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February 28, 2018

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 46

The

House met at 10 a.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Natural Resources, for leave to introduce a bill entitled, An

Act To Amend The Public Inquiries Act, 2006, Bill 35, and I further move that

the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the Government House Leader shall have leave to introduce a bill

entitled,

An Act To Amend The Public Inquiries Act, 2006, Bill 35, and that the

said bill be now read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

The

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. Minister of Justice and Public Safety to introduce a bill, “An Act To

Amend The Public Inquiries Act, 2006,” carried. (Bill 35)

CLERK (Barnes):

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Public Inquiries Act, 2006. (Bill 35)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 35 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Natural Resources, for leave to introduce a bill entitled, An

Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act, Bill 34, and I further move that the said bill

be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety shall have leave to introduce

a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act, Bill 34, and that the said

bill shall now be read a first time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against?

This

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety to introduce a bill, “An Act

To Amend The Legal Aid Act,” carried. (Bill 34)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Legal Aid Act. (Bill 34)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 34 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call

from the Order Paper, Order 3,

An Act To Amend The Order Of Newfoundland And

Labrador, Bill 31.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Good

morning to our first Wednesday morning sitting of the House. It's a good session

if we get the chance to debate in the House. This is part of the Standing Orders

changes that we made yesterday. This is another part of that so we can be family

friendly.

Mr.

Speaker, the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, it's a great

honour for anyone to be even recognized or to receive this Order. It was started

in 2004. Since 2004, I understand there are 99 people that have received the

Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. These are business people. These are people

involved in sports. These are heroes in our society. These are individuals that

make a difference to every Newfoundlander and Labradorian.

Last

night I was reading up a little bit on it and I went back and looked at some of

the names of people that were there. It's amazing when you look at it because

people, what they do for our society and what they do for Newfoundland and

Labrador – it's so great that we can recognize what these people do.

I looked

at Tommy Sexton's mom there. I realized how important what she's done. I know

AIDS today is not the factor that it was back in the '90s and the '80s, but the

Tommy Sexton foundation was – and she's the lady that mainly did that and kept

that foundation going. She was recognized.

remember one time going to the ceremony myself when I was on that side of the

House. I went down one day and I have to say it was a complete honour to be

there. It was an honour to be able to show these people the respect that they

deserve and to be part of it. We have some great Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians. This honour is the greatest honour that a person can receive in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

So I

believe it's a great thing. I think it's fantastic that we do recognize, because

we have so many people in our province, like I said, that are doing great

things. I know the minister got up yesterday and he wasn't sure of all the names

of the people that were inducted this year. So I got it out last night and there

was Terence Goodyear, Dr. Falah Maroun, Dr. Robert Mellin, Wayne Miller,

Kathleen LeGrow, Katarina Roxon, Marie Ryan and David Smallwood.

When I

looked at those names last night, Mr. Speaker, one hit me and it was something

that really affected my family. I remember my father who, I think it was back in

the 70s, needed an operation, and it was very serious operation that he needed

at the time, and his doctor that performed the operation was Dr. Maroun. I'll

always remember my father saying – and I'll ask the Minister of Health, I'm not

sure if he's still practising today, and he's –

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MR. K. PARSONS:

A small bit, yeah. But I know

he must be up in age now that he's still doing his practice, and I hear his name

quite often.

remember, not only my father, but I remember another lady in Flatrock that was a

very good friend of my family. She had again a very serious surgery,

life-threatening surgery. I can remember her always saying to us God love Dr.

Maroun. We, as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, really appreciate the work that

people do in our society. We really appreciate what they do.

I'm here

this morning – and I read through the bios of each one of these people last

night, and they're from architects to builders to doctors to you name it, to an

athlete, a young athlete from Kippens, I believe. That's Kippens, right? And the

variety of people that were selected this year and the eight that were selected

are fantastic Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. I'm sure that we can continue

this for a long period to come.

It was

interesting, too, when I was reading up a little bit on it, because I was

wondering who can be selected, who can't be selected. Obviously, people that are

in the Senate, serving in the Senate, people in the House of Assembly, people

basically that are working in municipalities and so on. Once they retire and go

on to whatever, then they can be recognized, but once they're in that role they

cannot be.

Again,

reading through the list of inductees over the years, it's the who's who, it's

household names that we've heard for years and years and years, but these people

who were inducted this year, like I said, the variety and the backgrounds that

these people have is amazing.

I know,

as part of the Official Opposition, we never had the opportunity really to

congratulate each and every one of them. I just named them all that time, but as

all House of Assembly, I know we really do congratulate these people. Not only

congratulate them, we really thank them for what they do and thank them for what

they did because this is what makes Newfoundland and Labrador the place we all

want to live.

Now, Mr.

Speaker, this bill that the minister is bringing in, it's interesting because

what it does – I was trying to figure out what, basically, it does yesterday

when I was reading up on it. What we're basically doing is we're changing the

committee. It's not big changes. No, there are no big changes. I think we'll be

fully supportive of what changes are being made here.

In 2004,

this committee was set up and it was set up as the clerk, the president of

Memorial University and a chief justice. There were seven in total, so four

other people were selected as the committee to go on as the council, the

Advisory Council.

What

happens with the Advisory Council, people submit their application? There's a

criterion you have to meet to be able to submit this application. People submit

an application, and each year eight people are selected. Now it says up to eight

people. So I guess some years it could be six, some years it could be seven, but

I'm sure each year there are more than eight people who are nominated.

there's a criterion those people have to do, and they look at it and they say:

Okay, it meets this, it meets this. You have to be a Newfoundland and Labrador

resident, obviously, and your background – like I said earlier, it's usually a

business. It's something you contributed to Newfoundland and Labrador that makes

a difference to the people in this province. That's what this award is about.

