March 3, 2026 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol. LI No. 2
Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. The edited Hansard will be posted when it becomes available.
The entire audio/visual record of the House proceedings is available online within one hour of the House rising for the day. This can be accessed at: https://www.assembly.nl.ca/HouseBusiness/Webcast/archive.aspx
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.
While we’re very happy to hear the Bay du Nord Project – that we fought so hard to get approved in Ottawa – is approaching a new milestone, but we do have questions about the deal that I think is going to be announced today.
During the election, the Conservatives promised that they would not sign a deal on Bay du Nord unless all topside work was completed here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Does the Premier stand by his promise?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, yesterday marked 125 days since we’ve been sworn in as the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. A commitment that we take with great pride and honour from the people and are humbled by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, who elected us to represent them as government.
During that campaign and ever since, I’ve talked about the need to make sure that all of our resources in Newfoundland are developed by our workers and that we turn around, in fact, and will make sure that we not only have our workers working, but also develop new industries for Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.
A hundred and twenty-five days and we’re still waiting for the Premier to say he’s going to fulfill one of the promises he made during the election campaign.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
J. HOGAN: I’ll ask him again: Is he going to stand by the promise he made for all topsides work to be built here in Newfoundland and Labrador, or is he not going to stand by a promise that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians voted for?
Tell the people, Speaker.
Thank you.
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Mr. Speaker, I have always stood for the workers of Newfoundland and Labrador, and I will always –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: I will always continue to stand for the workers of Newfoundland and Labrador, and I will always continue to work hard to make sure we bring new industry to the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador that will actually create new work and more work for the workers that are right here in our province.
This will be a province where people want to come to, not simply come from.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: I hate to break it to the Premier, this is not a new industry. This is an industry, the oil and gas industry, that so many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have counted on and relied on and worked hard for decades in this province. There’s nothing new about it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
J. HOGAN: What’s not new was the promise.
For the third time, will the Premier stand by the promise he made, or will the first 125 days look like the rest of his mandate, promises made, but promises that he will not even stand up to say that he will commit to, in his own words?
Thank you, Speaker.
SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What’s not new is that they’re still using their timesheet – they forget about everything over the last 10 years. There was no deal.
I can assure you that whatever deal and whenever it comes for Bay du Nord, it will be way better than what they had in 2018, and it will be way better than what they had in 2022.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: And I’ll remind the leader that Advance 2030 disappeared – when they sat here for 10 years touting 650 rigs, it all disappeared.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. PARROTT: They’ve done nothing for oil and gas.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: No problem, I’m not sure what a timesheet is, but in any event, we know that the Premier will not stand to the commitments that he made to the people in Newfoundland and Labrador.
However, the Minister of Energy is standing up and he’s angry already. One question in, Speaker. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because he knows what he said in the House is that we must push Equinor to bring the hull into the province and complete all other work, including topsides and subsea modules. That’s his words, Speaker. It’s not about the last 10 years; it’s about promises that they made.
So will the Premier stand by his minister and those promises that they made to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: I’ll tell you what I’m angry at. I’m angry at the last 10 years of ineptness. I’m angry that someone can stand on their feet after sitting in a party that voted raises in for themselves and sit here and question what we’re saying.
There will be a contract announced in the coming weeks. You will see what it is. Perhaps you should reserve your questions until then.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: The flaw in the minister’s statement is that I’m not asking about what’s in the agreement. I’m asking them to stand by the promises that they made. Easy to say stand up and say yes, a promise I made, I will keep as Premier of this province. It’s not about the contract; it’s about promises that were made during the course of the election that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians voted for.
So a simple question, not what’s in the contract, do you stand by your promises?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
L. PARROTT: We stand by the men and women who put us in these chairs. That’s who we stand by.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: When this contract gets released, you will see that they stand by us too.
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: I’ll try it a different way, Speaker. Since they don’t want to say yes, we stand by our promises, I think we know the answer is no, they don’t stand by those promises, Speaker.
We have heard through the media, and everyone in this province has read it, that the deal will include a dry dock.
I will ask the Premier: Is he going to try to sell the dry dock as a replacement for the promises for topside that he made?
Thank you, Speaker.
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: After 10 years of listening to all this leaked video footage and all this stuff, he should know better. None of this is coming from AI. We didn’t do any of our reporting from AI, so we’re good to go.
