Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Thursday, April 30, 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.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

Yesterday, the Minister of Health stated she cannot continue in a role if medical travel delays persist, even suggesting that affected residents sue the government over transport delays in Labrador. A minister of the government wants people to sue the government – keep in mind she is saying to sue the government for problems that are within their control to fix.

Does the Premier agree with his minister that people should sue his government?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, yesterday, after practically seven years of being in the House of Assembly, fighting against problems that actually are leading to the death of people in my district, the challenges that I face, and now, in actual fact, to be taken out of context by media – I just want to read here. I said: I will tell the people out there for Northern Labrador that we are going to address the issues in RT. We are going to address the systemic, chronic issues that is failing the people of Northern Labrador, failing to get them out to their appointments. Just as bad, failing to get them home because the influences –

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

We heard the Minister of Health outline yesterday some issues she has with health care in the province, and again just now.

But can the Premier explain why he isn’t able to work with the Minister of Health to fix the issues she has outlined here today, rather than having her resort to throwing her hands up and advising people of our province to go to court and sue the government?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, yesterday when I spoke, I actually addressed that I am working on solutions and that we have to be responsible. Speaker, as a minister that knows about systemic issues, knows about Indigenous barriers, knows about colonialization and intergenerational harm, Speaker, I have to do better. I have to hold myself to a higher account and that’s the messaging I was getting after. I wish the media would cover that.

Speaker, after 10 years – 10 years of erosion of services, Speaker, and I’m not talking about Medavie. Medavie is stepping up and helping me, working with me, Speaker. I said that to media. Did they record that? No, they didn’t.

Speaker, in actual fact, we are doing a better job. The Opposition is afraid that what we’re going to do is going to change health care. We’re going to change health care –

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

The personal income tax exemption is being sold as a major affordability measure. However, it will save Newfoundlanders and Labradorians a maximum of $28 a month. Every dollar counts, Speaker, but this isn’t going far enough.

Why does the Premier think that’s enough for people struggling to pay their bills which have risen by hundreds of dollars, not $20 a month?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Speaker, I’m starting to think now that the hon. Member, the Leader of the Official Opposition, needs to have his morning show VOCM recordings recorded and not do it live because of the misinformation that’s shared to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

C. PARDY: The basic reduction amount will put $91 million a year into the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. If used, a little disingenuous to say, well, we’ve got $25 a month or $28 a month, $91 million –

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: I will tell you, Speaker, here are some facts and I don’t need to talk to VOCM about it because we all know it’s true. This budget is taking the sugar tax from zero to zero, the gas tax from 7.5 cents to 7.5 cents, the motor vehicle registration costs from $80 to $80. For the record, these are all Liberal policies. We’re pleased that they are continuing the Liberal affordability measures.

But why didn’t the Conservatives and the Finance Minister, in particular, recognize the cost-of-living increases in the budget with their own initiatives, especially with oil now at $126 a barrel?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: The Leader of the Official Opposition on VOCM this morning stated clearly that they’ve used $110 million of Liberal initiatives and he included in that the provincial gas tax reduction, which he never had funded in the budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

C. PARDY: I know, as Minister of Finance, that there was no funding in the budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

C. PARDY: In fact –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

C. PARDY: – we had to budget and pay for – wait for this, Mr. Speaker – $500 million of unfunded programs by the previous government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: The Minister of Finance seems to be confused. It’s his budget, it’s not our budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. HOGAN: But I can tell you Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are telling us they wish it was our budget after what they saw yesterday.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

J. HOGAN: And another thing, the budget does nothing to lower power rates for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, yet the government and the Finance Minister is taking credit for $45 million to reduce rates. These funds were prepaid by ratepayers and recommended by the PUB for this purpose.

So why is the Finance Minister taking credit for something he didn’t fund and that wasn’t his initiative?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: The Leader of the Opposition stood many times and talked about levers but he only talked about one lever in particular, to reduce and take off the provincial portion of the HST on electricity rates in Newfoundland and Labrador, would cost $64 million of the taxpayer money to give relief.

