May 5, 2026 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol. LI No. 24
Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Tuesday, May 5, 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
Oral Questions
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.
During the election campaign, the Conservatives promised to secure all of the topside work for Bay du Nord. Now that they’ve finally shown us the agreement, it shows what we suspected all along.
What the agreement says is: “Due to project execution risk, the Proponents are unable to commit to Fabricating Topsides Components in the Province.”
So I ask the Premier: Why do the Conservatives agree with Equinor that Newfoundland and Labrador workers create project execution risk?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, I’m glad to be able to stand in the House of Assembly and talk about a Bay du Nord project, which was on the books, I think, way back in 2018, which the Liberals failed to get across the line.
Well, let me tell you, we’ve got that benefits agreement right now, and do you know what’s important about that benefits agreement, Speaker? It’s something that the Trades NL workers are proud of and support this project. It’s something that the federal government – the federal, Liberal government supports this project.
The only ones who don’t support the project are the former government over here, the Liberals of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Speaker, it would be a better deal if the Conservatives could live up to the promises that they made, because the agreement states, in lieu of fabricating topside components in the province, the proponents shall provide the province with funding to the aggregated amount of $200 million over five years. To be clear, in lieu means instead of. So the jobs, opportunities, tax revenue and GDP growth is worth more to the Conservatives than $200 million.
Is $200 million what the Premier thinks workers in our province is worth?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.
I’ll reflect on what the Premier just said, in 2018, when this came about, these guys gave the whole project away, not part. They gave the whole project away. They gave away the swing gates in Argentia as they built the West White Rose extension; 100 per cent of the topsides for the West White Rose extension was built down in Corpus Christi and that’s okay, that’s all good for them. This Premier brought home a deal that sees a subsea agreement. It sees for the first time, in this province, life of benefits for the whole execution and operation of the project. It has apprenticeship numbers. It has significant fabrication. It brings new industry in subsea –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: – that will not just go on to the first two wells that are drilled, but every piece of work that happens off our –
SPEAKER: The hon. minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Speaker, I just said how long we want this project to proceed and we’re happy to see the benefits that are in the agreement. What we’re surprised to see is that the agreement says these are the benefits you are not getting.
Equinor has actually said that the $200 million was and I quote, compensation for not being able to build the topsides in Newfoundland and Labrador. We know $200 million won’t come close to covering the construction costs of a dock.
So why did the Premier sell out the benefits of work being done in our province for a project that might never happen?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: The Leader of the Official Opposition says sell-out, I say he delivered. He delivered on his promises. We now have a subsea industry in this province for the life of –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. PARROTT: – this, the whole life of this project. It is massive.
These guys, we’re going to do –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. PARROTT: Here it goes. Here it goes.
Five thousand metric tons of fabrication, we’re going to do 15,400 not including the 9,000 that will come from the drydock, 24,400, five times the amount that they had agreed to and they think that we sold out. They sold out, Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: I would be shocked if the minister actually thinks not getting any topside work is a good deal for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, because I’ve heard him on this side of the House advocate for that.
Not only does the Premier think our workers are only worth $200 million; he’s not requiring Equinor to pay this until six years after the project is sanctioned. To make it worse, let’s assume oil is $100 barrel and Bay du Nord projections at a billion barrels, Equinor stands to make over $100 billion and we get $200 million.
Given the failure to get topside work, why didn’t the government get more for us than 0.2 per cent and Equinor is making 500 times what we’re making on our resource.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: I’m not sure what document they’re reading, but I don’t think that that’s exactly how it goes.
Speaker, this project is based on 430 million barrels, not a billion. Is there a possibility of a billion? I hope there are five billion out there because every single barrel that comes to shore is for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: They walked away from the subsea work. They were going to give it away, and they were going to do it for $150 million for fabrication. He may stand and say that’s not true, but just a few weeks ago he stood in here and said this was the same agreement that he negotiated. Then we heard that he hadn’t even talked to Equinor. So I would suggest that he gets up and sets the record straight on that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: I would say if the minister hopes, and he gets five billion barrels of oil, guess what? We still only get $200 million. So the deal gets worse and worse for Newfoundland and Labrador the better it gets for Equinor.
After months of secrecy, we know why the government decided to release the documents now and not two months ago; they were busy redacting it. Pages and pages completely blacked out, Speaker, including sections on equity options and costs. There are other sections we can’t even see what the sections are about because they redacted the title.
