Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Monday, June 1, 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.

Former Premier Danny Williams once celebrated Newfoundland and Labrador becoming a have province. While it’s a nice title, it means Newfoundland and Labrador does not get the fair share of equalization payments that we deserve. Provinces like New Brunswick at $3.3 billion and Quebec at almost $14 billion received this money to help pay for services in their provinces.

Why is the Premier giving up on an issue that could mean so much for our province?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, as the Leader of the Opposition outlined, there is nothing equal about the equalization program. We all recognize that, but this has been ongoing for a number of years.

The former Liberal government decided to go to court. We’ve turned around and had our legal opinions review the file. They recommended that we not proceed with the court action and so we have cancelled that action.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Speaker, at a time when a separatist party could soon form the government in Quebec, and Alberta is holding a referendum on separating from Canada, there are talks about opening up our Constitution, which would include talks on the equalization formula.

Why wouldn’t the Premier use the court action as leverage in these discussions? Why isn’t he fighting to get more for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, that’s exactly what we’ve been doing since we got elected. It started with getting an independent review done of the MOU agreement, which we are now fighting for more power, more transmission and more value from that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: When it comes to equalization, we will, with the four rest of the premiers of this country and the prime minister, argue that we should be getting our fair share because, as I said previously, there is nothing equal about equalization.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Speaker, it’s fitting he brought up the review panel, because the public heard about dropping of the equalization case, not through the government, through the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Again, more secrecy and no transparency.

Why didn’t the government and the Premier tell the public about this decision?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, I see nothing secret about going into court to say that you’re not going to pursue a court case, but let me tell you about a little bit of transparency. Let me read from page 27 of the independent report:

“Third, in the latter stages of negotiations, after the Churchill Falls part of the deal has largely been completed, the government required that revenues for the new development projects escalate by 2% per annum. This requirement departs from established utility pricing models. To achieve a fixed 2% annual increase, prices for Gull Island power had to be artificially reduced below true costs for 45 years, which resulted in more costly financing and deferred repayments to debt and” –

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. Premier’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you for enlightening us Premier.

I wonder if you could tell us who provided that information to get it into the report?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: I’ll gladly read the next line.

“Both the negotiating team and its expert advisors advised the government not to require a 2% price escalation.”

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: The legacy of secrecy on this Churchill Falls deal will be his, Speaker.

The Premier likes to talk about securing more defence contracts from Ottawa. In fact, his entire deal with Equinor is based on this, but he has nothing to show for it yet and the biggest security conference in Canada was just held in Ottawa, and the Premier and none of his ministers were there.

Why is the Premier letting provinces like New Brunswick and Ontario, who are fully represented by elected officials, gain an advantage in this industry?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, as I said long before in this House of Assembly, we don’t simply come in here to make announcements. We came in here to get deals done, and when there’s something to be announced, we will announce it.

Right now, we are working diligently on the defence file. I’ve met with the prime minister on several occasions; I met with the minister of National Defence; met with the minister of Finance and we’ll meet with him again tomorrow.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: That’s great, but all the other ministers from across the country have had that meeting. So we’re already behind just by not showing up at the most important conference in the defence sector.

Speaker, the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure said he didn’t know how many people applied for the chief pilot position at Air Services. Well, the answer is zero.

Now we hear he’s doing a $20,000 market adjustment to fill this position, so why didn’t he do this sooner and before the chief pilot resigned?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

It’s good to know that the Leader of the Opposition has all the inside track. I guess that probably forms a bit of the problem we’re dealing with within the department.

We are well aware of this issue. We are dealing with it. We know we need a chief pilot. We will get the right individual in place, and whatever we have to do to make it work – there may be more than market adjustments. There may be support staff as well. We need a chief pilot. I’m committed to doing that, and I will go about it in my way and not the way others want to do it. I will make sure we have a chief pilot in place for the upcoming fire season this summer.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: I know they like to blame a lot of problems on us but when someone resigns during the course of their tenure, we’re still getting blamed. That’s a head-scratcher.

Speaker, we’ve heard that the pilots with Government Air Services have requested a meeting with the minister. They are in a crisis situation.