We had

the clerk, we had the chief justice and we had the president of MUN. Those were

the three people who were selected at the time. What government's proposal in

this bill is, basically, they want to change it and they're going to change it.

The

clerk will stay, but this time the clerk will automatically be the chair of the

committee. Instead of the president of MUN, it'll be the chancellor of MUN. The

chief justice, and also you, Mr. Speaker, will have the opportunity, which is a

good thing, too, because you will be the one representing the House of Assembly,

which is good to have somebody from the House, an elected representative on the

committee to make this decision. Knowing you, Mr. Speaker, I know you'll do the

right thing and make good decisions.

Also,

the other thing that I really like about the changes they are making – like I

said earlier, there are people right now that have been selected to the Order of

Newfoundland and Labrador. Those 99 people, two of those people will be selected

as members of the committee. Those are two, obviously, distinct Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians that were selected for reasons of what they've done for us over

their years.

When I

looked at the names last night, I was thinking, these are people that made a

difference in everybody's lives. So we're going to select two of those people to

be on that committee. Then there are two more people that will be selected

through the Independent Appointments Committee. I guess people will have to be –

some kind of advertising and stuff like that.

As I

understand from the minister, and he can correct me if I'm wrong, I think it is

two- and three-year terms that these people will be selected for. I think in

reading the bill last night, it said two or three. We're changing the

composition of the committee to go from seven people, basically, to eight

people.

Again,

Mr. Speaker, just reading through this, I don't see any problem with the changes

that are made. As a matter of fact, I think some of the changes are good. I

think it would be nice for the people who were already selected to have the

opportunity to serve on this committee because I'm sure they serve, and have

served Newfoundlanders and Labradorians many times before. I'm sure you'd have

no problem getting two people.

The

general public out there, if they want to – like I said, we'd have to make sure

they're aware that they can put an application into the Independent Appointments

Commission to be able to go on this committee also. And you, Mr. Speaker, will

be also added. So those are the changes that are proposed in this bill and I

think they're good changes.

Like I

said, Mr. Speaker, this is something that was started in 2004 and has grown.

We're almost at the 100 mark, where we will have 100 Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians recognized for their dedication to our province, to their

commitment to their fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. I believe it's a

fantastic thing we're doing. I'm sure it will grow, and I don't think we'll have

any problem in the future finding people out there. I know we'll find them in

every community in the province, that people are trying to do their best to make

a difference in Newfoundland and Labrador.

So this

bill today, the amendments that are going to be proposed to be changes in this

bill I believe are good things and I have no problem with supporting what's

happening here.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

George's - Humber.

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's great to have an opportunity to rise and speak

about the changes that are being made to the

Order of Newfoundland and Labrador Act . Of course, the Order of

Newfoundland and Labrador is the highest honour that the province bestows upon

people in this province and it's a wonderful honour to be awarded this award.

I think the changes that are being made to the

legislation and to the composition of the selection committee really strengthens

and adds to the prestige of this award. It's a wonderful piece of legislation.

I'm encouraged that the Member opposite supports this legislation and I'm hoping

that others will as well.

It's the highest honour the province bestows. Really,

this act strengthens it. It really establishes the independence of the selection

committee. It reinstates the chief justice as a member of the committee. It

reinstates the involvement of the university. It includes the Speaker. I

understand in some other provinces the Speaker is involved as well. So there's

sort of a cross-jurisdictional rationale for the way these changes are being

made. I think by having such independent people involved in the committee, it

really adds to the already prestigious award.

As some other people have, I just want to mention a

couple of the people, just to give examples of some of the really prominent

people in our society who have received this Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I'll just mention two in my district, or close to my district. One is Calvin

White. Calvin White is a former chief of the Flat Bay Band. He's an elder with

the Flat Bay Band, very involved in the cultural revival and the political

movement to see the recognition of Aboriginal people. He's still very active. He

was one of the people that – I think two years ago he received the Order of

Canada as well and received doctorate degrees from Memorial University.

That's the sort of calibre of person, someone who has

been involved in the community, made significant contributions to the Province

of Newfoundland and Labrador. These are the types of people who are being

selected for this Order of Newfoundland and Labrador award.

Another person – just this year, people have mentioned

Katarina Roxon. I don't know if she's the actual youngest person who has ever

received this award, but it's amazing what she's achieved and the sort of

inspiration she has been

for young people in this

province through her activities around the province. She's someone else who

recently received the award.

David

Smallwood from the Corner Brook area is very involved in the arts. Just this

year he's been past chair of the Winter Carnival in Corner Brook. Numerous other

things involving arts and community activities David Smallwood has been involved

in as well. These are just a couple of examples of people, from all walks of

life really, who have been inducted into the Order of Newfoundland.

I've had

the honour to attend a presentation ceremony. It really is quite the event to

see these people who have done a lot for the community, done a lot for the

province, to receive their awards with their families and to receive this

recognition for the work they've done in this province.

As well,

I want to say the nomination process for the Order of Newfoundland, we're

approaching the deadline for nominations for this year's Order of Newfoundland

and Labrador. I just want to encourage people to look at the website. Go to

Google, type in Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. You can get the nomination

form. You can get information on the award, who you can nominate, how you can

nominate, what the process is.

I think

the deadline is in early March and people can be nominated each year. It's my

understanding if you nominate someone this year it's carried forward next year.

