support from supervisors, Nova Scotia Health’s ethics department, human resources, and the Nova Scotia Office of the Ombudsman.
- There was rare unanimity at Province House on Thursday night in Halifax as the leaders of Nova Scotia’s three main political parties reacted to the prime minister’s partial retreat on the carbon tax. Premier Tim Houston, Liberal Leader Zach Churchill and NDP Leader Claudia Chender all agreed the federal government was doing the right thing by taking the federal carbon tax off heating oil. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a three-year pause on the tax Thursday.
- A $47.3-million program aimed at improving cellular phone service in areas of Nova Scotia without proper coverage is simply the start of a more costly multi-year project, the province’s public works minister says. Kim Masland told reporters Thursday that she was announcing the initial stage of a “very large” project that will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars. “It is going to take significant investment, and we are prepared to do that,” the minister said.
Prince Edward Island
- The P.E.I. Teachers’ Federation is looking for what it is calling a Course Correction, following a survey of its members that found 62 percent of them had considered leaving the profession. The federation launched a new awareness campaign this week to highlight problems of burnout in the profession. The survey found 78 percent of teachers had experienced burnout in their careers, citing unrealistic expectations.
- “Shut the outreach centre down” was the pointed and often-repeated message many people had for MLAs during a legislative committee meeting in Charlottetown. Johnny MacDonald described life around the centre as “total chaos,” and urged members of the committee to scrap the centre permanently. “Frankly, the neighbourhood is done with it. We want it closed immediately. We want the drug paraphernalia to stop being passed out immediately,” he said, followed by a round of applause from many in the seats behind him.
- E.I.’s chief public health officer says a supervised injection site could save people’s lives amid an alarming increase in fentanyl use on the Island — but the province’s plans to establish one are still unclear. Dr. Heather Morrison answered questions about harm reduction and what the government calls an overdose prevention site during a meeting of the standing committee on health and social development at the legislature Wednesday.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey is apologizing to residential school survivors in Labrador in early November. The news comes after weeks of controversy about Furey’s apology to a contentious Labrador group, NunatuKavut. The provincial government said in a release Friday that Furey will “deliver apologies” to residential school survivors and their families in five Labrador Inuit communities and Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
- The Newfoundland and Labrador government’s handling of housing issues will undergo further scrutiny as the auditor general prepares to put it under the microscope. Denise Hanrahan said staff in her office are beginning to gather information “related to how they are managing their housing unit inventory and any other topics in that area.”
- Two Newfoundland and Labrador politicians who pushed hard for a pause on imposing the federal carbon tax on home heating oil say a three-year pause is a great step forward. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the pause on Thursday, saying the move was made to help Atlantic Canadians with the cost of living. He also unveiled other programs that will help move homes away from oil heat in favour of heat pumps.
- At a municipalities conference in St. John’s, health department ADM and family doctor Megan Hayes said 239 nurses have been hired since April 2023. However, she was pressed on the issue of travel nurses — which are private agency nurses that have cost taxpayers $100 million this year — who are paid more than nurses employed by the N.L. health authorities for the same work.
Quebec
- The premiers of Ontario and Quebec are calling on both sides in the Lawrence Seaway strike to reach a deal right away, saying the shutdown of the vital trade artery risks significant harm to the region’s economy. In a joint statement Thursday, Doug Ford and Francois Legault said they were pleased the two parties were set to return to the negotiating table alongside federal mediators Friday, but urged Ottawa to use whatever tools it has on hand to bring about a resolution should an agreement fail to emerge immediately.
- The Quebec government says it will table additional legislation to make sure Hydro-Quebec fees remain low. Premier François Legault was questioned on the issue at the National Assembly Wednesday, following a Radio-Canada report that suggested Hydro-Quebec CEO Michael Sabia felt increasing fees was necessary.
- Premier François Legault said Thursday that he hopes the province’s nurses don’t take Quebecers and especially patients in hospitals “hostage” in their planned labour disruptions.
- In an unprecedented move, six former Quebec premiers — Liberal and Parti Québécois alike — have issued a stinging rebuke against Premier François Legault’s proposed health reform known as Bill 15, urging the government to back down from creating a Crown corporation to oversee the health system. The ex-premiers — Lucien Bouchard, Jean Charest, Philippe Couillard, Daniel Johnson, Pierre Marc Johnson and Pauline Marois — argue in an open letter to Legault that “merging hospital centres and university institutes into a newly created Crown corporation will have a negative impact on these institutions, which play an essential role in Quebec society.”
