Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Thursday, March 19, 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.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. HOGAN: Last night, Speaker, every single Conservative MHA voted to support the use of MCP funds for political purposes. If they don’t draw the line here and now, when will the line be drawn? The MCP budget is almost $600 million.

How many more staff will the Premier have to hire for himself and his Office on the MCP budget before his Conservative caucus says, enough is enough.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, let me take this opportunity to talk about things that matter to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador – better access to health care, lowering their cost of living and safer communities. Let’s talk about one of those measures that we’ve already announced and that is the idea of nobody will have to pay to see a nurse practitioner anymore.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Not only does that improve access to health care for them but it also lowers their cost because they will no longer have to pay out of pocket.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I look forward to the implementation of the Liberal pilot plan to pay nurse practitioners.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. HOGAN: Speaker, yesterday, when we revealed that a staffer in the Premier’s Office calendar showed that he has nothing to do with meetings that have to do with health care, the Premier first said that any subject under the sun can be related to health care so that’s why he’s in the meetings. Then he went to the media and said that Mr. Whalen or Dr. Whalen never went to those so it’s more, again, don’t believe the facts, just believe the Premier because he says so.

So I only have one question on this now: Can the Premier stop the cover-up, pick a story and stick to it?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Thank you, Speaker.

Let me be clear that nobody in the province will have to pay to see a nurse practitioner and it will not simply be a pilot project. That’s the first thing.

The second thing, let’s continue to talk about the things that matter to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador when it comes to accessing health care. Let’s talk about medical transportation which the Minister of Health talked about yesterday. I’ve heard from many people in my district over the years and I’m sure many other Members that live in rural Newfoundland and Labrador have heard about the cost of travel to make medical appointments and, Speaker, in some cases, people have not met those appointments because they couldn’t afford it. We’re going to make sure they don’t have to worry about that anymore.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, it’s been three weeks and pretty soon this Premier’s legacy is going to be having not answered one question in the House of Assembly.

On Tuesday, outside of the House, the Premier tried to blame me and the Liberal government for failing to sign on to a new national electricity grid agreement with other provinces. He claimed there was an agreement last July and that we didn’t sign it but that is categorically false. In fact, real negotiation didn’t start until after the election and the agreement in question was only signed this month, all on this Premier’s watch.

So why is the Premier and Newfoundland and Labrador left out and why did he spread misinformation?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, let me assure the people of Newfoundland and Labrador that they are not being left out. That those on this side of the House, not the Liberal Opposition, we’re standing up for Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: We’re going to stand up and make sure we get the best deal possible for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador when it comes to our resources and our energy –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: And another fact, Speaker, we are continuing –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: I said, Order.

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER WAKEHAM: And another matter, Speaker, we are continuing to meet with federal representatives and next week we’ll have a meeting with the Energy Minister to talk about such proposals.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: Here I asked why we’re left out and it’s very clear to me why we’re left out, because the Premier has been left out of the negotiations. This deal is not with the federal government; it is with the other provinces.

So I ask the Premier: Have they not called you to invite you to agreements or are you just not participating?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, let me assure the people of Newfoundland and Labrador that this side, this party, this PC Party will deliver on its commitments and one of those commitments is to make sure that when we develop resources of Newfoundland and Labrador, we put people first and they will be the benefit of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. We will continue to meet with anybody and everybody who’s interested in helping us develop our resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: That rings a little bit hallow. He’s prepared to meet with anybody and everybody except for the eight provinces that signed the agreement.

In May of 2025, the Premier said to pause the MOU negotiations in place of – wait for it – a national energy strategy. This week, of course, the Minister of Energy said he wouldn’t sign on to that national energy strategy because of, wait for it, negotiations on the MOU.

Once again to no one’s surprise the Premier is completely all over the place depending on if he spoke before the election in Opposition or after the election while he’s in government.

Will the Premier explain why he changed his mind on this issue?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, let me assure you, we’re not changing our mind on anything. We said right from the beginning, that we are going to protect the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, we are going to work for the people in Newfoundland and Labrador and we will sign no deals unless the people of Newfoundland and Labrador are the principle beneficiaries of our natural resources. That’s what we will continue to do, Speaker.