My understanding is this year there were 80 people sort of in the queue for

seven positions, I think?

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MR. REID:

Eight positions someone is

telling me. It's a very competitive process and it's a very high honour, indeed,

to receive.

I just

wanted to say that I think the changes that are being made add to the prestige

of this already very prestigious award. It ensures the continued success of this

awards program. I want to support the legislation that's coming forward and

encourage other people to do so as well.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I am

very happy to stand this morning and to speak to the bill which is amending the

Order of Newfoundland and Labrador Act .

I think it's wonderful that we in this province have an Order of Newfoundland

and Labrador. Our first investiture, of course, was in 2004 but when we started

with our Order, we were following the history of provinces in the country having

such Orders in place. Not every province does, but each province does have a

system of Orders and awards to honour residents for their actions and for their

deeds.

The

whole thing of setting up something like the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador

– so, for example, in Ontario they created the Ontario Medal for Good

Citizenship. Alberta followed with the Alberta Order of Excellence. Ontario's

move was in '73; Alberta's was in '79. Quebec was the first province to

establish a true order, l'Ordre national du Québec in 1984. Saskatchewan has an

Order of Merit, which was established in 1985. The Order of Ontario – so they

now do have an Order, they started with a Good Citizenship medal, they now have

an Order of Ontario and theirs came in 1986.

The

Order of British Columbia in 1989 replaced what they had, which was the Order of

the Dogwood. It is now called the Order of British Columbia. Prince Edward

Island has an Order, the Order of Prince Edward Island. And you have the Order

of Manitoba as well. So all of these provinces naming their Orders the same way

we name ours. The Order of Nova Scotia and of New Brunswick both came in at the

same time that we put ours in, in 2001. So we joined other provinces in the

realization that honouring members of our province is a good thing to do, and it

is.

There

was a Canadian honour system that was set up in 1967 and provinces did – that

was when some of them starting putting some of their bodies in place, like the

Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship. It was hoped that Ottawa would take a role

in setting up these provincial bodies, but it didn't. So the provinces moved

forward, and I think it's really good that the provinces did move forward.

Initially, the federal government did not recognize the honours and the

declarations, and the reason being they feared duplications because, aside from

the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Queen had not authorized them. I

suppose they were looking at the whole thing of the Order of Canada, which is

our federal honour. But the provinces, when the federal government didn't

recognize the various provincial honours and declarations, the provinces

responded by stating that since provincial ministers did not constitutionally

have the right to advise the sovereign directly, they would do so via

legislation under the prerogative of the provincial Crown. In other words, the

provinces, through MHAs, cannot advise the Queen but they can use their

legislation, and that's what they did.

Finally,

the federal government came to recognize provincial Orders after a compromise

was reached between Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn – and I think we'll all

remember when he was Governor General and Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan

Sylvia Fedoruk. I think we'll remember her name as well. At that time provincial

honours established by legislation or order-in-council would be ranked below all

national honours but above national declarations.

That was

a real step forward that the provincial Orders are now recognized below national

Orders, but they are higher in rank than national declarations. It was really

good that I think the provinces kept at it and didn't just stop when Ottawa

questioned what they were doing. I think that's probably a lesson to us. While

we are a federation and we all try to work together, at the same time, the

provinces do have particular jurisdictions, particular concerns and particular

responsibilities to follow, and I think it's really good they did it in this

case. As we know it's the nature of our federation and we will always have the

provinces and Ottawa negotiating amongst themselves and all together as we move

forward as a federation.

So what

we're doing here today is taking the bill that was first changed in 2005 after

the initial bill and adding what seem to be fairly simple changes to it. I think

what's really important is that in looking at the bill, in looking at the

changes – for example, we have the Advisory Council and that's the body that

receives the nominations. There is a whole process for the general public to be

able to nominate people, and the council are the ones who receive those

nominations and make decisions with regard to who, at any given time, should

receive the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I think

it's extremely important that the people who are on this council are people who

have been chosen in an open way, in a transparent way. That the council itself

recognizes its need to be open and transparent.

So I

think it's important to note that we have coming back into the council a

position that had been there before, that had been removed and now it's coming

back in. That is the position of “ the Chief Justice of Newfoundland and

Labrador or, where he or she is unable to serve on the council for any reason,

the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.”

I think the stature of the Chief Justice, either of

Newfoundland and Labrador or of the Supreme Court, their stature carries with

it, I think, something that really makes us feel good about the concerns with

regard to transparency on the part of the council, with regard to the council

being non-political, because I think this is very important. The council is to

be impartial. It's to be non-political and I think it has to be open to

understanding how it needs to be inclusive and representative when it comes to

the people who are chosen to be members of the Order of Newfoundland and

Labrador.

You just spoke, Mr. Speaker, yourself, and referred to, for

example, Mr. White who was one of our Aboriginal leaders in this province having

received the Order. I think it was significant this year, for example, that we

had somebody who was an immigrant to our province and to our country, Dr. Maroun

– I'm actually going to be doing a Member's statement honouring him today – that

he received it this year. Then our wonderful swimmer, whose parents came from

outside the country – though, Katarina herself was born in Newfoundland and

Labrador – and the family originating from India.

So I think this recognition of the multi-ethnic nature of

our province is a real responsibility that the Order of Newfoundland and

Labrador has as they go forward. I think that's why it's so important that the

council have on it people of stature who see and understand that responsibility.

Now, there are four at-large members on the council. Two

who shall be appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, each for a term of

three years; and not more than two appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in

Council, each for a term of three years.