Will the minister commit, today, to sit down with the water bomber pilots to discuss these serious HR and operational issues?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

Yes, of course, I’d meet with them any time. I got an anonymous letter, Speaker. It was just from a group. No one signed off on it. I don’t know where it came from.

I’ve asked my officials and we’ve instructed them to find out what their issues are. We don’t know what their issues are. Other than that, they’ve got concerns but we don’t know what those concerns are.

We can't fix the problem until we’re told what the problem is. We’re working on that. We’re talking to them. If they want to meet, come in and disclose whatever concerns they’ve got – absolutely. A better process than giving me an anonymous letter but, absolutely, any time they want to meet, we’re available to meet with them.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: We all saw the anonymous report. It was called the MOU review.

Speaker, the blue book committed to maintain a fully operational and staffed water bomber fleet. Here we are the start of the wildfire season, no chief pilot, no new applicants, making market adjustments and readvertising. The repaired water bomber is leaking and there’s a real possibility of losing the operational certificate from Transport Canada. The minister does not seem to understand the gravity of this situation. It’s not fully staffed and it may not be operational.

What are you going to do about it?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Speaker, it’s counterproductive to be in the House of Assembly getting fed information and asking questions that we’re trying to resolve.

I’d rather do them in a board room or in a proper environment. This is not the place to deal with those issues. We know there’s an issue out there but the Leader of the Official Opposition is getting information, not all accurate, but it’s some information.

As for the leaks with the water bomber, there was a leak. That was fixed early in the game. That happens when you go through these major repairs. That’s been dealt with. This is inside information trying to taint the process.

I’m committed to resolving this process and I will find a resolution. We’re working on it as recently as an hour ago. We’ll get this resolved but this is not productive to solving the problem, this is playing politics with a very important issue and I refuse to do that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

M. KING: Mr. Speaker, I would say to the minister, the purpose of our job is to ask questions on behalf of the people of the province, and we will continue to do that until we get answers. Let’s start with some more questions to try to get some more answers.

We learned last week that the Premier paid his deputy chief of staff, Steve Outhouse, secretly through a corporation from funds not appropriate for partisan political staff. The Premier has had all weekend to come up with an answer.

Why did he agree to this scheme?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Speaker, I think they’re getting low on questions. Now they’re starting to repeat the questions that they were asking last week.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

C. PARDY: The answer that was provided last week, that we’re in a net positive position, that is the way we operate. We’re spending smarter, we’re planning efficiently and that will be the bottom line.

The Leader of the Opposition stated on Friday, post-budget: We’re Liberals for a reason and they’re Conservatives for a reason, so we’re not going to agree very often on fiscal approaches to the budget. I agree.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: We are not Liberals.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

M. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, to the minister for pointing out the very obvious. Because I can tell you one thing, we would not be paying an advisor in the Premier’s office $275,000, plus a bonus through MCP. We would not be paying a former deputy chief of staff to his consulting company through professional services in the Cabinet Secretariat. We would not be doing that.

So this is a very simple question for the Premier: Why can he not answer these questions? What are they hiding?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: We are not hiding a thing, Speaker. It’s called good fiscal management. If you don’t want to take our word from it while I address the question today –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

C. PARDY: Let me reference the Canadian Taxpayers Association. The Leader of the Opposition –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

I’ll ask the Member for a second.

If we want to lose speaking privileges again today, if we want to go for three in a row, I’m game for it. I want to hear the minister. I want to hear the questions; I want to hear the answers. I don’t want to hear another sound.

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

C. PARDY: Thank you, Speaker.

SPEAKER: And I’ll reset the clock.

C. PARDY: Oh, fantastic.

So the Leader of the Opposition stands up and on Friday states it was a bad budget that didn’t go far enough to address affordability. Well, again, don’t take it from us. Even the Leader of the Third Party gave us a C. The Leader of the Official Opposition gave us an F. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation gave us an A+ on affordability.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: An A+ on affordability. I noticed this in the report that this “budget only slightly increased spending, but Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are still being punished by years of irresponsible borrowing.” We’ve got our fiscal House in order.

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

M. KING: Mr. Speaker, I’m so glad he’s celebrating a pat on the back from his conservative friends at the Taxpayers Federation, but I have one for him.