At the same time, we’re going to now start focusing on the social determinants of health. One of those is housing, Speaker.

Let’s see, yesterday we got a report from the Auditor General’s report and let me quote from that quickly, when it said: In addition, the previous government was given $36 million in 2024 to build 104 homes, 16 months later only four were done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, he’s right. They won’t sign an agreement. They haven’t signed the agreement. That’s the whole point, is that there are eight provinces looking for a national energy strategy and Newfoundland and Labrador said we don’t want to be part of it. The worst part is before they were in government, the Minister of Energy said –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

J. HOGAN: – that this agreement had to be signed before they start negotiations on the MOU. I don’t know if there are any Seinfeld fans out there, but the minister and the Premier remind me of George Costanza. Everything they said before the election, now they’re doing the exact opposite.

So can they explain to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who should they believe, George Costanza before the election or George Costanza after the election?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It brings me back to the episode when Cosmo Kramer got voted out and they’re not going to believe him, I can guarantee you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: Mr. Speaker, the AG report came out yesterday and extremely important questions. So the previous administration comes out with 750 homes built over two years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: Only a day later to find out that there was only 11 built. This government is misleading the entire public based on their history, and it’s about time –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: – for them to look at what they’ve done and what they’ve left for us to fix, and make no mistake about it, we will fix it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair.

L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, yesterday the government was outraged that we would dare to ask them to stop using MCP money for Conservative political advice. They called us shameful, turned their backs on us in the House and claimed we’re dragging a good doctor’s name through the mud. But we didn’t put Dr. Des Whalen in this position. The Premier did. This is about a misuse of funds by the Premier and his Cabinet.

Why won’t you do the right thing, fix the mistake and stop the cover-up?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, what we’re doing is fixing the mess they left in health care.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Seriously, they did not put any money in the budget for agency nurses, the travel nurses, yet –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. EVANS: – they racked up $80 million, Speaker, $80 million that wasn’t costed in.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: I ask the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave, do you want to test my resolve today?

Order!

L. EVANS: Speaker, I’ll go on.

Travel nurses, no plan to stop using them, but with no money in the budget – $80 million, Speaker. Family care teams rushed out, not fully staffed, some buildings left vacant, $20 million over budget – $20 million over budget for what? For understaffing, setting the Health Accord up to fail, Speaker. That’s what’s shameful.

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright - L’Anse au Clair.

L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, I’ll keep reminding this House that MCP is for Medical Care Plan and not money for Conservative politicians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. DEMPSTER: We already know that MCP funds are being used for political advice because the contract states political staff, not the bureaucracy, not the health administration, but yesterday, the Minister of Environment slipped up and further admitted the truth, saying, this doctor has given this party advice.

Will the Minister of Environment explain why MCP should be paying for advice to the Conservative Party?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, we’re relying on this physician, this doctor, as a special advisor to the Premier’s office to advise us on health care. When the Liberals announced the new St. Clare’s it was costed at between $10 billion to $14 billion, that’s what we were told. They said it was going to be around $10 billion, but they said in actual fact, Speaker, it would range between $12 billion and $14 billion, but they didn’t put anything in the fiscal forecast. That’s irresponsible, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. EVANS: When you look at that, Speaker, acute-care beds, the problem with acute-care beds is that there’s 23 per cent of alternate-care patients –

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s West.

K. WHITE: Speaker, yesterday when the Premier was confronted with evidence that Des Whalen’s calendar was full of meetings that had nothing to do with health care, the Premier suggested, and I quote: “I think what we should have done and perhaps could do differently is make sure that we don’t include the names of everyone on the lists of meetings that are being held that they probably aren’t attending.”

How does the Premier expect anyone to trust the access to information process when he talks openly about manipulating the information that he releases?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Speaker, when I stood here yesterday and responded to the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island, he stood and he referenced MCP and NLHS, and he said funds should not come from there. I have the OC for Dr. Greg Browne who was hired as a special advisor to the premier, and guess who was the minister that authorized NLHS to pay these fees? It was the former premier, the Leader of the Opposition. It was his department, and they’re saying it’s different. They’re splitting hairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

L. PARROTT: They did the same thing.

SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s West.

