Government of Newfoundland News

Health and Community Services

Bernard Davis, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services, will bring greetings to the graduates of the Centre for Nursing Studies Practical Nursing program, Class of 2016.

Health and Community Services

The Psychiatric Assessment Unit at the Waterford Hospital in St. John’s will be redeveloped to improve patient experience and enhance care. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is investing $650,000 in the project which will provide for renovated space and increased staffing, including an additional registered nurse position. The Psychiatric Assessment Unit is the only dedicated emergency room for mental health issues in the province.

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner

In our most recent reporting period (October 1 to December 31, 2016), the OIPC received 52 privacy breach reports from 21 public bodies under the ATIPPA, 2015. This is up from the 41 reports from 15 public bodies received in the second quarter of 2016/2017. The two intentional breaches in this period involved inappropriate/unauthorized access to a database.

Environment and Climate Change

The Honourable Perry Trimper, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, has announced the following events relative to Part 10 Environmental Assessment of the Environmental Protection Act.

Municipal Affairs

The Honourable Eddie Joyce, Minister of Municipal Affairs, will travel today to Milltown-Head of Bay d’Espoir which was affected by three fires earlier this year.

Education and Early Childhood Development

The following statement was issued today by the Honourable Dale Kirby, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development:

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner

The Information and Privacy Commissioner, Donovan Molloy, has released his Report A-2017-002 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. A summary of the Report is included below.

Justice and Public Safety

The Department of Justice and Public Safety is moving forward with the next phase of consultation for the feasibility study on a Drug Treatment Court for Newfoundland and Labrador. This phase involves key stakeholders and community service providers and invites the general public to provide feedback. This next step will build on the work already completed including internal consultations, site visits, and an analysis of existing Drug Treatment Courts through-out the country, while continuing to work collaboratively with Justice Canada on this project. The feasibility study will be complete in spring 2017.

House of Assembly

The Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Honourable Tom Osborne, released today the parliamentary calendars for 2017 and 2018, in accordance with the revised Standing Orders approved by the House of Assembly in November 2016.

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development

Support was announced today for nine projects to improve community infrastructure and enhance tourism on the Northern Peninsula. During an event today, Gudie Hutchings, Member of Parliament for Long Range Mountains, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), announced a total of more than $1.2 million for these projects. The Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, provincial Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development, also announced a total investment of more than $617,000 in provincial funding for the following six projects:

Executive Council
Environment and Climate Change

Newfoundland and Labrador’s UNESCO sites, L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, and Red Bay Basque Whaling Station, have been recognized by Canada Post through the release of their Canadian Identity series of commemorative stamps. Since 2014, Canada’s UNESCO World Heritage sites have been featured on commemorative stamps. Through the series, Canadians are invited to discover the country’s early historic settlements and to envision the origins of complex organisms on this planet through the new stamps.

Executive Council
Education and Early Childhood Development

The Premier's Task Force on Educational Outcomes is moving forward with the formal engagement process. An interactive website was launched today informing the public of the task force's mandate and providing information on how to participate during upcoming public consultations.

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development

Several communities on the southern coast of Labrador will enhance community and tourism infrastructure, thanks in part to investments by the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Yvonne Jones, Member of Parliament for Labrador, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), announced $305,835 in federal funding to support five projects, and Lisa Dempster, MHA for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair on behalf of the Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development, announced provincial funding of $89,320 for one of these projects.

Service NL

A busing company, an Official Inspection Station and an Authorized Inspection Mechanic on the west coast of the island have been charged with a total of six violations of the Official Inspection Station Regulations under the Highway Traffic Act after an investigation was conducted by the Highway Enforcement Branch of Service NL.

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development

The Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development, will join Gudie Hutchings, Member of Parliament for Long Range Mountains, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, in St. Anthony, Monday, January 16, for funding announcements related to community infrastructure and tourism initiatives.

Health and Community Services

The Honourable John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services, will announce capital equipment funding for the Regional Health Authorities on Monday, January 16.

Executive Council

The Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, today announced this year's appointments to Queen's Counsel by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Executive Council
Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development

Today, the Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, officially launched the province’s 2017 Winter Resident Tourism Campaign with the release of three television ads featuring skiing, snowmobiling and winter fun activities.

Executive Council

The Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, will launch the Winter Resident provincial tourism campaign for 2017 tomorrow (Friday, January 13). The event will take place at 11:30 a.m. at Knotty Pine Lounge, 2nd Floor, Marble Mountain Ski Resort, Steady Brook.

Municipal Affairs

Please be advised that a section of a branch line off of the T’Railway Provincial Park has been closed until further notice due to a washout of a bridge. The bridge is located between Buchans and Buchans Junction, approximately 15.5 kilometres west of Buchans Junction.