On Friday, the Law Society’s director of custodianships, Nikita Ryan, was granted custody of Sandra Fry’s law practice and her client files by Order of the Supreme Court of NL.

Enquiries about the client files can be directed to Nikita Ryan or custodianship assistant Lisa Kennedy by emailing nryan@lsnl.ca or by calling (709) 722-4740.

MUN, which was grappling with a $25 million deficit, announced in January its intention to divest itself of a number of properties, including the Johnson GEO Centre, the Signal Hill Campus, and its Harlow Campus in the U.K.

Memorial says the properties have not yet been listed for sale as the university awaits approvals to proceed with the divestment process.

MUN says an update will be provided when available.

The agreement announced yesterday is non-binding and is scheduled to be finalized by the end of the year.

Christine Frechette was asked about what assurances she can provide that the same thing doesn’t happen in her province as just happened in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Quebec Premier Christine Frechette (CPAC)

“Our government will make sure to implement that agreement, because it brings to Quebec thousands of new MW, and we need those MW for residents, for businesses and for every region in Quebec.”

“I see that the Parti-Quebecois is interested in tearing up this agreement; they don’t want to implement it. Okay, so what do they offer to Quebeckers if it’s not this agreement? Where will they find 10,000 MW that we are bringing to Quebec with that agreement?”

Hydro-Quebec Stressing Importance of Deal Ahead of Election: La Presse

Joël-Denis Bellavance (La Presse)

La Presse reporter Joël-Denis Bellavance says it would be folly for the Parti-Quebecois to rip up the Churchill Falls deal should they win the next Quebec election.

He told the Tim Powers Show with guest host Zack Power that Churchill Falls represents 15 per cent of the electricity that flows to Quebec – but that needs to be doubled.

He says getting similar energy capacity without Newfoundland and Labrador is just not possible.

“What would be the alternatives?” Bellavance asks. “Well, they’re pretty bleak if you don’t have Newfoundland and Labrador into that solution. So it’s going to be a major push by the CAQ (Coalition Avenir du Quebec) government to make sure that this deal actually (sees) the light of day.”

Bellavance says he’s subsequently learned that the CEO of Hydro-Quebec is reaching out to party leaders in that province ahead of the provincial election to explain the importance of the deal. He says the message being given to party leaders is that “this is a win, win, win, win deal, that it’s in the best interest of Quebec and that it has to be approved.”

Bellavance says pundits in Quebec are also saying that the PQ has “no choice but to say that they will follow, and side with this deal. Otherwise they’re going to be caught in a bind, and they’re going to be bringing the whole population of Quebec with it.”

RCMP in Harbour Grace and Bay Roberts were called to the Bannerman Street area of Carbonear around midnight Friday.

Callers indicated that the man involved in the disturbance may have had a knife.

Adam LeGrow was picked up by officers and arrested without incident.

He was held in custody pending a court appearance on two counts of uttering threats and one charge of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Vice-President and director of projects with SAEN, Kevin Power hosted a town hall in the town last week that coincided with the latest algal bloom.

SAEN has been investigating fish kills in the Salmon Cove watershed for the last number of years, and Power says they made a presentation on their findings to-date, followed by questions and discussion from the public.

“Obviously the algal bloom was a dominant part of the discussion, but we did receive input from other people around, including some of the anglers….and other issues that we’ve identified in terms of threats to salmon in the system.”

Minister responsible for the environment and municipal affairs, Chris Tibbs met with the local town council last week to hear their concerns about the algal blooms.

Tibbs says the important thing to note is that the latest blooms are not toxic, but Power says it’s still a concern.

“We don’t know if the algae event in 2021, which I think was the time frame of the previous one where there (were) mortalities, I don’t know if that would have been deemed toxic, but generally when they talk about toxic, I would imagine that the province is talking about toxicity to humans or dogs or things like that.” He says algae itself, “it does have an impact on the waterbody, depending how serious it is.”

The promise of a referendum was a key commitment in the PC election platform. Yesterday, Wakeham revealed that a public vote will not be held, instead replacing it with a special debate in the legislature.

When asked why he changed course, Wakeham states that “the time is now, (and) the urgency is there.”

That statement is very different from Wakeham’s position leading up to this point where he repeatedly said he would not be held to any “artificial deadlines” or rushed into making any deals.

“What’s happened is I also said that I wouldn’t make a decision until we reached a deal. So we have reached a deal. And when I look at the opportunities in front of Newfoundland and Labrador, that’s what we’re talking about. I turned around and asked for an independent review. We have followed the recommendations of that independent review, and we have come up with more power, more transmission, and more value, more jobs, a federal government who wants to be involved in the project. And right now is the opportunity for us to move.”

NDP Leader Jim Dinn (VOCM News)

NDP Leader Jim Dinn says he welcomes Premier Wakeham’s commitment to debating the new deal in the House of Assembly.

Dinn last week called on the premier to reopen the House of Assembly to debate the new deal.

He calls it “deja vu all over again,” saying the devil is in the details.

“Is it the best deal for NL? We’ll see.” He says, “it’s got to be a deal that both sides can live with…that it’s better than the 1969 deal” and “does it give us access to power?…that’s what we’ll decide this on.”

Holyrood RCMP responded to a number of reports indicating that the driver of the disabled vehicle was impaired.

RCMP say he failed a roadside screening, and provided samples at the detachment that were above the legal limit.

He’s scheduled to appear in court in October.

One was swiped from outside a home on Bob Clarke Drive in Campbellton around 8:30 yesterday morning.

The suspect was identified, and a description of the vehicle in question was provided to police. Officers later found it damaged and abandoned following a single-vehicle crash on the main road in Comfort Cove.

The suspect was found nearby and taken into custody.

Police say investigators also determined that the suspect arrived in the Campbellton area in an SUV that was stolen from Embree on Saturday.

The teen was charged with two counts of vehicle theft, and a single count of theft under $5,000. She was released on strict conditions to appear in Gander provincial court on October 27th.

More charges are possible as the investigation continues.

That includes Quebec getting an additional 3500 MW while NL only gets an additional 750 MW.

The Opposition also says there is no penalty if either party withdraws from the agreement before December 31st.

The Liberals say that gives any new Quebec government “plenty of time” to terminate the deal, putting “billions of dollars and thousands of jobs” at risk.

The provincial government says once the deal is finalized, a new 15 per cent “Churchill River Electricity Rebate” will be introduced for all ratepayers in the province on the first 2,000 kWh of electricity used each month.

That’s expected to save consumers an average of $351 per year.