When we make an announcement, we will be clear where we stand.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: I’ve been wondering what they’ve done for the last 125 days and I’m still wondering. I can guarantee you it wasn’t practising how to answer questions in Question Period, Speaker.
The Premier has been teasing this deal for months, yet even in the last few days, Speaker, our world has dramatically changed, and energy markets have changed tremendously.
Does the deal that will be announced today reflect Newfoundland and Labrador’s increased strategic advantage and leverage and Equinor’s now more favourable position given what’s happened over the last few days?
Thank you, Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: We’ve certainly accomplished more in the last 125 days than they did in the last 3,650 days.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Any announcement that comes out, when it comes out, will have Newfoundlanders’ and Labradorians’ best interests at hand. We will be looking at ways to better health care, to lower taxes and make communities safer.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: If the metric is about announcing cancellations, I can guarantee they’ve done more of that –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
J. HOGAN: – (inaudible) than we did in 10 years, Speaker.
I’ll try this question again because earlier today, Canada’s federal energy minister stated that nations all around the world are calling him about energy opportunities in Canada, given how secure this country is and how secure and stable Newfoundland and Labrador is.
Has this new deal, given the rapidly changing events over the last 72 hours, taken into account our new position that the world now sees as a stable oil energy opportunity?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, what I can assure the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, that what they will find and what they will see is a deal that will put Newfoundlanders and Labradorians first.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: And when it comes to offshore oil and gas, make no mistake about it, in the country of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador is offshore oil and gas.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: We are just getting started on the redevelopment of our oil and gas industry. Something that was left abandoned by the former government.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: I said it yesterday; I’ll say it today: it certainly wasn’t abandoned when we received a standing ovation for getting Bay du Nord through the federal environmental procedures.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
J. HOGAN: I’ll ask the Minister of Energy, in the Throne Speech, it talks about the government introducing local benefits legislation because our resources must always be developed primarily for the benefit of our province and our people.
I ask the minister to please tell us what will be in that legislation.
Thank you.
SPEAKER: The hon. Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. Great question.
In 2019, we introduced a PMR for local benefits, and we actually got a standing ovation from these guys. They voted 100 per cent in favour of it, and here it is 2026 and not one thing has been done.
You can be rest assured that the local benefits agreement will be done quicker than seven years – absolutely quicker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: The minister either didn’t listen to my question or he didn’t read the Throne Speech.
I’m asking about the local benefits legislation that was promised in the Throne Speech, what will that entail?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: And the Member obviously has memory loss over the last seven years, because I’ll tell you what, I heard and read the Throne Speech and we will put people in Newfoundland and Labrador first.
Everything we do when it comes to local Newfoundland benefits will address business and individuals that work in industry. When that bill comes, we’re open to debate.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: I think he’s starting to understand my point, when the bill comes.
My question is: The bill is going to come after we have a deal on benefits with Equinor; so will the deal with Equinor have the requirements in it that your legislation will be, or are you getting this slipped in before your legislation –
SPEAKER: Address the Chair, please.
Thank you.
J. HOGAN: – comes to the floor.
Thank you, Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would think, given the Member’s background, that he would know how negotiations work.
So we are negotiating a benefits agreement and there are confidentiality things around that. When the benefits agreement gets announced, you’ll have all the right in the world to go through it. We have made – what we will bring forward – the best benefits agreement that this province has ever seen.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
F. HUTTON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Given the huge economic opportunity presented by Bay du Nord, similar to the Churchill Falls Memorandum of Understanding, and the need to get this deal right, will the Conservatives commit to debating this agreement in the House of Assembly before any deal is finalized?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Someone showed me on Facebook last week that the Member over there actually negotiated the deal, so I’m not sure why he’d want to have a debate. They’ve done it all, apparently.
We know what we’re negotiating right now. When an announcement comes, we’ll have the discussions we need to have.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.
F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, I’m delighted that the minister reminded the people of Newfoundland and Labrador that it was our party that got the environmental assessment –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
F. HUTTON: – across the finish line, despite the objections from Ottawa and a federal minister who did not want this to go through. Our party did manage to get it to the point where they can finalize the deal, and we want a deal for Newfoundland and Labrador –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
F. HUTTON: – but what we want to see is this party live up to the commitments they made.
They’re not giving the answer on whether or not there will be 70 per cent of the topside work done here, as they had committed to in their election campaign – the campaign that did get them elected – but will this deal on Bay du Nord be reviewed by a so-called independent panel, similar to the Churchill Falls MOU? Will this happen before the deal is signed, the final deal? Will there be a panel?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I love the amnesia. It’s just very, very funny.
