May 4, 2026 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol. LI No. 23
Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Monday, May 4, 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.
Before we get into questions, just something we can all agree on, congratulations to Alex Newhook for scoring the winning goal for the Montreal Canadiens last night.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
J. HOGAN: I know all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are proud, so to are all the Canadien fans across the country: You’re welcome.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: I’m a Leaf’s fan, but I’ll cheer for him anyway.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
J. HOGAN: Speaker, now we’ll get to the questions, where we’ll disagree, I’m sure.
The Conservatives are finally agreeing to release the Bay du Nord benefits agreement today, but, of course, after Question Period because they don’t want questions asked here today.
The Premier knows what’s in the agreement, so can he confirm how many guaranteed jobs there are, and if they are of the same quality and pay as there would have been if they hadn’t abandoned their campaign commitment to get guaranteed topside work?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, I can’t not address the preamble.
As a Montreal Canadiens fan, I am very thankful for the Leader of the Opposition to bring up the Montreal Canadiens and our own great Alex Newhook. It was a pleasure to watch that game.
I can also tell you it’s a pleasure to be able to stand up here today and talk about a Bay du Nord agreement that’s actually going to see, not only projects completed, but a new industry created. That’s one of the things that we’re going to do; create a new industry for Newfoundland and Labrador with our floating dry dock and that will employ thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians long after the cycle of boom and bust is over.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Speaker, just so the Premier is aware, the theme for my questions will be guaranteed. The word “guaranteed” will be asked in all these questions, and I haven’t heard one answer where there’s a guarantee of any of these jobs for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
Now we learned today that the Conservatives are spending over $2 million on a pre-feasibility study into the dry dock, and still with no guarantee that Bay du Nord will proceed. How did they fall for this when Equinor has said about the project – and I quote – we can never guarantee anything?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.
What I can guarantee is that this deal is much better than the deal the Liberals wanted to do in 2018. I can guarantee that we’re looking at 430 million barrels and they were looking at 300 million barrels. I can guarantee from an expenditure standpoint we were looking at $26.9 billion in the life of field; they were looking at $10.9 billion.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
L. PARROTT: I can guarantee from a fabrication standpoint, we’re looking at 50,400 tons of fabrication, they were looking at 5,000. I can guarantee under R & D, we were looking at $100 million, they were looking at $75 million. I can guarantee you from a fabrication fund, we’re getting $200 million, they were getting zero. I can guarantee you that 31.3 million person-hours is what we had, they had 23.3 million person-hours.
Speaker, I can go on with this, but I think the answers are in –
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: Speaker, I’ll save the minister some trouble from reading from his document. I’ll ask him to table it when Question Period is over so we can all see exactly what he’s talking about.
The Minister of Energy today admitted that there’s a 25 per cent variance over his estimate for the dry dock. Industry leaders say it’s likely to cost $700 million or more. Today he said he’s hoping the federal government or other private dollars will help close this massive gap – hoping. Does he have any guarantees for these investments?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Speaker, I can give a couple of more guarantees. I guarantee that our numbers are more solid than the numbers were for the new hospital they wanted to build. I can guarantee that this project is far more feasible than the World Energy GH2 project that they wanted to sign with their hydrogen and their giveaways.
Speaker, we are looking at building a dry dock and we have not even gotten to feed. The EOI is out right now, as I explained this morning, and when it comes back it will give us a clear path on the direction we’re taking with this. That feed study will help open the doors for new industry in this province, one that hasn’t been seen for many, many years. When we get that, it will be made public, no different than everything else.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.
To summarize, what we’ve heard is they’ve signed away the topsides work that were guaranteed during election in exchange for a partial investment in a dry dock for which they don’t know the full cost, don’t know how many job numbers will arise and don’t know if there’s any work guaranteed to flow from it.
So why didn’t the minister get a guarantee from Equinor that they will refund any of these upfront costs if they decide not to proceed with Bay du Nord?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.
I’ll go back to the other guarantees: 95 per cent of all subsea work, at a minimum, will be carried out in this province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Life of benefits for the entire project, first time ever, is guaranteed.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Speaker, this is the first of many things for Newfoundland and Labrador to come under this administration, and when they get the agreement today, they can have a look at it, and they’ll come back, and they’ll say the same thing we’re saying. This is a good deal for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and it’s a good deal for the future of Newfoundland and Labrador, and it’s a good signal that we’re sending to the rest of Canada, the rest of the world.
