Latest / VOCM On Demand / VOCM News Late-Day Update September 3rd

Transcript

VOCM News Late-Day Update September 3rd · VOCM On Demand

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Local News Now, a VOCM News Update.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: I'm Brian Medore. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans warning
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: mariners of the presence of North Atlantic right whales in
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Conception Bay. The endangered creatures feed at the surface and
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: are prone to ship strikes. While native to the Gulf
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: of St. Lawrence, right whale sightings have become more common
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: in Newfoundland waters in recent years. DFOs asking harvesters fishing
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: in the area to operate with increased caution and to
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: keep an eye out for the whales. The department is
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: asking the public to report such sightings to them as
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: soon as possible and take note of the location, date
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: and time, as well as the number of animals seen.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Photos or video of the animal, especially its tail, flukes
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: and flippers, are also welcomed. The agency in charge of
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: running long-term care homes in the province has accepted all
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: recommendations from the Auditor General after a report which was
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: highly critical of the ways in which things are being done.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: AG Denise Hanrahan's last report dealt with privately run homes,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: but this one focused on government-run facilities such as Pleasant
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: View Towers and St. Luke's. She found many deficiencies, including
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: a lack of background and vulnerable sector checks, rotting food
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: and fridges. and obstructed hallways and fire exits. She says
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: one of the more concerning aspects is the food safety component,
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: which stemmed from a 2015 report where many of the
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: recommendations were not followed.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: So certainly some of the most concerning findings in the
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: food section for me had to do with the swallowing
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: assessments and the fact that there may not be enough
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: staff that are trained to be able to deal with
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: choking situations. Certainly those are major requirements in any long-term
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: care facility. And when we see that a third of
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: the ones we tested weren't getting done appropriately or in
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: a timely manner, it's very concerning.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services has accepted all 17 recommendations
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: aimed at it, while the Department of Seniors has accepted
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: the two recommendations which apply to it. NAEP has achieved
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: what it's calling a historic victory at the Newfoundland and
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: Labrador Labor Relations Board, which protects the rights of casual workers.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: The union says that for years the board excluded casual
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: employees from collective bargaining, stating casuals lack a substantial connection
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: to the workplace. NAEP recently filed an application to certify
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: a unit of casual employees at Stella's Circle, and during
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: a hearing on the matter, its lawyers argued that denying
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: access violated workers' constitutional rights and the spirit and intent
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: of the Labor Relations Act. According to the union, the
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: board agreed with it, saying that a worker is no
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: less of an employee because they have an irregular schedule.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Plenty more stories, just go to vocm.com. That's a look
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: at your newscast of this hour. I'm Brian Medore.