“Reflections from Them Days: A Residential School Memoir from Nunatsiavut” as told by Nellie Winters.

When Nellie Winters was 11 years old, she was sent to attend the Nain Boarding School, a residential school 400 km from her home.

In this memoir, she recalls life before residential school, her experiences at the school, and what it was like to come home.

Accompanied by the author’s original illustrations, this moving, often funny memoir sheds light on the experiences of Inuit residential school survivors in Labrador.

Nellie Winters is an elder from Okak Bay, living in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut (Labrador).

She is a respected artist whose work is commissioned and exhibited by galleries, museums, and private collections in Canada and around the world.

Winters is widely respected as an elder, knowledge holder, translator, author, and educator.

OK Radio will have more information once it becomes available.

The Nunatsiavut Government is offering Inuttitut classes through Facebook Live.

We spoke with Sarah Townley who is originally from Hebron, currently resides in North West River.

She says she will be holding classes until September.

Townley adds that she has some trouble teaching due to slow connection.

Click here to hear more on the Inuktitut Facebook Live classes.

Air Canada has canned some 14 flights across Atlantic Canada, with half of those in Newfoundland and Labrador, something the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce says is a blow to the region.

On Tuesday, June 30th, Air Canada cancelled 7 flight routes throughout the province sparking backlash, just as the Atlantic bubble comes into effect today. Deer Lake to St. John’s, Deer Lake to Goose Bay, Gander to St. John’s, Gander to Goose Bay, Wabush to Goose Bay, Wabush to Sept-Isles, and Goose Bay to St. John’s were all cancelled.

Atlantic Chamber of Commerce CEO, Sherry Summerville says it’s a blow to the region as we depend so greatly on these linkages to connect the region, build businesses, help tourism and stimulate population growth and labour attraction.

She says this will drastically change how the region recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Summerville calls it “deeply concerning” that 7 out of 14 cancelled routes were in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Summerville says between COVID-19, Snowmageddon and now this; it seems like its hard-fought uphill battle for the province some days.

The Chamber of Commerce believes government needs to work with Air Canada to try and put these lines back in place.

However, Summerville says she doesn’t if they’ll ever see them all return.

She says they’re hearing from some airports that it could be 4 to 5 years to bounce back to pre-COVID numbers.

In other news: Wabush hopeful other Airline will step up to fill the gap left by Air Canada.

The mining hub of the province is reaching out to others in the wake of Air Canada’s flight reduction plan. Many of the hits involve Labrador, especially the West.

Mayor Ron Barron says Air Canada has imposed similar reductions before, only to return after another airline picked up the slack.

Given the amount of mining activity, Wabush- which also serves the Fermont area of Quebec – is one of the busier airports in Atlantic Canada. It is served also by PAL which provides connections to Newfoundland, the rest of Labrador, and parts of Quebec.

Barron says you always like to have competition so maybe other airlines will take a look at what is being dropped.

Courtesy VOCM news.

We are waiting for more information and interviews from Air Canada, when they’re available.

One of the Country’s longest-serving premiers says he’s not sure how history will remember him, but he has a lot that he’s personally proud of.

Dwight Ball will be stepping down as Premier once a new Liberal Party Leader is chosen on August 3.

He says initiatives to help grow the province’s agriculture and technology sectors are two items that come immediately to mind.

The province has done a lot with very little financial means, Ball says.

The relationship with other provinces’ has “never been better” according to the Premier.

He cites Quebec as an example, along with “clean growth” opportunities with the Atlantic Provinces by allowing them to come off coal energy.

There’s a drop in gas prices across the board today.

Gas is down by 2.5 cents per litre, and diesel is dropping by 1.8 cents on the island and 2.5 cents in Labrador.

Furnace and stove oil decreases by 1.5 cents and propane stays about the same.

The change in gas prices was postponed from Thursday to today due to Canada Day/Memorial Day.

Yesterday, Thursday, July 2, Newfoundland and Labrador has no new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The province continues to have no active cases.

258 people have recovered from the virus.

To date, 18,218 people have been tested.

In Alert Level 2, individuals should continue to practice good infection prevention and control practices.

Daily preventative actions can help to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

For the most up-to-date information related to COVID-19, please visit www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19.

Newfoundland and Labrador officially joins an Atlantic bubble today, meaning that residents not experiencing symptoms can move freely between all four Atlantic Provinces without having to self-isolate.

Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, says the overall incidence of COVID-19 in the region is very low, and that it is unrealistic to expect the province to remain closed.

Nova Scotia reported another new case in that province yesterday – an individual who arrived as a temporary foreign worker who has been in self-isolation since arriving in Nova Scotia.

The province says all three new cases reported in Nova Scotia over the last week are linked to travel outside the country.

Newfoundland and Labrador has not seen any active cases in about two weeks and no new cases in over a month.

The Nunatsiavut Government gave notice that it would no longer be requesting people to not travel between Labrador Inuit communities unless they have been directed to self-isolate or to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19.

Tyler Edmunds is the First Minister for Nunatsiavut Government.

He says there’s been some talk over the last little while about an Atlantic bubble where Newfoundland and Labrador will allow free movement.

Edmunds also speaks about the continuation of the Food Supplement Program and the Marine Harvesters Support Program.

Click here for the update on Nunatsiavut Government.

Here’s what we have for this week’s price changes:

Heating and stove oil to drop 1.8 a litre.

Diesel showing a drop of 2 cents a litre, and

Gasoline to drop by 3.5 cents a litre.

The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health is allaying fears surrounding Newfoundland and Labrador joining the Atlantic bubble this Friday tomorrow.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says the health system is prepared and the province is in a different place than is was in March, or even in early May with good contact tracing and control measures in place.

She says in the incidence of COVID-19 in the Atlantic province’s is very low, with only two cases in the entire region.

She says the infection rate is actually lower in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick than it is here.

Dr. Fitzgerald says opening the province is based on science and continued good hygiene and social distancing practices.

She says it is not realistic to expect that the province remains closed until a vaccine is found. The realistic prospective is that “we live COVID-19 with using our strategies, and all that we have learned to identify cases and control outbreaks.”

She did offer a stern message, however, to those not exercising physical distancing. Bars and Night clubs reopened last weekend, leading to observations that some people were carrying on as if COVID-19 never existed.

She says what she saw this weekend left her “deeply concerned.”

Courtesy VOCM news.