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

Yesterday, in this House, the Members opposite were absolutely furious that we would dare to hold them to account for the work that they promised for Bay du Nord and now we know why they were so angry; because, last night, they had to go out and admit to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that they couldn’t deliver on what they promised.

As we expected, they are trying to sell the dry dock instead of topsides as a win, but what I asks the Premier is: Why didn’t he fight for the topsides and the dry dock for construction for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, I stand here today after making an announcement last night that will have a significant impact on the lives of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and the people that work in Newfoundland and Labrador, in particular, our trades workers.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Not only have we created and moved the Bay du Nord project forward, but we’ve created a new industry for Newfoundland and Labrador, something that I have talked about in the election campaign and I continue to talk about, because if we’re really going to grow the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador, we need to create new industry.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

As we’ve said, we appreciate positive steps toward jobs in this economy. The Premier mentioned the word “significant.” Imagine how much more significant if he could deliver on his promises, which would be the topsides and the dry dock, but we know they gave part of that away already, Speaker.

It’s important for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to know that this deal that was signed last night was the same deal that was on the table last fall, and we chose not to sign that deal in part because, at that point in time, Trades NL, who are here today, told us they would not support any deal without all the topsides work being done here, full stop.

So I ask if the Premier rushed this deal at the expense of our workers so he could have exactly the type of big, fancy announcement he claimed to hate yesterday?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, one of the things that I talked a lot about in the campaign too is if you really want to get something done, go talk to the people that worked there and that’s –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: – Speaker, that’s what we actually did for the first time in this project, first time in our oil projects, we went out and consulted with the workers who were actually going to be doing the work and I’m happy to report that Trades NL were partners with us along the way and they fully support the agreement that we have arrived at right now.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you.

I think, the Premier missed the point that it was the same deal that was on the table six months ago. A deal that we chose not to sign because we didn’t think it was the maximized benefits for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Last night, the Premier admitted that companies here in our province will only have an opportunity to bid on topside work.

So I ask: Why didn’t the Premier use the full authority and leverage that the government has to insist on topwork guarantees during the negotiations and allow him to keep his promise?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, as I said last night and I will say again today, what we have done is created a brand new industry for Newfoundland and Labrador working with the workers of Trades NL, to get this done. Something that is not simply boom and bust of all our major projects in the past because we have a history of major work being done, lots of jobs being created for the short-term and then when that’s finished, the jobs go away with lots of layoffs. What we’re doing as a government, is creating industry and what this floating dry dock does, not only does it allow work during the construction phase of the dry dock but it will provide work, jobs, jobs, jobs for years, years, years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

And the creation of new industry, I would hope provides guarantees for those jobs as well because the Premier has promised that his new dry dock would be used for navy and coast guard work.

Does the Premier have any guarantee from the federal government that these jobs will come or is this an opportunity as opposed to real jobs for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this deal gives us apprenticeship numbers that the province has never seen. This deal gives us an opportunity at equity. This deal gives us a higher amount, a much higher amount of royalties. This deal gives us more fabrication than we would have gotten with the topsides. It gives us subsea work for the life of the deal.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: This government gave away the swing gates that could have been in Argentia, for money. They took a $100 million payoff not to do it and now they stand here and talk like this. This is a great deal and if you don’t believe me, read the article from CBC where Trades NL says PCs delivered on their local benefits agreements.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: A minister doesn’t need to remind me what was in the deal because it was the deal that I didn’t sign because I didn’t think it was a good enough deal.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I will ask the minister then, if the Premier is done answering questions: Why have they chosen to download their responsibility and put the burden on our local companies to bid, individually, on contracts for topsides when government could have just insisted that those companies in Newfoundland and Labrador will get that work?

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Official Opposition says a deal that he didn’t sign. Well, he wasn’t the leader a year ago and he, certainly, wasn’t the Minister of Energy and Mines. The next thing I’ll say is that just a couple of months ago, the day after he had his briefing from Equinor, the general manager of Equinor looked at us, in the face, and told us that he’s never met with the Leader of the Official Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

L. PARROTT: As a matter of fact, he said that he only met with the Premier one time before. So perhaps the Leader of the Official Opposition can get up and explain when he met with him.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

AN HON. MEMBER: Not once.

