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

The Innu Grand Chief had to publicly confront the Premier today just to get a meeting after months of being ignored. The Innu have said that this government wants to develop their land without respecting the Innu’s histories, their rights or giving them a seat at the table.

Why has the Premier allowed the relationship with the Innu Nation to deteriorate to this point, and why did they have to protest just to get a meeting?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, let me take the opportunity to set the record straight. On Monday, we received a request from the Innu for a meeting. They told us they would be at the Mining Conference here in St. John’s and requested a meeting. We agreed to that meeting – delighted to agree to that meeting.

We met this morning right after I spoke at the conference, and we had a discussion that gave me an opportunity to introduce Gary Smith. It gave the opportunity for myself and minister to talk about our plan for fast tracking their land claims agreement.

We took that opportunity.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

The Grand Chief publicly has said that Churchill Falls will not move forward without the Innu being respected.

Does the Premier agree that the deal cannot proceed without the consent of Innu Nation?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, as I just said, we met this morning. We discussed several outstanding issues with the Innu. Both myself and the minister have agreed to continue to have those discussions with the Innu and have agreed to go to their community of Sheshatshiu to continue those discussions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

Yesterday, the Premier said everybody is entitled to their opinion no matter how ill-informed they might be.

Why does the Premier think anyone who questions his Churchill Falls deal, or his refusal to debate the final agreements is ill-informed?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, the answer to that question had nothing to do with the Churchill Falls agreement. As a matter of fact, it was disappointing though to hear the leader opposite talk about Quebec in his scrum and not talk about the Churchill Falls agreement that has been negotiated on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We all understand that the Leader of the Opposition and the Liberal Party has voted against the new Churchill Falls agreement, a deal that delivers more for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. I would think that if the Member opposite could stand up and support the 2024 agreement, he could certainly stand up and support an agreement that delivers more (inaudible.)

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: I asked a lot of questions about details in that agreement. The Premier failed to or couldn’t answer over the course of this week. Now he doesn’t seem to understand that I had to talk about Quebec because they are the ones that signed the deal with us, Premier. The Premier believes people are ill-informed about the deal so maybe he should accept some responsibility for that.

Why doesn’t he take the opportunity to, number one, answer questions in the House of Assembly about the deal? Or here’s another idea, hold the debate on the 17 final agreements so Newfoundlanders and Labradorians can be informed about this deal that the Premier is forcing down their throats?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, let’s take the opportunity to talk about what’s in the agreement. Let’s talk about what the Liberal deal of 2024 had in their agreement that they all voted yes to and the new agreement that they all voted no to. Let’s talk about the 1,990 megawatts that was in their agreement. Our new agreement has up to 2,350 megawatts.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: They voted no.

Let’s talk about no guaranteed access to multiple market-pricing options, which their agreement did not have but they voted yes. But when we put forward an agreement that has a 985-megawatt transmission portfolio, they voted no.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Yesterday, Hydro-Québec released a report suggesting it may need to import electricity from neighbouring provinces or the United States within just three years. Hydro-Québec projects an extremely high increase in the demand for energy in the coming years and energy deficits as early as 2029.

Will the Premier take advantage of this new level of need by Quebec and get more for Newfoundland and Labrador, before he slams the 50-year deal down Newfoundlanders and Labradorians’ throats?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, let me once again talk about what we have and what we didn’t have. What we didn’t have is the 2024 agreement, which again the Members opposite, the Liberal government voted yes for. There was no premium-pricing option and now we have a premium-pricing option built into this new agreement where we can sell Churchill Falls power to Hydro-Québec at 150 per cent of the contract price, 50 per cent higher value for surplus power and flexibility to sell the power or to recall it back when we need it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: The problem is there’s an issue with the contract price. The Hydro-Québec report, according to Bloomberg, paints a picture of a province with an ever-increasing appetite for electricity, which will require unprecedented investments in Quebec to satisfy Quebec’s customer needs.

I hate to say I told you so, but does the Premier regret giving away the replacement-based pricing that we had given it clear, now that Quebec will need to build new energy infrastructure?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.,

Speaker, the Member opposite is obviously quite worried about Quebec and their power needs. He actually signed a 50-year deal himself and now he’s complaining about it.

