Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Independent news from Newfoundland & Labrador
JUSTIN BRAKE: From Benoit's Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, this is the Indy Broadcast. Welcome to the indie broadcast for Sunday, June 29. I'm Justin Brake.
Northern Labrador in ‘crisis’ as people ration food, toilet paper, baby supplies
JUSTIN BRAKE: Residents of Labrador's North Coast were running out of food and other essentials earlier this week when the Kamutik W ferry, which brings people and goods to coastal Innu and Inuit communities, was allegedly delayed due to ice conditions. The ferry usually begins service to the North Coast on June 15 each year, and it travels there on a weekly basis.
The delay forced residents in communities like Nain to start trading and bartering goods. On Tuesday, the Nunatsiavut Government started sharing its own supply of toilet paper with residents from its government buildings. Nunatsiavut First Minister Melva Williams said in a June 20 news release that "some of our communities have yet to receive a single delivery this year. People and businesses are running out of essential items, everything from food to basic household supplies. This is an emergency."
Rosie Harris, a mother in Nain, told The Independent her community was, "in crisis and people need to treat it that way. If this was anywhere else in Canada, something would have been done by now." Nunatsiavut says it appealed to the government for an air freight subsidy so that goods could be flown into the community during the ferry delays, but to no avail. The Inuit government also reached out to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure in April to raise concerns in advance of the shipping season and to discuss ways to prevent service delays. It also wrote to Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Elvis Loveless on May 28, "requesting a meeting and inviting him to visit Nunaziavut to witness firsthand the real and growing impact of unreliable service."
To date, the Nunatsiavut Government said in its June 20 release, it hadn't received a response. Nunatsiavut is also questioning whether sea ice was really delaying the ferries. Williams said new Nunatsiavut ports have, "been ice free for weeks, yet the Kamutik W has still not reached all communities. Residents deserve transparency. If sea ice is the reason for the delay, then an icebreaker should be deployed immediately."
The Inuit government says that under the marine services contract, if ferry service is interrupted for an extended period and no suitable vessel is available, the contractor, Labrador Marine, is obligated to implement alternative arrangements. That includes the use of charter air services to transport passengers, pets, and carry on freight until ferry operations are up and running in all communities. In light of this, the Nunatsiavut Government is again urging the provincial government to subsidize air freight and passenger service immediately, at least until the ferry is operational and serving every community.
Williams said, "This isn't just about logistics. It's about fairness, equity, and the right of our people to access food and other vital supplies in a timely and affordable way." Labrador Marine did not respond to The Independent's request for comment. A boat plane occasionally services the Southern Labrador community of Black Tickle to assist that community during shipping delays, but the Department of Transportation told The Independent it would not do the same for communities on the North Coast because those communities, "have access to air services approximately 365 days a year." Rosie Harris said the idea that the North Coast doesn't need a boat plane while communities wait for the ferry is "bullshit." She said the provincial government isn't acknowledging the, "outrageous" airfare prices for passengers and freight on Air Borealis and that flights aren't guaranteed.
"Why do we have to be treated like we're nobodies, like we don't matter? It's really frustrating to hear the statement. The more we speak up, the more excuses they're giving us. The more we speak up, the more they want to shut us up. We're only important when it comes to any type of mind."
For more on this story, go to TheIndependent.ca.
Innu youth join calls for action on Sheshatshiu drug crisis
JUSTIN BRAKE: Staying in Labrador, where three youth in Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation are joining the growing number of calls from within the community for police and community leaders to address the drug crisis. One mother in the community of about 1,200 estimates more than two dozen people in the past three years alone have died drug-related deaths. Angel Jourdain Mckay, a 19 year old woman in Sheshatshiu, likened drugs circulating in the community to weapons, "weapons in a war that we don't always see, but we feel it every single day."
Jourdain Mckay says kids are trying alcohol, cocaine, and smoking crack at alarmingly young ages. "I fear that if we stay going the way we are then there's going to be a lot of children without parents around. There's going to be a lot more caskets built for teenagers. There's going to be a lot of death in the upcoming years. Even myself as an addict, I'm just recovering now. I think if nothing changes in the next five years, I think I will be gone too."
Sheshatshiu Chief Eugene Hart didn't respond to The Independent's request for an interview. Meanwhile, the RCMP said that just because residents don't see more people being arrested and charged in the Innu community doesn't mean they aren't investigating leads. But many of the leads they do get, the force says, don't have enough information or evidence to lay charges.
