Latest news with #JohnHaggie
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
One button click will now show you how much crime is in your N.L. community
Newfoundland and Labrador has unveiled a new online crime dashboard allowing users, with a click of a button, to see how their own communities rate against one another when it comes to violence. "This is yet another step towards enhancing policing services in Newfoundland and Labrador," said Justice Minister John Haggie in a statement sent Thursday. He said the information will help municipalities, community organizers and other groups make decisions when they're allocating resources. "Access to accurate statistical information that is reliable and understandable helps to build transparency and trust with citizens and helps to demonstrate accountability from our police services," he said. The dashboard launch comes on the heels of a Justice Department poll that found people are feeling less safe than five years ago. Respondents from 240 towns across the province were split on whether they felt a complaint lodged against a police officer would be treated fairly. The crime dashboard consists of data from 45 police detachments in the province and includes the number of actual incidents, the crime rate, a crime severity index, crimes against persons, crimes against property, and Criminal Code violations. N.L. residents feel less safe than they did five years ago, public survey on police suggests 16 days ago Duration 1:15 The results of a public survey on police services in Newfoundland and Labrador suggests that over 70 per cent of respondents say they feel less safe than they did five years ago. It also suggests a drop in perceived effectiveness of the police, and a desire for greater accountability. The CBC's Julia Israel breaks down the data. The crime dashboard, which is now accessible on the Department of Justice and Public Safety website, allows people to select a particular community and see different rates of reported crimes. For example, it says in 2023 — the most recent year it tracks — in St. John's there were 224 property crimes, 104 violent Criminal Code violations and 61 other Criminal Code violations. St. John's, which is the most populous city in the province, also has by far the highest number of reported crimes against property and violent crime across the province. That number includes assaults, criminal harassment, sexual assaults and uttering threats. In 2023, St. John's police responded to 1,418 incidents of assault. The department's statement says the dashboard was developed by the Policing Transformation Working Group in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Through engagement work and a public survey, the statement says, there was a lot of interest in publicly available information about public safety and crime data. The crime dashboard will be regularly updated from annual Statistics Canada's police-reported crime statistics. "This is an important new tool that provides more transparency and valuable information about policing to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians," said the RCMP in a statement. It said officers across the province will be able to use this information to "visualize" their work to the public. "The crime statistics collected by Statistics Canada and made accessible by this new dashboard are a significant piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding law enforcement and the role and the value of policing," reads the RCMP statement. However, the dashboard only reflects reported crime and the RCMP encourages people to report.
CBC
06-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
N.L. pledges to look outside of U.S. for medical supplies, with possibility to restart manufacturing at home
Less medical supplies from the United States will come into Newfoundland and Labrador, according to Municipal and Provincial Affairs Minister John Haggie, who is handling the health portfolio while John Hogan makes a decision on running for provincial Liberal leadership. The move follows U.S. President Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods. "There's a lot of untangling going on," Haggie said Wednesday in the House of Assembly. Haggie says he wrote to Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services about its procurement of American products as soon as he took over the role. "The last time I was in this portfolio, there are 400,000 or thereabouts items in the inventory dictionary for Meditech, so there's a bit of work to be done," he said. During the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic, the province made its own protective equipment. Haggie wants to bring back that manufacturing. "That's kind of been mothballed. So the other thread is to see, can we revive that again, stimulate local economy and also meet a need," he said, adding that not all equipment will be easy to outsource from the United States. "From my background in surgery, particularly cardiac surgery, some of these prostheses are pretty well sole-sourced from the states." American doctors will also be challenging to replace. PC health critic Barry Petten questioned the governing Liberals during question period about their contract with Teladoc, an American telemedicine provider that offers virtual primary care and a virtual emergency room. "While I appreciate the symbolism of Jack Daniel's being pulled off the liquor store shelves, the dollar value is actually minute," he said. "Has the government replaced the $22 million contract with Teladoc?" Haggie later told reporters that Teladoc is part of the province's procurement review. "That's one of the things we can certainly look at," he said. "I think that some of Teledoc employees are actually Canadians." Interim supply bill And as the province examines procurement and works to address the tariff situation with the United States, the governing Liberals are trying to pass an interim supply bill. This legislation is introduced every year to keep the government running until the provincial budget is passed. This year, the province is looking to use $3.9 billion in interim supply, a substantial jump from 2024, where it was $3.3 billion, and $2.9 billion in 2023. Fiance Minister Siobhan Coady said the bill is larger to free up monies that might be needed to address the ongoing trade war. "We want to have access to money if things are required because of the tariffs," Coady said. "It is part of the budgetary process, but we're just getting it a little earlier in the year, in case we need it." According to government House leader Lisa Dempster, the interim supply bill is typically passed in one day, but she says the PCs are resistant this time around. "I don't know if it's going to be passed this week," she said. Petten said there is no rush to pass the bill. "I just think government don't want to be in here. They're in disarray," he said. "Interim supply, you need that by March 21, so I mean there's no rush." Dempster is preparing to open the House of Assembly on Friday, outside the legislature's typical sitting schedule, to debate the bill.
