Latest / VOCM On Demand / VOCM News Morning Update October 14th

Transcript

VOCM News Morning Update October 14th · VOCM On Demand

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Local news now, a VOCM News Update.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: I'm Sarah Strickland. The leader of the NDP believes changes
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: are needed in regards to how MHA salaries are determined
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: and when they are applied. Mahalia Artis reports.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: The Members' Compensation Review Committee recently released a report recommending
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: a $ 22, 000 increase in MHA-based salaries. That report will now
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: go before the House of Assembly Management Commission. If it
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: passes that stage, the decision on whether to increase politicians'
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: salaries could go to the House of Assembly for a vote,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: if the provincial government chooses to take it that far.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: NDP leader Jim Dinh says while the review is overdue,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: he does not agree with MHAs voting on their own salaries,
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: believing that it creates a conflict of interest. Instead, Dinh
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: says there should be a transparent mechanism to determine how
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: much MHAs should make. and it should come into effect
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: after each provincial election. Dinn states that any possible changes
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: would affect the next wave of elected officials and only
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: affect those currently sitting if they get re-elected. Meanwhile, the
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: Liberals say their members will be reviewing the contents of
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: the report in preparation for a possible debate in the
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: House of Assembly.
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  Speaker 2: Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Assembly has outlined
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: the legislative process regarding compensation for MHAs. Paul Lane says
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  Speaker 2: he will remain neutral on the subject, as is required
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  Speaker 2: with his position, but he could end up voting on
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: the matter through his role with the House of Assembly
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: Management Commission.
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  Speaker 3: As Speaker, I am a member of the Management Commission.
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: I chair the meeting, but similar to the process in
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  Speaker 3: the House of Assembly. I'm more of a facilitator and
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: I would only vote in the event of a tie.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: In a statement to VOCM News, the provincial government says
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  Speaker 2: it respects the independent review process and will be taking
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: time to review the report in full and what comes
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: from the House of Assembly Management Committee. They say it
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: would be premature to comment further at this time until
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: the process is finished. One year after officially taking office,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: Premier Tony Wakeham is set to deliver his State of
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: the Province address to the Board of Trade in St. John's.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: Wakeham's PC party boosted its seat count from 14 to
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  Speaker 2: 21 in last year's provincial election, earning the party a
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: majority government. Since that time, Wakeham has reached a new
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: agreement with the Quebec government on Churchill Falls, however... He
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: has backtracked on an election promise to take the deal
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  Speaker 2: to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador in a referendum.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: The Board of Trade says the year ahead has the
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  Speaker 2: potential to shape the province's future for years to come.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Data recently released by the chief medical examiner shows that
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: cocaine has been involved in more than half of the
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: deaths related to substance use in Newfoundland and Labrador over
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: the last two years. Richard Duggan reports.
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  Speaker 4: From 2018 to 2022, between 11 and 18 people died
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  Speaker 4: in cases involving the use of cocaine each year. The
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  Speaker 4: worst year was 2018, where nearly 39% of all deaths
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: were cocaine-related. However, the numbers started to rise again in 2023,
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: when 36 out of 77 substance use deaths were linked
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  Speaker 4: to cocaine. That's about 47% of the total number of
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  Speaker 4: people whose lives were lost. In 2024, the numbers rose again,
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  Speaker 4: with about 49% of deaths related to cocaine. Last year,
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  Speaker 4: more than half of all deaths were linked to cocaine.
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  Speaker 4: So far this year, that number is 56%. By comparison,
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: in 2024, a year in which fentanyl-related deaths spiked in
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  Speaker 4: the province, the number of cases linked to that substance
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  Speaker 4: was nearly 23% of the total number of lives lost.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: RCMP and Gander have charged an alleged porch pirate after
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: a package delivered to a home on Bennett Drive was taken.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: RCMP say the homeowner reported last Friday that a package
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: they knew had been dropped off had been stolen. Doorbell
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  Speaker 2: video captures a woman taking the package from the property.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: A 41-year-old Gander woman is now facing charges of theft
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: under $ 5, 000 with a court date set for December. RCMP
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: recommend using secure pickup locations when purchasing items online and
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: asks residents to report suspicious behavior when they notice it.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: Filling up the tank is a bit cheaper this morning.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Gas drops by over $ 0. 06 per liter. Diesel on the
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: island is down $ 0. 09 and drops $ 0. 11 in Labrador West.
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  Speaker 2: Furnace oil decreases by about $ 0. 08 per litre. Stove oil
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  Speaker 2: in Lab West is down by about $ 0.
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  Speaker 4: 10.
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  Speaker 2: Netflix says a deep-sea thriller shot in Newfoundland has the
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: most views of any of its Canadian productions. Below stars
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: American actor Josh Hartnett and was shot in communities including St. John's,
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: Petty Harbour and Brigus South. The six-part series debuted last
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  Speaker 2: week and Netflix says it has about 17 million views.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: The company says the series is the most watched of
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  Speaker 2: its English television offerings in 53 countries. That's your news.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: I'm Sarah Strickland.