ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — David Maher
The Telegram
An emergency sitting of the House of Assembly will see increased borrowing, changes to eviction regulations and protections for workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A group of 10 MHAs from all parties gathered in the House of Assembly on Monday to pass the measures. The reduced numbers allowed politicians to maintain physical distancing practices as the debate proceeded.
Instead of $1.2 billion in borrowing originally planned for the 2020-21 fiscal year, the province will borrow a total of $2 billion to cover costs and keep the government functioning.
Premier Dwight Ball says the measure will protect government services from long-term disruption.
“It’s unusual times. Just in case the House is disrupted and not in session before June of this year, this allows government services to be paid for at least until September,” said Ball.
As well, a $200-million contingency fund has been activated, which will go solely toward efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government has created a new kind of emergency leave to be used by those affected by the coronavirus. Communicable disease emergency leave will allow workers to take unpaid leave should they or an immediate family member be infected by the coronavirus or following an order from the province due to the ongoing public-health state of emergency. The changes also forbid workers from losing their job because they’ve taken the unpaid leave.
Anyone laid off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic will also see protections for the next 30 days against eviction. As long as a declaration is provided to the landlord that the tenant has been laid off or has had their hours reduced as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, landlords will be unable to evict the tenant for 30 days.
While there is talk of mortgage protection from the federal government, the province did not move to suspend mortgage and rent payments through the duration of the coronavirus outbreak.
Ball says the province is waiting to see how the federal government reacts.
“What we’re seeing on the national level is some indication that the federal government will be working with people like landlords (and) renters right across the country in helping to provide some relief on the loans and credit they would have,” he said.
“Some of it is in deferrals. There’s a lot of work that will need to be done. We’re seeking details on that.”
New Democratic Party Leader Alison Coffin says in the event of rent and mortgage deferral, all those bills shouldn’t come due at once when the pandemic concludes.
“Any past-due rent should not become immediately due immediately on the end of this pandemic. It would be terrible, if you were just making your way through during the pandemic, to be faced with an extra-large rent bill where all of the past rent is due immediately upon the lifting of the pandemic,” she said.
“That’s a recommendation I hope is going to be acted on.”
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Newfoundland and Labrador is being led by an all-party committee comprised of Ball, Opposition Leader Ches Crosbie, and Coffin. In a teleconference on Thursday evening, each leader was complimentary of the others' actions.
Talk of a coalition government earlier this year has fizzled out in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That was then, this is now,” said Crosbie.
"The only thing on our collective minds is getting through the crisis posed by the pandemic."
@DavidMaherNL