In the VOCM question of the day, how would you grade the Minister of Finance’s performance? Wait for it. The public of Newfoundland and Labrador speak and they give you a grade of F. That’s from the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. So by paying the former deputy chief of staff through his consulting company in Ontario, this means he would not pay taxes in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Why does the Premier think Steve Outhouse should pay less tax than the hard-working Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who work for the provincial government?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Speaker, we’ve managed the budget quite well. We’ve increased the expenses by 1.1 per cent – 1.1 per cent more than we had anticipated to increase, but 1.1 per cent is less than the CPI. We’ve done well.

Look at the affordability measures that we put out: $260 million out in people’s pockets. The reporting, any reporting we always take into account, that judges our effort, but we like to look at the A-plus and the affordability, and the amount of money put back in people’s pocket as being a very positive experience. We will manage the books on our watch, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

M. KING: Mr. Speaker, I would give him another grade of F for not answering a single question that we are asking here. They are in government; they are responsible for the decisions that they are making.

The Premier paid for his campaign manager Steve Outhouse’s corporation. Once again, this is not how political staff should be paid.

Was this paying him back with taxpayer dollars meant for non-partisan government work to reward him for his help in the election?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Mr. Speaker, I would say we will manage the economics of the province to the best of our ability, and I think we’ve done it well. We’ve done it well.

One thing that the people appreciate is that we’ve increased the basic personal amount to $15,000, putting close to $340 in every taxpayer’s pocket. We’ve doubled the volunteer firefighter and search and rescue tax credits. We’ve increased the small business rate – we’ve decreased it, but we’ve increased the savings for the businesses half a per cent this year, half next year and half the year after. Then, we’ve increased the Seniors’ Benefit –

SPEAKER: 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.

That was an excellent segue from the Finance Minister. The Finance Minister believes in his budget, we’ve heard. At best, the government’s budget saves some people $28 a month.

Why does the minister refuse to help people with the daily cost of living? When is he going to pull a lever that helps Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: We’re back to $28 a month. While that is accurate – $340 a year, that’s right. Now keep in mind, as I said before, we spent on the Opposition’s amendment – we spent two days debating. That would have saved Newfoundlanders and Labradorians $1.12 a month.

The second thing is that anybody operating a propane forklift would have had the big benefit. That is what we debated in the House of Assembly for two days on their amendment. Something wrong with that picture.

To complete my line before, we also increased the Seniors’ Benefit and added 3,000 more children to the child benefit.

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.

S. STOODLEY: Thank you, Speaker.

I will not apologize for debating a bill that lowers gas tax, where the government voted to change gas from the same to the same. They did not lower gas tax at all, Speaker.

I do want to go back to the budget. We know the Finance Minister received a C grade on his efforts and an F from Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Today, we released a draft bill that would remove the provincial taxes from food products and non-alcoholic beverages.

Will the Finance Minister commit to reviewing and adopting this bill so people can get the help they need at the grocery stores?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Speaker, next to Ted Lasso we’ve talked a lot about levers in this House. There are numerous levers we can utilize in order to provide further relief at some point in time to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. There are many levers we can utilize.

The only thing we said we would do is we want to make sure it’s targeted, it helps those people who are in need the most. We will plan efficiently and make sure that what we select to provide more affordability measures to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians won’t be a knee-jerk reaction, but it will be well thought out and planned efficiently through consultation.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, the public has heard the troubling story about a family who was staying at the Janeway only to have their room ransacked in the ICU unit by three individuals.

Can the minister explain to the public how this was allowed to happen?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, it is troubling when patients are in hospital and they’re exposed to that type of behaviour, especially when they don’t feel safe. We’re investing in security and we’re going to be very vigilant to make sure that people who come into the hospital are there as patients or as people who are supporting patients.

At the end of the day, sometimes these things happen. The most important thing for me to do is to properly address it, find out how this happened, what was the root cause of people being able to come into the hospital and create this concern. That’s what we’re looking at right now.

We’re going to address it. We are going to put things in place so people feel safe in the hospital, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

L. DEMPSTER: Speaker, people that go to places like the Janeway go in their most vulnerable time. It’s not a place where you expect to have to deal with somebody coming in and wrecking your room.

