Latest / VOCM On Demand / VOCM News Morning Update October 23rd

Transcript

VOCM News Morning Update October 23rd · VOCM On Demand

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I'm Richard Duggan. In the news, the 15% discount on
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: electricity rates announced yesterday will be applied for the winter
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: season with more affordability measures expected once the Churchill Falls
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Agreement is finalized. Premier Tony Wakeham announced what government is
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: calling the first phase in a range of affordability measures yesterday,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: starting with his previous commitment to a 15% discount on
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: electricity rates starting in January. Wakeham says that break on
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: costs will remain in place for the winter heating season.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: What we're doing is we're applying this now until the
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: end of the winter season, and then we'll come back
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: with additional measures and look at where we go. As
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: we said, we're confident in our deal, our new and
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: better deal with hydro, and we're looking forward to that.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: In the meantime, the home heating subsidy for those who
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: heat with oil will be doubled from $ 500 to $ 1, 000.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Those eligible for the subsidy won't have to reapply. NDP
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: leader Jim Dinh says people are struggling. and he would
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: have preferred to see the elimination of the HST on
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: all forms of home heat. Dinh says a constituent who
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: gets a small pension and who is having a very
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: hard time keeping up with rising costs reached out to
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: him last week.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: What for his home heating I think would have been roughly,
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: and that's just being very frugal about it, would have
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: amounted to about $ 7, 200 at the very minimum a year.
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: So for him, if he had gotten a 15% rebate,
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: if they just took 15% of all that, he would
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: have ended up better off. At least it would have
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: adjusted to, I guess, the amount that he burned in
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: his home to keep him warm, as opposed to a
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: cap really of $ 1, 000.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Premier Tony Wakeham says they're looking at a range of
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: affordability measures and wanted to roll something out before the
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: heating season began.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: Well, there's been lots of discussion about different levers and
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: how we put them, but we wanted to get something
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: out that was a program that already existed, and right
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: now it was an opportunity for us to double that
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: particular program.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: The fall fiscal update is coming late next month. Finance
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Minister Craig Pardee will deliver the province's fiscal snapshot in
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: the final week of the fall sitting of the House
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: of Assembly. He says government is looking at an 80-20
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: split on excess revenue generated by rising oil prices. The province,
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: which set the budgetary benchmark for oil prices at $ 79 U.S.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: a barrel, benefits to the tune of $ 33 million for
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: every dollar above that figure. Oil prices have been consistently
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: much higher than that since last spring's budget, and right
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: now the surplus is in the $ 500 million range. Party
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: had previously indicated that government intends to spend 80% of
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: any oil windfall on debt repayment and the remaining 20%
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: on affordability measures.
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: We're looking at November, Monday to November 23rd, 24th in
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: that range, but certainly in that week, the last sitting
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: of the House of Assembly, that will give us the
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: most up-to-date numbers that we'll know that we can broadcast
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: at that time as to where the 80 and the
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: 20 would be. And remember, the fall fiscal update will
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: then also... quantify and qualify the 80% as well that
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: we've discussed.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: The RCMP are seeking the public's help after they say
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: a young person was threatened by two people in Happy
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Valley Goose Bay. The police were contacted just after 7.30
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: last night to reports that a girl had been confronted
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: by a man and woman on Corte Real Road. The
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: man is said to have had a weapon. Extensive patrols
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: were conducted in the area, but the suspects were not found.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: The man is described as wearing a black hat, hooded sweatshirt,
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: and pants. while the woman was wearing a gray-striped lumberjack-style
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: coat and blue jeans with holes in them. They were
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: last seen together in the woods between Perot Place and
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: the Nunatsiavut building. People in the areas of Perot Place,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: Cartwright Road, Markland Road, and Corte Real Road are being
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: asked to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: and to check any security footage they may have. Anyone
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: with information is asked to contact the RCMP or Crimestoppers.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: The military gave an update last night on the tragedy
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: at CFB Wainwright, in which a fire resulted in the
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: deaths of four soldiers. The fire occurred late Saturday afternoon
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: local time. 27 soldiers remain in hospital, 13 in critical condition.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Acute Care Alberta is asking reporters not to go to
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: hospitals and to respect the privacy of patients and their families.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: As for the cause, there is no indication that the
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: natural gas infrastructure had anything to do with the fire.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: The fire originated as a result of a training exercise
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: at the anti-grenade launching range. There are three investigations taking place,
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: two by the military and one by a civilian agency.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: The military now says that the investigation it's in charge
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: of will take a long, long time. And there were
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: some slight changes in fuel prices overnight. Gas is up
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: by 1.7 cents this morning. Diesel is down by less
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: than a cent on the island and just over two
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: cents in Labrador. Furnace oil on the island is down
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: by less than a cent. while it's increasing by 1.7
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: cents in Labrador. The price of propane has jumped by
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: nearly 4 cents. That's your news, I'm Richard Duggan.