Through the basic reduction amount, we are putting in $91 million into the people’s pockets.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Now, which lever would the leader like us to use, the $91 million or the $64 million?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Speaker, the Conservatives have backtracked on their commitments to early childhood educators. The Association of Early Childhood Educators of NL said the budget does not address the most pressing issue facing the sector – the workforce. Child Care Now has said they’re not listening to the people who are involved in the sector and the message being sent to them is that educators don’t matter.

If children are our most valuable resource, as I’ve heard in this House, why weren’t ECEs recognized in the budget?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

I certainly can’t speak for the Conservatives; they’re a federal party. Either the Member doesn’t know better or he’s doing it on purpose, but I will speak as a Progressive Conservative here in the province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. DINN: Early Childhood Education in this province is paramount and we can’t have it without the dedicated professional educators. We need to work with them to come up with solutions moving forward. There are many, many barriers that we face that have been left to us from the previous government. We’re going to work with them to solve these issues and make them the best they can be so our children can succeed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. minister’s time is expired.

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

A progressive government would look at progressive policies for children in our province. That wasn’t in the budget and he can say he’s going to work with them but, as we said over the last six months, they’ve told him what they want and what they need to make sure we have good ECEs in this province and as they said, this government is not listening.

The NLTA has said that there are significant gaps in the budget. They’re disappointed that there is no increase in allocations for school counsellors, instructional resource teachers, school psychologists, speech language pathologists and other specialized supports. No increase in allocations for school administrators, no meaningful and targeted action to address retention and recruitment of certified teachers.

So why didn’t the Minister of Education fight to address these serious issues in the budget?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

Let me speak to the preamble. There have been many reports put out by Child Care Now, by the YWCA writing the recommendations, writing their recommendations, formalized processes to engage sector representatives in including ECEs, operators and associations to help develop policies and compensation. That’s what we’re doing. We’ve established two committees.

They also say in their report that system-building takes time and we need to get it right – that report. This report that came out told us that the previous administration didn’t get it right.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, if the Minister of Health, a sitting Cabinet Minister, does not have faith in her government’s ability to address health care issues in Newfoundland and Labrador, how can people around the province have faith in the government?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, not only does the Opposition take my words out of context but so do the media by clipping things. In actual fact, I was holding myself to account.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. EVANS: I was holding myself to account. Being aware of those issues, basically I said –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. EVANS: We are taking –

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. EVANS: – action to actually fix the problems that (Inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

I’ve had enough.

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

L. EVANS: Speaker, I actually was talking about that we have things in the works now to solve the problems that eroded healthcare services and access for healthcare services in Northern Labrador and Southern Labrador. We are taking steps but in fact, Speaker, I hold myself to account and if I can't do that, Speaker –

SPEAKER: The hon. minister’s time is expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, I really try my best not to misquote. I have the copy here, and I do know the minister, the recording continued after she thought it was finished and they played it again today.

If the Premier and the minister, the Health Minister, the former long-time CEO of Lab-Grenfell, cannot work together to fix an issue for –

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. DEMPSTER: – 3,000 people, can half a million Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have faith that the Premier is listening to his Health Minister –

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. DEMPSTER: – on health care issues for all of us?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, let me be perfectly clear and tell the people of Newfoundland and Labrador that we have one of the best Health Ministers –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: – and I have full confidence in my Minister of Health to deliver better health care for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. Something that this government failed to do for the 10 years they were in power.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for –

Order, please!

Order, please!

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but this is Question Period.

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

L. DEMPSTER: I said last night in the media, I said this morning in the media, the Minister of Health knows the issues in Labrador. She knows the issues. The concern here is when she has to go on the radio and –

K. RUSSELL: (Inaudible.)

L. DEMPSTER: The Member for Lake Melville is just relentless today. I have the floor.

C. PARDY: Times up.

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. DEMPSTER: Very disrespectful I say to the Finance Minister, very disrespectful.

SPEAKER: I have, on numerous occasions now, brought up the issue of decorum, of Members chirping back and forth on either side and so on. It doesn’t seem to be getting through. So if we have to start identifying Members by district once again and taking away speaking privileges on either side of this House, I’m going to start doing it.