I'm wondering, the two who are being nominated – the first

two I named are members,

people who have already received the Order. They're members of the Order. Two of

the four at large will be people who have received the Order. Then there will be

two appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, each for a term of three

years. That means people who have not received the Order, just the general

public.

I won't

speak to that today. I'll talk more about that when we go into committee to get

some answers around that. I'm hoping that maintains the spirit that I'm thinking

about. That it maintains the non-political nature of the council. That it

maintains people on the council who we know fully understand the issues of

transparency and the issues of the need for inclusivity and the need for

representation in those who receive the honour, so that we fully reflect our

whole province.

I will

be asking some questions about the at-large membership when we go into

committee. Also, I noticed that the Clerk of Executive Council shall be the

chairperson of the council. I won't speak to that now, but to point out that

with what's happening across the country it's sort of hard to go to the other

jurisdictions and say we're doing what another jurisdiction is doing because, in

actual fact, different provinces are doing different things when it comes to the

chairperson of the council. When we are in committee, I want to pursue this one

a little bit more as well, looking at why we chose to go the route we've gone,

which is different from some other routes.

I do

think, though, that we have chosen a way of going for appointment that, overall,

I think is less political than some other provinces. For example, the Order of

Nova Scotia has a chair appointed by the premier on their council. They have the

chief justice. They have the Clerk of Executive Council. They have the president

of a university appointed by the premier. They have more than one university in

Nova Scotia, as we know, so the president of a university appointed by the

premier. Two others appointed by the premier, one of whom is an Order member.

Then they have a member appointed by the Leader of the Opposition and a member

appointed by each leader of a recognized party.

I find

their appointments rather interesting; pretty heavy politically, actually. I

think we have a much more open and non-partisan process when it comes to putting

our council together.

We can't

go to other jurisdictions and expect them to have the answers for us. We want to

do what we think is right for us here in this province. Having said that, I

still have some questions about the new makeup of our council and I will

question that.

The

important thing, of course, is that we have people on the council who are

qualified; who are people of honesty and people of stature that we can trust are

going to be totally fair and just. I would imagine they probably get frustrated,

because I can't imagine what it would be to get maybe – I don't know how many

nominations they get, but let's say they get 50 nominations and they have to

choose eight people or nine people. It must be a daunting job they have. That's

why you have to have people on the council, some of whom, not all, but some of

whom are used to having to make these kinds of decisions, to make judgments and

to make fair judgments.

Overall,

I do support the legislation, but I do have some questions about the appointment

of the Chair, about putting it right in legislation that the Chair is the Clerk

of the Executive Council. I have some questions with regard to the two members

at large who will be appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, and I'll

speak to those in committee.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER (Reid):

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's a

new audio system, but I don't think it's going to make my speech any better for

me but at least it's on. I think it's working now.

For

those watching here this morning, what we're doing is debating Bill 31,

An Act

to Amend the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador Act. I'm going to get into a

little bit of the meat of the act and then I'm going to discuss some recipients

we have had from the District of Bonavista.

If you

look at the change in the bill itself, it's the Order of Newfoundland and

Labrador Advisory Council which consists of four of the individuals each of whom

is a member by virtue of his or her office. We have the Clerk of the Executive

Council, who is the Chair of the Advisory Council. We have a new addition, which

is the chancellor of Memorial University. Also, a new addition is the Chief

Justice of Newfoundland and Labrador. I believe this is the (inaudible) justice,

and if he or she isn't available, then the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

would fill in.

If you

go back to 2005, those two positions were removed, a representative from

Memorial University was actually the president, and right now we're proposing to

put the chancellor of Newfoundland and Labrador back. As the time committed to

reviewing applications and meeting with the Advisory Council, for this person

who is largely a ceremonial figure within the university, it wouldn't be a

strain on the time as it would be for, say, the president.

I know

you've spoken a little bit about this, Mr. Speaker, but currently there are 80

applications in and those applications stay on file for a period of three years.

This year alone, we've had 25 new applications put forward. That's quite a

significant amount of time that this council would have to put in to doing this

work and, from my understanding, it's all on a volunteer basis.

you've got the Clerk of the Executive Council, the chancellor of MUN, chief

justice of Newfoundland and Labrador and a new addition to this as well is the

Speaker of the House of Assembly, which is common practice for other

jurisdictions. Largely, we use the Speaker of the House of Assembly as that

person has a non-political presence or non-partisan presence within the House of

Assembly, so that's the reason why we put that person in.

Also, we

have two individuals who are members of the Order and they are appointed by the

Lieutenant-Governor in Council, each for a period of three years. Finally, there

are two positions anyone can have. Let's say if the Member for Lab West's wife

wanted to apply. She's not a recipient of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador

but she could apply for it. So this is the point I'm trying to make, or anyone

else.

Those

people are actually reviewed by the Public Service Commission, and that's part

of our Independent Appointments Commission that would actually make it

independent from any political interference. She would have to go through a

pretty good screening process. And because she's the Member for Labrador West's

wife, she wouldn't necessarily get it. It's all independent.

The

other change within this document itself is largely a housekeeping item. It

talks about the resignation or termination of someone from the Order of

Newfoundland and Labrador. So it's just a sub-note on the side here which solely

had resignation from the Order but now we put in the word termination from that.

That's just more or less housekeeping.

This is

a good step forward. We've added more people. If you look at the number of

applications we've had, we're at 80 right now. That's very time consuming. So if

you add three additional people, that's having more people have a look at those

applications. At the technical brief we were given yesterday, these applications

are phenomenal. We only select up to eight every year, but all 80 of those are

people who are well deserving more times than not.

