Latest news with #JohnHogan
CBC
6 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
'The sooner the better' for Churchill Falls projects, Hogan says after meeting with PM
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier John Hogan says the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding holds up, but federal assistance would be "great." Hogan was in Saskatoon on Monday for the first ministers' meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Nation-building infrastructure projects are on the minds of many, and Carney has said he intends to fast-track them. The Canadian Press reported last week that Quebec Premier François Legault is expected to ask the federal government to help fund transmission lines that will connect Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec to power generated by projects along the Churchill River. A draft agreement signed in December says a new deal would cost Hydro-Quebec at least $33.8 billion. Hogan confirmed that he and Legault have been discussing that idea as he spoke to reporters before Monday's conference. "We're happy to talk about that and any assistance that can benefit Newfoundland and Labrador, our ratepayers and our taxpayers," he said. "But it is important to continue with the MOU. I want Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to know we're not taking our eye off that project right now." Hydro-Quebec will construct the required transmission in its province, and N.L. Hydro is set to construct about 340 kilometres of transmission lines in Labrador, according to a fact sheet from the provincial government. Whether or not the federal government pitches in to build those lines, Hogan says Newfoundland and Labrador is in good hands. "If there can be further assistance and further discussion to make the project better, great. But if not, the project is a good project," said Hogan. The Newfoundland and Labrador government says the proposed Churchill Falls deal will see the province earn $1 billion every year for the next 17 years. Newly minted Energy Minister Steve Crocker says the province has an important seat at the table when it comes to providing green energy. "Any investment in Churchill Falls would not only benefit Quebec, but it'd benefit Newfoundland and Labrador as well," said Crocker, speaking from the Energy NL conference Monday. The minister didn't say that the province is specifically asking for the federal government to finance the transmission lines, but said Newfoundland and Labrador is working with them to ensure its resources "will contribute greatly to nation building in Canada." In a news conference after the first ministers' meeting, Legault told reporters that he thinks the new Churchill Falls deal, and the proposed Gull Island generating station, is a project of national interest. Carney, speaking in French, said he fully agrees with the Quebec premier. The governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec plan to sign binding agreements by April 2026. The prime minister said the premiers and territorial leaders discussed several projects and the federal government will assess whether they can be fast-tracked over the next few months.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Opposition urges government to pause Churchill Falls negotiations ahead of first ministers' meeting
The leader of Newfoundland and Labrador's Official Opposition wants the province to put the brakes on Churchill Falls negotiations. PC Leader Tony Wakeham says the world has changed since the memorandum of understanding was first introduced in December, and he wants the governing Liberals to focus on developing a potential "national energy corridor" that has come up in recent months. "We need to slow down and take an opportunity to evaluate what that might look like," Wakeham told CBC News on Tuesday. Before the federal election, Prime Minster Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre both pledged to create an energy corridor. While it's uncertain what that could look like, a post on the federal Liberal party's website says that Carney intends to fast-track "projects of national interest." The prime minister will meet with leaders from each province and territory, at a first ministers' meeting on Monday in Saskatoon. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Premier John Hogan said he feels that the meeting will be a good opportunity to discuss the province's priorities. "[Carney is] focused on nation building projects," said Hogan. "And those are the discussions that we're going to be having; about what that means, what the projects will be and what sort of assistance the federal government is looking at providing to the provinces to help develop those national building projects." At the same time, Hogan says he's committed to moving forward with the Churchill Falls deal while exploring "additional opportunities" with the federal government, according to a statement from the premier's office sent on Tuesday. The new Churchill Falls deal, which Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec hope to finalize by next year, would bring an average of $1 billion to the province's coffers each year until 2041. Four combined projects outlined in the deal could generate 5,000 direct jobs. Wakeham insists Newfoundland and Labrador is rushing that deal. Meanwhile, NDP Leader Jim Dinn says any pause would "spell the end" for Labrador West. Dinn was a staunch advocate for independent oversight and still questions some parts of the proposed deal, but still doesn't want to see it put on hold. "It's actually injected a sense of hope and prosperity," he told reporters this week. "Why would you basically sound the death knell, then, to Labrador West by saying 'let's pause it' and 'let's wait and see what happens. The damage is going to be done." Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Opposition urges government to pause Churchill Falls negotiations ahead of first ministers' meeting
The leader of Newfoundland and Labrador's Official Opposition wants the province to put the brakes on Churchill Falls negotiations. PC Leader Tony Wakeham says the world has changed since the memorandum of understanding was first introduced in December, and he wants the governing Liberals to focus on developing a potential "national energy corridor" that has come up in recent months. "We need to slow down and take an opportunity to evaluate what that might look like," Wakeham told CBC News on Tuesday. Before the federal election, Prime Minster Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre both pledged to create an energy corridor. While it's uncertain what that could look like, a post on the federal Liberal party's website says that Carney intends to fast-track "projects of national interest." The prime minister will meet with leaders from each province and territory, at a first ministers' meeting on Monday in Saskatoon. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Premier John Hogan said he feels that the meeting will be a good opportunity to discuss the province's priorities. "[Carney is] focused on nation building projects," said Hogan. "And those are the discussions that we're going to be having; about what that means, what the projects will be and what sort of assistance the federal government is looking at providing to the provinces to help develop those national building projects." At the same time, Hogan says he's committed to moving forward with the Churchill Falls deal while exploring "additional opportunities" with the federal government, according to a statement from the premier's office sent on Tuesday. The new Churchill Falls deal, which Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec hope to finalize by next year, would bring an average of $1 billion to the province's coffers each year until 2041. Four combined projects outlined in the deal could generate 5,000 direct jobs. Wakeham insists Newfoundland and Labrador is rushing that deal. Meanwhile, NDP Leader Jim Dinn says any pause would "spell the end" for Labrador West. Dinn was a staunch advocate for independent oversight and still questions some parts of the proposed deal, but still doesn't want to see it put on hold. "It's actually injected a sense of hope and prosperity," he told reporters this week. "Why would you basically sound the death knell, then, to Labrador West by saying 'let's pause it' and 'let's wait and see what happens. The damage is going to be done."
CBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Home care support worker blasts government over growing wage discrepancy
A private home care worker is blasting the government of Newfoundland and Labrador over its handling of the industry's wages, saying the gap between private and agency workers is only growing. In November, former provincial health minister John Hogan announced federal funding to help boost the hourly wage for agency home care workers over the course of five years, going from $17.05 to $21.05. Sarah King, a private home care worker who isn't included in the plan, told the CBC she was shocked when she saw the news. "It was like getting punched in the face," King said. "It was very upsetting because I already knew I was getting paid less, but now the gap is just growing." As a private home care support worker, she is also paid by the provincial government. The current wage is $17.05 an hour. "So every year now they're going to get a little bit more. My wage has not increased since 2023. Minimum wage continues to go up, but my wage does not," said King. King said she also doesn't get benefits like sick days and isn't included in workers compensation if injured on the job — something agency-based home care support workers get access to. Building relationships When a social worker recommends a home care support worker, King said the client has a choice on whether to use a private or agency home care worker. She has worked with an agency before, but made the leap to private three years ago and currently has two clients she works closely with. When she was with an agency, she said her client could change regularly and she felt micro-managed. "Working for myself ensures that I can build a relationship with my clients. I can be there. They know who's showing up for the shift every day. We can be flexible with each other's schedules," said King. Since she made the change, she said she's been happier and less stressed. Review underway: Hogan For months King has been trying to get answers from the province about the wage discrepancy, initially reaching out to her MHA John Abbott in late December. Her questions were then forwarded to Premier John Hogan, who was health minister at the time. In a letter dated Jan. 15, which CBC News has reviewed, Hogan wrote the pay difference is because of the hiring requirements agency-based home care support workers have, which include first aid certification, medical clearance, tuberculin testing, reference checks and a certificate of conduct. "Our government remains committed to reviewing compensation rates to ensure adequate compensation based on scope of employment and to align with funding models in other jurisdictions," Hogan wrote. While King says first aid training should be required for anyone working with vulnerable clients, she said she can understand the reasoning she was given over wage discrepancies. "OK, that's fine. That is an explanation to why I would get paid less, but what about those of us that do have those things?" she asked. She said there are private home care workers like herself who do meet those requirements, adding she recently paid out of pocket to keep her first aid certification current. Moreover, King said clients may not understand the different standards between private and agency home care workers and think they have the same skill sets. King said she doesn't want to go back to working for an agency, but given the cost of living she might have to. Also on the table is leaving the profession altogether, she added, pointing to how minimum wage is approximately a dollar less than what she makes. "There's a lot of jobs out there that are a lot less stressful, a lot closer to home and provide benefits," King said. Ultimately, King said she would like to see additional benefits for private home care support workers and for her wages to keep pace with agency workers. CBC News asked Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell for an interview. Instead, in a statement department spokesperson Jennifer Konieczny reiterated the requirements for agency-based home care workers. "There are provincially established compensation rates for service providers in the Home Support Program," she wrote. "The rate of pay for self-managed care providers is applied consistently to ensure equal pay for all self-managed care providers." Konieczny added a wage compensation review is still underway and any changes will be communicated at an unspecified time.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New Jersey's Bergen County to Tokenize $240B in Real Estate Deeds on Avalanche Network
Bergen County, New Jersey is turning to the Avalanche AVAX network to put its entire property record system on blockchain, claiming to be the largest property deed tokenization project in the U.S. Under a five-year agreement with land record blockchain firm Balcony, the well-to-do county across the Hudson River from New York city will migrate 370,000 property deeds — representing about $240 billion worth of real estate — onto an immutable, searchable blockchain ledger, according to a press release. The system, powered by Avalanche, will serve nearly a million residents across 70 municipalities. "This initiative is about improving the lives of our residents," said John Hogan, County Clerk of Bergen. "By digitizing property records, we are making the process simpler, faster, and more secure for homeowners, businesses, and future generations." The move aligns with a broader trend of using blockchain rails for moving and recording ownership of assets like bonds, funds and real estate — a process also known as tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). The tokenized asset market could reach $18.9 trillion by 2033, with real estate amounting to a significant share, a recent report by Boston Consulting Group and Ripple projected. Most recently, the Dubai Land Department debuted a real estate tokenization platform built on the XRP Ledger XRP network as part of its strategy to bring 7% of all real estate transactions, worth roughly $16 billion, to blockchain rails. Balcony, which has already introduced similar systems in several counties across New Jersey, claims that its blockchain-based platform can cut deed processing time by 90% while addressing risks like fraud and record discrepancies. It can boost municipal revenue, too: the platform detected almost $1 million in lost municipal revenue in Orange, NJ, previously hidden due to incomplete or outdated property records, the company said. "Blockchain is continuing to solve complex, real-world problems," said Luigi D'Onorio DeMeo, chief strategy officer of ecosystem development organization Ava Labs. "[Avalanche's] infrastructure is built to handle large amounts of data quickly and securely, which is exactly what's needed to modernize how property records are managed and transform how public institutions operate." Last year, California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) digitized 42 million of car titles on Avalanche to modernize the state's title transfer process with software development firm Oxhead Alpha.