The federal Liberals like it; the building trades like it; and the people that are going to be employed love it.
SPEAKER: 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.
As we said all along, we want it to proceed as well, and we hope we like it when we finally get the chance to read the agreement and see the details. Very interested to see how many times the word guarantee is in the agreement.
Equinor has said publicly that companies in Asia have the competitive advantage for topside construction. How can local companies who pay good wages to our workers hope to compete with that without any government guarantees?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Speaker, in both agreements that the Liberals had previously there was no topside work. We’ve got a guarantee that people here in this province have the ability to bid, and if they can meet the budget and calendar, they will get the work. We have four companies that are prequalified, they indications are they are all going to be bidding this project and looking to be competitive with Asia.
Speaker, we have an opportunity in this province (inaudible) – forward that sat dormant for the last 10 years under their watch. We are not going to allow that to happen. We are moving forward into new industries, into deep-sea prospects and into a floating dry dock that will bring work for years to come. Speaker, I don’t know how anyone can pick badness out of that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.
I hope these companies are successful, but rather than having to go through the bid process, I’m sure they would have appreciated if the government guaranteed that they would get the job rather than companies in Asia.
As Newfoundlanders and Labradorians dove into the budget over the weekend, they realized it’s not that deep. They’ve done very little, this government, to help address affordability.
Can the Premier explain how he thinks about $20 a month is enough to help with, in his words, the soaring cost of living?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition stated last week he was talking to the prime minister. I’m surprised the prime minister didn’t inform him how well he liked the dry dock and the Bay du Nord.
On the budget, anytime you can put out $200 million into the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, that is a good lever to push to address affordability in Newfoundland and Labrador. He can drill down and minimize one aspect of the $200 million, but if he’s done the math, $200 million put out to the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador helps affordability.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.
I did the math and I know that most of the $200 million were Liberal initiatives over the last number of years, not Conservative issues.
The Finance Minister told the Board of Trade, here, on Friday that if the price of oil remains elevated, more affordability issues could come later this year.
Can the minister tell Newfoundlanders and Labradorians what those measures are and what price oil will have to be at and for how long before he decides to help Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with the cost of affordability issues?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: I’m not sure how well the Leader of the Official Opposition did his math. He stood in this House, last week, and said, Liberal initiatives – $110 million. Grossly incorrect, not even half of that because they never budgeted for the permanent gas tax reduction. It wasn’t in the budget but it’s, certainly, in his $110 million that he had.
We will look at affordability issues going forward because we know that good governance says that we must be in tune with what the people are experiencing out there. We will, certainly, do that. If he were at the Board of Trades meeting, he would have found out that we’ve got it under our analysis in the department.
Thank you, Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Speaker, I didn’t do it in the budget because it wasn’t my budget to do but if the Minister of Finance would like to hand over that responsibility for next year, I’m sure Newfoundlanders and Labradorians would appreciate it.
Brent crude is now trading today at more than $113 a barrel. So what specific oil-price threshold is the minister waiting for before he acts?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: Mr. Speaker, I addressed the Board of Trade and we had a really good session. We talked about financial pressures that the province was under and that was as the result of the last 10 years of governance with the increase in the debt, the increase in the deficit that we’re experiencing now. That has got to be addressed for us to make sure that we prepare for the future, not only the Future Fund which we agree that saving is very important but we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got our debt and our deficit under control to reduce our borrowings in going forward.
We will address affordability issues in the near future.
Thank you, Speaker.
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: To be clear we do not agree on the process that they are taking with the Future Fund. In fact, we adamantly disagree with the approach this government has taking in not saving for the future.
Has the minister admitted that the current affordability measures in this budget are inadequate – only will be changed unless oil revenues continue to increase?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: Absolutely not. They are not inadequate. How can you say that when we’re putting out $200 million into the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians? How can you stand and make that comment to know that that is an insufficient amount that we put out to the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador?
Mr. Speaker, he said when he was asked as far as what he’s going to watch for in our budget? He didn’t mention affordability. He wanted to know what percentage and how we were going to deliver on the promises that were in our blue book. It wasn’t affordability, it was whether we were going to meet and we met that target 80 per cent.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.
The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Well, Minister, in your own words, you said you would do more for affordability, so now I’m asking.
If you say this is enough, that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians should be satisfied with what you’ve done so far, why would you say you will do more in the future? It can’t be both. Is it enough or is it not enough? Tell Newfoundlanders and Labradorians the truth.