I just

wanted to get into a little bit of some of the people within my district, and

one special person who I met a few years ago. Frances Sweetland of Bonavista was

invested in the 2000s and if you look at Frances's background, my God, it's

amazing. She has over 50 years of volunteerism, not just in Bonavista but our

entire area, whether it be on the health care board, she was the librarian there

for countless years, and truly a remarkable woman. If you have a chat with her,

certainly a heart and soul member of the community of Bonavista.

We also

have Henry Vokey, well-known boat builder out of Trinity. Just recently – well,

a few years ago Land and Sea featured

him, and he was building his last schooner. Seeing the precision and artwork

that he puts – it's not necessarily a skill, it's an art to him. The experience

and what he's able to turn out, it's truly amazing. The last schooner that he

put out featured on Land and Sea , it

certainly gets into great detail of the boat-building skill, and how certainly

it's a lost art these days. You have people like Henry Vokey who continues the

tradition and even though he's getting up there in age, he's certainly passing

that on.

We have

Donna Butt. What else can I say about Donna Butt? She's originally from the

Whitbourne area, but we've adopted her out in our way. If you look at, this is

the 40th anniversary of Rising Tide Theatre. Last year was the 25th anniversary

of the Trinity Pageant. And we make a few jokes here in the House of Assembly

who we figure would be the best actor for the Trinity Pageant. But that tells

you a lot about what the Trinity Pageant means to Newfoundland and Labrador, and

what Donna Butt and Rising Tide Theatre has done for this province, and

especially the Trinity Bight area. But the summers in the Bight, it's certainly

laid the groundwork of the tourism industry that we have booming right now on

the Bonavista Peninsula, and Donna Butt is well deserving and certainly a strong

force in that industry.

So the

final person I want to talk about – and she's not from my district – is a former

naval officer – she had a very lasting impact on many people in the Canadian

Armed Forces and myself – is Gladys Osmond of Springdale. Gladys was a

phenomenal person; she passed away a couple of years ago. When you meet her,

it's quite truly inspirational.

Gladys

would write thousands of emails, letters and cards and send them out to Canadian

Forces members all around the world. When I was on one of my ships, one of the

junior officers, we called him the 'Gladys-O.' Whenever we get a letter from

Gladys or a card from Gladys, we'd make sure that we'd have someone write her

back.

She

didn't necessarily want anyone to write her back, but she did that so that

someone out there would know that someone was thinking about them. If you were

lonely on a deployment or whatever and you got a letter, she felt that would

brighten their day, and it certainly did. We took the time and effort to write

back to her.

MR. LETTO:

Did you get one?

MR. KING:

The Member for Lab West

asked: Did I get one? It was never addressed to any one person, but you'd get

them in the wardroom and you'd read them. She'd tell you about her life and how

her life was growing up, or just what the weather was like that day. It was just

something that she did to bring positivity to your day and we'd always make

sure.

I was

fortunate enough to participate in Run the Rock in 2014. I got to meet Gladys in

our stop in Springdale. She was very proud, Mr. Speaker, of her Order of

Newfoundland and Labrador. She was wearing it. I asked her about it and she said

she didn't even want anything in return, but she certainly felt great pride in

the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Frances

Sweetland, Henry Vokey, Donna Butt from my district and then people like Gladys

Osmond, these are people who truly make a difference in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

With

that said, Mr. Speaker, I support the changes to this bill. I certainly

appreciate the people who receive the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador and the

great work they do for their communities, the people's lives that they touch and

also for Newfoundland and Labrador.

With

that said, Mr. Speaker, I'm going to take my seat.

Thank

you very much for your time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Mount

Pearl - Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm only

going to take a moment to speak to this bill, but I did want to put it on the

record. I'll be supporting this bill, Mr. Speaker. I don't have any big issue

with it. Basically, as it's been said, and there's no point in repeating it,

we're just going to be changing the makeup of the council, and those are the

people who select persons to be part of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We're just changing the structure of the Advisory Council as to who the members

are going to be. We're adding back some members who used to be there in the

past. We're removing a couple of others. That's basically all we're doing.

At the

end of day, we're going to end up with, what I would consider eight qualified

individuals who are going to review applications as they're submitted for people

to receive the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. I'm sure they will do a good

job in reviewing those. I'm sure the people who deserve the Order of

Newfoundland and Labrador will receive them. I have no reason to believe this

would be partisan in any way.

understand the Leader of the Third Party did raise the issue about the two

at-large members. They will be going through the Public Service Commission so,

at the very least, we know those two individuals will be qualified to do the

job. Yes, granted, the minister or the Cabinet will decide from a long list who

they want to pick for those two positions, but they will be qualified at least;

and, whether they were partisan appointments or not, they're not paid

appointments.

I can

see no reason why anybody who is on this selection committee wouldn't be

reviewing applications of qualified Newfoundlanders who deserve to receive the

Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. There's nothing I can see that would be a

challenge there. So as long as the people who are there are qualified to do the

job to assess this, then I don't really care who's appointed as long as they

know what they're doing and they do a good job. I'm sure they will.

There

are a number of checks and balances in the sense that the Speaker will be on

this and the Clerk will be on it and somebody there from MUN, I believe. There

will be people who have already received the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Regardless of those other two people, it's not like they're going to control the

committee or anything in any way. So I don't see it as a big deal.