But I’ll tell you what this government isn’t going to do. We’re not going to sit on our hands and let the world get out in front of us. As a matter of fact, today, we just announced 10 land parcels for our offshore oil – 10 bids. The first time in years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: The government that he led, that he was the premier of, failed to move anything forward. We have been moving things forwards and now they’re opposed to it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Well done to the minister for putting the oil in the ground. I didn’t know he could do that.

The Hydro-Québec report states that in order to meet demand, the utility plans to add –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

J. HOGAN: – 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity by 2041.

Again, I hate to say I told you so, I really do, but does the Premier regret giving away replacement-based pricing that we had, given it’s clear that Quebec will need to build energy infrastructure?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t address the preamble. While I may not have put the oil in the ground, I can guarantee you that they never took any out of the ground.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: They let an industry fail. For 10 years they disappointed the fine men and women that work in our oil and gas industry, brushed them aside, dismissed them and did nothing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: Today, we had bids for 10 parcels for the first time in years, $260 million.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Speaker, we will progress this project forward. We will not do what they’ve done. We will not make those same mistakes. We will talk to the companies. Yesterday, he talked to Equinor, once in 173 days – once.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

The Quebec CHPE and NECEC contracts expire before the Premier’s 50-year Churchill Falls deal.

Can the Premier let us know, and Newfoundlanders and Labradorians know, what happens in the future if there’s no CHPE or NECEC price because Quebec is no longer able to sell to the US? How do we value our energy then, or is that still to be negotiated?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, it’s called optionality. We have built into this new agreement the optionality to sell our power to Quebec or not to sell it to Quebec. My preference would be that we will grow industry in Newfoundland and Labrador –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: – so we will never sell any power to Quebec because we will be using it to build our own mines and our own resources and our own industries right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

F. HUTTON: Thank you, Speaker.

This week five Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with energy experience, including Gabe Gregory, Des Sullivan, former deputy minister David Vardy, wrote an open letter to the Premier raising serious concerns about his Churchill Falls deal. They say the agreement repeats the mistakes of 1969, abandons market-based pricing and ignores key recommendations of the Premier’s own Review Committee.

Will the Premier listen to these experts, honour his election promise and put this deal to a referendum before signing the final agreements?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.

For the record, the Premier has already met with them all and what I will say is this: They didn’t listen to him. They didn’t even want an independent review panel. They were misled by a former premier who took over the negotiations. They talk about negotiators leaving. Their lead negotiator resigned and walked away.

So they cannot sit over there and pretend to be something that they’re not. They signed a 50-year deal and now they’re opposed to it. They voted for less, now they’re opposed to more. They have failed the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and that’s why they’re sitting over there.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, maybe the Premier and his Energy Minister can look at or listen to what people are saying because they’re saying that this government is failing them. These people are calling for a province-wide referendum, which the Premier promised on the day he launched his election campaign, during the campaign and on the night he won the election. Given that the Premier has acknowledged the deal won’t be signed until at least March of 2027, next year, he now actually does have time; there is no rush.

What’s the Premier’s real excuse for breaking his referendum promise, breaking his word with the people of Newfoundland and Labrador?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Perhaps the Member across the way should stand and tell everyone why he broke his promises on transparency. Perhaps he should tell people about Snow’s Lane, perhaps he should tell people about the 106 hotel. Perhaps he should get up and talk about all that. He should talk about why he supported a 50-year deal. Now he’s opposed to it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: He should talk about why he supported $232 billion, now he’s opposed to $277 billion. He voted yes for less and no for more and now he has a problem with it. Do you know what it is, Mr. Speaker? It’s pure politics.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

F. HUTTON: Deflect, deflect, deflect, that should be their three main catchphrases.

Speaker, it is particularly interesting that the Premier is now dismissing the concerns of David Vardy, because in January of 2025, when he was the Opposition Leader, he himself quoted Mr. Vardy here in the House of Assembly when he was sitting here and relied on his expertise to make the case for an independent review. He recognized Mr. Vardy’s experience on the Churchill River Management Expert Panel. He was, by the way, appointed by Premier Furey at the time and cited his call for independent scrutiny.