Many, many people have reached out on this. It’s a place they want to feel safe, and they want to be assured that an incident like this never happens again.

So I ask the minister: Can she provide some more details around what they’re going to do and when they’re going to do it, given the volume of people that are paying attention to this file right now?

Thank you.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, what she’s talking about is the incident that just happened. We have an active investigation, but we are dealing with the security company that is providing security for the hospitals. We are going to actually address this.

Speaker, I have friends and family and I know residents who go to the Janeway. Everybody needs to feel safe, and that’s one thing that we are all working together on. We will address this.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

S. GAMBIN-WALSH: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, the government rolled out a new health care information system, yet we’re hearing from front-line paramedics who say they were left without training or access.

How does the minister justify excluding the very people who are first on the scene and making life-saving decisions every day?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Thank you, Speaker.

If the points she’s making are founded, it’s very troubling. I was not made aware of it, my department was not made aware of it. The Member, if she had access to that information she should have approached us – and maybe she did.

Over the weekend I was up in Shesh dealing with something. If you did, we’ve only been recently notified but I have not received any information. I will be looking into it because if what she’s saying is founded, based in facts, it will be addressed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

S. GAMBIN-WALSH: Speaker, I am hearing from front-line paramedics in my district who are raising serious patient safety concerns about being locked out of critical health care information.

Will the Minister of Health commit today to ensuring paramedics receive full access and training immediately?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, I will be following up with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services and Medavie. If paramedics don’t have access to the information to do their jobs properly and safely and provide safety to our patients, Speaker, and do their job to the best of their ability, that’s concerning for me as Minister of Health.

I will be addressing that. I will be taking that back to Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, the CEO, and Medavie, who are responsible for managing the paramedics, Speaker.

We’ll be looking into that. I thank the Member for raising it here in the House of Assembly. Would’ve liked to have some heads-up through email to us, to my department before, because I would have been able to respond earlier, Speaker.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

P. PARSONS: Speaker, we heard in Estimates that funds have been set aside for the new Electoral Boundaries Commission. The act says the Commission should be established as soon as convenient after March 31. It is now June.

When will the Commission be established?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Thank you, Speaker.

That’s part of our responsibility and discussions are ongoing. As soon as we’re ready to announce it, we’ll make that announcement very public.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

P. PARSONS: Thank you.

Will the minister confirm that the report on the new electoral boundaries will be finalized by the end of 2026, as is required by the legislation?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. PARROTT: Yes.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burin - Grand Bank.

P. PIKE: Speaker, the Fortune Head Ecological Reserve is a site dedicated to the preservation and the protection of trace fossils from 541 million years ago. This site is also an environmental disaster, with garbage falling into the ocean at a rapid rate.

In an April 2025 report, it was recommended that the site be remediated. People of the area are wondering what will be happening to correct this situation?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. TIBBS: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the question. This is another disaster that has been going on for 20 years that this government has inherited. That doesn’t disqualify the real impressions it has down in that area.

I have talked to some people in the area. My department are well aware of it. My department is looking for solutions right now, today, that are economically feasible and a timely manner to help out the Member’s district down there.

We get it. It is extremely important to us. There are other places across the province that are like this as well, not so much to the extent of this one but make no mistake, Mr. Speaker, we are working on it. We are going to come up with solutions and as soon as we do, I’ll reach back out to the Member.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burin - Grand Bank.

K. WHITE: St. John’s West – good try.

SPEAKER: Oh, sorry.

The hon. the Member for St. John's West.

K. WHITE: Speaker, the Michael Donovan Library, located in my district, opened its doors in 1989. It’s been a fixture in the city’s west end for almost four decades; the sixth busiest library province wide. It recently learned that its lease would not be renewed; it will close its doors on Saturday, June 13. Library staff have long advocated to the library’s board and the department for increased funding necessary to relocate to a larger, more accessible location.

Will the minister, here today, give his word that the Michael Donovan Library will not close permanently on his watch and an alternate location in the city’s west end be identified?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. DINN: Thank you for the question.

As I’ve said before, our libraries are very important. We have 94 throughout the province and every one of them is being used and utilized; in fact, the Michael Donovan Library is probably one the most used libraries that we have.