Listen, when this deal gets presented, it will be the best benefits agreement that this province has ever seen.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. PARROTT: It will be an agreement that this government failed to put across the line in seven years, and we will –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. PARROTT: – deliver it to the people of the province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.
F. HUTTON: If the Conservatives won’t commit to a debate on the Bay du Nord agreement in the House here, or to have an independent review, I assume it’s safe to say that they’re not going to have a referendum.
So what’s the double standard when it comes to contracts and deals worth billions and billions of dollars for this government?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: – will absolutely present the best deal that the province has ever seen.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Speaker, in February 2023, the then-Conservative leadership candidate, now the Premier, said – and I quote – a full debate must happen before decisions are made that would lock the province into a deal that would sell the province short. This deal is apparently being signed tonight.
So why won’t the Premier commit to the debate that he himself demanded?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I’ll remind them of all the debates we had on Bay du Nord while they were in power. The other thing I’ll remind you is that the same Member that just stood hired his own buddy, ignored the LeBlanc report during the MOU, and they presented an MOU that was full of falsities, and now they’re going back and that’s what they want us to do?
We’re not going to make those same mistakes, Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.
I don’t need to be reminded that we sat here for four days in this House of Assembly, something that’s never been done in the history of this province, and debated a very important deal – a deal that we’re now seeing slip through the collective fingers of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
The leader – now Premier of this province – demanded a debate on Bay du Nord. Why won’t he have a debate now that he’s in charge?
Thank you, Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: Mr. Speaker, there wouldn’t have been a debate on MOU if we never requested it; that’s the bottom line. And then we came –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
L. PARROTT: – in here and we had requested to bring in people, special panelists, it was denied. It was set up by them to operate the way –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. PARROTT: – exactly the way they wanted it to operate.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters - Pleasantville.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
B. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr., Speaker.
I don’t think we’re going to get any answers from the other side with respect to whether there is going to be a debate on Bay du Nord or not but during this past election the Conservatives promised the topside construction. Now they’re trying to tell us and sell us something different.
I ask the Minister of Jobs to confirm that this agreement will have the same number of jobs and the same type of jobs as would have come with the topsides being developed here in this province, right here at home.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
L. PARROTT: Pretty eager today – first day.
Mr. Speaker, here’s what I’ll say. The Members opposite know the difference. There is no announcement made, so we’re not going talking about what’s going to be in it but I will say this, the announcement, when it does happen, will be the best announcement that we have made with regards to oil and gas. It will not be like the deals of Christmas past.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright - L'Anse au Clair.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, in the Throne Speech, yesterday, the Conservatives actually said they would focus on the bricks and mortar buildings in which health care is delivered.
So I ask the minister: Why doesn’t she think that residents and patients deserve a new modern provincial hospital?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Thank you, Speaker.
I remind the MHA who asked the question, we are the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Speaker, at the end of the day, when we look at the deficit that we are facing, we actually have to address access to health care and, in actual fact, a $12 billion building –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. EVANS: – is not addressing –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. EVANS: The $12 billion building is not addressing the needs. The problem we are facing right now is a crisis for long-term care beds and alternate level of care beds, Speaker, and at the end of the day, we have to look after our citizens and we have to be fiscally responsible.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: The minister’s time is expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Cartwright - L'Anse au Clair.
L. DEMPSTER: Thank you, Speaker.
St. Clare’s was built over 100 years ago.
Does the Minister of Health understand that the equipment, staff and patient needs have changed in the last century and that renovating St. Clare’s just won't cut it?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
L. EVANS: Speaker, I have to remind the Member over there that in actual fact, the proposed building that wasn’t going to meet the needs of long wait times in emergency and lack of bed space. Wasn’t going to meet the needs. $12 billion, Speaker. Wasn’t going to meet the needs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
L. EVANS: I will remind the Speaker that in actual fact if we had built this outrageous $12 billion hospital that didn’t meet the needs, Speaker, it wouldn’t have done anything. It wouldn’t have done anything in the next 6 years that it would have taken to build the new hospital. What were they going to do with patients today?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. EVANS: What were they going to do with patients tomorrow?