Why was David Vardy’s expertise good enough for the Premier when he was in the Opposition, but suddenly, not worth listening to now that he’s in government?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Once again, their time machine is broke. This Premier hasn’t dismissed anyone. He’s listened to everyone who has wanted to have his ear. He has listened to everyone.

But I tell you who he has listened to specifically: the experts that negotiated the deal. The same experts that they utilized to negotiate their deal, which was good. According to them it was great. They voted for it.

We listened to the IRP, an independent review panel that came in. They didn’t want one – they did not want one. So now here we are with a deal that’s better. Once again I will say it: they don’t want it because they couldn’t get it. At the end of the day, this deal is the best deal for the province and they’re opposed to it for pure politics.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, I think the Opposition Leader and myself and other Members on this side have said very clearly that we will support a deal that is in the best interests of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. We don’t feel that this deal is, it’s as simple as that.

Former PC premier Brian Peckford and former PC leader Ches Crosbie have wrote to the Premier calling on him to pause the Churchill Falls negotiations and undertake an independent review, arguing that the proposed deal falls short of the 2024 MOU. The Premier’s PC predecessors say, quote: unlike in the 2024 MOU there is no reopener and no off-ramp. This week the Premier dismissed them and their concerns but this is much different than when the Premier was in Opposition, once again flip-flop when he celebrated Peckford for his tenacity and his accomplishments.

Again, why is the Premier only interested in listening to people when they agree with him?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I’ll tell you who didn’t disagree with the Premier, former premier Roger Grimes and former premier Dwight Ball when they stood down on the wharf the day the announcement was made alongside Prime Minister Carney, and said how great this deal was and how good it is for the province. They actually said there’s no way that the Liberals could vote against it but boy were they wrong.

At the end of the day, we have the best deal for this province. A deal far better than they got and because they couldn’t bring it across the line, now they’re opposed to it. Pure politics.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, we’ve got an Energy Minister who calls certain people who oppose the PC deal do-nothings, a complete insult. We have a Premier who thinks people are ill-informed.

When will this government acknowledge that the public are against their deal, stop insulting them and start listening and deliver on the promise of a referendum?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I won’t get down in the mud.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: They took a nine-second clip from a speech and they utilized it as a weapon. So they can do and say what they want, but I can tell you if we want to talk about doing nothing, think about the last 10 years, because there was nothing done in this province. Not one thing for our oil and gas. Not one thing for our mining industry. Not one thing for the men and women of Newfoundland and Labrador in the trades. Not one thing.

If he wants to utilize words, he should think about his flip-flops because I think he got the wrong colour ones on.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

F. HUTTON: Mr. Speaker, coming from a minister and a Premier who said that we’re back in the oil industry is interesting. Let’s remind them of Hebron, let’s remind them of West White Rose, two projects. Let’s remind them of the 42 million barrels of oil that came out of the ground while the Oppositon Leader now, when he was the premier.

How can this minister stand and say nothing was done? It is just not true, but it’s on brand for this government. They say things that simply are not true over and over again and, yes, Finance Minister, people do begin to believe it.

SPEAKER: Is there a question?

The hon. Member, is there a question?

F. HUTTON: I asked him how he can say this about an oil industry which is one of the cornerstones of our economy –

SPEAKER: Thank you.

F. HUTTON: – and how he can continually say that we did nothing during that period of time?

SPEAKER: Thank you.

The hon. the Minister of Energy and Mines.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.

I didn’t realize that they actually put the oil in the ground, according to what he just said there. That’s pretty amazing.

Mr. Speaker, our oil and gas industry was stagnant under the previous administration and they know it. At one time, we sat in here and they touted 650 potential Hebrons. They delivered on zero. That’s how many: zero. They had 10 years to get Bay du Nord across the line – zero. Hebron was done before they came into power – zero. If they want to talk about mining starts, they did nothing.

They did nothing. They left the province in shambles, in debt that it can’t handle. We’re here to pick up the pieces and we’re doing a good job. And today’s bids, the 10 bids, guess what? That proves –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: That proves to not only the province but the entire oil and gas industry that Newfoundland and Labrador is back in business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Justice would not answer a simple yes-or-no question, so I will try again today.

Has there been any contact with the chief justice in the last year in relation to the Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission, yes or no?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Not sure what the “oh” was about, Speaker. I’m going to answer a question, hopefully.

