CBC Newfoundland Morning

We heard a lot of information about the provincial budget this morning, but what do people think about the numbers? Is enough being done to offset the cost of living? CBC's Amy Feehan hit the streets of Corner Brook on Thursday to get some reactions.

The fishery has been the biggest story in the province this week. Hundreds of harvesters have been protesting in St. John's, shutting down the House of Assembly and facing down police. They want a free enterprise system, which eliminates processing quotas, creates new plant licenses, and allows companies outside NL to buy their catches. But, if quotas are lifted and outside buyers take crab away, plant workers want to know where THEY stand. Doretta Strickland is a crab plant worker in Triton.

On Thursday, a big crowd of fish harvesters from all over western Newfoundland and the Northern Peninsula gathered outside the Sir Richard Squires Building in Corner Brook, demanding what their union is calling a 'free enterprise' system in the industry. The demonstration came a day after fish harvesters blocked the entrances to the Confederation Building in St.John's. The CBC's Colleen Connors spoke with fish harvesters Roger Joyce from Fox Island River and Ernest Decker from Rocky Harbour at the Corner Brook event.

It was a day later than originally planned, but the provincial budget was delivered yesterday. The event had been postponed due to the tense protests on Wednesday by fish harvesters outside the Confederation Building in St. John's. Despite a court injunction delivered on Wednesday, protesters returned the next day and were met by police officers in riot gear. In response, the provincial NDP announced they would NOT be going into the House of Assembly and attending the budget announcement, out of respect for the protesters. We spoke with NDP leader Jim Dinn.

The head of the province's Cancer Care Program can't guarantee that cancer patients will be able to get radiation therapy in Corner Brook as soon as the new regional hospital opens. The new hospital is set to open this summer, and it WILL have the equipment to offer radiation therapy. But the health authority has not yet recruited a radiation oncologist, and it is still advertising for two radiation oncology positions. Dr. Teri Stuckless is the clinical chief of the provincial Cancer Care Program of NL Health Services.

Fish harvesters in this province say they want a 'free enterprise' system, which would mean lifting processing caps, allowing outside buyers and granting new processing licences here at home. Yesterday, hundreds of angry harvesters gathered outside the Confederation Building in St. John's to voice those demands. Things got heated as police tried to help workers into their offices on what was supposed to be budget day. In the end, the provincial government won a court injunction against the protesters, but not before two people - a police officer and a protester - were taken away by ambulance. Tony Wakeham is the leader of the PC party in this province and MHA for Stephenville - Port au Port, and he says the situation should never have happened.

It was a chaotic day at the provincial legislature yesterday. hundreds of fish harvesters blocked the entrances to Confederation Building, barring public servants from entering and delaying the tabling of the 2024 budget. So, how did we get here? CBC Reporter Darrell Roberts talked to us about it, Jason Spingle, secretary-treasurer of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union, spoke about the protests, the court injunction, and more.

A Codroy Valley man is raising concerns about the number of big rigs blowing over in the Wreckhouse area and the danger to other drivers. At least twice this month alone, transport trucks have tipped over at Wreckhouse and blocked the Trans Canada Highway. Frank Aucoin says the provincial transportation department could do more to ensure safety.

The provincial government was embarrassed and scrambling for answers earlier this year, when the Globe and Mail wrote about how much it spends on travel nurses. In 2023, it paid out more than thirty-six million dollars over just five months. That's why the provincial registered nurses' union wants to expand a pilot project started in Labrador in 2022. It "borrows" local nurses from other locations and uses them to fill the gap for short periods at a time. Yvette Coffey is president of the Registered Nurses' Union Newfoundland and Labrador, and she spoke with the CBC's Leigh Anne Power.

Last December, the provincial department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture closed the Rocky Brook Road Bridge to all traffic. The bridge is located about 13 kilometres north of Badger - about 300 meters from the TCH.

The closure came after property owners in the area expressed concerns about the structural safety of the bridge. Now residents are wondering what's next for a bridge they say is essential to not only access their homes and cottages. Gary Noseworthy is the chair of the Rocky Brook Bridge Committee.