SPEAKER: Order, please!

Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I’ll just say, first of all, I’ve never seen a group of people who won something and are upset about it. I teach my daughter, when she loses at soccer, you know, show some sportsmanship, smile, everything is okay. I never thought I’d have to explain to people that when they win, they’re upset.

Speaker –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

J. HOGAN: Speaker, I understand –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

All you’re doing right now is cutting into your time for Question Period which I have no problem doing.

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

J. HOGAN: And I understand the responsibility of being an MHA and of being a minister and of being a premier. It certainly seems like in 125 days it’s gotten to them already. Speaker, these are questions that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have asked us to ask on their behalf. If they don’t want to answer, that’s fine but Newfoundlanders and Labradorians see what’s happening in the House of Assembly.

Now Equinor has publicly said that companies in Asia have a competitive advantage for topside construction.

So how can local companies who pay good wages and good benefits to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians compete when they hear statements like that from Equinor?

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The opportunities are here for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. We will build a dry dock here. It will be built by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: We will complete the subsea work here – substantial subsea work, all of it for the life of the field. The first time ever that we’ve had a life-of-field benefits agreement. It will be built here in Newfoundland and Labrador –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: – by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and the public thinks it’s a great deal, CAPP thinks it’s a great deal, the stakeholders think it’s a great deal, Trades NL think it’s a great deal. The only people that don’t think it’s a great deal are the Official Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

The minister continues to miss the point of why questions are being asked. We hope it’s a good deal; we want it to be a good deal. We worked very hard on this project when we were in government, Speaker. But we want to make sure it’s a good deal. Now when they were on the other side, of course, how did they know it was a good deal? Independent review, debate. What are we getting on this? No independent review, no debate, not even answers to the questions to be honest with you, Speaker.

So I’ll ask another question. He mentioned all the work that’s going to happen, but he cannot guarantee – just tell Newfoundlanders and Labradorians – you cannot guarantee that even 0.1 per cent of topsides will be constructed here. Is that true, Minister?

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good deal. It gives us an equity option. It gives us life-of-field benefits. It gives us construction of all subsea. It gives us the opportunity to create a new industry. It gives us fabrication and new jobs for 25 to 30 years. It gives us everything that we have missed out in the past. This is the first deal since 2008, and this government has been sitting there since 2015. This is the deal that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians needed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

Believe it or not, there was an answer in there. It gives us an opportunity to create a new industry. That’s what I said. I asked is this just an opportunity. Thank you to the minister for confirming that. There was no guarantee that contracts will come from the federal government when this dry dock is built. It is an opportunity that was announced last night.

Mr. Speaker, Equinor reported a $5-billion profit last year and we know that oil prices are skyrocketing due to the conflicts in the Middle East. Is $200 million really the most that this government could squeeze from Equinor, and why didn’t they link the cost of the dry dock to the rising cost of oil?

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

L. PARROTT: One more group thinks that this is a really great deal. That’s the federal Liberals. They think this is a great deal.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: This agreement is an important step for Newfoundland and Labrador and for Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador’s oil and gas industry was built by a resilient workforce in one of the hardest places to work and operate – and now we are ready to build even bigger. Advancing responsible offshore development, we enhance energy security, unlock billions in GDP, create thousands of high-quality skilled jobs and produce oil with an emissions profile we can be proud of. This is how we strengthen our economy and solidify Canada as a place to invest and as a reliable global energy superpower – the hon. Tim Hodgson.  