Why is the Premier going back on his promise of transparency and hiding not only key elements, but all elements of this deal?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.
I would suggest that you look at the report I’m holding in my hand right now, everyone here, I hope you can see it because that’s the reports that they’ve released in the last 10 years. Absolutely nothing. Forget about employment and contracts to do it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. PARROTT: Forget about all of the contracts that we have in place for construction. They didn’t release the Rothchild report, they didn’t release anything on Snows Lane. They didn’t release anything about their secret vote in Cabinet to give themselves bonuses. Now they’re complaining about a report – a contract that we’ve put out that takes the legal and the financial liability away. We can’t compromise the people that we’re in a contract with. They know that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Speaker, I’m glad this is the second time the minister said he supports releasing cabinet documents to the public. So I look forward to when we want one and the Premier will release it on the minister’s advice to disclose cabinet information to the public.
The Atlantic Chamber of Commerce released a statement that says – and I quote – “On the matter of the Churchill Falls agreement, prolonged uncertainty carries its own cost. Delays in decision-making can undermine investor confidence, slow the development of critical infrastructure.” Yesterday, the Premier held a press conference to say I’m going to hold another press conference in three weeks. Talk about delay.
Why is the Premier undermining investor confidence in Newfoundland and Labrador?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, I have done exactly what I said I was going to do. We were presented with an MOU. What we wanted to make sure was this is the best deal for Newfoundland and Labrador. We sent that to an independent review committee to review and do the work. They’ve done the work. It’s now going through a technical review and a legal review, and I said I would release it publicly. It will be released publicly, and it will be presented in the House of Assembly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: I’ve never heard anyone in Newfoundland and Labrador say anything other than they want the best deal for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, however, I’ve never –
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible.)
SPEAKER: Order, please!
J. HOGAN: – heard a leader not commit on what he thinks a good deal is.
So if the Premier really believes in advancing this deal, can he finally tell us, does he believe in the MOU or not? A simple question for you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, I believe in the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: That’s who I believe in, and I believe in making sure that if we’re going to sign something up for 50 or 60 years, we need to take that time to review it. We’ve done that. We have the review. It will be made public on the date we said, and it will be tabled in the House of Assembly for all to review.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: It’s been a year and a half, Premier, and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador don’t know how you feel about the deal. They didn’t vote for people to do panels. They voted for the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and you are not doing what they asked you to do.
The Atlantic Chamber of Commerce also says Churchill Falls has the potential to unlock substantial investment, create thousands of jobs and strengthen energy security.
Why did the Premier appoint a biased panel to undermine Newfoundland and Labrador’s opportunity rather than stand up and be a leader and tell the province how he feels about the MOU?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is missing the point. With all due respect, it isn’t about him; it isn’t about me; it isn’t about just the people in the House of Assembly. It’s about all the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: So let’s make sure that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador understand exactly what’s in the MOU. We said we’d send it for a review. We sent it for a review. That review will be presented on May 19.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.
The Premier is the leader of this province, so it is about him. He has to lead and tell Newfoundlanders and Labradorians where this province is going. He has delegated that authority to three individuals that were hand-picked by him. The secrecy was behind how they were picked. Who picked them? How did they get their résumés? What other people asked to do this?
So I ask the Premier, please, tell Newfoundlanders and Labradorians when this is going to happen. Not one file has moved in terms of the MOU since you have been elected. Nothing is happening.
Premier, do you believe in this MOU or not?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: In the last 180 days, there are a lot of files that have moved forward in this province. In the previous 173 days, not one thing moved forward while he was the Premier. Not one thing. There’s been zero credibility. There’s been zero transparency other than the fact that we can see right through them. As a matter of fact, I would have called it the Shaggy government: It wasn’t me.
Listen, at the end of the day, this is a good agreement for the province. We are going to take this MOU, have it reviewed by the proper people. The only change in this panel is the one individual who had a preconceived opinion of it, that he appointed, that he used to work for, is no longer on the panel. If this government didn’t handcuff those people, it would have went through the way it was.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.
F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, here is our agreement, the MOU, and here’s their agreement. Can you see the difference? You can actually read the MOU – $225 billion that they’re getting ready to squander on the advice of who knows.