They are working with us. They’re working with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. We are working to find a location for them. They want to stay in the same end of town and I agree with that. Hopefully, in the near future, we will have a location. I would love to have a location prior to them moving out but we’re working on it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, the Poverty Report Card published by Food Banks Canada recommends Newfoundland and Labrador develop a Labrador-specific plan to reduce food insecurity by lowering freight costs, strengthening local food systems and improving access to fresh, affordable food.

NDP leader Avi Lewis promoted the idea of publicly owned grocery stores. Both New York and Toronto are launching pilot projects of government-operated grocery stores to fight food insecurity.

I ask the Premier: Will he commit to establishing a pilot project of provincially owned grocery stores to ensure access to fresh, affordable food?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: I say to the Leader of the Third Party: anything that reduces poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador this government will consider. We’ve got and we’ve had a history – back in 2005 when it started – a poverty reduction plan that led the country.

We’re now currently involved in redoing and rolling out a new poverty reduction plan that’s going to take into account whatever measure that we possibly could deploy to help Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. All possibilities will be on the table.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

The 2026 Poverty Report Card notes that while Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest disability assistance levels country-wide they are still below the poverty line; that while our province has some of the strongest income support reforms, their impact on poverty and affordability remains limited.

I didn’t hear a commitment to a grocery store, but I heard talk about the poverty reduction plan, so I will ask the Premier: Will he commit to establishing an all-party committee similar to the committee on basic income to examine grocery prices and explore ways to keep them affordable while we’re waiting for the poverty reduction plan?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: I say to my hon. colleague, we will have the poverty reduction plan as soon as we possibly could. I know we begin work in earnest on that. I know we’ve said numerous times here on affordability measures that it was important for us to do it.

We need to make sure that we’ve got a super meritorious plan in order to reduce poverty. It will be a significant influence in our next budget, but I would hope that we’ve got a good direction well before budget time for our next fiscal.

Thank you very much, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

S. O’LEARY: Thank you.

Speaker, more experts, historians and community advocates are coming forward with thoughtful proposals for the future of the S.O. Steele building next to the War Memorial in downtown St. John’s. One proposal would see the province pursue UNESCO world heritage recognition and transform the building into an interpretation centre, preserving an important piece of our history while creating new opportunities for tourism, education and nearby businesses.

I ask the Premier: Will he commit to meeting with these advocates and stakeholders to explore this proposal and begin a serious conversation about the building’s future?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

I spoke about this many times; I spoke to the Member as well. We’re in the process now. We have an environmental assessment done on it. There’s a report in. It’s almost finalized now. I committed to releasing that publicly when it’s done.

There are a lot of interested groups who want things done with that building. We don’t know where we’re going right now. A lot depends on this report and what assessments we make and the costs that come with it, but I’m willing to meet with any group out there, obviously. It’s just when we get the report finalized and we get it released publicly; we’ll have further discussion but I’d entertain meeting with anyone.

A lot of people have reached out to me individually as well, and my commitment to them is the same as my commitment here today. Of course we would.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

S. O’LEARY: Thank you, Speaker, and thank you for that, Minister.

Speaker, last week, Visual Artists Newfoundland and Labrador announced the winners of the Excellence in Visual Arts Awards, recognizing the incredible talent and contribution of artists across our province. Yet despite the vital role artists play in our culture, communities and economy, this year’s budget provided no increase in artist grants. The Finance Minister just declared government will help any people with the most need.

I ask the Minister of Tourism: What specific action will be taken to increase funding opportunities for artists and to ensure they have the support they need to create and thrive in the province?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. O’DRISCOLL: Thank you, Speaker.

It’s certainly an important question, and I do appreciate the question from the Member.

This year, in the budget for the PC government, $3 million was allocated that will support collaboration with partners on events, attractions and development and delivery of festivals here in Newfoundland and Labrador. Also, film, television and arts: another $10 million investment.

So we’re certainly doing our part to encourage all investment here in this province and to make sure that our tourism and arts and culture sectors are taken care of.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The time for Oral Questions has expired.

Please be advised that this is a PARTIALLY EDITED portion of the House of Assembly sitting for Question Period on Monday, June 1, 2026. The edited Hansard will be posted when it becomes available.