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Wake me up, I must be dreaming, the Minister of Energy is supporting the federal Liberals.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. HOGAN: I’ve been telling them for five years, I’ve been telling them how great it is to work with our federal Liberal counterparts, because we all know that this deal wouldn’t be here if we didn’t work with the federal Liberals to get it through the environmental process.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. HOGAN: I almost feel like I could retire, I’ve accomplished what I never thought was possible, the Conservatives in this province think the federal Liberals are the right choice going forward. Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. HOGAN: During its eight-year construction and startup phase alone, Hebron created 40 million hours of work right here in our province. The lifetime work of Bay du Nord is 31 million hours. How can the Minister of Energy say that this deal is the best deal ever, when it’s not even the best deal in the oil industry?

Thank you very much, Speaker.

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

You know what? We did support the federal minister of Natural Resources, because he supported us. But obviously, he didn’t support them when they (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: And obviously, the Member across the way doesn’t understand the difference between a GBS and an FPSO. They’re two entirely different pieces of work. So now he’s comparing apples to oranges and thinking the two projects are the same. So I would suggest he goes away and does his homework and comes back with a different conversation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.

S. STOODLEY: Thank you, Speaker.

Equinor has agreed to give $200 million towards a dry dock, but experts estimate it will cost at least $350 million.

Speaker, I ask the government did they ask the federal government to close the $150 million gap that you announced yesterday?

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As we’ve indicated to all stakeholders, we are going to build a dry dock. We are entering into a pre-feed process right now, so we understand exactly what it’s going to cost. We have $200 million put away, and we have money set aside in this year’s budget to start that immediately.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.

S. STOODLEY: Mr. Speaker, the minister just said he didn’t know how much the dry dock was going to cost.

What protections are there for taxpayers when the cost inevitably doubles, Speaker?

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I tell you what it won’t cost: $14 billion like they were going to pay for a hospital that they never budgeted for.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Mr. Speaker, this is a lifetime possibility, generational opportunity for this province. We understand the work. We’ve had the meetings with our federal counterparts. We know what this is, and we will bring it to the end.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.

S. STOODLEY: Speaker, in February 2023, the then-PC leadership candidate, now the Premier, said a full debate must happen before decisions are made that would lock Newfoundland and Labrador into a deal that would sell the province short.

Will the Premier hold an emergency debate on Bay du Nord when the Premier himself called for this agreement?

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The people of the province elected us to do the work for them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

L. PARROTT: I tell you what else we’re not going to do. We’re not going to spend $300,000 or $400,000 on an ad campaign –

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: – like they did with the MOU, trying to convince the public that it was a good deal –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: – because the public knows this is a good deal.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.

S. STOODLEY: Mr. Speaker, the minister just said the public knows this is a good deal; he doesn’t even know how much it’s going to cost, Speaker.

The government just signed a binding agreement without bringing to this House of Assembly and without telling the public that they abandoned their promise. We brought our non-binding Churchill Falls MOU to the House to this debate, so I ask the minister what is he afraid of?

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m not afraid of anything.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Mr. Speaker, we promised jobs. We promised a deal. We promised an evolution in industry. We promised to reignite this province and bring work back here and bring people an opportunity to come back here and work. We delivered on our promises, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.

S. STOODLEY: Thank you, Speaker.

The Conservatives, if they won’t debate this deal in the House, will they at least commit to an independent expert? We all heard during the election how they didn’t stop talking about independent experts, just like they demanded on Churchill Falls. If not, why the double standard?

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Progressive Conservative government of Newfoundland and Labrador –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: – is here for the people that put us here, for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in all 40 districts –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: – and this deal proves that – this deal proves that.

Mr. Speaker, this about jobs. It’s about equity. It’s about the future. It’s about an industry that has been forgotten by the previous government – totally forgotten, abandoned.

We had more projects happen in Guyana in six years than we had under 10 years of them – not one.

Mr. Speaker, we are delivering on the benefits as promised.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters - Pleasantville.

B. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If we’re going to admit to all the facts on the table, our former premier met with Equinor on June 5, 2025. So at least we’re giving facts here in the House of Assembly, and maybe we can get an answer to a question too.

The Conservative Party and the Minister of Jobs ran with the promise of topside work for the trades people of this province.