In actual fact, this Liberal government left the patients vulnerable.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. EVANS: This Liberal government left those patients basically with drafty windows. This Liberal government left the patients with hot buildings in the summertime.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
L. EVANS: Speaker, in actual fact, you did nothing to address –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: The minister’s time –
Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The minister’s time is expired.
The hon. the Member for Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair.
L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, the minister was talking about patient care, and the Minister of Health said, and I quote, in a recent interview that I listened to, “I don’t want anyone out there … trying to put this on me.”
So my question, Speaker, in the House today, is: Why won’t the minister take responsibility for her own portfolio?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
L. EVANS: Speaker, if actually I can answer the question. The mess that we were left with, basically the fancy, fancy, fancy, fancy, fancy proposals that –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. EVANS: – wouldn’t address health care.
Speaker, we have an obligation to our seniors to make sure that they’re looked after. We have a responsibility to make sure our vulnerable people are responsible, but in actual fact, Speaker, when I was in opposition, I complained about the empty press releases. We’re dealing with family care teams that weren’t properly staffed, the costs that are tied into 10-year contracts, 10-year leases, Speaker. That’s not going to meet the needs because they’re not properly staffed.
Speaker, that’s a shame because family care teams are the cornerstone that the Health Accord is built on, and you basically failed us.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The minister’s time is expired.
The hon. Member for Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
L. DEMPSTER: So, Speaker, the minister didn’t really answer the question, but I want to say, if wants to ask the people in the new mental health hospital built by the Liberal administration how they feel about being in a new modern hospital.
I didn’t get an answer, so I will ask it this way, Speaker: If the Minister of Health isn’t responsible for her own department, who is? Is it Dr. Des Whalen? Tell the people of Newfoundland and Labrador who is really in charge here.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
L. EVANS: Yeah, let’s settle down now. Let’s settle down.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
L. EVANS: Get control of the House, Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
I cannot hear the questions, I cannot hear the answers. I’m asking for your co-operation.
The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
L. EVANS: In actual fact, Speaker, I just wanted to address the preamble about the new mental health hospital facility that was built. It was understaffed. It doesn’t meet the needs, the mental health needs of the patients here. But in actual fact, Speaker, if we’re going to be building hospitals, it has to meet the needs. Also, we have to be fiscally responsible to the people of the province, Speaker.
Also, we have to be respectful for our seniors. Right now we’ve got them taking up acute care beds and they’re not getting the proper treatment, Speaker, because they have to have what is called an alternate level of care. They have to actually have the need, Speaker. So we have to be responsible and we are actually going to take action. No more big, flashy announcements, no more –
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Waterford Valley.
J. KORAB: Thank you, Speaker.
The Progressive Conservatives have already cancelled a new hospital. They said there has been no work done. If there was no work done, how did the minister know what the project was going to cost?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
L. EVANS: Speaker, for me, I am trying to address the patient needs of the province. In actual fact, when we looked at what was proposed with no real way to finance it, no planning, nothing in the budget, Speaker, in actual fact, it was just one of these big, empty promises again that didn’t meet the needs.
But you want to know something? It was sexy. It was sexy, it was glamorous, and that’s what this Liberal government has been talking about. In actual fact, we need to address our seniors, we need to address our patients, Speaker. I am forced now to address this. Speaker, we’ve seen a lot of announcements where it was really photo ops. I met with stakeholders that the first thing out of their mouths was can we have a photo? In actual fact, health care can’t be photo op.
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The minister’s time has expired.
The hon. the Member for Waterford Valley.
J. KORAB: Speaker, I wasn’t asking how attractive the new building could be.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
J. KORAB: The Minister of Health claimed the new provincial hospital would cost $12 billion. She said it five minutes ago. Later in an interview she did with CBC, she said it would cost $12 billion to $14 billion. The Minister of Transportation said it would cost $10 billion when they made the cancellation announcement and then $14 billion a few years later.
I’d like to know where these numbers are coming from, not how sexy the building is. Are you just making up numbers in your misguided decision? Is he just confusing this with the misguided Muskrat Falls?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure and Public Procurement Agency.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.
The Member opposite and this government opposite, I mean, they’ve been out speaking –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
B. PETTEN: The Opposition. The wannabes.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
B. PETTEN: They were in government, but the people woke up and voted for the right people.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
B. PETTEN: The former ministers in the department I’m representing now are questioning their own officials.
I came into that department on October 29, and I seen a figure of $14-plus-plus-billion. We were trying moderate it to, say, $10 billion.
