Back to the future: What will be the biggest stories in 2017?

From budget backlash to Fort McMurray wildfires to Muskrat Falls, 2016 kept CBC N.L.'s newsroom hopping. But as we turn the calendar to a fresh year, it's time to look ahead at what CBC staff will be keeping an eye on in 2017, from the Don Dunphy inquiry to municipal elections to — well, Muskrat Falls.

Muskrat Falls

If you have to pick just one provincial story to watch in 2017, Muskrat Falls is the one — but the important story is playing out far from the bureaucrats overseeing the project and the politicians holding the purse strings. Indigenous action against big energy projects is unfolding across North America, and just outside Happy Valley-Goose Bay, at the main gate of the Muskrat Falls megaproject, a major local protest — a unification of people from every demographic in Labrador — completely shut down work on the project.

The guiding focus was concern over methylmercury contamination of Lake Melville, a traditional Indigenous source of food and water. For some, those worries were assuaged — at least for the moment — by a last-minute marathon meeting between Premier Dwight Ball and Labrador's three Indigenous leaders.

For others, though, it's not good enough, and there are significant questions needing answers as we head into 2017. Some of the big ones: Has Nalcor fixed its leaking cofferdam? How much damage will ice cause to the already-completed parts of the dam? Can concerns about the stability of the North Spur be addressed, and if not, are we looking at another major resistance?

- Matt McCann, producer of Labrador Morning

Marijuana legalization

Your grandmother might try weed for the first time in 2017. There's no doubt one of the biggest buzz stories this year will be the legalization of marijuana and the normalization of it in our culture.

- Krissy Holmes, reporter, St. John's Morning Show

Unemployment

As the province's major public sector unions bargain for a new contract with the provincial government, unemployment rates are expected to rise steadily over the next four years. The provincial government expects about 19.6 per cent of people to be out of work in 2020 — a full fifth of the population. Not since 1994 has the unemployment rate in Newfoundland and Labrador averaged 20 per cent for a year.

- Garrett Barry, reporter

Provincial finances

When the newly elected Liberals released their first budget in April, they underscored that those measures were but the first of three financial statements. The "supplemental" budget expected in the fall fell through, making the forthcoming spring budget the key arena where critical decisions will be played out — not just on how much taxes you will pay and services you will receive, but also on how many people will be on the public service.

Premier Dwight Ball time and again plays down the spectre of layoffs, but we've seen consistent pruning (and dismissals) from the highest levels of the civil service to senior departmental administrators. The talk at more than one Christmas party this year? The impact on the ground, from cubicles at Confederation Building to hospital floors to classrooms to highways.

Even with the dampening of expectations, the upcoming budget will reveal how serious the Liberals are about dealing with a sea of red ink.

- John Gushue, senior producer, digital

Nalcor and Quebec

A possible long-term deal between Nalcor and Quebec is the big Catch-22 story of 2017: Failure to do a deal will expose just how disastrously costly the Muskrat Falls project has become. However, any agreement with La Belle Province will be framed by Dwight Ball's enemies as an act of treason, and it would risk waking up a former premier who has been uncharacteristically quiet of late on matters of legacy.

- Anthony Germain, host of the St. John's Morning Show

Delivery of mental-health care

The story of Hailey Baker, the 20-year-old woman who survived driving her car off Signal Hill in April and ended her life in September after a battle with mental illness, captured the attention of people across the country. Suicides in Labrador and another young woman's complicated battle with the issue in St. John's also got people talking about the issue. The federal government says it's making mental health a priority. What's going to happen on the ground?

- Meghan McCabe, reporter

Don Dunphy

The inquiry into Donald Dunphy's death is expected to begin hearings Jan. 9. Dunphy was fatally shot at his home in Mitchells Brook on April 5, 2015 by Joe Smyth, a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer, at Dunphy's home after Dunphy posted tweets that were flagged by a provincial employee. Both Smyth and Meghan Dunphy, Donald Dunphy's daughter, are expected to testify in the inquiry's first phase. Hearings are expected to continue for about six weeks.

- Mark Quinn, reporter

Qalipu enrolment

I expect one of the biggest stories in western Newfoundland this year to be the fallout from the Qalipu First Nation Band enrolment. No one was prepared for the more than 100,000 people who applied for status, least of all the federal government, which decided to tighten the criteria and review every application all over again. Come the end of January, thousands of people could conceivably have their status cards revoked, along with the cultural and financial benefits that go along with it.

