Provincial and Territorial Update – October 4, 2024
Provincial and Territorial Update: An overview of the Provincial Legislative and Territories Legislative Updates for the week of October 4, 2024. Written by Wes McLean.
New Brunswick
- On Thursday, Green Leader David Coon announced a universal school breakfast and lunch program, while Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs spoke about his plan for addictions treatment. Liberal Leader Susan Holt released her full election platform, including costing.
- The Liberal Party promised a caregivers benefit Wednesday, while the Green Party committed to creating a new law that would protect New Brunswickers’ right to a healthy environment. Meanwhile, PC Leader Blaine Higgs touched on drug rehab issues and refused to comment on a controversy involving one of his candidates.
- New Brunswick Liberals have released a full campaign platform that contains no specific plan for how to address one of their biggest political liabilities: the federal carbon tax. Leader Susan Holt says she’ll work to persuade the federal government to let her adopt an alternative to the federal price, which this year is adding 17.6 cents to the price of a litre of gasoline. “That’s a conversation that we’ll need to have with Ottawa,” she told reporters.
- A Progressive Conservative candidate for a seat in the New Brunswick Legislature is facing calls she withdraw from the campaign after she compared protections for 2SLGTBQ+ students to the systematic taking of Indigenous children from their parents to place them in residential schools. Sherry Wilson said the federal system of forcing tens of thousands of First Nations, Inuit and Métis children into the schools was “only allowed to happen because children enrolled in school were isolated from their parents’ oversight, input and influence.”
Nova Scotia
- Officials with the provincial government are assessing a submission from Atlantic Mining that outlines how the company would cover the balance of costs related to reclamation work at a former gold mine. A statement from the company says the documents were submitted to the Natural Resources Department on Sept. 27 and followed funding arrangements between Atlantic Mining and its parent company, St Barbara.
- Federal fisheries officers in Nova Scotia say they’re refusing some enforcement duties because of threats to their safety, as they await Ottawa’s response to their complaints. The union representing the officers says its members have been shot at, that people have tried to steal their firearms, and that officers — and their families — have been threatened for trying to stop illegal fishing.
- The Department of Education says it’s making “significant progress” on an updated code of conduct for Nova Scotia students, but a union that represents school support staff says it has yet to be consulted. The province pledged to update the code of conduct after an auditor general’s report found that schools were not equipped to deal with rising rates of violent incidents. In June, the Department of Education said a draft should be ready by September.
- Nova Scotia’s fisheries minister left a meeting Thursday with his federal counterpart feeling “frustrated and disappointed” at what he says is a lack of urgency from Ottawa to address illegal lobster fishing. “It’s just showing me in a different way that this minister and this department is not taking the issue as seriously as they need to,” Kent Smith said in a phone interview from the Ottawa airport. “I didn’t get a commitment to add any resources to address illegal lobster fishing in Southwest Nova, which is what I’ve been calling for for months and months.”
Prince Edward Island
- The completion date for a new psychiatric hospital on P.E.I. has been pushed back again, and the costs to replace Hillsborough Hospital jumped to the point that the province had to scale back its plans. That’s what MLAs on a legislative health committee heard this week in an update on plans for a new mental health campus in Charlottetown. The opening date for the 64-bed facility has been further pushed back to late 2027 or early 2028.
- There’s a 50-50 chance that Northumberland Ferries Ltd. can bring MV Confederation back into service earlier than Dec. 9, says company CEO Mark Wilson. The ferry service between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia ground to a halt 10 days ago, after the second of its two ferries broke down. MV Confederation had mechanical problems which led to damage while docking on Sept. 22. A week later, MV Saaremaa was sidelined with two of its four engines out of commission.
- A local union leader painted a dire picture of schools grappling with increasingly tight quarters at a public meeting on overcrowding in Charlottetown schools Tuesday night. Prince Edward Island’s Public Schools Branch conducted a study earlier this summer that recommended building three new schools on the Island to alleviate the crunch. Those were a junior high in Stratford and one each in the areas around Charlottetown’s West Royalty and L.M. Montgomery elementary schools.