Jourdain Mckay said she was compelled to speak out after witnessing a woman in the community die of a fentanyl overdose. She said that woman was kind and caring and had been checking in on Jourdain Mckay to make sure she was doing okay, until the woman died of the overdose. The Independent has been reporting on the women-led grassroots efforts in Sheshatshiu and Natuashish to drive action on the drug crisis gripping the Innu communities. Visit TheIndependent.ca to read that coverage.
Province announces increased income support
JUSTIN BRAKE: This week, the province announced increases to income support programs beginning Sept. 1, part of the second phase of its three year poverty reduction plan. Changes to income support include a standardized monthly benefit of $561 for each eligible adult in a household. Housing support has also increased. Single adult households will receive up to $522 per month while two eligible adults living together will receive $299 each or $598 combined. Meanwhile, $100 will be paid out every August to help households with school related expenses, and vision care benefits will cover up to $100 for a basic eye exam and up to $350 for eyeglasses. Beginning in July, eligible persons with disabilities in Newfoundland and Labrador will be able to keep their full income support payments while also receiving up to $600 a month in disability benefits. This includes up to $400 from the Newfoundland and Labrador Disability Benefit and $200 from the federal Canada Disability Benefit.
Minister of Families and Affordability, Jamie Korab, said in a news release this week that the province's poverty reduction plan "reflects extensive consultation with community organizations, advocates, and, most importantly, people with lived experience. With these changes, we are leading the country in creating a more equitable and responsive income support program and will continue to work towards making meaningful improvements." While the increases will help some living below the poverty line, opposition leaders say the changes don't go far enough. NDP leader Jim Dinn told The Independent the changes are, "underwhelming" and don't tackle the root causes of poverty in the province. "They're just chipping away as opposed to making meaningful changes that would address the social determinants of health that are called for in the health accord." PC leader Tony Wakeham said in a statement that the changes,
"fall far short of what's really needed in our province. Letting people keep more of their benefits is important, but it won't solve the growing crisis of affordability." Wakeham said the announcement was unacceptable and that if residents elect a PC government in the coming election, the PCs would, "launch a responsive poverty reduction and prevention strategy with the goal of making Newfoundland and Labrador's poverty rate the lowest in the country."
He says it would be a, "10-year plan with measurable targets, led through a cross government approach and built in consultation with stakeholders and experts."
Auditor general raises ‘serious’ concerns over agency nurses costs and planning
JUSTIN BRAKE: In healthcare news, Newfoundland and Labrador Auditor General Denise Hanrahan released a shocking and scathing report this week after reviewing the province's contracts for agency (or travel) nurses. Hanrahan found that NL Health Services, the province's health authority, hired agency nurses without adequate financial oversight, a failure that led to potential fraud. She said NL Health Services spent more than $132 million on agency nurses in 2024 alone and paid more than $241 million to 11 agencies since 2022. Hanrahan said the health authority awarded a $28.3 million contract in 2022 to a company with less than two years of experience in the nursing agency industry. The report says there was little evidence that a thorough assessment of its credibility or capability was conducted. The report doesn't disclose the name of the company but refers to it as 'Agency A'. The province also failed to have proper checks in place to ensure it was only paying for valid expenses. Hanrahan notes in the report that there are, "strong indications of potential billing fraud" by Agency A for electric-vehicle rentals. She says the agency was paid over $90,000 for 81 weeks of electric-vehicle rentals for nurses who were not in the province.
The report says the province, "failed to undertake basic planning," which contributed to an average annual cost of over $400,000 per nurse. Hanrahan said, "To say some of the findings in this report are surprising may be putting it mildly. Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services has not followed its own processes and best practices in the procurement and payment of agency nursing services. NL Health Services failed to adequately plan for its use of agency nursing, resulting in spending that continues at near record levels."
The bombshell report exposes a major scandal in the province's healthcare system, which is already in crisis. Responding to the news, NDP leader Jim Dinn called for an investigation into travel nursing contracts, specifically the findings involving Agency A. He said, "being reimbursed for non reimbursable expenses, renting electric vehicles for nurses who did not appear to have the vehicle, or for nurses who were not even in the province, this must be investigated." Dinn said the details revealed in the report raised serious questions about oversight, accountability, and the use of public funds. "This Liberal government is asleep at the wheel, and their solution of throwing money at the private companies instead of supporting our public health care system has worsened the healthcare crisis for people in this province."
Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative leader Tony Wakeham said the provincial government should be held accountable for its mismanagement, adding, "travel nurses from a Toronto based company are being paid four times the salary of local nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador -- that's outrageous." On Friday, Wakeham called for a judicial inquiry into the scandal, saying, "the travel nurse scandal goes to the very core of the Liberal cabinet. Yet we've not heard a peep in way of accountability. In a similar scandal involving the former NL English school district, people lost jobs and charges were laid. But in this shocking travel nurse situation, I have heard of neither so far." Wakeham said if the Liberals don't launch a judicial inquiry, he will if the PCs win this year's provincial election.
In response to the report, NL Health Services said it accepts all 15 recommendations and has already taken action to address many of the recommendations. The health authority points to its two year plan, launched in April 2024, aimed at reducing reliance on agency nurses. But Hanrahan noted in the report that progress under that plan has been slow and the expected results haven't been achieved. On Wednesday, Health Minister Crystal Lynn Howell said, "progress has already been made on previous direction for the health authority to limit spending and reduce its use of agency nurses. We have the utmost confidence that the CEO of the provincial health authority will implement all additional necessary steps to ensure all proper measures are put into place." Howell also said she has directed NL Health Services to take a number of steps to immediately respond to the auditor general's findings, including undertaking an internal audit.
But leaving the government and the health authority to hold themselves accountable doesn't satisfy the Registered Nurses' Union. On Thursday, RNU president Yvette Coffey said, "this is a crisis of integrity, not just finances. It demands more than policy memos. We need independent oversight, public transparency, and legal accountability. The RNU is calling for a full investigation under the Federal Competition Act, the Provincial Conflict of Interest Act, criminal laws pertaining to fraud, breach of trust, and public corruption."
Also Thursday, the province's Public Accounts Committee, led by PC MHA Pleaman Forsey, announced it would be seeking accountability with NL Health Services and that it will be requesting officials, "to appear at a future public hearing on these important matters."
Registered Nurses' Union responds to province's core-staffing review announcement
JUSTIN BRAKE: On Tuesday, just a day before the auditor general's report dropped, the Department of Health announced it had chosen global accounting firm Deloitte to undertake a core staffing review of nurses in the province. Stemming from recommendations in the province's health accord, the review will analyze client, staffing, and organizational factors that contribute to the workload of nurse practitioners, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and personal care attendants in some clinics and hospitals across the province.
The department said it had made a commitment to the RNU to do the review and that it expects the review to begin this summer and conclude next year. Responding to the announcement, Registered Nurses' Union President Yvette Coffey said in a statement that it's "about time" the province is following through with the review. Coffey said the union has been calling for a core staffing review for years, and that "nurses have been working under relentless pressure, doing everything they can to keep our health care system going while being chronically understaffed. This announcement offers a glimmer of hope to those on the front lines who are stretched to their limits."
Coffey went on to say that "safe staffing is not a privilege, it's a right. It's essential to the safety of both patients and providers. This review must deliver real evidence based solutions that support nurses and improve care for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians."
Doctors at St. John's hospital tender resignation notice
JUSTIN BRAKE: On Friday, CBC reported another apparent crisis in the province's healthcare system: that five doctors at the St. Clare's Mercy Hospital in St. John's collectively tendered their notice of resignation, saying the work environment at the hospital had become unsafe for both patient care and provider well-being. The doctors are part of St. Clare's internal medicine team, responsible for upward of 100 patients a day, including some in emergency care. According to CBC, the letter states the doctors won't perform any duties other than what's in their contractual obligations, including no evenings or weekends, starting on July 1. Their resignations will take effect on Oct. 1.
Sent to the health authority Monday, the letter was written by Kyle Rees, a St. John's lawyer representing the doctors. In it, Reese writes, "It has become increasingly clear to them that continuing under the current model would further compromise patient safety and the already-fragile well-being of the team." Rees also said in the letter that multiple issues led to the resignation, including a recent decision by Memorial University's medical school to remove the hospital's resident doctors by July 1. Residents typically cover night shifts and without them the hospital won't have a team in place to respond to patients in cardiac or pulmonary arrest.
On Friday the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association said in a statement it was "deeply alarmed" by the resignation letter and that it was aware for more than a year of the challenges internal medicine doctors were facing at St. Clare's. The medical association, which represents doctors across the province, said it has been working with the Department of Health and the health authority to find a solution to address internal medicine daytime coverage challenges and that that process continues. The association also said it learned about a month ago that Memorial University had made the decision to withdraw medical residents in training from St. Clare's.