It is a

few administrative changes, housekeeping really, as far as I'm concerned, and I

have no issue with it. So I will be supporting it.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I'm very

happy to stand and speak to this bill,

An Act to Amend the Order of Newfoundland

and Labrador Act. How wonderful it is to be able to celebrate the champions in

our province. We know that progress is made in our province on different levels,

whether it be in sports, whether it be in economics, in business, whether it be

in human rights or social advocacy, whether it be in the status of women and

pushing those boundaries forward. How wonderful it is and how fitting it is, Mr.

Speaker, that we celebrate those folks in our communities who are leaders, who

lead us forth.

It's a

good thing to do, because not only do we celebrate those individuals, but we

celebrate the achievements in ways that all of us benefit from their work. We

also inspire our young folks, because they are able to see ordinary citizens,

sometimes extraordinary citizens in terms of the roles they have played, but how

ordinary citizens do extraordinary things on behalf of the people of the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

So it's

fitting, it's absolutely fitting that we are able to do that. That we, as a

province, are compelled to do that, and that we are building structures that

allow us to do it in a transparent, in an accountable and in an open manner.

What's very important is we do it in an inclusive manner. That we make sure we

celebrate, because we know that often the advancements we make in human rights,

the advancements we make in society in terms of how we live together, how we

make our decisions, how we share our resources are often led by ordinary people

doing extraordinary things. They are often the ones who lead this House, who

push and prod and encourage and lobby and advocate Members of this House to move

in progressive directions that benefit all of the people of the province.

I am

very happy to stand again to support how important the Order of Newfoundland and

Labrador is. What we really have to make sure is that it reflects the changing

society that we live in, our changing population, and we make sure that the

champions – who may not be sort of the mainstream, easily identifiable

champions, but the champions who are working in the margins, bringing issues out

from the margins into the centre, into the mainstream – are also fully

considered as worthy of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.

What

that means to our children, to our young folks, to see women honoured, to see

racialized people honoured, to see people from the indigenous communities

honoured, to see people from the LGBTQ community honoured, to see people from

the immigrant community honoured, to see people who work in business, in

academia, in sports, to see that plethora of diversity included in those who are

honoured to receive the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In light

of that, Mr. Speaker, how important it is to ensure those who come to the table

also represent that diversity, so that they come with the knowing experience,

the life experience, the knowledge from the particular communities that they

represent. It's not about creating further silos; it's not about creating

further divisions. As a matter of fact, it is enabling us all to come together

to celebrate the diversity of our province and to celebrate the diversity of

those who will be honoured as champions in our province, and who will be

bestowed with the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In light

of that, Mr. Speaker, I am looking forward to asking questions about the issue

of the composition of the committee who give of their time so freely, who work

diligently and with openness and transparency, to help choose who the recipients

will be for each specific year. I believe it's really important to ensure those

who have that task of administering the process for selection for the Order of

Newfoundland, in fact, represent the diversity of our province. In order that

everyone has a chance, every diverse community has the chance to work together

to come up with the best possible selections. Also, so that the committee does

the work that's necessary to encourage nominations from diverse and

geographically diverse spaces in our province as well, so that we truly do

reflect the diversity of our province.

Mr.

Speaker, I won't belabour the topic. I do think there are other models that we

have looked at. My colleague, the MHA for

St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi, very clearly and concisely looked at how some of the

other provinces look at selecting and composing the committee that will make the

decisions about who will, in fact, be inducted into the Order of Newfoundland

and Labrador.

It is my hope that we can discuss some of those

specifics in the committee process. Again, I support this bill and I look

forward to that discussion about how to best set up our process so that in fact

we can honour, not only the people who are worthy of the Order of Newfoundland

and Labrador, but also honour a process that is absolutely inclusive and

absolutely reflects the diversity of the population and ensuring that the

selection committee reflects that diversity, ensures that the selection process

and the decision-making process is even that much more rich and informed.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

the hon. Minister of Justice and Public Safety speaks now he will close the

debate.

The hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to my colleagues on both sides of the House

for their contributions to this important debate. I'm glad to hear, I think

there seems to be support for the changes we're making. I understand there will

be questions during the committee stage, which is also important. I look forward

to trying to answer them the best I can; but, overall, I think people see this

as a positive change.

We all know how important the Order of Newfoundland and

Labrador is. We all know the people who get it – to reiterate my comments from

earlier – are the best and the brightest. So we need to do what we can to ensure

it maintains the luster that it has, and that's going to continue.

I'm very confident in the amendments we are suggesting

here, and that will continue to happen. We will have a tremendous advisory

committee in place. Many of it based on people by virtue of their office, not on

virtue of anything else. It's the person who sits in the office; it's not just

that person. That requires change. These positions change over time. That will

be one of the duties that come with some of these very esteemed positions, when

you look at the Clerk of the Executive Council, chancellor of MUN, Chief Justice

of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Speaker. Again, something that won't

change is actual

members of the Order, as well as at-large people who go through a rigorous

screening process.

So, I'm

very confident and comfortable. I look forward to the questions. On that note,

once I sit we'll move this to committee and continue on with this debate.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Is the House ready for the

question?

The

motion is that Bill 31,

An Act To Amend The Order Of Newfoundland And Labrador

Act, be now read a second time.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Motion

carried.

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Order Of Newfoundland And Labrador Act. (Bill 31)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

second time.

When

shall the bill be referred to a Committee of the Whole House?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Now, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Now.

motion, a bill, “An Act To Amend The Order Of Newfoundland And Labrador Act,”

read a second time, ordered referred to a Committee of the Whole House

presently, by leave. (Bill 31)

MR. A. PARSONS:

I move, seconded by the

Member for Labrador West, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the

Whole to consider Bill 31.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

I do now leave the Chair for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the

Whole to consider the said bill.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Motion

passed.

motion, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole, the Speaker

left the Chair.