- With a parasite deadly to oysters highly likely to be present in most P.E.I. waterways soon if it isn’t already, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says deciding what to do next about the crisis is crucial. CFIA officials gave provincial politicians an update on the ongoing battle against multinuclear sphere X, or MSX, during a legislative standing committee meeting on Thursday.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- A Newfoundland and Labrador MHA says the province is ready and willing to provide educational support funding to children with exceptionalities impacted through delays to a federally funded program. Gerry Byrne, the Liberal MHA for Corner Brook, told CBC News on Friday that the Newfoundland and Labrador government will spend millions of dollars to support families affected by cutbacks to funding through Jordan’s Principle until the end of the calendar year.
- Little is known three days after a suspicious death in Bay Roberts, but the town’s mayor says residents are feeling uneasy and there’s a need for more police resources. Human remains were found on Monday inside of a burned pickup truck on a dirt road in Bay Roberts, along Newfoundland’s Conception Bay. Bay Roberts Mayor Walter Yetman said the town is offering condolences to the person’s family, and that residents are naturally fearful given what happened.
- A municipal leader in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s with a reputation for stirring things up has again been booted from the town council. CBC News has confirmed that council voted 4-2 during Tuesday’s regular meeting to suspend Darryl Harding without pay for three months, and to seek approval from the courts to have Harding’s seat vacated. Mayor Carol McDonald, who acts as official spokesperson for the town council, was unavailable for an interview on Wednesday. However, she confirmed in a brief telephone conversation that council took action following an investigation by an external consultant.
- A St. John’s violence prevention group has begun offering free training to help people identify the signs of intimate partner violence, and what to do next. The course, called Signal For Help, was created by the Canadian Women’s Foundation and is being offered by Violence Prevention Avalon East with support from the Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
Quebec
- A few days before the international conference in France, Quebec Premier François Legault went to Paris to discuss the province’s relations with its “cousin français.” The French language was on the menu, as was immigration. On Wednesday, Legault told reporters that the Canadian government should act decisively to respond to his repeated requests to reduce the number of asylum seekers in the province. Quebec maintains that of the 285,000 asylum claimants who arrived in Canada last year, 160,000 were in Quebec. And the premier wants half of them to go elsewhere.
- Quebec Premier François Legault flew to France, where he will take part in the Francophonie Summit on Friday and Saturday, after three days during which he intends to lead an “economic mission.” From Tuesday to Thursday, Legault plans to meet with “political and economic figures,” his office said, refusing to specify what is on the agenda. The main objectives are to increase trade, strengthen ties between Quebec and French businesses, and promote Quebec culture and the French language.
- The leader of the Quebec independence party propping up the government of Justin Trudeau has insisted that the political lifeline depends on the quick passage of two pieces of legislation, and warned Canada’s embattled prime minister that he remains “very vulnerable”. The Bloc Québécois leader, Yves-François Blanchet, told the Guardian the Liberals must act swiftly to enshrine protections for dairy farmers and boost payments to seniors to stave off a fatal vote of non-confidence.
- The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a challenge from the Quebec government to a lower court ruling granting asylum seekers access to subsidized daycare spaces. In a decision released Thursday, the Supreme Court announced it would grant leave to the province’s attorney general regarding a February 2024 decision from the Court of Appeal, which found that Quebec’s daycare rules are discriminatory. Quebec’s highest court ruled that asylum seekers who hold a valid work permit are entitled to register their children in the public daycare system.
Ontario
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government is not ruling out an attempt to buy back the privately-controlled Highway 407 toll road, a purchase meant to battle traffic in the Greater Toronto Area that could cost close to $29-billion. Mr. Ford made the comments Wednesday in the face of questions about his proposal to build up to 60 kilometres of tunnels for roads and transit underneath the busy stretch of Highway 401 that runs through Toronto.
- Premier Doug Ford has pledged his government will do a “complete audit” of Ontario children’s aid societies, alleging that he’s heard “nightmare stories” about the misuse of taxpayer dollars by the agencies. His comments, made Wednesday, came in response to Star reporting that child welfare leaders are sounding the alarm about kids and teens with complex health needs being housed in hotels, Airbnbs and office buildings because they are unable to get the medical help and specialized treatments they need.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he has directed the Ministry of Transportation to explore increasing the speed limit to 110 km/h on all stretches of 400-series highways “where it is safe to do so.” “I’m going to repeat that: Where it is safe to do so. We’re leaving no stone unturned to help fight gridlock on our roads, reduce travel times and allow people to spend less time commuting and more time at home with their families,” Ford said.