Ontario
- Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew formally apologized Thursday to the families of two First Nations women believed to have been victims of an alleged serial killer, saying they were “forced to become a political prop” during the recent provincial election campaign. The apology came before a closed-door meeting at the legislative building on Thursday between the province and the families of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran.
- A law professor says the perception created by Mark Wasyliw working as a criminal lawyer while serving as a Manitoba government MLA is worrying and could erode public trust, even if no conflict-of-interest rules are broken. Wasyliw, the NDP representative in Fort Garry, revealed this week he would continue his law practice, rather than shut it down as he previously promised, after being overlooked for cabinet.
- Wait times at Winnipeg emergency rooms and urgent care centres are the worst they’ve been in close to a decade, numbers from the local health authority suggest. The monthly median wait time for care at Winnipeg ERs and urgent care centres hit a peak of nearly 3½ hours as of September this year, according to data posted on the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s website. The 3.43-hour median wait compares to just over two hours in April 2014 — the earliest point in that data — a jump of about 70 percent.
- Sheila North, a former grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, says she’ll run to become the next national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. “I think it’s time to take the Assembly of First Nations back to the chiefs of Canada because it’s their organization,” said North, who is also a former CBC reporter, during a Thursday news conference at the Manitoba Indigenous Cultural Education Centre in Winnipeg.
Manitoba
- Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew formally apologized Thursday to the families of two First Nations women believed to have been victims of an alleged serial killer, saying they were “forced to become a political prop” during the recent provincial election campaign. The apology came before a closed-door meeting at the legislative building on Thursday between the province and the families of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran.
- A law professor says the perception created by Mark Wasyliw working as a criminal lawyer while serving as a Manitoba government MLA is worrying and could erode public trust, even if no conflict-of-interest rules are broken. Wasyliw, the NDP representative in Fort Garry, revealed this week he would continue his law practice, rather than shut it down as he previously promised, after being overlooked for cabinet.
- Wait times at Winnipeg emergency rooms and urgent care centres are the worst they’ve been in close to a decade, numbers from the local health authority suggest. The monthly median wait time for care at Winnipeg ERs and urgent care centres hit a peak of nearly 3½ hours as of September this year, according to data posted on the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s website. The 3.43-hour median wait compares to just over two hours in April 2014 — the earliest point in that data — a jump of about 70 percent.
- Sheila North, a former grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, says she’ll run to become the next national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. “I think it’s time to take the Assembly of First Nations back to the chiefs of Canada because it’s their organization,” said North, who is also a former CBC reporter, during a Thursday news conference at the Manitoba Indigenous Cultural Education Centre in Winnipeg.
Saskatchewan
- The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) says a vote by the province’s teachers this week on possible sanctions passed with 95 percent approval. Teachers voted this week after their union said negotiations with the provincial government on a new contract had reached an impasse. STF president Samantha Becotte said 90 percent of teachers in the province voted and that should send a message to the provincial government.
- The Saskatchewan government promised to “build” and “protect” the province in the fall speech from the throne Wednesday. As per tradition, Saskatchewan Lt.-Gov. Russ Mirasty delivered the government’s speech, which outlines the legislative agenda as the fall session begins. The speech failed to mention the government’s new parental rights legislation, passed last week after an emergency session of the legislature, and its use of the notwithstanding clause. Moe said it wasn’t included because the issue has been dealt with. When asked why the government is not planning a cost-of-living rebate like it did in 2022, Moe said provincial finances have “tightened” and that the government “needs to be prudent.”
- Protecting Saskatchewan from outside “threats” – including the federal government – was a major theme in the provincial government’s 2023 Speech from the Throne on Wednesday. Ahead of the fall legislative session, the speech highlighted how Saskatchewan continues to have a strong economy but global instability, rising interest rates, inflation and Ottawa are all threats that need to be addressed.
- “In a word, I think my first reaction was that it’s quite underwhelming.” That is how Opposition NDP leader Carla Beck described the Throne Speech delivered in the Saskatchewan Legislature Wednesday afternoon. “In a speech that we heard forecast by this premier earlier in the week that was going to deliver some real solutions around housing and affordability, certainly affordability being one of the number one issues that people are facing in the province, we saw very little to address either of those issues.”