In a statement Friday, Memorial University's Faculty of Medicine said it's pulling its residents from St. Clare's to "ensure postgraduate learners receive a top quality training experience and to safeguard the reputation and maintain the accreditation of our nationally recognized and award winning training programs. Concerns around a lack of adequate support and appropriate supervision for residents, especially after hours, have been long standing. Discussions on this matter have resulted in some modifications to the resident learning environment. However, during a standard program accreditation review in November 2024, we underscored that actions taken thus far to mitigate the lack of adequate support and appropriate supervision for residents were insufficient and that these experiences do not meet national standards expected of the training programs and our institution."
Also Friday, Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell appeared to downplay the threat of Saint Clare's Hospital losing doctors. "I may disagree with the tactics that were deployed to get us to this point today, but nobody has thrown down and went home. [...] So we do believe that we're in a place right now where a resolution is imminent, and we're confident the plan will resolve this issue." Howell did not disclose any details of the province's plan.
Innu Nation and Hydro-Quebec reach agreement-in-principle on Churchill Falls
JUSTIN BRAKE: Back to Labrador, where the Innu Nation has reached an agreement-in-principle with Hydro-Quebec over ecological and cultural damage the Innu faced after the construction of the Churchill Falls hydro project in the 1960s.
When the Innu reached an agreement with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2011, including redress for the Upper Churchill project, that deal didn't include Quebec's role in the devastation the project caused to the Innu's land and their way of life. Innu Nation Grand Chief Simon Pokue said in a statement, the agreement in principle is a, "major step" toward an out of court settlement for the Innu Nation's lawsuit against Hydro-Quebec. "Indigenous negotiators were able to reach a fair agreement to address the damage this project has done to our culture, our way of life, and our lands, and we will be pleased to bring this to our members." A news release from Hydro Quebec says Innu leaders will present the agreement-in-principle to its members in Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, after which the terms of the agreement will be made public. The release says that after that, negotiations will continue to finalize the terms of a formal agreement by the fall of 2025. Once a final agreement is reached, Innu Nation will then present that to its members for ratification.
N.L. education system struggling to meet the needs of newcomer students
In education news, newcomer students are still struggling to integrate into the province's education systems. In a story for The Independent's 'Coming to Newfoundland and Labrador' series, which documents realities that newcomers to the province face when they arrive, reporter Yumna Iftikhar spoke with students, families, researchers, and organizations who outlined some of the challenges newcomer students face in primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools and institutions in the province. They highlight a lack of mental health supports at Memorial University, and in the public school system, a shortage and lack of training for teachers to help refugees and other newcomers integrate into the province's schools.
NDP leader Jim Dinn, a former teacher, told The Independent he's been calling on the government to allocate a separate budget line for English as an Additional Language (or EAL) teachers, one of the areas often lacking when students who speak another language arrive at their new schools.
In the absence of adequate support from government, community groups have been filling in the gaps, including Global Citizens Inc, an organization founded by Sa’adatu Usman, a mother of four who works with schools to teach students about diversity and inclusion. You can read the full story at TheIndependent.ca.
Corner Brook keeps mail-in voting
To the island's West Coast, where Corner Brook City Council did an about-face this week and voted to keep vote-by-mail regulations ahead of this October's municipal elections. Earlier in June, the council had supported a notice of motion to repeal the regulations it brought in in 2021 when it offered mail-in-voting to residents during the COVID pandemic. Fearing a Canada Post strike would hinder the City's ability to mail out ballots, and voters' ability to return completed ballots, the City had estimated the dilemma could cost thousands of dollars. But after receiving feedback from some residents, councilors and Mayor Jim Parsons changed their minds and will now offer the mail-in-voting option to Corner Brook residents this fall. Other municipalities in the province are facing similar deliberations. Under provincial legislation, municipalities which are not cities are required to give notice to, and be approved by, the Department of Municipal Affairs and Community Engagement in order to offer mail-in-voting. In a statement to The Independent, the department said 12 municipalities were approved to conduct vote by mail for the 2021 municipal elections. The department said that for municipal elections scheduled for this October, the deadline for municipalities to seek approval and submit their regulations to the province is Aug. 3.
