NTV - CJON - Thursday, May 23, 2024 - 05:00 a.m. (ET) - Segment #1

work. >> Radar showing some showers across the avalon peninsula this evening. We'll talk about what these mean in your forecast for the rest of the week all coming up shortly on tonight's ntv evening news hour. >> The award winning ntv evening news hour with toni marie wiseman, michael connors and chief meteorologist eddie shearer. >> Good evening. The countdown is on for a new era in health care on the west coast. >> In less than two weeks, corner books new western memorial regional hospital will welcome its first patients as entities. John bradshaw tells us after a nearly 20 year wait. >> It's a day some thought would never come. It was 2007 that then premier danny williams announced the new acute care hospital would be built in corner brook. >> Today, 17 years later and six months after construction of the building was completed, the process of transitioning from the current hospital to the new site is underway. Corner brook mhra jerry burn says despite numerous delays that kept this project on the back burner for nearly two decades, the finish line is in sight here in 2024 to see the final completion of this particular project with still work underway. But still the final completion of the project. It's a very, very proud moment but more importantly it really solidifies that community health care the best quality of health care is here and here to stay. >> And I think that is what makes our community great. Humber bay of islands image eddie joyce is also welcoming the approaching date of opening for the new western memorial hospital but he's disappointed the building won't be fully functional. When the doors first opened to the public lamenting the absence of a fully functioning cancer clinic that's been stalled by the inability to recruit radiation oncologist to staff the facility. >> It's been a long wait. It's been a lot of hard work. It's been dedication by a lot of people but this is going to be a great hospital. But the sad part is the cornerstone the radiation and the pet scanner will not be included. >> It's included but they won't have the services that they need. The new hospital was built with cancer care in mind including the installation of essential equipment required to deliver radiation treatment to patients a first for western newfoundland but with no radiation oncologist hired thus far to work here. >> Joyce says government dropped the ball in preparing for the launch of the new hospital. They had six years to do this and when I asked the minister last september october he said that we anticipate to have the radiation services available now we don't have it available. So so it's hard to believe how hard they're actually working when when the minister tells you in october we anticipate to be open. So he had some information that there was radiation oncologist coming. Obviously it wasn't. >> There is an element of timing to this. No radiation oncologist would have come here until just recently anyway at the at the timing of the opening of the hospital. >> But we'll double down we'll get those skills and we will have cancer radiation therapy here in corner brook, the new western memorial regional hospital is scheduled to open to the public on june 2nd four and two. >> News don bradshaw corner brook. Thousands of residents in this province are still struggling to find a family doctor. But as ndtv's beth penney reports, the health authority says more than two dozen physicians have been hired in the past number of months. >> More than 130,000 newfoundlanders and labradorians are without a family doctor. But that number could soon go down with the recent recruitment of about 25 physicians. >> So since january 1st up until april 1st of this year newfoundland and labrador health services is happy to report we've added an additional 25 physicians to our workforce. >> Dr. Gina bogdan is the vice president of medical services with mal health services. She says these newly hired physicians are located throughout the province and work in a range of specialties. >> And 25 physicians all across the province in different specialties including family medicine, hospitalist, obstetrics and gynecology and emergency medicine will certainly mean improved access and improved opportunities for patient care within our population. And so we're very pleased with that effort. There have been a number of government incentive programs announced over the past year or so, including the position signing bonus, the come home incentive and more. Dr. Bugden says these incentives paved the way for these new physician hires. >> So newfoundland and labrador health services has put an increased focus on recruitment and retention of our health care providers within the last year. We have really stepped up our our meetings with mine and the other sort of nursing schools social work, pharmacy in an

