Not exactly as shown

By Mark Squibb

Mount Pearl city council awarded a couple of big engineering contracts during its November 4 public meeting.

Firstly, council awarded a $3.9 million contract to Dexter Construction Company Limited for upgrades to Jackman Drive.

It also awarded the tender for the Water Tower Access Road Project to lowest bidder Precision Excavation Ltd., in the amount of $1,277,492, HST included.

“This is a strategic direction where council basically is going to ensure that everything on the other side of Topsail Road will have water available to it to foster the growth here in the City,” said Mayor Dave Aker.

The water tower, for which council has applied for federal funding, will service the Northlands development sandwiched between Kenmount and Topsail roads.

In other development news, council also ponied up $7,829, HST excluded, for additional work on the new community centre.

Councillor Jim Locke noted the work was necessitated because information provided to council indicated the contractor was not at fault, and that existing infrastructure did not match the as-built drawings.

“I’m just wondering the age of the infrastructure and how would something like that happen, that we got these drawings that are supposed to indicate what’s in the ground, but they’re not,” queried Locke. “Is there any recourse for that? Who’s responsible for the infrastructure not matching the drawings which led to such a circumstance?”

Engineering director Scott Batt said given the age of the infrastructure, accurate as-built drawings are vey unlikely.

“It is still a persisting issue today, accurate as-builts,” said Batt. “Like the briefing note said there, it was an unexpected condition. The underground infrastructure was not what was expected, and it was no fault of the contractor. But ultimately it is the design engineer and the contractor that are responsible for as-built drawings once projects are complete. Given the age of the infrastructure, it is very hard to track that down at this point.”

The new centre is expected to be completed by early next year.

Merry & Bright set for Saturday

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Merry & Bright fundraiser is a go again this year, marking the sixth Christmas for the show.

Organized annually by Alex Taylor of Mount Pearl, the latest installment will take place Saturday, November 22, at Church of the Ascension, 58 Smallwood Drive. As usual, it will include a list of merry, bright and talented performers.

“It’s an event I’ve put off for a bunch of different charities,” said Taylor.

Among the beneficiaries have been The Gathering Place, A Dollar A Day Foundation, and Bridges to Hope. This year, the benefitting charity will be the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).

“The CNIB is a great organization,” said Taylor. “I’ve worked with them for a fair few years now.” CNIB aims to empower people who are blind or have severe sight limitations and help make their world more inclusive and accessible.

“They’ve got all the activities and different things for people to get back out there, especially those who have become blind or are blind,” said Taylor. “They can feel welcomed and also have a way to not feel like they’re alone.”

This year’s proceeds will specifically aid the CNIB in helping children receive guide dogs.

Tom Conway will host the fundraiser. Taylor will perform with his sister, Jessie Connolly. The event will also include entertainment by Sandy Morris and Jenny Gear, Zander Wright, Brian, Natalia and Kaylnn DeBoer, and Duane Morgan. Some of the performers have played at other events of Taylor’s in the past.

Tickets to the Merry & Bright fundraiser cost $20. Proceeds will go to the CNIB, as will those from a 50/50 draw which will also be held at the event. For more information email merrybright19@gmail.com or call 709-691-4020.

Together as One

Members of the Mount Pearl Lions Club were impressed by the response from students at St. Peter’s Junior High who participated in this year’s Peace Poster contest. The theme was "Together as One.” The contest encouraged students to express their views on peace through their artwork. Kyle Liang, pictured above, took first place and the $50 prize with Ethan Yetman coming in as a strong first runner up. Art teacher Amy Noseworthy oversaw the students’ work helping to make it a success. Photo courtesy of Donna Reddick of the Mount Pearl Lions Club

Mi’kmaw artist Melissa M. Francis new mural

The City of Mount Pearl unveiled a new mural by Mi’kmaw artist Melissa M. Francis of Studio 120 at Centennial Park this month. JUNO award-winning Inuk soprano Deantha Edmunds and her daughter Annabelle Edmunds-Ramsay performed at the event. This past summer, the City partnered with non-profit First Light and issued an open invitation to all Indigenous artists wishing to submit a design. From left are Francis, Edmunds and Edmunds-Ramsay. City of Mount Pearl photo

City extends snow clearing contract with private operator

By Mark Squibb

Mount Pearl council has voted to extend its current snow clearing contract with Farrell’s Excavating for an additional term, a period from December 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.