K. WHITE: Speaker, rather than explaining why MCP should be used to give partisan political advice on things that have nothing to do with health care, the Premier is now complaining that he has done a bad job of running a cover-up.

Why is the Premier so afraid that the truth is starting to come out, and why won’t the Premier stop the cover-up?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

L. EVANS: Speaker, in actual fact, they are talking about an advisor to the Premier’s office who is providing him advice on health care.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

L. EVANS: Speaker?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

L. EVANS: The dollars being used to pay the person’s salary is coming out of administrative dollars, Speaker. In actual fact, we are taking the advice of this doctor; this doctor has so much knowledge about rural Newfoundland and Labrador and in actual fact, there is a failure of the past Liberal government to actually roll out health care that meets the needs –

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia - St. Mary’s.

S. GAMBIN-WALSH: Thank you, Speaker.

We know through the $275,000 political doctor’s calendar that he has been working on things that have nothing to do with health care. Yesterday the Premier tried to say that this was okay, because everything could be related to health care.

Does the Premier really expect the people to believe that we should be using MCP for political advice about Bay du Nord and the fishery?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Mr. Speaker, it’s not about what we believe, it’s about what we know. We know that this government failed. We know that the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister of Health –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: – he was the Minister of Health for an extended period of time while health care continued to fail. We know that they utilized NLHS funding in the same manner, but now it’s no good. We are in a crisis in our health care –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: – because of the mismanagement that this former –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: – government done, and they’re frightened to death to look in the mirror and admit to their mistakes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave.

P. PARSONS: Yesterday, the Deputy Premier said: Stay tuned, and there will come a day when – I quote – that man, Des Whalen, may very well be in a position to run. And that we need people like him to sit in this hon. House.

Are the Conservatives using MCP funds to get Dr. Des Whalen ready to run? Is that why they’re continuing to defend this immoral decision? Shameful.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

What the PC Party are doing, they’re following through on their platform they were elected on: lower taxes, better health care and safer communities.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: If that means we’re going to take advice from a good person, a qualified person, a person who we all have a lot of respect for, we will take whatever advice is needed; and may we all be so hopeful and have the pleasure one day that he will sit in this House and make decisions to help every single one that’s in this province.

No apologies – no apologies.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave.

P. PARSONS: Speaker, the Member for CBS contradicts himself over and over and over. He did it on this side; now he’s doing it on that side.

The Premier said Des Whalen is invited to a bunch of meetings that he doesn’t attend. The fact that Des Whalen is invited to meetings and has access to all non-health care information is exactly the point.

Dr. Browne, Dr. Parfrey and Dr. Fitzgerald never had access to information in the Premier’s office outside of health care. So a simple question for the Premier, who in the Premier’s office kicks Des Whalen out of meetings that he is invited to that he isn’t supposed to attend?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

I think the Premier answered the question yesterday about these invites to calendar events that we all experience in all our departments. There was a load of people invited; there were only several who went.

But I will tell you something, Mr. Whalen sat in on a meeting that I went to the Premier’s office with, it was on infrastructure. It was about what do we do with the $14-billion tower of power in Kenmount Crossing; what we do with renovating St. Clare’s and what we do with the redevelopment of the Janeway’s Children hospital.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: I will tell you now, I will take his advice any day, any where over any one Member opposite.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

E. LOVELESS: Well, I’m glad the minister admitted that this doctor gave him advice to cut the roads budget this year –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

E. LOVELESS: That’s wonderful news.

I say to the minister, the industry seeks clarification and so do we.

Can the Minister of TI give an answer on whether the federal contribution of a federal-provincial infrastructure program for the twinning projects is in the road plan budget he announced last week?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

That’s in the roads program. I will not disclose the amount we have allotted, because then it’s just as well for me to tell every contractor out there what to bid on the project.

But I’ll ease his concerns – he knows the answer to this question. It’s disingenuous, but what I’ll do, I’ll ease his concerns, there’s not a big amount of money there this year because there’s not a lot of work expected. That’s all I’m willing to say, right now. When the bids come in, he can see it himself.