I know I keep saying it, but I keep giving latitude because I want debate to happen, but this cannot continue. So I’m asking for co-operation on both sides of the House.

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

L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, as I said, the Minister of Health knows the issues in Labrador. I have confidence there, but when she has to go on the radio and say I’ve asked three times for this to be fixed, where is the Premier in this equation?

Does the Minister of Health really believe the only answer for people to get health care is to sue the department she’s in charge of?

Answer that to the people, Premier. Get on your feet and answer that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, seven years, six over there, one right here. I spent all seven years looking across at failed Health Ministers. This Health Minister is not a failed Health Minister.

This Premier is fixing the problems that they left behind. They can stand here and make accusations all they want. The mess that she is trying to clean up, which is insurmountable, is left behind by failed Health Ministers from those guys.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

L. DEMPSTER: Certainly portrayed out there, Speaker, that she has no support in her government to fix health care in this province. It’s taken just six months for the Minister of Health to admit defeat, throw up her arms in the air and ask the federal government to take over.

So, Speaker, maybe the Premier or the Government House Leader can answer the question as to why the Health Minister, who is very passionate about issues, have had to give up on her government?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, I’m quoting myself from yesterday. But I want to tell the people out there of Northern Labrador we’re going to address the issues in RT. We’re going to address the systemic chronic issues that’s failing the people of Northern Labrador, failing to get them out to their appointments just as bad as failing to get them home, Speaker, because that influences whether somebody will actually go to their appointments in the first place.

But, Speaker, over there as minister, as Cabinet minister, the Member who just asked me the question, actually allowed the Liberals to sign a contract that eroded medevac services to Southern Labrador patients, to Northern Labrador patients. That’s what I’m dealing with, Speaker. In actual erosion of the medevac contracts.

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, she’s at the highest table in this government and what she did say was: What’s the point of even having a provincial government manage the health care system for Northern Labrador?

Six months in, I’m sorry that she’s having to go through that with her government –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. DEMPSTER: – and Labradorians are listening, Speaker.

The budget cuts the air access pilot program –

SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the Member to take her seat, please.

L. DEMPSTER: Oh, I’m sorry.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Lake Melville need not speak anymore today. You will not be recognized.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

L. DEMPSTER: Thank you, Speaker.

The budget cuts the air access pilot program for Labrador and the Northern Peninsula. They’ve cut it from almost $6 million a year down to just $2.7 million.

How can the minister quote, improving transportation to and from Labrador, with less than half the money? Their blue book said, we’re going to scrape the Liberal air access program and we’re going to do better. Well, half is not better.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Actually, Speaker, that Air Access Program was thrown together, basically limiting people to two subsidized tickets. That does not address the high cost of travel, Speaker. In actual fact, there was such low uptake because it was so poorly organized and it was hard to access, Speaker. You had to book a month in advance, Speaker. It was poorly accessed, so actually the –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. EVANS: – the $2.7 million is more reflective, Speaker. But what we’re going to do is we’re going to actually address the high cost of travel so we can bring travel down for everyone, not just for two tickets a year, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.

The Minister of Education talks proudly about how they’re Progressive Conservatives. Well, I’ll ask that hon. Member why they went and bought Pierre Poilievre’s right-hand wingman down from Ottawa – who is, by far, a reformist – to come and lead them to an election and pay them out of the House of Assembly funding.

Anyway, the executive director of Violence Prevention Avalon East says she was very disappointed that there was no mention of ankle monitoring throughout the budget, and that there’s no mention of resources allocated to it. Given the ongoing concerns around public safety and repeat offenders, why is there no funding or mention of ankle monitoring in this year’s budget?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.

I’m going to address the preamble, and perhaps if they had hired Mr. Outhouse, they may have had a better chance at winning.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: The people of Newfoundland and Labrador decided who they wanted on this side of the House, and guess what? It was us. We won; they lost. Even their party donors, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to get pay-for-play, still couldn’t drag them across the line.

So when the previous minister stands on her feet and wants to address that stuff, she should probably look back in time, as they always used to do when they sat over here, and recognize what they’ve done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

P. PARSONS: Shameful, Speaker. They wouldn’t allow the minister to get up who is actually very competent and very able to get up and answer the question about ankle monitoring.

