There are moose and polar bear licenses available for Beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement.

Todd Broomfield is the Director of Renewable Resources for the Nunatsiavut Government.

He says household draw licenses for moose is valid for 14 days, and if it is not filled, a new draw ill take place for the next hunter.

The moose hunting season opened last September and will close in March.

Broomfield adds that application forms for the polar bear licenses were to be filled out and submitted to local Conservation Officer by February 1st and hunting season opened on February 2nd of this year.

Click here when we re-air Todd Broomfield’s interview from couple weeks ago.

The 7th Annual Memorial Grace Jararuse Flowers Ice Hockey Tournament will be going ahead this year.

It will be held from March 1st to the 5th at the Nain Husky Centre.

Teams will consist of Atom/Peewee Division, Women’s Division, and Men’s Division.

We will get more information on the ice hockey tournament once it becomes available.

The Federal Government is giving serious consideration to the creation of an “Aging at Home Benefit” to allow people to stay in their homes longer, while getting the support and care they need.

Senior’s Advocate, Susan Walsh is just back from what she calls productive meeting with her Federal and Provincial counterparts in Ottawa.

There are only three provincial senior’s advocates in the country, representing British Columbia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Walsh said they also met with the Federal Minister of Seniors, Kamal Khera, to discuss ways of to support senior. She added Ottawa is giving serious consideration to “Aging to Home Benefit,” but what that is and how it will work remains to be seen.

She said they had a really good dialogue surrounding a benefit that would help a person live safely at home, live well at home and live well in a community.

For the first time in history of the Labrador Winter Games, there will be coverage of the selected events by a Television Broadcaster.

Eastlink TV will be broadcasting live the Opening and Closing Ceremony along with both nights of the Northern Games on Channel 610 and 10. They will also be broadcasting a nightly 30-minute recap show highlighting the happening of the day’s events.

“As an Atlantic Canadian company deeply committed to showcasing the people, places and events that shape our communities, we’re honored to partner with the Labrador Winter Games,” said Eastlink CEO Jeff Gillham. “We know the important role that local sport plays in our communities and are delighted to broadcast coverage of these Games to Eastlink customers across Newfoundland and Labrador.”

For persons who are not Eastlink TV subscribers, coverage will be provided via the Labrador Winter Games Facebook page. This partnership will be a great opportunity for the people of Labrador and the Maritime/Atlantic Provinces to view the Labrador Winter Games and its amazing Athletes.

Todd Winters, Chairperson of the Labrador Winter Games Association said, “The partnership between the Labrador Winter Games and the Eastlink will provide the Communities of Labrador, the Atlantic Region, and beyond, Live coverage on a level that has never been provided prior to the 2023 Labrador Winter Games. This is a great opportunity for both Eastlink and the Labrador Winter Games by increasing the level of exposure of our Games and our People.”

The Nain Wooding Program with the Department of Health and Social Development is on hold as the Kamutet need repairs done.

Rutie Lampe is the Mental Health and Addictions worker.

She says as soon as they can get the kamutet fixed and repaired they will start the wooding program again.

With extreme cold temperatures and they don’t want anyone to get frostbite.

Lampe says they have a huge interest in this program.

She adds they have two big lists and more people are being added, so they can only do one list each week.

They will continue this wooding program once a week.

If you would like more information about this wooding program you can call the DHSD building at 922-2126.

The Nunatsiavut House of Assembly held their annual meeting in Hopedale last month.

The Assembly began on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.

We spoke with Bryan Winters, the Ordinary Member of the Nunatsiavut Assembly representing the Canadian Constituency, and appointed Speaker.

He says some topics that was discussed during the sitting were: the cost of heat on the north coast, moose licenses, the arctic winter games, students who are funded into post secondary institutions amongst more topics.

Click here to find out more about the Nunatsiavut House of Assembly sitting.

The NLVA 2023 Provincial Volleyball tournament is fast approaching.

7 Youth from Labrador will be traveling to the 2023 Provincial Volleyball tournament in St. Johns.

We spoke to Christine H. Dicker one of the organizers/fundraisers for the Nunatsiavut team.

