Latest / VOCM On Demand / VOCM News Morning Update October 20th

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VOCM News Morning Update October 20th · VOCM On Demand

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Local news now.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: A VOCM News Update.
• 0:05
  Speaker 3: I'm Sarah Strickland. Albertans have voted to reject a referendum
• 0:10
  Speaker 3: on separation. Here's Aaron Sousa.
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  Speaker 4: Just over 1 million votes counted in early returns. About
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  Speaker 4: 76% voted for the province to stay in Canada. About
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  Speaker 4: 24% voted to hold a second binding referendum on leaving
• 0:23
  Speaker 4: the country. The million votes represent about one-third of all
• 0:26
  Speaker 4: eligible voters. The referendum was called earlier this year by
• 0:29
  Speaker 4: Premier Danielle Smith. Smith said a simmering discontent with federal
• 0:33
  Speaker 4: policies had sparked sharp debate in Alberta on separation that
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  Speaker 4: could only be resolved through a referendum. Erin Sousa, the
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  Speaker 4: Canadian Press, Edmonton.
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  Speaker 3: The MP for Cape Spear, Mount Pearl, Paradise, says he
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  Speaker 3: has not been made aware of any Newfoundlanders hurt or
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  Speaker 3: injured during a fire at a military base in Alberta
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  Speaker 3: over the weekend. Four soldiers were killed and 39 were injured,
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  Speaker 3: 19 of whom are in critical condition. following a violent
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  Speaker 3: and fast-moving fire that tore through a training area at
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  Speaker 3: CFB Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday. Tom Osborne describes the
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  Speaker 3: situation as complete sadness. He says he is not aware
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  Speaker 3: of any Newfoundlanders among those affected.
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  Speaker 2: There's a number of people that are seriously injured as well,
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  Speaker 2: and the numbers of people impacted continues to evolve. So
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  Speaker 2: as we get news, I'm sure the media in Newfoundland
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  Speaker 2: and Labrador will become aware if there's been anybody impacted
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  Speaker 2: from this province. But all Canadians are impacted. When you
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  Speaker 2: hear of a situation like this, regardless of what part
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  Speaker 2: of the country you live in, we're all Canadians, and
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  Speaker 2: it's an impact on everybody.
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  Speaker 3: Increased oil revenue has helped to slice the province's deficit
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  Speaker 3: nearly in half. The provincial government projected a deficit of
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  Speaker 3: $ 729 million in the spring budget, but strong offshore revenue,
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: economic growth and increased taxation have knocked that figure down
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  Speaker 3: to $ 377. 6 million. Finance Minister Craig Party last week released
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  Speaker 3: government public accounts for the fiscal year ending last March.
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  Speaker 3: Revenue was $ 420. 8 million higher than budgeted last year, with
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  Speaker 3: offshore royalties accounting for $ 1. 7 billion in revenue last year.
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  Speaker 3: That was $ 350 million more than the previous year. The
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  Speaker 3: provincial government will soon be ready to open the new
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  Speaker 3: extension to the Team Guzhoo Highway. The final leg of
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  Speaker 3: the project, which connects the highway to Commonwealth Avenue and
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  Speaker 3: Pitts Memorial, has been under construction for the last several years.
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  Speaker 3: The work is still ongoing, but the road is paved,
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  Speaker 3: the lines are painted, and the lights are up. Transportation
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  Speaker 3: Minister Barry Pettin would not give any definitive dates, only
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  Speaker 3: to say that the highway will be open soon.
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  Speaker 5: We're in the process of now planning that, trying to
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  Speaker 5: actually find dates, so it's in the near future, so
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  Speaker 5: I would anticipate in the next couple of weeks you'll...
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  Speaker 5: Here's something more concrete, but we're going to try to
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  Speaker 5: get it done soon. It's long anticipated. We get a
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  Speaker 5: lot of requests coming in and a lot of anticipation,
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  Speaker 5: but it is in the near future, absolutely.
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  Speaker 3: An update is coming on the status of provincial travel
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  Speaker 3: teams as members of the Registered Nurses Union gather in
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  Speaker 3: Cornerbrook for their biennial convention. Outgoing President Yvette Coffey says
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  Speaker 3: the province committed to establishing a provincial nurse travel team
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  Speaker 3: with $ 6. 5 million set aside in this year's budget. The
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  Speaker 3: concept was introduced by the Nurses Union as a pilot.
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  Speaker 3: and has proven effective in helping fill nursing gaps without
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  Speaker 3: having to rely on private agencies. Coffey says they're presently
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: in negotiations with the provincial government and NLHS after their
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  Speaker 3: proposal to establish a team of 25 nurses was accepted
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  Speaker 3: by government. She says staffing nursing positions on the coast
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  Speaker 3: of Labrador has reached a critical point.
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  Speaker 1: We are going to put a focus on Labrador because
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  Speaker 1: we do know that we have I don't even know
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  Speaker 1: if we have any permanent staff left in the coastal
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  Speaker 1: clinics in Labrador. We're currently operating them with our travel
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  Speaker 1: locum for an extra $ 25 an hour. And they're still
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  Speaker 1: using some private agency nurses as well.
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  Speaker 3: The Public Health Agency of Canada says the country's two-year
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  Speaker 3: measles outbreak has officially ended. Here's Lisa Laporte.
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  Speaker 6: The Public Health Agency of Canada made the declaration in
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  Speaker 6: a media release Monday, noting more than 6,400 people were
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  Speaker 6: infected across 10 provinces. Two infants in Ontario and Alberta
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  Speaker 6: who were infected with measles while in the womb died
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  Speaker 6: after they were born. The outbreak started in New Brunswick
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  Speaker 6: in October 2024 before ongoing transmission of the highly contagious
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  Speaker 6: disease more than 12 months later led to Canada losing
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  Speaker 6: its measles elimination status. Lisa Laporte, the Canadian Press.
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  Speaker 3: And that's your news. I'm Sarah Strickland.