The initial contract began on December 1, 2024 and ended on March 31 this year and cost the City $216,200, HST included.

That contract was subject to adjustments based on weather conditions.

The decision to extend the contract for another year includes a guaranteed minimum payment of $100,000 regardless if equipment is utilized or not.

The majority of the City’s snow clearing is done inhouse by unionized drivers. However, on the heels of a citywide strike that lasted over two months, the City, in 2022, contracted out additional snow clearing services for the first time ever in an effort to “complement” its snow clearing service. The City has continued to do so in the years since, a move which the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has criticized.

Foster system at ‘crisis point,’ says advocate

By Mark Squibb

Newfoundland and Labrador Foster Families Executive Director Kelly Hodder, along with daughter Elizabeth Dawe, joined Mount Pearl council in chambers recently to help proclaim Foster Family Month.

In this province, there are over 900 children in the foster care system, and about 550 foster families – although that latter number has taken a hit in recent years.

“Unfortunately, we have seen a decrease in the number of foster homes in this province, specifically since COVID,” said Hodder. “I would consider us to be at a crisis point. So, that is a large part of the work that we do at the association. We really need to raise awareness about the need for more homes. We do a lot of advocacy work to improve what circumstances are like for the foster families that we have. And we want to improve recruitment and retention, because ultimately when we have fewer homes, we see the impacts it has on the children. We have kids in rural Newfoundland and Labrador who came into care, and they have to leave their communities because there’s no foster homes in their communities. For children in Labrador, that means being out on a plane and flown to another part of Labrador or being flown down here to the island and being placed in a non-Indigenous foster home. It means children have to leave their schools, their friends, their relatives, their pets, their everything, and go to a stange place in order to be kept safe.”

Hodder was pleased to report that the association has a number of foster families in Mount Pearl, though she hopes even more residents will consider fostering.

“When children are in an unsafe situation and go into a foster home, they’re given an opportunity for stability, for love, for nurturing, and, perhaps maybe to feel safe for the first time in their lives,” said Hodder. “So, it’s very important work that their doing. It’s very challenging work, but we need them, and we need more of them.”

One of the biggest barriers, said Hodder, is the rising costs associated with fostering.

“Foster care compensation rates haven’t increased since 2012, and of course we know inflation has increased dramatically since then,” said Hodder. “So, I’ve been trying to hold the government’s feet to the fire on that. And with the new government incoming I plan on continuing that work (to say) Foster parents need funds to do the work they do. They’re not in it for the money, but you need money to do it. It’s not cheap.”

Her daughter Elizabeth, meanwhile, has inherited four cousins through foster care – Kylin, Kyrie, Greyson, and Michael.

Munn Insurance Future Goals Scholarship

Members of the Mount Pearl Sports Alliance were on hand to congratulate Ethan Collins as the winner of a 2025 Munn Insurance Future Goals Scholarship in the amount of $2000. Collins is a graduate of Mount Pearl Senior High and is furthering his studies in engineering at Memorial University. The Scholarship was created by the late John Nolan, former president of Munn Insurance and a long-time volunteer in the Mount Pearl sports community. Nolan was also a firm supporter of the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance which administers, and through its selection committee, decides a winner each year. On hand for the presentation were, from left: Ethan’s parents Jackie and Joshua Collins, Munn Insurance Vice President Adam Nolan, Ethan Collins, selection committee chairman Harold Stapleton, MPSH Principal Chris Druken, and Roy Locke, President of the Sport Alliance.

Council approves professional development trips for staff

By Mark Squibb

While members of council are in Corner Brook this month to attend the Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador annual conference and trade show, two staff members will be preparing for professional development trips of their own.

Chief Administrative Officer Cassie Rideout will attend the Municipal Communication Conference in Toronto from November 24-26, while Director of Recreation and Community Safety, Jason Collins, will attend the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association Conference in Ottawa from November 23 – 25.

Council approved the trips – paid for out of an annual professional development budget — unanimously during the October 21 public meeting.

“Professional training is fabulous,” said councillor Bill Antle. “It gives us an opportunity to go out into the marketplace and see what others are doing.”