What he’s getting on with now is disrespectful to the staff that he used to be minister for and the department he used to so proudly stand and defend. Now he’s gone in the gutter. They’ve gone in the gutter this week and they continue to stay in the gutter.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

B. PETTEN: And I’ve had enough of it. We’ve all had enough of it. It’s time to get on and govern this province which we’re willing to do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

E. LOVELESS: I think if you went and asked every staff member in that department, they had utmost respect for me because I had utmost respect for him.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

E. LOVELESS: Don’t go pointing that finger.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

E. LOVELESS: Obviously, you –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

E. LOVELESS: – do not know. All I’m asking for you – I’m not asking you for the amount to give out to contractors. The twinning project was a federal/provincial – you may not know that. It was a federal/provincial agreed-upon amount but you’ve now taken that and put it into roads program.

SPEAKER: Address the Chair, please.

E. LOVELESS: What happened to the federal contribution piece?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

What I will tell the Member opposite, his staff listens to the nonsense he gets on with in this House day in and day out and they hear it loud and clear. I don’t have to tell them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

B. PETTEN: They hear it. What I will tell you – this government took it upon themselves to look after Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, whether that be contractors, whether that be workers. We cancelled the P3. We’re doing the procurement the regular way. Industry is happy, not everyone, but even the ones that were not, that were interested in it. They understand why we did it and they’ve embraced it and they will be bidding on it and we will get work done –

SPEAKER: Order, please!

B. PETTEN: – this year with Newfoundlanders and Labradorians doing that work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: I understand leadership flows down and the answers we’re getting are non-answers now from the Premier down to the Deputy Premier and all the ministers.

So we have a very simple question for the Deputy Premier. There was $316 million that was allocated for twinning projects in this province, $158 million which was from the federal government. Have you walked away from $158 free million from the federal government or is it in the roads plan?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

I don’t really think it’s that complicated. I think we’ve announced – I don’t know why they keep asking this question, they know the answer. Of course, we never walked away from $150 but they also know, they were governing for 10 years but better still, that’s the scary point. They governed for 10 years and don’t know the answer. You don’t get it all the one time. It’s out over 10 years. So we’ll get it each year coming up. We’ve got a budget for that. We’ve got a budget placed You’ll see it when the budget comes out, I say to the Leader of the Opposition. But God help us. This crowd governed us for 10 years and they’re asking me silly questions like that in the House of Assembly. Unbelievable.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Order, please!

J. HOGAN: This is why Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are frustrated. I couldn’t agree more with the Deputy Premier. It’s not that complicated but we’ve asked four times and he can’t give us an answer.

Is the money in the roads plan or not?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Speaker, there’s $250 million the roads program, the second most ever announced. Last year we got $276 million –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

B. PETTEN: – out the door and that was the maximum, there was still some carryovers. Actual budget last year was $316 million, even thought they like to use $340 million. The twining is there; there’s a small portion of work going to get started this year. Work will get done, the $150 million is there, rest assured but like I just said, God help us what we have suffered for the last 10 years. No wonder, October 14, this party was voted in, trying to save this province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo - La Poile.

M. KING: Speaker, we should have looked for the fine print in the Blue Book where the next slogan was, excuses no solutions.

People across my District of Burgeo - La Poile, are angry that while they have to drive hours to see a doctor at their own cost, the Premier is paying a Conservative political staffer $275,000 from MCP to get partisan political advice.

How can the Minister of Health explain and defend this outrageous appointment and the Premier’s attempt to cover up, to the constituents in my district?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, just like to address the Member talking about his constituents having to travel to see, to access medical care. Speaker, we’ve committed in the Blue Book that for MCP, specialized MCP insurance requirements, under MTAP, we’re going to actually increase that to 100 per cent, Speaker, 100 per cent coverage under the MTAP program so that patients can actually access health care without having to pay out of pocket for these specialized MCP insured care.

That’s something that the previous government in 10 years, they failed to do, Speaker. So we are taking action, Speaker –

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.

F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, on January 22 at 10 o’clock in the morning Des Whalen was invited to a meeting with the Premier and Cenovus Energy.