We’ll have an update on that in the coming days, if not next week. We’re working on getting that completed. The Minister of Justice is heavily involved, as we all are, and we’ll have something out on that in the next week.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

P. PARSONS: Well, Speaker, I say to the Deputy Premier, why don’t you let your minister get up and answer. She’s quite capable of answering a question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

P. PARSONS: Speaker, realistically, there is no time for the commission to be appointed and complete its work by year-end.

Does the government have plans to bring new or amending legislation to the House in this sitting in relation to the electoral boundaries commission?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

B. PETTEN: Stay tuned.

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

P. PARSONS: Stay tuned. It sounds like we are all watching an episode of Days of Our Lives in here in this House of Assembly, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker, is the government doing work behind the scenes, in secret and behind closed doors, in relation to gerrymandering the electoral boundaries?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Speaker, you know, there are a lot of bigger issues out in this province facing us today. I deal with them every day; we all do here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

B. PETTEN: (Inaudible) our platform is still alive and well, safer communities, better health care and lower taxes, jobs and affordability.

This Member has to get up in the House of Assembly day after day after day and asking about the electoral boundary bylaws –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

B. PETTEN: They’ll be done. The commission will be set up. We’re going to have something on it in the next week or so.

To spend our time in the House of Assembly trying to –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

Is it that difficult for Members to maintain order in this hon. House?

The hon. the minister.

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

To waste time in the House of Assembly asking questions about something that the majority of the province has no idea or no interest in. There will be something announced on it in a week’s time. I would tell her to go do her research and get some better material for the House of Assembly.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Labrador Affairs said she had met with the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, the council and the chamber. Is this accurate and when did these meetings take place on the DCIA?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Labrador Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, just to clarify, she asked about Team Labrador and what meetings they had. I said, actually, I had met with the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay multiple times as the minister of Health and Community Services – so many titles, Speaker – and also as Minister of Women and Gender Equality, and also as Minister of Labrador Affairs and Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. We have met multiple times. I’ve also met multiple times with the chamber representing my department.

Another thing I just want to clarify, Team Labrador was set up to make sure that the messages and the information was brought back to ministers. Ministers, in the last two months, have gone up to Labrador to meet with –

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, Team Labrador was going to go out and gauge the concerns of Labradorians around this Churchill Falls deal, the minister said yesterday she will not be rushing the process. But the Churchill Falls deal is supposed to be done by December 31, so there is a rush.

Will she be able to show some real consultation and report on real meetings? Because all we’ve heard two months in is they’re developing a website to gauge people’s feedback.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Labrador Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, that’s not what I said. I said one of the things we’re doing is actually developing a website so people can reach out and arrange meetings and consultations with us as Team Labrador. Speaker, when the Premier spoke of Team Labrador, it was so that issues and concerns in the region could be brought back to the ministers and government departments.

But you know something? She may be complaining that Team Labrador hasn’t been out there, but who’s been out there? The ministers, Speaker. The ministers of the department have been going out. The Minister of Health, the Minister of Housing have gone up, the Minister of Justice has gone up, the Minister of Education has gone up.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, the ministers have gone up themselves, which is far more than what I can say they’ve done, Speaker, in the last few years –

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 have to follow up on an answer. The Deputy Premier basically said electoral boundaries and democracy is not important. There are other things that are more important. It is very important but what he did – it’s fine, you can argue whether he said it or not, but he did say that we are working on it.

Now the legislation says the first step is for a letter to go from the Attorney General to the chief judge. That’s the first step. So what are they working on if the first step hasn’t been done? Work is supposed to be done by the committee which hasn’t been appointed.

Deputy Premier, what are you working on behind the scenes in relation to electoral boundaries?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: They’ve got a lot to worry about here today, Speaker.

The letter –

SPEAKER: Any more questions?

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: We’ve asked about this in Estimates and in the House of Assembly and the answer was we will work it expeditiously.

Speaker, that was seven months ago. The Deputy Premier and the Attorney General can’t write one letter to the chief justice in seven months?

So I ask anyone: What are you doing?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: We’re working on safer communities.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Lower taxes and affordability. Jobs. Jobs (inaudible) for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

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

S. O’LEARY: Thank you, Speaker.

We learned through the media that the greenhouse gas emission projections for 2030 will overshoot our goal by two megatons, which is absolutely unacceptable.