Alberta
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told delegates at a climate conference in Calgary on Thursday that achieving an electricity grid that depends on renewable power by 2035 is “fantasy thinking.” Smith has said achieving that target in 12 years could lead to power blackouts because Alberta wouldn’t have a reliable source of baseload power, such as natural gas. Her government has argued for a net-zero grid by 2050.
- Premier Danielle Smith says she would not call a referendum on whether Alberta should quit the Canada Pension Plan until there is a firm number on how much the province would get should it decide to go it alone. Smith says her government has heard from Albertans that they want the hard numbers and it is committed to getting them. She says the federal government and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have not helped provide their own estimates, and says the final figure may have to be decided in the courts.
- Despite a ruling from the Supreme Court that concluded the law is largely unconstitutional, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the federal government is sticking by its controversial Impact Assessment Act (IAA). Guilbeault said Thursday the Liberals will not repeal the legislation — as some Conservative MPs have demanded — and will instead make changes to “align” the law with the top court’s ruling.
- Canada’s next Supreme Court justice will be Mary Moreau, a French-speaking judge from Alberta, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday. “I am confident that her impressive judicial career and dedication to fairness and excellence will make Chief Justice Moreau an invaluable addition to our country’s highest court,” Trudeau said in a statement. Her appointment keeps with the tradition that reserves at least two of the nine seats on the Supreme Court for judges from Western Canada. Trudeau has said he would maintain that tradition in replacing Brown, but that candidates must be bilingual.
British Columbia
- Gene Runtz is worried. As the mayor of McBride, B.C., he is staring down the barrel of a potential water shortage this winter that could leave residents and firefighters desperate during a prolonged drought season. The village, about 180 kilometres east of Prince George in central B.C., declared a state of emergency on Sept. 19 and restricted water usage the following day while under Stage 5 drought conditions — the highest level on the province’s severity scale.
- The sale of Premier David Eby’s condominium in Victoria has become embroiled in the debate over the B.C. New Democrat Party government’s proposed law on short-term rental accommodations. The Opposition B.C. United accused Eby on Tuesday of largely profiting from the sale of his condominium in 2019 because it was in a building complex that did not have rental restrictions. Housing critic Karin Kirkpatrick told the Legislature that Eby sold the condo for $150,000 more than he originally paid, capitalizing on the province’s explosion in short-term rentals.
- C. has announced a new $300-million fund to protect threatened ecosystems in the province. Premier David Eby announced a part of Victoria’s Beacon Hill Park framed by fir, hemlock and cedar trees, along with Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston and Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen, and Minister of Environment and Climate Change George Heyman. The province has committed $150 million to the project, which will be matched by the B.C. Parks Foundation.
- The City of Kelowna, B.C., has signed a $31.5-million agreement with the federal government to fast-track the construction of nearly 1,000 homes over the next three years. Federal Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser was in Kelowna on Wednesday morning to announce the funding arrangement through Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund, a $4-billion federal initiative to prompt more home-building in cities.
Northwest Territories
- The Mackenzie Valley Highway is one step closer to becoming a reality after the N.W.T. government submitted its developer’s assessment report to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. The report outlines the project’s anticipated environmental impact, proposed mitigation measures and effects on communities. It also shows a handful of changes to the proposed route, including steering clear of a moose pasture near Wrigley, N.W.T., and veering further away from Bear Rock.
Yukon
- Life is a little more complicated when you’re a minority government. The opposition Yukon Party and NDP voted Tuesday to strip the ruling Liberals of the unfettered ability to issue ministerial statements in the Legislative Assembly. From now on, at least one opposition party house leader will have to agree to the topic of any planned ministerial statement for it to be allowed.
Nunavut
- A former Iqaluit councillor says he wasn’t able to run in Monday’s election because the documents he needed to do so weren’t in an accessible format and Iqaluit’s returning officer gave him the wrong deadline to apply. Noah Papatsie, who is blind, sat on council from 2013 to 2015 and again from 2017 to 2019. He also ran for mayor in the 2019 municipal election, losing to former mayor Kenny Bell. Papatsie uses a Job Access With Speech (JAWS) program on his computer, which essentially reads out the words on the screen.
