After weeks of relentless questioning by the opposition parties and independent MHAs, government would finally confirm the existence of a report into allegations of bullying, harassment and nepotism against Elections NL CEO Bruce Chaulk.
Government indicated it had only received the Citizens’ Rep report in June, however it had been sitting on the desk of the Speaker of the House for months. Premier Andrew Furey would commit to releasing the report once it was vetted for privacy, a comment flagged by Privacy Commissioner Michael Harvey, who would deny the request saying vetting did not fall under his purview.
(Privacy Commissioner Michael Harvey)
On June 28, the other shoe would drop.
Government announced the suspension of Chaulk from his position as Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioner for Legislative Standards pending the outcome of an independent review, a decision supported by those in opposition to government.
Chaulk would be reinstated in October.
Hopkins Found Guilty
A lengthy trial surrounding the sexual assault of a teenager in Cowan Heights in 2020 finally came to an end in June.
Stephen Hopkins was found guilty of forcing his way into the girl’s home and attempting to rape her in what the Crown called a “crime of opportunity”.
Hopkins represented himself during the trial, denying he attacked the girl or even that he was there.
In the end, Hopkins, a repeat offender, was found guilty. The Crown is now working on having Hopkins labelled a dangerous offender. That matter is still before the courts.
Oil and Energy
(Photo via Premier Andrew Furey Twitter.)
Bay du Nord was not the only massive oil project to be thrown a lifeline this year. June kicked off with the announced restart of the West White Rose project.
The project had previously been mothballed, however an agreement whereby Cenovus decreased its working interest in West White Rose and satellite extensions while Suncor took a larger stake proved enough to resurrect the project.
NL Hydro also provided an update on the Lower Churchill Project in June, with a new total cost estimate of just under $13.4 billion and continued issues with the Labrador Island Link.
Meanwhile, World Enegy GH2 Inc. registered its plan to develop a wind farm that would include 164 turbines to power a hydrogen and ammonia-generating facility on the Port au Port Peninsula.