Former Trades NL executive director, Darin King, said in 2023 that he doesn’t see why most of the work including topsides, when he was referring to Bay du Nord, shouldn’t happen here. He said everything can and should be built here. Now he’s an advisor to the current Premier.
So can the Premier answer why he didn’t take his own advisor’s advice?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.
We’re certainly not going to take the advice of the former premier’s previous advisor or employer.
Speaker, Bob Fiander, the current senior executive on Trades NL: This is a pivotal moment for Newfoundland and Labrador, a generational form from a work perspective. I think, over time, the work on the drydock, through maintenance, is going to dwarf the topsides construction. We have an opportunity now with this drydock to construct it in its entirety at Bull Arm by unionized tradespeople and when that construction is competed and goes into operation, we have so many opportunities in the defence sector and other areas.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.
F. HUTTON: Speaker, it’s funny that during the campaign they said they wouldn’t sign a deal with Equinor and BP unless there was 70 per cent of topside work done here. None of it is done here. By the way, the head of Trades NL, told us in a recent meeting, he really wants the MOU to go through because that would mean a lot of jobs and money as well.
Now, also back in 2023, Darin King said that the topsides are similar to that of Terra Nova and SeaRose, the FPSOs which were constructed here.
Why does the minister think today’s Newfoundland and Labrador workers can't do the same work they did for those projects?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Speaker, in 2026, we secured 31.3 million person hours. Their previous agreement was 22 million. We secured 23 million person hours, 12 for them.
Listen, first oil: you guys never had that. Apprenticeship targets: we got that. Fabrication: 24,000 tones.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. PARROTT: You guys got five.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. PARROTT: Millions of barrels of oil: 430; 300. Expenditures: 27 billion, you guys got 11.
So if you want to go back in your time machine and talk about what we got and what you didn’t then, perhaps you should read the document.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.
F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, when they throw away the MOU and the potential of $225 billion, there’s going to be a lot of people wishing there was a time machine and we can go back and (inaudible).
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
F. HUTTON: By the way, the minister opposite is failing to mention that the scope of the project changed from 2018 to 2023 when the project was shelved by the proponents.
Mr. Speaker, the Premier claims he was waiting for the late bias report to continue negotiating with Hydro-Quebec on the MOU.
Can he confirm whether or not anyone else has been externally retained other than the panel members to review, negotiate, advise or plan in relation to Churchill Falls next steps?
We’re not talking about Premier Danny Williams who claims, as he’s pulling all the strings, that the deal is actually dead, that it was his greatest accomplishment.
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: The first thing I’d like to do, Speaker, is to ask the hon. Member across the way, perhaps he should stand up and tell what the Liberal government said to Mr. King when Trades NL went to their office and asked for all these things.
I can tell you what they said. They said not a chance. The same thing when they eliminated the $100 million swing gates going to Argentia and create industry for a lifetime in this province, guess what they said? Nah, we’ll take the money. We don’t need the gates.
The same thing they said when they were lobbied about topsides for the West White Rose extension being done here in the province. What did they say? Nah, we’re going to send that to Corpus Christi.
Same thing they said about the new hospital: We don’t need to put that out to tender, we’re going to give that to our buddy at Marco. The same thing they said about the penitentiary, we’re going to give that to our buddy at Marco.
Give us a donation, we’ll look after you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.
F. HUTTON: Premier, we’re hearing reports that you have appointed a former Danny Willams’s era Cabinet minister – no big surprise there – to advise and negotiate on the Churchill Falls MOU.
Can you confirm?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Yes.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.
F. HUTTON: Speaker, can the Premier confirm who it is and why it wasn’t made public when that hire was made?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: We’ve been doing the business of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. We continue to do the business of Newfoundland and Labrador. We intend to –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: We will get the best deal. We will make sure we’ll get the best deal for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: We will get the best deal. We will make sure we get the best deal –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: – for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island, and I want order.
F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, I was at yesterday’s news conference that the Premier held saying that it will be another three weeks before he holds a news conference. While I was there, it’s funny because the guy who was supposed to be hired and paid by MCP, Dr. Des Whalen, was standing in the lobby of the Confederation Building for about a half an hour, watching what the Premier was doing talking about the MOU. Now there’s somebody else.