Dicker says a few months back, her son Ian came home one day looking for help to send a team to the Games in St. John’s. And Christine hasn’t stopped since.

The Ullapitsaijet group in Nain will cover the Nain boys, but they are still short of funds for the others.

The team will be comprised of four Nain boys:
Ian Dicker
Gilbert Obed
Tristen Denniston
Aiden Kalleo

Three Makkovik boys:
Jesse Ford
Jacob Dyson
Robert Andersen

And one youth from Postville Hanson Jacque.

Bernard Obed will be their Coach.

The team is scheduled to leave on February 22 to 27 and only gets to play together one night in Goose Bay before heading on to SJ, where they play on the 24th and 25th.

NGC supplied the team with Jerseys, but the Team still needs our help.

Anyone out there who would like to contribute, give Christine a call she’d really appreciate the help.

Here are the upcoming tournaments that have been arranged for February 2023.

We spoke with one of the organizers for the First Annual Mark Dicker Ice Hockey Tournament.

The tournament started yesterday, February 2 at 3:30pm with the 12 and under division and a game played by the female division

There are two teams in the 12 and under division, two teams in the women’s division, three teams in the men’s division, and two teams in the bantam/midget division.

Today, the female division will finish their games starting at 3:30pm with opening ceremonies at 6:30pm.

The OK Radio will see how the tournament went on Monday.

The 1st Annual Tanya Tshakapesh Memorial Co-Ed Volleyball will be held in Natuashish on Friday, February 10, 2023.

The fee to register per player is $60 and the deadline is Sunday, February 5th.

First Prize winner will get $6000, second and third place winners will be given medals.

This week, Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called on the Liberals and Justin Trudeau to fulfill their campaign promise of hiring thousands of health care workers. That call is critical in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the number of vacant nursing jobs has skyrocketed to 630 now, from 185 when Trudeau took office.

“Canadians are worried about the state of their health-care system. Hospitals are understaffed, waits are long and painful, and health-care workers are begging for more support,” said Singh. “Trudeau made a promise in the last election campaign; that he’d hire more health-care workers. Then, he did the opposite.”

In September, Health Sciences Centre and St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital asked those sick to stay away from the hospital unless absolutely necessary due to a shortage of health-care workers, and in the winter, Health Sciences Centre saw emergency wait room times of up to 13 hours.

“It’s shocking that Trudeau is fine with privatization as a solution to the health care crisis. It will only cannibalize the public health-care system and increase wait times. The crisis is due to a shortage of health-care workers – and more private clinics won’t fix it,” said Singh. “It’s time for the Liberals to finally step up, fulfill their campaign promise, and get to work on hiring more nurses.”

For more information, please contact NDP Media Centre at 613-222-2351 or media@ndp.ca.

The Provincial Government will be expanding the province’s bivalent vaccine offerings. Beginning on February 6, 2023, Pfizer Comirnaty BA 4/5 COVID-19 vaccine will be available for children aged five to 11, based on NACI and Health Canada recommendations. This is the first bivalent vaccine authorized for use in this population.

Also, beginning February 6, 2023, Moderna BA 4/5 will be available for individuals 18 year of age and older. This new offering adds to the current booster campaign currently available for individuals 18 years of age and older. There are now three different formulations of bivalent vaccine for this age group (Pfizer BA 4/5, Moderna Omicron/BA1 and Moderna BA 4/5).

Bivalent COVID-19 vaccine remains the preferred choice for booster doses for individuals 5 years of age and older. Children who have not yet received their fall booster (since September 21, 2022), and whose last vaccine was at least 20 weeks ago can now avail of this bivalent vaccine through regional health authorities. Individuals that received a booster after September 21, 2022 do not need an additional booster at this time, even if it has been 20 weeks or more since their fall booster. Primary series vaccination continues to be recommended for individuals aged six months to under five years

Appointments can be booked through regional health authority clinics by visiting the COVID-19 website. Additionally, appointments can also be made through participating pharmacists and physicians for individuals 12 years of age and older. You may need to check periodically for availability at any of these vaccine sites, as appointments are continually being added as vaccine supply is received.

Vaccinations remain an important tool to reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19 as well as reducing the risk of severe disease.