Does the Minister of Jobs agree with the Premier’s decision to backtrack on this commitment and try to sell us all, as a province, on the dry docks are going to be there, when we could have had this anyway?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

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

L. PARROTT: Mr. Speaker, under the Liberal government, we had the highest unemployment rates in the country. This province needs work. They need sustainable work. They need work as fast as possible. They need high-paying jobs and they need a way to move forward.

What this project does for this province is it sets us forward. It gives us the jobs that the Premier promised. The Premier ran on jobs for people. He ran on lower taxes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: He ran on safer communities, and he ran on health care.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: The Bay du Nord project is going to help us deliver that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters - Pleasantville.

B. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In November, the Premier boasted about Equinor, the fact that he got Equinor to issue an expression of interest for the Bay du Nord topside work.

Did he get any success in this issue of expression before signing this binding agreement with Equinor? I’d like to get an answer for that.

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So a little lesson in how it works: a contract goes out, there’s an EOI. People respond to the EOI to see they’re capable to bid.

There are Newfoundland companies who have expressed interest in the topside work. It’s not just one portion of work, it’s every portion of the topsides. We believe portions of the topsides, possibly all of it, will be built here. We have an opportunity to build it. We have an opportunity to do it – absolutely.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: There is no separation between the two. Not only do we have the ability to do the topsides, but we have the ability to do the dry dock too.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

L. DEMPSTER: There you have it, Speaker, possibly. That’s the answer we were looking to all Question Period, there’s no guarantees. They did a fancy announcement last night but they didn’t deliver on what they promised to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Speaking of the announcement last night, Speaker, and I’m thinking about the words of the minister who hosted the event last night, talking about sexy health care in the House yesterday, Speaker, the Minister of Health was hosting a fancy, flashy, sexy Bay du Nord announcement and I was happy to see her there, so now on behalf of the people I want to know.

Will the Minister of Health now accept responsibility for the patients and staff in our health system and give them the new, modern, provincial hospital that they so well deserve?

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

L. EVANS: Speaker, I take my responsibility as Minister of Health very seriously. When I started as Minister of Health, I was very disappointed and hurt in some ways at really the lack of services that were being provided. I looked back as my seven years in Opposition and I was looking at all these announcements and then I was looking at where was the actual infrastructure, where was the actual staff that was supposed to deliver services, Speaker. So to me, when I talked about sexy announcements, you know, being I guess at the forefront a lot of things, Speaker, it was just because of my disappointment of the lack of action.

Last night was action.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: We are actually taking action. That’s what action looks like.

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

P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.

The Premier and minister are upset that we won’t just take their word on the Bay du Nord deal. The reality is, is that all we have is their word from their fancy announcement. After pretending to care about transparency and facts over headlines, they still haven’t released the document signed last night.

Why is the minister afraid, Speaker, to show the public details?

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

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would remind the Member across the way about a little thing called an MOU in which they didn’t even invite Opposition. They didn’t invite them to anything.

Mr. Speaker, we –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: – gave through a negotiation and delivered. We actually delivered on a project that’s good for this province. Royalties –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

L. PARROTT: – equity, jobs, a floating dock, everything that the province needs. We have delivered and they’re sour about it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, yesterday the government pulled out all the stops in its announcement of a benefits agreement, not a final deal. Equinor will not make their final investment decision until 2027, next year. So will the Premier admit that without a final investment decision from Equinor that yesterday’s announcement, to use the Minister of Health’s words, was a sexy, glamorous, public relations exercise?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, I’ll repeat once again what we have been able to announce yesterday was something that the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador has been waiting a long time for. With everything that has been said, the entire focus of this announcement, the entire focus of what we have been doing is about workers, Speaker. It’s about the workers of Newfoundland and Labrador. That’s what this has always been about, that’s what it always should be about.