Why wasn’t the other former Danny Williams’s Cabinet minister – why wasn’t this made public? How much is he being paid and what is the role that he’s playing?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Speaker, I find it laughable that they’re talking about transparency. At the end of the day, like I said and I’ve said a million times, they are the most transparent government the province has ever seen. The people see right through them. That’s why they’re over there and we’re over here.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: He can wave the contract in the air that has redactions in it. They didn’t produce one agreement – not one. He’s going to stand up and say: Oh, we gave you the MOU. Guess what? The MOU was signed before it came in here for debate. They wouldn’t allow us to bring any witnesses in. It was all under their guise. So it was not transparent. It was transparent because we could see through it and so could the province. That’s why we’re here and they’re over there.
Now, Speaker, at the end of the day, this is laughable. It’s absolutely unbelievable.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair.
L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, I just spent four days travelling around the province –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. DEMPSTER: – and all I heard consistently was how disappointed people are and the mistake that they made, redacted under the cloak of darkness, the decisions have been made, no transparency there.
Speaker, we’ve heard from families of seniors living with dementia who are still in community and can only get seven hours of home care a week and the list they’re on for long-term care is a year long.
What is the minister doing to keep our seniors safe while they’re awaiting long-term care?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: Speaker, the hon. Member will know that we’ve got a lot of construction that’s planned and ongoing, and will start this year in relation to personal care homes and long-term care homes because we know that we inherited under capacity for those seniors and those people with dementia to be accommodated in their rightful place and the best place of service.
It takes a little bit of time for us to get the structures ongoing. We’ll have the programming, we just need to get the structures going that can accommodate the needs that are out there, again, because we were left with an undercapacity in the province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair.
L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, a patient in this province has been suffering from lockjaw for months. She has lost more than 100 pounds; she is dying in her home and no solutions are in place. She needs to leave the province for surgery, yet out-of-province help is being blocked because it is being classified as dental.
So I ask the Premier: Will you intervene today to ensure this patient gets the help she needs before the outcome is detrimental?
It’s a policy change, that’s all it takes and that is where we will see better health care for all of us. We need action and no longer words and slogans.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Speaker, if somebody is in pain and suffering, and if it’s a simple policy, we will look into it. We’ve been reviewing a lot of things that we’ve inherited.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
L. EVANS: And I would just say, the policy she’s talking about change. Well, we’ve inherited that policy, if it exists, if this is a specific case like she’s talking about.
But, Speaker, as Minister of Health –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. EVANS: Speaker, as Minister of Health, I have to enact change for everyone, not an individual.
So if an individual is suffering and it’s undue harm, we will address it; not just for that individual, we will address it for the people in the province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair.
L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, that is really, really concerning. A woman is home dying. She’s exhausted all options. We’ve reached out to the department multiple times. We’ve reached out to NLHS. We’ve spoken directly to the Health Minister, and to say that that woman can’t get help until all of health care can be fixed for the half a million people, that’s pretty discouraging today.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. DEMPSTER: They can’t continue to talk about what they inherited. They’re in the driver’s seat now. They’re at the wheel. How long have people got to wait for change?
Premier, the Minister of Health was clear last week when she acknowledged that health related transportation issues in Labrador are a mess and she is unable to get the support from her Premier to fix them.
Why is the Premier ignoring the advice from his Minister of Health on these important issues relating to Labrador?
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. Member’s time has expired.
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Speaker, I am sick and tired of being taken out of context.
I actually said at the beginning of the interview that we will actually fix these problems because I have first-hand knowledge. I have things in the works to actually address 10 years of Liberal government that didn’t fix it.
In actual fact, if you want to talk about truth, why did this Liberal government that’s sitting in opposition now actually cut medevac service, not only from my district, but for the District of Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair? Before that Medavie contract was signed, they actually said it was too expensive, so they went back and cut the medevac service for Southern Labrador and for Northern Labrador. And –
SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair.
Order, please!
L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, given that the minister was clear on budget day that there was a disagreement in relation to medical flights to and from Labrador, are there any other health-related issues that the Premier does not see eye-to-eye with his minister on?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Speaker, the story that CBC carried, I think was inflammatory in actual fact. I’ll say that. I’ll live and die on that hill, Speaker. I’ll also live and die on the hill where I will not let medevac services be eroded for Southern Labrador or for Northern Labrador. I have to go back, now, and try to fix that, Speaker. In actual fact, my biggest supporter is sitting there, it’s the Premier of the province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair.