So what message does it send to communities around Newfoundland and Labrador expecting strong tools to monitor high-risk individuals. Can we hear from the minister? She’s quite able to answer the question.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

H. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER: Speaker, I thank the Member opposite for her confidence in me as Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

H. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER: I can say electronic monitoring for individuals that are out on bail is an important tool that we are assessing. I can say, Speaker, that we have been meeting with important groups throughout the province with respect to this issue. I have had meetings with violence prevention groups and I can say that this is something that we are assessing. We are going to be looking at studies and feasibility studies as well, going forward.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: hear, hear!

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

P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.

It’s funny, the minister and the Member for Harbour Main, when she was on this side of the House, she shouted loud and clear that it took political will to make this happen. She called to make this happen. She is now in a position in make it happen, if her premier will support her, to make this happen for the women and girls in this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

P. PARSONS: The Minister of Justice has confirmed there are no sheriff’s officers in the budget. Given recent trial delays – and we know that these are intimate partner violence trials – caused by lack of sheriff’s officers, why was the minister satisfied with this omission?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

H. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER: Speaker, I can say that with respect to the sheriff’s officers, I am pleased to say that I have met with NAPE to discuss this important issue. In fact, we are scheduled to meet with them again. We are looking at this because this is a priority.

There is no question that there are recruitment and retention issues with the sheriff’s officers. There are a number of vacancies, however. So that has to be the focus of any plan going forward, is on recruitment, rather than increasing the number of sheriff’s officers positions at this time.

We are looking at that focus first, recruitment, and that is where our priority is at this point.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.

Again, I am glad that the minister is talking to NAPE. She should have her Premier listen to NAPE and implement their recommendations because if we could take advice from NAPE –

SPEAKER: Please address the Chair, I say to the hon. Member.

P. PARSONS: – we should see the changes that we do need.

The Minister of Justice has also confirmed that she has no authority to reopen an RCMP detachment in Grand Bank; yet, this was promised on the campaign trail –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

P. PARSONS: – by the Conservatives.

Why did the government promise something that they knew they did not have the authority and power to deliver?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

H. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER: Speaker, it has become clear today, I think, when we look at the questions in the House today, the Opposition seems to have a very insidious way of taking our words out of context.

Mr. Speaker, I can advise that with respect to the RCMP detachment, I know very clearly what we can and cannot do. We are able to look at the operations of the police. We work with them. But we cannot direct RCMP or RNC to put resources anywhere in particular. We work with them; we consult with them, but it is their role and responsibility to direct that.

Thank you.

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.

S. STOODLEY: Thank you, Speaker.

During the debate on the Future Fund, the Finance Minister said – and I quote – his goal is that we would have a cash surplus in our term, yet his budget yesterday forecasted deficit in the next number of years.

Why did he say one thing in the House when he knew he was not able to deliver it in the budget?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Mr. Speaker, we feel very optimistic about our future, and I think Newfoundlanders and Labradorians do as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: I think the Member may have missed that we are scheduled to lead the country with a 5.5 per cent GDP this coming year.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

SPEAKER: Order, please!

C. PARDY: Second place in Canada is PEI with 2 per cent. We know that we’ve got a great demand on our resources. We feel optimistic that we’re going to have a bump in revenue, and we do feel confident, Mr. Speaker, that we will turn around the situation that the previous government gave us to deal with. We will do it.

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Gander.

B. FORD: Thank you, Speaker.

There’s a $1.5 million cut to the tourism budget.

I ask the Minister of Tourism, it’s specifically for strategic product development, how does cutting funding help make us the tourism capital of Canada?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts; and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

A. BARBOUR: I would like to thank the Member opposite for the question. It’s a great question. I have the answer right here.

Speaker, so, I’m going to break this down. Marble Mountain, the capital budget changes from year to year, depending on its needs. The vision, Vision 2026, was a one-time $500,000, and also the sports centre, the dome is not being built so we’re saving $600,000. So the budget never really changed, we just don’t have to give that money (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi.