Stuttering Association calling for bursary applications

Mount Pearl council recognized International Stuttering Awareness Day earlier this fall. From left are councillors Chelsea Lane, Isabelle Fry, Jim Locke, Mayor Dave Aker, Newfoundland and Labrador Stuttering Association co-founder Greg O’Grady, Deputy Mayor Nicole Kieley, and councillors Mark Rice and Bill Antle, all wearing nametags in recognition of stuttering awareness. Saying one’s name, said O’Grady, can be extremely difficult for people who stutter. Mark Squibb photo

By Mark Squibb

The City of Mount Pearl recognized October 22 as International Stuttering Awareness Day with Greg O’Grady of the Newfoundland and Labrador Stuttering Association of (NLSA) joining council for the proclamation, conspicuously sporting a nametag around his neck.

“One of the greatest fears that a person who stutters has is being asked what one’s name is,” said O’Grady. “That’s the biggest fear we all have.”

Grady said a person who stutters may feel like a deer frozen in headlights when asked, ‘What is your name?’

“For most people, being asked your name is taken for granted, yet for the global community of people who stutter this question is a traumatic question.” said Grady.

Councillor Chelsea Lane said she has taught a number of children who stutter.

“One thing that a student said to me that really resonated is, ‘Miss, I stutter, and people think they’re helping me by trying to finish my sentences before I get the chance, but I really just want them to listen so that I can speak,’” said Lane. “And that really stuck with me, because people may not realize that when people are stuttering, you’re not helping them by trying to fill in the blanks. Sit back, and listen, and give them the chance to say what they need to say. I think that’s really important.”

Since 2018, the association has been hosting a ‘walk, run, or roll’ event to raise funds to help subsidize therapy, equipment, and other costs for people who stutter, and has awarded over $22,000 worth of bursaries. Grady said the association has only touched the tip of the iceberg.

With the support of donors, the NLSA will be awarding six $1,000 bursaries this year. The bursaries are available for preschool, school age children, adolescents, adults and seniors who stutter or face other communication challenges. Applications are to be submitted by midnight on Friday, November 28. Applications can be emailed to info@nlstuttering.ca and or dropped off at the association’s office at 44 Torbay Road, Suite 100, in St. John's.

An estimated 350,000 Canadians stutter.

Mount Pearl council proposing big changes to municipal elections Act

By Mark Squibb

Mount Pearl councillors heading to this fall’s Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL) Conference are hoping to garner support for resolutions that would make future elections more accessible for people with mobility challenges.

Mayor Dave Aker, along with Deputy Mayor Nicole Kieley and councillors Isabelle Fry, Jim Locke, Mark Rice, and Bill Antle will be attending the conference in Corner Brook next month. They’re hoping that if the resolutions they present are adopted by their fellow municipal leaders, they may also one day be adopted as provincial law.

Each year, councils from across the province are invited to present resolutions – items they wish to one day see passed as provincial or federal law – at the annual event. The Mount Pearl contingent plans to propose a number of resolutions but none more resonant for Deputy Mayor Kieley than the one pertaining to accessibility.

“This is an item that is incredibly personal to me, and I think also is something that is going to benefit all of us in Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Kieley, herself an above-knee amputee. Kieley argued that qualities thought important to a traditional campaign, such as the ability to walk long distances or up and down stairs with ease are not necessarily strong indicators of good leadership.

“The Act, currently, favours able-bodied individuals,” said Kieley. “Whether you have the ability or not to move in a certain way doesn’t equate to leadership.”

Council also approved a resolution regarding the reimbursement of campaign expenses.

“This came to mind following the provincial election when I learned that candidates, provincially, are entitled to one-third reimbursement of their campaign expenses up to a cap provided, provided the candidate is either acclaimed or receives (at least) 15 percent of the popular vote,” said councillor Locke.

Making such a benefit available to municipal election candidates may reduce barriers and encourage more people to put their names forward for municipal election, he contended.

“Campaigns are expensive,” said Locke. “It’s okay for incumbents because we don’t have to spend as much, because we can rely on former signs and experience and stuff like that, but new candidates can be confronted with expenses of tens of thousands of dollars. And if they are unsuccessful, there’s no form of reimbursement.”

Locke suggested the reimbursement could come in the form of cash or a tax credit.

Council will also bring forward a resolution calling on the Province to regulate the use of scooters and eBikes.

“We need regulations on eBikes and scooters,” said councillor Bill Antle, noting many a resident raised the issue on the campaign trail. “Scooters are getting more and more popular on our trails, and there’s no age limit on these bikes and on these scooters right now.”