L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, can the Premier clarify: Is he in agreement with his minister that Labradorians do need to go to court to ask a judge to provide health care?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Speaker, sadly, I have lived experience about people dying from failure to access health care. Before I became a Member of the House of Assembly and as an MHA, I actually had relatives die who I know would be alive today if they could access health care.
Speaker, back in the day, that was something that we had to live with.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
L. EVANS: Now, we don’t because we actually have –
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. EVANS: – good representation on this side, Speaker. I am actually going to address the issues, and it’s not going to be taken out of context by media anymore because –
SPEAKER: The hon. minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.
The Premier announced May 19 as the public release date of the report of the review committee on the Churchill Falls MOU. When the Premier was Leader of the Official Opposition, he and I publicly demanded and achieved a special debate in the House of Assembly where all Members could question NL Hydro and other experts involved in negotiations.
I ask the Premier, will he commit to doing the same with this review?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, one of the things, the challenges we had when the MOU was brought to the House, it was already signed, and we asked for independent people to be brought into the House of Assembly so we could question them other than the ones who negotiated the MOU. We were denied, Speaker.
At the end of the day, they started a review which we now know has handcuffed the members of the review committee – had handcuffs placed on them.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Didn’t have the terms of reference. We turned around, put a new independent review in place. They’ve done the report. It will be released on May 19 and presented to the House of Assembly (inaudible).
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.
I was asking about a special debate. Speaker, oil companies are reaping billion-dollar blockbuster profits, in many cases doubling first-quarter profits as a result of the war in Iran and driving up prices of groceries and gas and causing the cost of living to soar.
So I ask the Premier: What other actions will he take to protect the people of Newfoundland and Labrador from the cost-of-living shock caused by the windfall profiteering of oil companies?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: I say to the hon. Member, many occasions we’ve said in this House, that we put out $226 million of affordability measures out in this past, recent budget. That is going out to support people. We’ve also stated that we realize that we are in an affordability crisis, mainly driven by the price of oil at the pumps. We’ve also stated that we’re going to keep an eye on that. We’re going to plan to make sure that we can provide more for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador in due course because we’re fully aware of what the affordability issues would be, Speaker, in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In addition to the $226 million, we have other measures in addition to that that we put in place that will lead to the affordability.
SPEAKER: The hon. minister’s time is expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi.
S. O’LEARY: Speaker, on Red Dress Day, we acknowledge the ongoing genocide of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people and stand in solidarity with families, communities and loved ones impacted by violence.
For far too long this crisis has been neglected and it requires immediate substantive action.
Will the minister bring in legislation to adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Women and Gender Equality.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Speaker, I’m glad that the Member of the Third Party acknowledges the harm done to Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people. At the end of the day, there was a national inquiry. There are calls for truth, calls for justice. We are working on the Calls for Justice.
I have a personal knowledge of the hardships that are caused, not only the harm done to the missing and murdered, Speaker, but to the families. A lot of times families don’t have answers but, for me, is why did a lot of people actually move from their communities to make them more vulnerable, Speaker? It’s because they didn’t have warm, safe houses, affordable food, Speaker.
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi.
S. O’LEARY: Thank you, Speaker.
We have a shameful history of Indigenous discrimination rooted in colonialism and with the evolving world of social media, this discrimination is only becoming more harmful and more targeted. This behaviour is unacceptable and unfair to our First Peoples.
I ask the minister: Will your government commit to working with equity-seeking groups to develop a provincial plan to combat hate, including the creation of a dedicated hate crimes investigation unit?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Women and Gender Equity.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Speaker, as a child of a family of residential school survivors, in actual fact, who has a history of Indigenous family members being harmed by colonialism, Speaker, I understand the harms. But at the end of the day, we have to do more – we have to do more.
But, Speaker, at the end of the day, for me, is we have to address the inequity. If we’re going to start real, true reconciliation, we have to address the inequity: affordable housing, being able to heat your house, being able to feed your family, Speaker, basically have access to education.
These are the harms that’s been done onto Indigenous people, Speaker, which makes them vulnerable.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The time for Question Period has expired.
Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. The edited Hansard will be posted when it becomes available.