Can the Minister of Energy please explain why Des Whalen, a so-called health care adviser was invited to a meeting with Cenovus Energy?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Mr. Speaker, after the AG report came out yesterday, you would think that the people that are here right now would be concerned about their failure, their absolute, udder disgraceful failure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: They’re afraid to ask a question about something important. Instead, they come in here and they waste the people’s time asking questions with nothing to do with what they should be addressing here today. The housing issues that we face that they brought on, the former minister from Burin - Grand Bank, 752 houses we built, the Premier stood up, 750 new houses we built. There was 11 – 11. Don’t forget about the hotel, the Member over there gave his own buddies a hotel.

SPEAKER: Order, please!

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.

Speaker, this week a senior walked into the ambulatory health hub and asked a worker if he could sit for a while to warm up and eat his lunch, crackers and peanut butter. He revealed that he could afford to eat, but he didn’t have the money to heat his home.

I ask the Premier, since the worker also sent him the letter: Will he do what the Liberals refused to do and remove the HST off all forms of home heating as one measure to help seniors stay warm in their homes?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance, President of Treasury Board; and Responsible for Seniors.

C. PARDY: Thank you.

I think the Leader of the Third Party would be well aware that we’ve said numerous times that we are going to concentrate on affordability measures to make sure that we help out those that would be in our population that would be in need of assistance, and I would think in the upcoming budget he will see some of those measures. I know that the learned Member has read our platform of which there are many affordability measures that would be included. Will we help those who need help in our population? We certainly will, and that will come in the upcoming budget, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

The Auditor General’s report on the NLHC is shocking and confirms what I’ve been saying for the past six and a half years. This was a failure on the previous Liberal government and explains why they were reluctant to enshrine housing as a human right in legislation.

I ask the Premier: Will he do what his predecessors refused to do and enshrine housing as a human right in legislation?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Social Supports and Well-Being, and Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. WALL: Thank you, Speaker, and I thank the Member opposite for the question.

First of all, I’d like to say on behalf of our government that we welcome the AG report on the Housing Corporation, and as minister responsible, I will ensure that everything that was in that report will be done with the Housing Corporation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. WALL: Speaker, I realize the issues that we’re dealing with. For years the Housing Corporation, as we knew while we were in opposition, was left not supported properly by the former government, but I can certainly tell you, Speaker, figuratively and literally, my shoulders are big, and I’ll carry it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker. From a 71 per cent increase in wait-list to a decrease of housing stock to a failure to forecast demand, plan and maintain housing units, the AG report lays bare the failure of the previous Liberal government to provide affordable housing and explains why homelessness has exploded. I ask the Premier, will his government declare a housing emergency and present a plan in this House outlining the steps his government will take to clear up this mess so people will not have to spend another winter unsheltered?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. WALL: Thank you, Speaker, and I do thank the Member opposite for the question.

We are in a crisis, no doubt, and we have a plan with respect to supporting those vulnerable in our community. We have a plan, of course, 10,000 homes over 5 years. My team and I at the Housing Corporation are certainly active on that plan. We will have projects roll out right across this province, not just in metro because this is not a metro issue, this is a provincial issue. Speaker, with the help of the Premier, of course, of government and with respect to the budget that’s going to be coming out soon, we will certainly have a plan to support those in our province who need it, and they will not be left behind.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

J. DINN: Speaker, unfortunately the mess left is way beyond a five-year plan. Unfortunately, people are sleeping in the rough, and more money is being spent on emergency shelters to house more people. We need immediate action to clean up this mess. What actions will the minister take to reduce the number of people in emergency shelters and ensure people will not have to spend another winter outdoors?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. WALL: Thank you, Speaker, and I thank the Member opposite for the question.

I couldn’t agree more. This is a mess. This is a mess, and we saw it while we sat in opposition, and we pointed out what was going on with respect to housing and, of course, those who are homeless.

Speaker, we will have a plan to increase our housing stock. It is a top priority for me to make sure that our housing units that we have now are refurbished and repaired, that we can get people out of shelters and back into homes because, Speaker, that’s what they require to have good health, not only physical, but mental health as well, get them back into a home. We will ensure that’s being done, just give me the time and I’ll do it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: 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 Thursday, March 19, 2026. The edited Hansard will be posted when it becomes available.