- New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds the PCPO increasing its vote advantage over the opposition despite mounting criticism from Ontarians on the government’s performance on key issues, not to mention widespread disapproval of Premier Doug Ford. Two-in-five (40%) Ontarians would vote for the PCs if an election were held today, while statistically equal groups of one-quarter say they would vote NDP (25%) or Liberal (23%).
Manitoba
- A First Nations father hoping to become a trustee for a western Manitoba school board that’s been embroiled in controversy over residential school comments says he was dismayed to learn many First Nations residents in the area can’t vote in an upcoming byelection. Scott Lynxleg, a member of Tootinaowaziibeeng First Nation, just northeast of Roblin, says he’s angry and sad after discovering on-reserve members of First Nations aren’t eligible to nominate or vote for candidates in the Oct. 30 byelection to fill four positions on the board of the Dauphin-area Mountain View School Division.
- The Manitoba First Nations Police Service has begun patrolling in a 10th First Nation — a historic moment for Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, the community’s chief says. People in the community, located 66 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, along with council members, MFNPS officers and provincial and federal representatives celebrated the transferring of police services in a ceremony in the First Nation on Friday morning.
- Health-care workers in Manitoba have some of the lowest wages in the nation — the starting wage for some is $17.07 an hour. Last week 25,000 health-care support workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union served notice of job action on employer Shared Health, the organization that oversees health-care delivery in the province, set for Oct. 8.
- Community leaders say they feel reassured as Winnipeg police outlines plans for patrols and monitoring ahead of the one-year anniversary of the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The Winnipeg Police Service said in a release Thursday it’s putting its focus on places of worship and other gatherings in light of the Jewish high holy days and the first anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, which led to that country’s invasion of the Gaza Strip. The release said the efforts will include patrols by uniformed members, as well as some officers stationed at places where large gatherings are expected during their regular duties.-
Saskatchewan
- At the end of the first official week of Saskatchewan’s election campaign, its two major parties have begun laying out the plans they hope will lead to victory. NDP Leader Carla Beck says she would cut $58 million in spending during her first year as premier should her party win the election set for Oct. 28. Beck says she would axe the incumbent Saskatchewan Party’s marshals service, slash government advertising and cut administration at the province’s Crown Investments Corporation and Executive Council.
- Hundreds of Saskatchewan nurses stood at the steps of the Legislature Building in Regina on the third day of the election campaign, demanding the next government follow through and fix staffing problems in health care. Tracy Zambory, the president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, told a cheering crowd Thursday that nurses and patients deserve a plan that ensures shorter wait times, more support and safety.
- Two First Nations women who work at the Meadow Lake provincial court house were “shamed” and sent home for wearing orange shirts for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Monday, First Nations leaders say. “One of the ladies is a second-generation [residential school] survivor and she left home that morning proud of that shirt she wore that day,” said Richard Derocher, vice-chief of the Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC), which represents nine Cree and Dene First Nations. “The way I see it is they silenced her spirit. She fought to stay to work, but they eventually made her go home.”
- At the end of the first official week of Saskatchewan’s election campaign, its two major parties have begun laying out the plans they hope will lead to victory. NDP Leader Carla Beck says she would cut $58 million in spending during her first year as premier should her party win the election set for Oct. 28. Saskatchewan Party Leader Moe has said Beck’s plans are costly and would lead to large deficits. Moe has promised widespread tax relief for families, which he has said would save a family of four more than $3,400 over four years. He also plans to increase benefits for families looking to put their kids in sports and arts, along with a pair of tax credits to help current and prospective homeowners.