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: I want to state and restate again. I think, the Leader of the Opposition might have understood that I said that we put $2 million out into the pockets of Newfoundland and Labradorians. I want to make sure that he’s clear this time before any radio interview tomorrow morning, $200 million in excess out –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: – into the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. How much would the Leader of the Opposition expect it for good affordability measures, how much more was he expecting? In excess of $300 million, $400 million?
But we will keep an eye, Speaker, on affordability because that’s good governance.
SPEAKER: The hon. minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: What I’m hearing is that the minister said $200 million, is enough for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and if he wants an answer from me, I would have done more for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
J. HOGAN: I can certainly tell you with the costs going up of oil of $120 a barrel, I certainly would have had the revenue to do more for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians as well.
In its commentary on the budget DBRS Bond Rating Agency said – and I quote – with Quebec’s next provincial election scheduled for October, it remains highly uncertain if Newfoundland and Labrador will realize the fiscal and economic benefits previously anticipated from the Churchill Falls deal. Since now we’ve been decided to be stuck with the 1969 deal because of this government’s indecision.
What is the government’s plan to make up for the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of jobs?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, let me talk about the budget and talk about what’s in it. The minister talks about the $200 million but tell you the difference between the PC government and the former Liberal government, when we do things, we make the permanent, like a permanent reduction in gas tax. That’s exactly what we have done. We turned around, they had their – all of their initiatives had expiry dates and let’s be clear the people of Newfoundland and Labrador expired the Liberal government in October, we’ve taken over. We’re going to make sure that we continue to deliver for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
J. HOGAN: Speaker, I don’t apologize for not having permanent things, because you need to be flexible and you need to change and you need to adapt as the world around us changes.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
J. HOGAN: They’re stuck with old policies and they won’t open their eyes and see Newfoundlanders and Labradorians need more help.
The bond rating agencies have noted the Conservative changes to the Future Fund legislation – and I quote – removes the incentive to reduce our reliance on resource royalties to fund future program spending.
So I ask the minister: Why is he doubling down on spending volatile oil revenues instead of building a stable fiscal future for all of us?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: I’m glad he’s getting some of our lingo in our campaign, all of us. Nice, very nice.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
C. PARDY: Morningstar DBRS states: Newfoundland’s exposure to global commodity prices presents material fiscal upside.
They also state: Energy prices present a material upside risk to the province’s forecast.
Mr. Speaker, not in a year previous to this year did the previous government in their 10-year reign ever put in that much in affordability measures into the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians – $200 million, have not seen it in the last 10 years.
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave.
P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.
On budget day, the Minister of Health said – and I quote – and for me now, in the Ministry of Health, you’d think things would have improved. In actual fact, if it continues to go on, I would suggest that people in Northern Labrador try to find a lawyer and actually have a class action lawsuit for the failures and sue me, the Minister of Health; sue the government.
I ask the minister: What real solutions are you working on to avoid a class action lawsuit against yourself and the government?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Speaker, in actual fact, I was really disappointed that the clip that got played cut out the first part where I talked about the solutions that we are actually putting in place. I’m holding myself to account because I have lived experience with the harms the gaps in services have done to the people of Northern Labrador.
One of the things we’re going to do is rework that RT. That’s so archaic it’s got the old name. The R stands for radio, Speaker. That’s how old that office is. There are so many gaps when it comes to communication and support, but we will put the solutions in place. We are actually in the works. We have engaged with Indigenous leaders. We’ve engaged with the people that are actually –
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave.
P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.
The minister doesn’t seem to like answering these questions, but I’ll remind her that she made a point of doing this on budget day. Quote: I know it’s budget day. I know that means a lot of this messaging will get lost and I said I can’t accept being the, you know, the head, the Minister of Health, while my people continue to be treated like this. It’s unacceptable.
Why did she say such comments of her own efforts and her own government on budget day? Was she trying to detract from their lacklustre budget?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Actually, the transcript of my interview was over three pages long, Speaker. I wish they would have actually played everything and I wish they wouldn’t have misled the public, Speaker, because people in my district were concerned because of all the work we’re actually putting in place. You’re going to see real changes for patients travelling in Northern Labrador.