No one really knows the figure, but I will guarantee you right now, it was out of our price range with a provincial budget with less than $11 billion. How in the name of God could anyone think you can go and build a hospital on the Kenmount Crossing, the tower of power, for $14 billion – roughly $14 billion, maybe more.
In GTA, in Toronto, Ontario, same hospital of a similar size was $14.8 billion; that was two years ago.
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.
Speaker, we have a billion-dollar deficit – by government’s own admission, the fiscal situation of the province is much worse than they had imagined –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
J. DINN: – usually, this means raising taxes or cutting services.
Now, government’s slogan: better, healthier, lower taxes, safer communities, suggests they plan to do neither, but I don’t buy it.
I’m asking the Premier: Will he commit to not cutting public service employees and services in the upcoming budget?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Thank you, Speaker.
I will tell the hon. the Leader of the Third Party that, as a former public servant, I value the work of our public servants –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: – and the work that they do every single day.
I have met with NAPE and I have met with CUPE, two of major unions, and I have not talked about anything like that, and we will not be talking about job cuts, Mr. Speaker.
What we will be talking about is making sure that the people that work in our public service get the appropriate compensation they deserve, and that we turn around and look at how they’re doing their jobs and what they’re doing. We will work with NAPE and CUPE to make sure that our workforce gets its job done.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
S. O’LEARY: Speaker, the Speech from the Throne rightly acknowledges the toll natural disasters and extreme weather have taken on people across our province. From wildfires to record snowfall to destructive winds, these impacts are real, immediate and deeply felt. Yet, the speech was silent on meaningful climate action to confront the root cause: climate change.
The NDP wrote to the minister in November on this important topic and received no response.
So I ask the minister: When will this government deliver a real climate action plan?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. TIBBS: Thank you very much for the question.
Mr. Speaker, we are working with communities across this province and I’ve had many, many conversations with our federal counterparts and our federal minister in Ontario about a climate action plan that works right here for Newfoundland and Labrador. But make no mistake, whether it’s on the South Coast or throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, this climate action plan will be adaptable for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
We’re going to be sure of that, but it doesn’t happen without the communities of Newfoundland and Labrador so we can tackle climate change in the future, and our federal counterparts, and we’re going to continue those conversations and we look forward to those conversations moving forward, but again, it doesn’t happen without the communities here in Newfoundland and Labrador and we’re going to come up with a climate action plan and this House will know it when we get to it.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.
S. O’LEARY: Speaker, also absent from yesterday’s Throne Speech was a commitment to affordable child care. While we support increasing the Child Benefit, families know that without real investment in expanding affordable child care, parents will remain shut out of the workforce, or forced to stretch their budgets beyond the breaking point just to return to work.
So I ask the minister: Will this provincial government commit to investing and expanding the $10-a-day child care program in our province?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
P. DINN: Thank you, Speaker, and I thank the Member for the question.
Our greatest resource is our children. Those in child care, those in K-12. That’s our greatest resource, that’s what we have to look at. Child care and affordable child care and accessible child care is important to working families out there, especially mothers. Mothers are the ones who stay home, most times, and leave their careers.
I’ve had a meeting with federal, provincial and territorial counterparts in Ottawa in January, to have a fulsome discussion on the sustainability of the Early Child Care program. I’ve had discussions with ECEs and that here in the province. We’re working on a plan to ensure an affordable child care –
SPEAKER: The hon. the minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
Quick question without preamble.
J. DINN: Speaker, over the past several weeks media reported on several outstanding safety infrastructure issues affecting our schools, the health and safety of our school communities. The lack of a functional surveillance system at Mealy Mountain, the lack of a functioning P.A. system at New World Island and the lack of hot water at l’École Rocher-du-Nord.
I ask the minister: Has your department completed an audit of our schools to identify deficiencies that could affect the health and safety of our staff and students and if not, why not?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.
B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.
The Member opposite, our staff are constantly keeping and monitoring all our schools. It’s a big operation through the province. We keep an active list of deficiencies. It’s a constant battle of keeping ahead of the stuff but our staff are full on and we’re aware of all these issues and we work to try to fix them in a timely manner. Sometimes that may not happen, immediately that day but when we become aware, these issues happen – wouldn’t spur of the moment. We’re on top and we get it done as soon as possible.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The time for Question Period has now expired.
Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. The edited Hansard will be posted when it becomes available.