Alberta
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Tuesday that a new ban on puberty blockers won’t apply to children and teens who are currently using them. Smith said in a video message that minors who have “already commenced their treatment” will be excluded from a soon-to-be-introduced law barring the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapies for the purpose of gender reassignment for Albertans under the age of 16.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is threatening another legal challenge against Ottawa’s environmental assessment law, a move federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is dismissing as a political stunt. The federal Impact Assessment Act was enacted in 2019, but a Supreme Court of Canada ruling last year found much of it unconstitutional. In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government made changes to the bill in the summer. But Smith said in a Thursday letter to Trudeau that the changes aren’t good enough.
- Alberta’s premier is being criticized for not shutting down a conspiracy theory during a recent United Conservative Party town hall in Edmonton. According to a journalist in the room from “Alberta Views,” Premier Danielle Smith was answering a question about chemtrails. Chemtrails refer to the conspiracy theory that governments or other groups are adding toxic chemicals to the atmosphere from planes. In reality, these white plumes are made mostly of water and are vapour trails.
- The Government of Alberta said it is eyeing legal action against Contentment Social Services if it does not return provincial financial benefits used by clients to pay for its services. In March, the province opened four investigations into the registered non-profit after CBC News broke the story of Blair Canniff, a high needs stroke patient who had been expecting, upon discharge, to go from an Edmonton hospital into a long-term care facility. He was moved into a hotel south of the city.
British Columbia
- The B.C. NDP is petitioning the courts to force the B.C. Conservative Party into changing how its name shows up on election ballots, arguing that the current phrasing could confuse voters. NDP Leader David Eby said the name as it stands now — the “Conservative Party” — is misleading, and comes across as the federal party instead of provincial. “Mr. Rustad is working very hard to mislead people about who he is and who he represents,” Eby said during a press conference in Kelowna. “He’s pretending to be part of the federal Conservative Party. He’s not, he’s misleading people.”
- No political party has managed to amass a significant advantage at the midway point of the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, a new Research Co. poll has found. In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, 45% of decided voters (+1 since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in early September) say they would vote for the BC New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate in their constituency, while 44% (+2) would cast a ballot for the Conservative Party of BC.
- David Eby says if the NDP is re-elected, it would double the speculation and vacancy tax for homeowners who leave their homes vacant. The tax, which is applied to a home’s assessed value, would rise to one percent from 0.5 percent for Canadians and to three percent, from 1.5 percent, for non-Canadians. The NDP leader says 99 percent of British Columbians are exempt from paying the tax, and he hopes the tax will encourage people to rent out their homes so no one has to pay it.
- Conservative Party of BC leader John Rustad stood across the street from Kelowna’s city-sanctioned homeless encampment Saturday and vowed to “end tent cities” across B.C.
- The appearance was the third campaign stop in the Okanagan this weekend, after speaking on child care in Kelowna on Friday and on wildfires in Vernon on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon’s stop took place on Weddell Place, across the street from the Rail Trail where dozens of people continue to live in tents. Rustad announced that if elected, his government would “end tent cities once and for all.”
Northwest Territories
- The Mayor of Norman Wells, N.W.T. says his community is in a “crisis situation,” with already high fuel costs set to skyrocket next week as suppliers begin to bring in fuel through costly air barging. Mayor Frank Pope told CBC he is expecting the price of heating oil in his community to increase to approximately $5.50 per litre early next week.
- The chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) in the N.W.T. says he expects his organization to be involved as Canada and the U.S. negotiate a long-standing boundary dispute in the Beaufort Sea. Duane Ningaqsiq Smith says the negotiations could affect the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR), if the international maritime boundary were to change.
Yukon
- The City of Whitehorse says “internal miscommunication” is to blame for some problems this year with maintenance at the local cemetery that has left some residents angry and upset. The city also says it’s doing an internal investigation into what happened. Every fall, the city does maintenance work at the Grey Mountain Cemetery before closing the gates for the season. This year, however, things were a bit different, according to some residents.
Nunavut
- Hundreds of residents in Baker Lake, Nunavut, were without power for more than 24 hours after a storm hit the community on Tuesday. As of Thursday morning, only about 11 industrial customers remain without power, according to the Qulliq Energy Corporation’s Facebook page. Wednesday evening, the Hamlet of Baker Lake said on social media about 139 remaining customers were without power. The hamlet opened its recreation centre for those needing a warm place overnight.