S. O’LEARY: Thank you, Speaker.

Both the minister and Premier have touted their plan to make our province the tourism capital of Canada, yet we see no investment or increase in the budget for the artists who play a key role in that industry. At a time when affordability is top of mind, artists are struggling to make ends meet, and they need work to survive, not just words of support.

I ask the minister, what do you say to the artists in this province who were hopeful for real investment not the status quo?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts; and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

A. BARBOUR: I would like to thank the Member opposite for the question.

It’s a great question. As the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts; and Recreation, Speaker, I would like to acknowledge all of the artists here in the room today from music, arts and heritage and even sports. They’re all here in the room and thank you for the Members opposite for bringing them in.

I’m an artist myself and I value art and artists are valued in our province. I love art and I always will and I love Newfoundland and Labrador and I’m here for all of us.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi.

S. O’LEARY: Speaker, the Arts and Culture Centres across the province, but especially here in St. John's, are in dire need of maintenance. For years governments have let this vital public infrastructure deteriorate leaving workers to manage unsafe and difficult conditions and closure and patrons questioning when these historic spaces will be properly cared for.

The minister agreed with me in Estimates that there isn’t enough money to address the maintenance.

So I ask him: Will his department develop a plan to keep these essential public arts buildings?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Speaker, the opposition said it was a good question. Me and the Member did speak about this in Estimates this morning. It’s called preventative maintenance. There’s never been a great job done on it by government, all governments, but this government over there, the Opposition, they were in power for the last 10 years. They think it’s a great question. Maybe they should have done some repairs with the Arts and Culture Centre while they were in power and we wouldn’t be talking about this today.

But to her question, I agree. We have got to do better on preventative maintenance. The Arts and Culture Centre, very important to the people of this province and I told her this morning and I’ll tell the House, I’m committed to finding ways that we can make improvements to the centres any time we can find the money. Right now, we’re dealing with HVAC issues and contracts. We’ll get to the bottom of it and they will be better.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

It was announced in the media that there is no additional funding for Horizons at 106 and that the lease will expire at the end of December. Now while I do not mourn the end of an expensive politically motivated lease, I support the model and I’m deeply concerned about the residents and the staff who support them. We have a housing crisis.

I ask the minister: Where will the residents go and is this why there is more money in the budget for emergency housing shelters?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Social Support and Well-Being, and Responsible for Housing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. WALL: Thank you, Speaker.

I thank the Member opposite for the question. He’s not the only one who cares about the people at 106 Horizons.

I can certainly say that Budget 2026 has funding for 106 Horizons to December 31 of this year and we have been clear that 106 Horizons was a temporary solution. It was announced last August, Mr. Speaker, that the former administration made plans to find another solution for that location. It’s my understanding from discussions with my team that there have been some successes from that location but maybe a blended housing model will be more effective.

Let me be clear, Speaker, we have a plan in place. We will leave nobody behind.

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.

Dunn House, with the University Health Network in Toronto, is one model that we could be adopting here, maybe a lot less expensive as well.

Speaker, the current government announced $28.9 million funding to hire an additional 94 teachers and 20 TLAs. In Budget 2025, the former government announced funding to add 400 educational resources to the K-to-12 system and still ended up with well over 150 vacancies. There’s growing reliance on retired teachers to make the educational system function. We have a recruitment and retention problem which won’t be solved until the underlying obstacles are addressed.

I ask the minister: What action is he planning to take to address the partial teaching positions, class composition and class sizes, violence in the classroom, online harassment and the lack of housing in remote areas?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. DINN: Thank you, Speaker, and thank you for the question.

Moving forward, we have money in the budget. In fact, it’s the biggest budget next to health care, $1.5 billion. We’ve opened a dialogue with the president of the NLTA. We’ll continue to do that. We have the safety coalition in place. I look at the latest release from the president of the NLTA. It talks about education is a social determinant of health and a foundation of economic success. I cannot agree with that more. That is what we’re working towards.

In this, as well, NLTA mentioned that they’re committed to working with all parties going forward and that’s what we’re going to do, to make the education system much better.

SPEAKER: The hon. minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The time for Question Period has also expired.

Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Thursday, April 30, 2026. The edited Hansard will be posted when it becomes available.