effort to make sure right from day one once they enter the school that they are familiar with us that they know about the opportunities that we have available and we'd like to continue those touch points right through the whole educational journey so that they at the end they are well armed with the most important information that they can make about their career. >> In addition to the recruitment of these 25 new positions in the first three months of the year and all health services recently announced the hiring of over 100 and 50 internationally educated nurses who are now licensed are ns or lpns complementing over 300 recent nursing graduates from local nursing schools. About the penny and tb news. >> The government has launched an investigation into legislation that was leaked before it was tabled in the house of assembly. It deals with the limitations act advocates have been calling for changes so victims of historical abuse can sue for compensation. But lawyers say the changes don't go far enough. Ndtv's bailey howard now with more. >> Justice minister john hogan is calling for an investigation. There are members in the house that did not have the opportunity to see that bill yesterday and members of the public had seen it. >> On tuesday the opposition was briefed on draft legislation that would change the limitations act. Hogan says normally the second reading would then happen in the house the following day. Then it would move to a committee to discuss and make amendments. >> But that draft legislation was leaked during question period yesterday. I received an email from someone in the department who had received an email from someone in the media with a copy of the bill attached. >> Hogan says only those in the briefing had the bill. Members in the house have certain privileges. One of the privileges is that is one of the privileges that we have as members of the house is to see a piece of legislation, a proposed piece of legislation, a bill before members of the public. I don't know how that bill got out. >> The process then is is there a prima facia case of breach of that privilege that legislation would change the statute of limitations for claims from abuse cases? The opposition says the liberals are focused on control not creating the best legislation possible. >> What are we trying to hide here? Advocate jack whelan was credited for his efforts in pushing for the changes. >> This man sat in that legislature week after week after week and was really really the spearheading force behind the limitations act. >> Even coming here he traveled across the country with a replica of the cell in which he spent hundreds of days at the weapon boys home. Lawyer lynn moore represents a different client seeking changes to the legislation. She says with the draft legislation the problem is not solved by offering limited help to her client and no help to whalen. >> My client is arguing that he was so impacted by the abuse he suffered as a child that he suffered a mental disability arising from that abuse and he is now being discriminated against because of that mental disability. A second incident where his father put a loaded shotgun under his chin and pulled the trigger which was deeply impactful and traumatizing for a seven year old child. That would not be compensable under this regime because this new amendment requires bodily harm. Jack whalen having spent 730 days in solitary confinement in a dungeon like circumstance ,he would not fall under bodily harm either. >> So this legislation does not account for psychological harm . >> And deep mha leila evans called a point of privilege in the house of assembly on wednesday afternoon arguing the opposition is not given enough time to review legislation before debating it. Our members ability to scrutinize legislation and present the interests of our constituents I believe disability has been put at risk. >> Hogan couldn't say how long a leak investigation could take or when it would start. >> Bailey howard ntv news. The house of assembly management commission has voted to accept a report that could see a pay raise for mike chase . The member's compensation review committee made 32 recommendations one of which would increase members salaries by almost $25,000 a year. The committee reviews salaries of members once each general assembly but the recommendations in the report would tie the salaries to inflation for future years. Pc members barry patten and craig purdy from the tories and ndp mp leila evans voted in favor of accepting the report as a whole while liberals john hogan, lisa dempster and lucy stall voted against the report. The 3 to 3 tie was broken by speaker derek bennett who explained his reasons for voting in favor. The report will eventually have to be go will have to go to a vote on the house as a whole. >> The crc report is thorough and evidence based. The fiduciary responsibility of the managing commission is to act in the best interests of this institution. My role as speaker is to ensure members have the opportunity to weigh in on these matters when they are brought before the house of assembly. And while I'm not bound by the casting vote convention that applies to speakers when

voting on parliamentary matters I am casting my vote in favor of this motion to continue discussion in the house of assembly. >> Motion is a flight left to st john's this morning carrying more than 100 veterans canadian armed forces members, politicians and media to northern france. >> They're going to be taking part in a repatriation ceremony for an unknown newfoundland soldier who will be brought back to st john's on saturday. Ntv's ben cleary and glen andrews are traveling to france to cover that story for us all week. Here's more on what will happen ahead of that ceremony over the next few days. >> Ceremonies will be held along the trail of the caribou leading up to saturday. It's then that the transfer of remains ceremony will be held at the beaumont hamel newfoundland memorial. The unknown soldier will be repatriated from the western front in northern france. We will never know his identity but we will know he fought and died. A newfoundland or like the unknown soldier. 800 more newfoundlanders died in the first world war without a known grave. >> On saturday after the repatriation ceremony in beaumont, hamel the unknown soldier will return home to newfoundland. More than 100 years after he left from june 28th to the 30th, the remains will lie in state at the confederation building before being laid to rest in the tomb of the unknown soldier at the national war memorial in st john's. >> Lower commodity prices sent the tsx into negative territory today it was down 121 points, closing at 22,347. The venture exchange was off by nine points to 611. The dow fell 201 down to 39,672. Nasdaq was off by 31 points to 16,802. Gold dropped $41.89 to $2379.16. U.S. announced brent crude oil down by $1.22. $81.68 us per barrel. The canadian dollar down 0.18 to 73.0 $0.05 us. Ford is down $0.47 a share to $55.41. Labrador iron ore down $0.56 to $30.40 and altius minerals dropped $0.46 to $22.15. >> Tonight's weather brought to you by your atlantic chevrolet dealer. Get 0% financing up to 60 months on select 2024 chevrolet silverado trucks plus eligible costco members and receive a $1,200 bonus. >> Well, coming out of the long weekend we had some really nice weather but gosh I was lucky because I was in pasadena this past weekend and saturday at sunday and monday 22 degrees. Oh so lucky. Not a breath beautiful. It was just stunning. Yeah. But I drove back yesterday. I had it's not quite that warm. Not quite that warm. But when I left pasadena got some rain. Oh, yeah. I try to bring the weather back. Yes, I know. I know you did your best. Couldn't fit the grand weather in my car. Oh, well. So eddie is there. We're going to get any more of that any time soon? >> No. No, I wish. I know. I wish I could say, you know, we're going to see like temperatures returning to the upper teens for the next few days and the sunshine after a little bit of rain. >> But unfortunately it looks like more chilly weather is on the way as we kind of go toward the weekend with some kind of spurts of mild ish weather depending upon where you are. But the weather pattern that we've been in while not nice is one that generally drives icebergs toward the shorelines of newfoundland and labrador and this year is no exception to that. >> Check out this photo taken in coach mints cove by devin bryan. That's a cool iceberg there. Really neat picture where you can see the texture of the iceberg and that looks like it's a pretty massive looking burger. Remember like 90% of that is under water so there's a lot of volume of ice sitting just under the surface there. Now the weather pattern that drives the icebergs toward the shorelines of newfoundland and labrador is generally one that is not exactly pleasant. But that's kind of what we've been seeing so far through the month of may and that weather pattern has driven a lot of icebergs towards some areas of coastal labrador and some areas of coastal newfoundland. Now if you recall last year we had a bumper year for icebergs. Spring was miserable which means we get a lot of icebergs. This spring has not been quite as damp and cold but it has not

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