Senate passes Bill C-5, the controversial One Canadian Economy Act
JUSTIN BRAKE: On Friday, Canada's Senate passed controversial legislation from the Mark Carney government that will allow the federal cabinet to bypass numerous laws in order to fast-track major resource and other development projects that the Liberals deem to be in the national interest. Bill C-5, known as the One Canadian Economy Act, has met stiff resistance from First Nations, Inuit, and Metis leaders who say the abrupt two-week timeline for introducing and passing the bill didn't give the government time to consult with Indigenous communities and nations. In response, the Liberals scrapped the Indian Act as one of more than a dozen pieces of legislation that could be overridden by his cabinet. He also announced the government will hold a summit this summer to consult with some, but not all, First Nations, Inuit, and Metis. When debating the bill this week, Mi'kmaw Senator Brian Francis said there's, "a significant lack of clarity around the depth, timing, and consequences of consultation. There's also no guarantee of the conditions the projects must meet to proceed." Indigenous-led protests have been popping up in Ottawa and elsewhere as some see the One Canadian Economy Act as a blatant disregard of Indigenous rights both internationally and in domestic law.
Neglecting to mention Innu or Inuit, Hogan tells Labrador Expo crowd hydro projects in Labrador "fit the criteria" for nation-building projects under C-5
JUSTIN BRAKE: In Labrador, Premier John Hogan attended the annual Labrador Expo Conference and Trade Show this week in Happy Valley Goose Bay. During a speech on Tuesday, he said the province is, "on the cusp of greatness," devoting most of his speech to the 2024 Upper Churchill memorandum of understanding with Quebec. If finalized, that deal would pave the way for further hydro development of the Churchill River, including at Gull Island near Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
Hogan said the Upper Churchill expansion and Gull Island projects, "indeed fit the criteria identified by the federal government in their new legislation," referring to Bill C-5. In his speech, Hogan didn't mention Innu or Inuit despite the province's alleged commitment to reconciliation and its legal obligation to consult with Innu and Inuit over any projects on their lands. The premier said that during a recent meeting, he and other premiers pitched their ideas for "nation-building projects," the ones which could be fast-tracked under Bill C-5 to Prime Minister Carney. Hogan said, "the only conversation that was had at that table was how fast we can move as a country. So the suggestion that here in Newfoundland and Labrador, we pause or wait or slow down, or God forbid even stop, that would make us a national outlier. So I ask, why should Newfoundland and Labrador be left behind? In fact, I'm taking the complete opposite approach. I believe--actually, I know--that this province is ready to lead. The country nation-building can start right here."
Canada joins new NATO defence investment pledge to up military and defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035
JUSTIN BRAKE: In national news this week, a NATO summit wrapped up Wednesday with several ally countries, including Canada, acceding to U.S. President Donald Trump's demands that they significantly hike military spending. The Carney government has pledged to increase defense spending to five per cent of annual GDP by 2035, which means that by then, Canada would be spending $150 billion annually on defense and security. During the NATO conference, Carney told reporters that if Canada is "moving to the higher and higher levels of defense spending, because that's necessary, then we will have to make considerations about what less the federal government can do in certain cases and how we're gonna pay for it." Before the conference, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux told Bloomberg News that to finance a five per cent GDP defense hike, "would require a major shift of government priorities away from social spending, for example, to free up some of the resources currently allocated to these types of expenses towards defense." He said the new expenditures could be financed in part by some tax increases or much higher deficits.
In a news release, Carney justified Canada's planned mass military spending by saying, "The world is increasingly dangerous and divided. Canada must strengthen our defense to better protect our sovereignty, our interests, and our allies."
Provincial government inviting public input for its review of child protection legislation
The provincial government is undertaking a legislative review of the Children, Youth, and Families Act, which lays out how the promise delivers services to children and youth in need of protective intervention. As part of its review, the Department of Families and Affordability is inviting public input on five key areas: Indigenous child welfare, permanency placing, outcomes for children and youth in care, youth transitioning to adulthood, and information sharing. Members of the public can submit input on the government's EngageNL website at engagenl.ca.
Abby Newhook drafted to PWHL
JUSTIN BRAKE: And Newfoundland's own Abby Newhook will soon begin her career as a professional hockey player. On Tuesday, the 22-year-old from St. John's was drafted 34th overall by the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League. Newhook is the younger sister of Montreal Canadians forward Alex Newhook. When she laces up her skates in the PWHL, Newhook will be one of two players in the league from Newfoundland, the other being 24-year-old Maggie Connors of St. John's, who plays for the Toronto Scepters.
That's it for this June 29 edition of the indie broadcast. You can subscribe to our newsletter at TheIndependent.ca and be the first to get new episodes by subscribing to our show on our YouTube channel or wherever you get your podcasts. The Indy Broadcast is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network and is produced, edited, hosted by me, Justin Brake. Thanks for listening.