But, Speaker, in actual fact, this budget is going to address all of Newfoundland and Labrador. It’s not just my district, Speaker, I’m the minister for all of the province when it comes to health care services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. EVANS: Speaker, we’re actually changing a lot of the services available. When people are calling and looking for answers, Speaker, we’re actually changing the way people will be addressed. So they’ll get actually answered, Speaker.
SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.
S. STOODLEY: Thank you, Speaker.
Just a week after the minister had to delete an AI-altered image and said she regretted using AI to edit a photo, the Conservative government posted an image of a woman obviously edited with artificial intelligence to promote vaccinations. Can the Premier explain?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would suggest that they go back and look at some of their own social media. I would also suggest they go back and look at some of the reports that they had published. I would say at those reports, when we’re talking about digits costing seven figures – not fingers. There was a picture that came out. It was a mistake. It was done by public servants. For them to come in and talk about public servants in that manner again, after they’ve done the same thing time and time again, we know it’s a problem.
We’re going to fix the problem point blank, simple. AI is creating issues inside of government, government is looking for solutions to fix it. They’ve ought to look at their own reports that they’ve put out that cost millions of dollars and led us down this trail.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.
S. STOODLEY: Thank you, Speaker.
The Royal Bank of Canada says that Budget 2026 abandons plans to reduce spending and instead increases expenditures by $120 million.
Why has this government walked away from its own commitment to control spending?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: I think the hon. Member was at the Board of Trade when I spoke on Friday and I think the reception was very good. We haven’t abandoned anything and I think we made it quite clear in every comment we’ve had that we need to address the debt that they left us. We need to address the deficit that they left us. In fact, they created more debt in 10 years than any government prior to that and that is a fact.
We will address it because we are the government now and we look forward to making sure that we do address it and we’ve been clear on the record that we will but good governance makes sure that we look after the people as well. That we will do.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.
S. STOODLEY: Speaker, the government can't have it both ways. The minister said he has an insatiable desire to save money, an insatiable desire to reduce debt, an insatiable desire to reduce deficit. He increased the debt. He extended the deficit for years.
Will the minister admit, today, that their fiscal plan is not just off track but has never been on track?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: As asked, the Opposition who were government for the past 10 years –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
C. PARDY: We’ve had six months but no excuse from this side. We will –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
C. PARDY: We will address.
One of the things that we found in our plan and we were surprised that there was half a billion dollars worth of programming that weren’t financed for in the budget and that caught us off-guard because we didn’t know, when we came in, that we would have programs that were not financed in the out years. It caused us a little concern but then again, Speaker, we will address it because good governance will do that. Watch us do it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's West.
K. WHITE: Speaker, the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour says, “this budget falls short at presenting a bold, and forward-thinking plan for the future of our province.” They point to inadequacies on worker safety, labour relations, workers’ rights and no plan to create a comprehensive labour-market strategy.
Despite high oil prices and high deficits, why has this Conservative government presented such an underwhelming budget for our province’s workers?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
M. GOOSNEY: Mr. Speaker, that’s a very important question. I’d like to thank the Member opposite. Last week I attended National Day of Mourning. I placed a ribbon. He was there with me. I’m not here to play games with people’s lives. I take the health and safety of employees in this province very, very, very seriously.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
M. GOOSNEY: I served in trades on three different worksites where there were fatalities. I’ve dissected safety plans. I’ll continue to dissect safety plans while I’m here and I will continue to make sure that people are protected when they go to work and come home to their families in the evening.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s West.
K. WHITE: Speaker, CUPE says their overall concern is that the budget does not address the low pay of public sector workers and they feel the recruitment and retention crisis is probably going to come out even worse.
Why does this budget fail to address the low wages driving workers out of the system?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: Speaker, I find it disconcerting that the government, that the previous government that left us with the debt that we have, are wondering now how we’re not adding on to salaries.
We would certainly like to do more but, I think, most of the lending agencies, the bond rating agencies would know that we are limited and constrained by the amount of debt and deficit that the previous government left us but you can rest assured we will work being fiscally conservative but we will address the pressures that are out there over due course. We’ve stated that we’re not going to do everything in year one and I would hope that the Opposition heard that. We said that several times. We will address the pressures that exist.
SPEAKER: The hon. minister’s time has expired.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Waterford Valley.
J. KORAB: Thank you, Speaker.
The Premier ran on election commitment to support rotational workers with a $2,000 tax credit that is notably absent and we’ve heard from workers who feel betrayed.