- Cherie Wheeler, producer of the Corner Brook Morning Show

Cost of living

From what they've been saying on the airwaves, members of CrossTalk's audience will be watching the spring provincial budget like hawks. Will any of the harsh financial measures imposed this spring be eased or lifted? It's now winter, and the anger is still palpable. Will there be any adjustment to the deficit reduction levy, the gas tax or any of the other fee and tax increases?

- Ramona Dearing, host of CrossTalk

St. John's City Hall

The 2016 budget from St. John's city council was met with criticism from taxpayers and the business community. Council backed off on many initiatives from the budget, which raised taxes while cutting services, and undertook an extensive program review that resulted in cuts to staff and expenses, and a 2017 budget that spends $13 million less than the previous year's. Will it be enough to stave off voter anger in the fall municipal election? Meanwhile, gruff former mayor Andy Wells has been hanging out in the public chamber recently — quick to criticize the current council and prompting speculation he may have his eye on returning to the mayor's chair.

- Daniel MacEachern, reporter

Matthew Rich

It's been nearly a year since a CBC News investigation revealed how a murder case against a Labrador father collapsed and a subsequent review was called into the province's chief medical examiner's office, after key evidence in the death of four-year-old Matthew Rich was thrown out with other medical waste while under the care of the office.

It's likely that the review — which encompasses staffing, protocol and infrastructure — will be clewed up some time in the new year. The Department of Justice and Public Safety hired Dr. Matthew Bowes, Nova Scotia's chief medical examiner, to lead the investigation, and Justice Minister Andrew Parsons has committed to implementing the Bowes' recommendations.

- Ariana Kelland, reporter

SIRT investigation

An external investigation into senior members of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is expected to wrap up early in the new year. Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team was called in November 2015 to investigate the handling of a criminal informant. Since then, SIRT and its executive director, Ron Macdonald, have been in St. John's conducting the investigation, which executive director Ron Macdonald says is mostly complete, and major headway has been made.

- Ariana Kelland, reporter

Brier in St. John's in March

I am really looking forward to the Brier coming to St. John's in March. I'm not a huge curling fan, but I I have been watching the Brier in recent years as it's the one tournament that hometown hero Brad Gushue hasn't won yet. The Brier is really one of the world's elite curling tournaments, when you think about it, and I'm looking forward to the energy that will roll into the city on March 4. No pressure, but if Gushue wins gold at this one, it's going to be a really big deal.

- Geoff Bartlett, writer

Come From Away

A musical inspired by the kindness of Newfoundlanders in the aftermath of 9/11 broke box office records at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, and Broadway previews start Feb. 18 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Even though the New York staging will be excellent, nothing could come close to the emotional outpouring in Gander when the cast performed for the people who inspired the story. Here's our CBC NL YouTube playlist of Come From Away stories.

The musical has been winning raves online from theatre critics at the Globe and Mail and the New York Times as well as Twitter praise from fans like singer Jann Arden. The writing, by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, is bang on, and the Celtic-infused songs are memorable.

The writers and performers of Come From Away have achieved the seemingly impossible: They have taken a horrific event that affected all of us and turned it into an uplifting and entertaining musical that celebrates hope and love.

- Angela Antle, CBC NL YouTube producer

Corner Brook regional hospital

With $40 million already spent to plan the new regional hospital for Corner Brook and prepare the site where it is supposed to be built, people in the region are eagerly awaiting the start of construction. With the province's fiscal situation, that looks more unlikely than ever. But the need has never been greater for a new facility and more long-term care beds in the region.

- Bernice Hillier, host of the Corner Brook Morning Show

Disappearing IceCaps

We will soon learn what will become of the IceCaps in St. John's. Midway through a season that will end with the Montreal Canadiens pulling out their farm team, attendance has been a pale shadow of what it's been in past years. The season opener drew a nice crowd, but subsequent games have not been selling out like they once did.

There is still no word on whether there will be a replacement team. Will we get a Quebec major junior team? Is this it for AHL hockey in St. John's? There is a noticeable lack of energy around the stands, as fans await word about what's in store. The IceCaps are putting a good product on the ice, but it's hard to root for a team that's not sticking around.

- Mike Rossiter, senior assignment producer

The Trout River blue whale

A blue whale washed up on the beach of the small community of Trout River in 2014 and caught the attention of people around the world. It was flensed, dissected, composted and de-greased. And finally this spring, the Royal Ontario Museum will mount the Trout River blue whale for everyone to enjoy… without the stink.

- Cherie Wheeler, producer, Corner Brook Morning Show