Committee of the

Whole

CHAIR (Warr):

Order, please!

We are

now considering Bill 31,

An Act To Amend The Order Of Newfoundland And Labrador

Act.

A bill,

“An Act To Amend The Order Of Newfoundland And Labrador Act.” (Bill 31)

CLERK:

Clause 1.

CHAIR:

Shall clause 1 carry?

The

Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Chair.

Yes,

there are a couple of questions under clause 1 that I would like to raise, but a

point first before I ask my question.

When we

look at the makeup of the council, we have four individuals who are there by

reason of their position or their role. The Clerk of the Executive Council, the

chancellor of Memorial University, the Chief Justice of Newfoundland and

Labrador or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador

and the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

So when

it comes to concern about diversity, concern about inclusivity, et cetera, when

it comes to those four positions, when we look at it from a gender perspective

or we look at it from an ethnic mix perspective, there are no choices to be made

there because the positions are in place and that's it.

Then it

would be the members at large where we would, I think, have some ability to make

sure that we get diversity on the council itself as well because, as the Member

for St. John's Centre said when she spoke, if we're going to have diversity

within those who are chosen for the Order, we also need diversity in the

council. Because it's been proven sociologically in all kinds of ways that if

you don't have diversity in a decision-making group, very often you don't get

diversity in the decisions they make. I think we as women understand that very

well because of the place in society we've had, societies where men have made

all the decisions. I think we all understand that. So with the four at-large

positions, that's the only place where we can get any diversity on the council.

Now with

section 12(1)(b), which is the suggested new

section for the act: “2 individuals

who are members of the Order who shall be appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor

in Council.” And that's fine, because we actually are getting a lot of diversity

in those who are being appointed to the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. I'm

not going to say a lot, but we do have diversity.

We do

have members of our Aboriginal community who have received the Order. We do have

members – every year there's a healthy mix of men and women. We do have, now,

examples of people who are either immigrants to our country and our province,

citizens, but who are immigrants or first- or second-generation immigrants. In

the members themselves we have the ability to have a mix.

concern is the other two: Not more than two other individuals appointed by the

LG in Council – and I have to refer that down to

section 4. In

section 4 it

points out those two individuals, or up to two individuals, will be chosen under

the Public Service Commission Act . My

concern about having two positions appointed by the LG in Council is that here

we are going to be putting these choices or the ability to make this choice or

this appointment into a system that does not recognize diversity in making

choices.

We know,

for example, from other cases that the Public Service Commission appoints on

merit and does not bring into consideration the issues of inclusivity in the

ways that I've discussed. I'd like the minister to speak to that. I'm very

concerned. Why did we just not have it as four people who are members? Or if

we're going to have two individuals appointed, not tie it into

Schedule C of the

Public Service Commission?

CHAIR:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'll

certainly try my best to answer that. It was a wide-ranging question, but I know

the point the Member was trying to make. I'll disagree with one point that she

said that the four at-large positions were the only ones where we can get

diversity. The other four may promise diversity, but it depends on who's put in

there. I know what you're saying. It's not a case of they won't be diverse, it's

just we have no choice in that, but they very well may be diverse.

We just

have to look at these individuals over the years that have held it. We look at

the fact that there has been a pretty decent gender balance. I would point out

that the chief justice of Newfoundland and Labrador right now is a vacant

position that we're waiting on an appointment by the federal government. We have

no choice in that.

I get

the point the Member is trying to make. What I would point out, I think, is that

I truly believe this is one of those ones where if we had gone a different way,

you could also ask similar questions as to why did you take that approach. I get

the point of the question which is: Why didn't you do it this way?

The

question is you have – so we look at the membership. It's four by virtue of

their offices, two from the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador and two from the

general public to go through that screening process. I would point out that

we're actually removing two Cabinet appointments as it was before. Again, those

people didn't go through any process that I'm aware of, except they're in

Cabinet process. I'm not sure if the Public Service was involved or not, they

may have been, but there certainly was no Independent Appointments Commission,

which also does have a diversity lens that they put into their screening. That's

there.

Again if

the Members want to question that, I've seen some of the sheets that come over

when you do the questionnaire, when you fill it out, which anybody in this

province can do, you're able to list a whole plethora of information about

yourself. I've seen these myself where people recognize whether they come from

an indigenous community, if there's anything else – I've seen it and I know that

it's there.

So the

question then becomes: Well, why don't we use all Order of Newfoundland and

Labrador people? What I would point out is that that forbids the vast majority

of the public from having any say in this. Because right now we have 99 people

on the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. So should we let four out of 99 –

that number will go up, but that's a pretty small pool. That's a pretty small

pool, and that's why I don't think it should be four. I think that having two

there is great.

I also

think that we do need to have the public involvement. This governs everybody in

this province that's eligible for this award. So I agree with the fact that

we're letting the public have that say.

It's not

just Cabinet saying we're going to pick these two people, it's Public Service

Commission, which again because if somebody – I get the point you are saying,

well, why would you do that. If we didn't do that, somebody could come at us

from the other side and say well, look, you guys are just putting who you want

in and you're not going through the Public Service Commission. In this case, we

put the Public Service Commission in and now it's why are you going through

that. I get the point; I'm not criticizing the questioner here, not at all. I'm

just saying depending on the perspective, you could question anyway you go about

this.

I think

it's a fair process. We have the public at large that can apply for this, go

through the Public Service Commission, going through the Independent

Appointments Commission and then be selected, so anybody in this province can

apply for that, have a chance to be a part of this.