Why is the government now abandoning its commitment they made in their blue book and on the election, now that they’ve got their vote?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: Speaker, it genuinely hurts me to hear that question because –Speaker, I personally, not only the Premier, but many of my colleagues would have said that we’ve got four years to implement our platform. Six months we’ve been in and now they’re picking out one. No mention, no celebratory comment about the 80 per cent of the items that were addressed, putting $226 million in people’s pockets –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: – in Newfoundlanders and Labradorians but he picks out one.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
C. PARDY: We know that the rotational workers are getting the benefit from the basic exemption amount. They’re getting that. The other one is still on the books for future years.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi.
S. O’LEARY: Thank you, Speaker.
Co-author of the Health Accord, Sister Elizabeth Davis, discussed the importance of allocating resources to climate change as it impacts our physical health. Extreme heat is a serious danger to our health, especially seniors.
Ontario is the only province that currently legislates air conditioning for long-term care homes.
I ask the minister: Will your government bring in legislation for all facilities that support our seniors so they and the workers can stay healthy in the summer?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs and the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Climate Change.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. TIBBS: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
We are constantly evolving when it comes to climate action plans and making sure that especially our seniors and our most vulnerable throughout our societies are taken care of when it comes to this moving forward.
With our CEEP programs and SAG programs throughout my Municipal Affairs portfolio, we are making sure that warming centres and cooling centres are set up across the province to ensure that as well, but make no mistake, we are working on the climate action plan moving forward. That’s going to take some time. That’s going to take some deliberation, but we will deliver a climate action plan for Newfoundland and Labrador, for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians which suit our needs right here, but we are constantly looking out for our seniors within our society.
Thank you, Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi.
S. O’LEARY: Thank you, Speaker.
We still haven’t heard the timing, when the climate action plan promised by government will be released. Under an NDP government, British Columbia brought in a free portable air conditioner program for seniors whose health is directly impacted by climate change and extreme heat.
I ask the minister: Will there be measures to ensure that the health and welfare of our seniors impacted by climate change are prioritized in their plan?
Thank you.
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. TIBBS: Thank you very much, Speaker.
Like I said, we are constantly evolving when it comes to the department. We will be achieving our goals in 2030 for a 30 per cent reduction. That’s something that we’re looking at in the future, but make no mistakes, we know where the gaps are.
It’s going to take some money. It’s going to take some time to get there, but make no mistake, we are looking after our seniors and our most vulnerable in our societies. We know that climate action plan is needed, and we know that with the ever-growing greenhouse gases throughout this world and other countries, Newfoundland and Labrador, we are at the best levels we’ve ever had since 1994. We’ll continue this trajectory.
I look forward to sitting with the Members opposite, to hearing their ideas and their concerns moving forward, but the seniors and the most vulnerable are our main priority.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
J. DINN: Speaker, the Minister of Finance stated several times last week that raising the basic personal exemption will put $91 million into the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
I ask the minister: How much can individual Newfoundlanders and Labradorians expect to see in their pockets as a result of that?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
C. PARDY: Speaker, $91 million was the cost of putting in the measure to put money out into the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians through the basic exemption amount – $91 million. I know that if I had more time, I’d like to repeat it six times so the Opposition will get it clearly: $91 million that we’ve put out.
What the question is, the question asked –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
SPEAKER: Order, please!
C. PARDY: – would be $341 is the target amount that most of the 285,000 tax filers would receive – $341.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
J. DINN: Speaker, the answer we got is $332, less than the price of a cup of coffee a day.
By contrast, individual Newfoundlanders and Labradorians receive $596 from the Canada Carbon Rebate that the minister’s party opposed; $715 if they lived in a rural area. A family of four receives $1,192, or $1,430 if they lived in a rural area.
I ask the minister: How does he expect individual Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to absorb the cost of living with so little?
SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It’s pretty bold to embrace the carbon tax and not understand what that means to the cost of groceries, the cost of gas, to the everyday cost of living in this province. Also, coming from an individual whose leader wants to turn the taps off for oil and gas. So there will be no refund on anything if that were to happen.
They say that they have a platform that can pay for absolutely everything when they don’t even understand what the cost means or the consequences are for taking stuff away from it. When you supported the carbon tax in Canada and you didn’t understand that it was disproportionate for Newfoundland and Labrador, certainly for rural Newfoundland and Labrador, then you did not read what it was.
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 Monday, May 4, 2026. The edited Hansard will be posted when it becomes available.