The Premier responded that he hopes to meet 2030 climate targets he had in their blue book. They stated: “Without immediate and decisive measures, it is increasingly unlikely that the province will meet its 2030 emission reduction targets”.

I ask the Minister of Environment and Climate Change: When can people expect to see a finished climate action plan and those decisive measures begin?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: I know there's something else but I can’t think of it now.

A. BARBOUR: Speaker, I’m so happy that she asked this question because I get to clear the air. We know the media took the narrative and twisted it and wrote what they wanted and they didn’t say the truth.

So the truth is –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

I want to hear the minister. I don’t want to hear anybody else

SPEAKER: The hon. the minister.

I’m going to reset the clock.

A. BARBOUR: Thank you.

The truth is, what’s in the media and what with ATIPP back in July was a draft model. Now, how can you take a draft and say this is what we have and put it out in the media and talk about it? The department said we don’t want to give out the draft because we knew this was going to happen and here we are today, and it’s happening.

This model is under development and the media and everything that was based and put out there was based on a snapshot of a draft model, not the final model.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

I want to hear the Member.

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

S. O’LEARY: Thank you, Speaker.

I’d like to remind the public that the PCs and Liberals publicly opposed the federal government’s gas emissions cap. Hope doesn’t stand a chance.

We continue to see new governments elected, present detailed plans to tackle the climate emergency and say all the right words, only for the plans to collect dust and we end up starting all over again.

I ask the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change: Why should the public trust that her government will finally act?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I’ll tell you what the public should be, they should be thankful that they don’t have an NDP government, because they would have a government that is fully opposed to oil and gas – fully opposed. Their federal leader is out saying it daily, he wants no oil and gas whatsoever.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: We will produce oil and gas in this province, as long as we have it offshore and the world needs it. We are a better, clearer, greener option for the world. We stand by that. We all –

AN HON. MEMBER: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: – know (inaudible).

At the end of the day, we pay for everything we do based on industry. If we didn’t have industry, if we didn’t have mining, if we didn’t have oil and gas, we would have nothing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands.

E. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, Western Memorial Regional Hospital radiation department is helping so many residents to fight cancer while at home and near their towns with radiation services.

Patients have to travel to St. John’s to have a PET scan, a short procedure but a long trip for people with cancer. The PET scanner services was removed from the original commitment to have this included at the Western Memorial. The former minister stated that the PET scanner should be available in Corner Brook in 2027.

I ask the minister: Can you confirm that the PET scanning services will be available in Corner Brook in 2027?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

The PET scanner in Corner Brook is, indeed, a blue book commitment of ours, Mr. Speaker. We do have these constructions meetings for the PET/CT scanner currently under way. They are progressing very well.

The timeline is by the end of 2027 to have that PET scanner in Corner Brook to serve the people of the West Coast. That also includes making sure that we do have everything in place, not only with respect to the infrastructure there, but, of course, with the staff that’s needed as well.

We will deliver on this promise, Mr. Speaker, a blue book commitment, by the end of 2027.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands.

E. JOYCE: I thank the former minister and the current minister for that great news.

Speaker, recruitment and retention of specialists, professionals to operate the PET scan, are vital for these services to be available to the residents who have now to travel to St. John’s.

I ask the minister: Can the minister update the House, and the residents of Western Newfoundland who rely upon these services, the status of the recruitment of these necessary professionals to ensure that the services will be available in the Western Memorial Regional Hospital in 2027?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

We are, indeed, planning as we are going forward, not only with the infrastructure that’s needed for the PET scanner at Western Memorial, but we’re also moving forward, at the same time, with the recruitment initiatives. We are certainly going to make sure that when that PET scanner is operational, it is up and running for the people of the West Coast and that it is fully staffed.

Mr. Speaker, we do have to make sure we have nuclear medicine technologists. We have specialist physicians in these highly competitive areas that we are recruiting for right now. I can say that with the proper signing bonuses and relocation supports, we will make sure that it’s fully staffed when it’s operational for the people of the West Coast of the province.

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 Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The edited Hansard will be posted when it becomes available.