Heading into election year, cost of living still dominates voter priorities

About 50 people gathered in a St. John’s, N.L., gymnasium on a recent rainy night to seek answers about a massive energy deal with Hydro-Québec trumpeted by the Newfoundland and Labrador government as a new chapter in the province’s history.One by one, a stream of attendees at the provincial NDP’s town hall on Thursday stepped up to a microphone to say they were uncertain about whether they could trust that the tentative agreement was the best deal for Newfoundland and Labrador and that it wouldn’t repeat mistakes of the past.