How do we maximize the work done here in Newfoundland and Labrador, and we have not only been able to do that with the project, but we’ve been able to create a new industry, Mr. Speaker. A new industry that has the full support of the Trades NL workers, the trades workers of Newfoundland and Labrador. That’s what we’ve been able to do, Mr. Speaker, and we’re very proud of it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Speaker, it’s hard to tell the difference. Yesterday the government announced the Bay du Nord without inviting our caucus, without briefing Opposition parties and basically refusing to debate in the House of Assembly or give it an oversight review. The case is familiar, Speaker, because that’s the same approach we saw with an MOU on the Churchill Falls, no details, no transparency, except we did get a debate.

So I ask the Premier: Why has his government taken the same approach in the playbook on secrecy instead of transparency?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, once again I will talk about what we have been able to do. Last night, I talked a lot about what we were forced to have. We were told for 10 years that we cannot do anything, that our industry wasn’t alive. Yes, last night, I acknowledged, Speaker, –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, last night, I took the opportunity to thank Prime Minister Carney for the work that he has done on getting our offshore oil and gas and getting Canada back in the oil and gas business because that’s what we do, Speaker. He has turned around. The elimination of the Emissions Gap and the fact that we now have a new industry right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi, a quick question with no preamble.

S. O’LEARY: Speaker, the province’s fiscal situation is dire. This year alone we have an almost $1 billion deficit. People in this province cannot afford to heat their homes, put food on the table as the affordability crisis continues to grow. Yet, last night, the Premier, said he would take whatever it takes –

SPEAKER: Get to the question, please

S. O’LEARY: – to push this oil project forward but refused to discuss the amount the public will be paying.

I ask the Premier: How much public money will be spent on corporate welfare handouts to support a multi-billion-dollar company?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance.

C. PARDY: Thank you, Speaker.

I was starting to think I wasn’t going to get a question because I gave them an F-grade on the fall fiscal update but I’m glad I got my first question.

Mr. Speaker, we’ve had – the hon. Member asked a question yesterday, as well, or a petition yesterday, on affordability. In our platform we talked about lowering taxes in order to make life more affordable for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. What the opposite side has missed, lots of times, is when the initial statement was is that this project will bring in $6.4 billion in revenues.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Six point four billion. Imagine what that can do, Mr. Speaker, for affordability for the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador 

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

E. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, there’s a shortage of family doctors in Western Newfoundland. Many residents depend on nurse practitioners to meet their medical needs. There’s a cost to the patients for these services. Many residents can't afford these services and their health suffers or they go to the emergency department. Your government made a commitment that nurse practitioners will be allowed to bill MCP for their services.

Can the minister inform this House the status of this commitment and when will patients be able to have these services billed to the MCP at no cost to the patient?

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

L. EVANS: Thank you, Speaker.

We are committed to that pilot project. Our Premier has actually taken the initiative to expand the pilot project to include episodic care  and that’s going to help cover a lot of shifts that weren’t being filled and that created long waitlists and gaps in services.

Also too, it is funded for a year, but we are committed to making sure that we’ll extend it. We’re going to make sure that this pilot project with nurse practitioners who are delivering medically necessary care will not charge our patients. So that’s our commitment and we stand by that commitment (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

E. JOYCE: That’s great news, once it gets installed for the people of Western Newfoundland. The nurse practitioners are highly skilled and trained. They diagnose and refer patients for further testing. Their cost of an office and supplies prohibit many who offer these services. Has the government considered helping these professionals with the cost of supplying these services to patients in the most important need of these services?

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

L. EVANS: Speaker, we’ve heard and engaged a lot of nurse practitioners out there so they could join on to this pilot project. There are some nurse practitioners out there who haven’t signed on yet, and one of the issues that they’ve been bringing forward is these costs. But we want to engage with them, we want to work with them to ensure that we can provide a program where they’ll be able to work within our system and be able to provide health care to our patients with no cost to our patients, Speaker. That’s what the pilot project is, so I encourage everyone who hasn’t actually contacted the Health department to do so, because we’re willing to work with them.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The time for Oral Questions is now ended.

Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. The edited Hansard will be posted when it becomes available.