The

second

part is that we have the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador which is a

small, very select group of individuals who will also be represented. Then we

have four public office holders who, by virtue of this legislation, will have no

say over who goes there. I mean the House will determine who the Speaker is. We

have no say over the chief justice. I'm not sure who picks the chancellor of

MUN, but it's a public office holder. It's not just LGIC throwing it in there.

The last one is the Clerk of the Executive Council, which again is the top civil

servant in the province.

I like

the process that we've done. I just look at the fact that the committee that's

been in place, I don't think anybody argues with the selections that have been

made. I think we have seen great Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. I think we

have seen diversity, but I take to heart the point that the Member makes which

is we have to do what we can to ensure that that continues and we can always

make sure that that's an issue that's discussed.

I agree

with the point by all means and I know what the Member is trying to ask and I

agree with that, but I'd like to have the compositions done here. I think it's a

fair way and I think it gives everybody an opportunity to participate. I'm sure

that they'll continue picking tremendous Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Chair.

I just

wanted to ask the minister for clarification. I think he was referring to people

who submit their names. They can, on the form, when they submit their names, put

in all kinds of information about themselves personally, which would include

gender, which would include ethnic background, which would include all kinds of

things about diversity. But is the minister saying that when those names go in

under the Public Service Commission Act ,

under

Schedule C, that information is taken into consideration?

CHAIR:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Again, I might turn it over

at some point to the Minister Responsible for the Public Service Commission who

is certainly more able than me to talk about the Public Service Commission

process. But I think we have to look at the process and why it's there. It's

because we don't want a situation where people come in and there are no merit

screenings. I think there's a general positive reason why that's there.

So what

I'm going to suggest – I think what the Member is asking is that when it goes to

the Public Service Commission, is the diversity aspect included in the that

screening. What I'm going to do, just to make sure – and I think that it is –

I'm going to check with the minister and let the minister, if he wants, have an

opportunity to stand up and maybe speak a little more broadly as to the Public

Service Commission and how they screen applicants for this, or for any position

within the public service.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I will

want the minister to do so because it is my understanding – and I'm presuming –

that's why I wanted to speak once more so we get all the information out – the

statutory appointments are the same as paid positions. Let me put it this way,

the statutory appointment that would relate to the Order of Newfoundland and

Labrador would be the same as nominees, for example, that would go the IAC for

appointment. If that's the case, it is my clear understanding that under Public

Service Commission they look at things from the perspective of merit and gender.

When we

had this discussion about the IAC, for example, it's one of the things that we

discussed here on the floor, and that the issues around gender, equity,

diversity are not considered by the Public Service Commission in their hiring

process; it is merit only and those things are not considered as part of merit.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you.

I say to

the Member, it is an important topic; it's an important issue. I will consult

with the Public Service Commission on this particular bill to find out what the

appropriate answer is and report back to you.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Further

to the minister, what I can guarantee the Member opposite is that when the

profile does go to the Public Service Commission, a diversity lens is and will

be included in this. I can guarantee you that.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl - Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I didn't

intend to speak any more, but now it's after raising a couple of questions in my

mind, to be honest with you. I just want to be clear.

I say to

the Minister of Justice, my understanding when you brought in the Independent

Appointments Commission legislation was that for a tier-two appointment – which

these are tier-two appointments as I understand it, and you can correct me if

I'm wrong but I think it is – basically anybody could apply, in this case, for

this particular Advisory Council or board or whatever the name is on it – a

committee, I'll call it the committee. That's not what's in there though. You

know what I'm talking about.

In this

case, you would advertise through the Public Service Commission that there are

two positions available, so anybody from the public can apply. In theory, there

could be 50 people who apply. Those 50 people apply to the Public Service

Commission for those two positions. The Public Service Commission will screen

those positions and they will say of these 50 people, 40 of these people are

qualified; they meet the educational, experience. Whatever the criteria is,

these people are qualified to be on this committee or board or whatever it's

called.

Then

they would submit those 40 names – and I'm using 40 as an example, Minister, it

could be 10, but you get my drift. Forty names go to Cabinet and say there were

50 people applied; we screened them down to 40. All 40 of these people could do

this job. So then it's up to the Cabinet to pick two names out of the 40.

I guess

if there is an opportunity for gender equality, that's where it is. When the

names go to Cabinet and if Cabinet looks and says the four positions that we

have in place now – whether it be the chancellor, the Clerk, the Speaker and the

chief justice – they're all male. Four of those people are male and the two

people that we have here, the two names of the people who already hold the Order

of Newfoundland and Labrador, those two people, they're male. We have six males

and we have a list of 40 names. We have six males already on it and two

positions.

So at

that point in time, if we're going to look at gender diversity, that would be

the point in time, as I would understand it, you can correct me if I'm wrong,

that would be the time where you could look at it and say we have six males, no

females and 40 names; so if we're looking through these 40 names of qualified

people, we should make sure that we put two females or even one female or

whatever, or maybe there's an indigenous person on the list of 40 names and

there's a female on the list, we'll put those in there to make it more diverse.

That's

the only opportunity for diversity, as I understand it, and you can correct me

if I'm wrong, but I would like clarification.

Thank

you.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you.

It's a

good point by the Member and I understand what he's saying. Yes, certainly at

the Cabinet table, diversity and a whole number of lenses, have to be applied

for this. Now, what I would say is four are office holders, two though, the

members of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, are also selected by the

LGIC. So there are two there, plus there are the two at large, and yes, you take

the names that are given to you.

All I

can say there is, again, that's a Cabinet decision and a Cabinet or any group

should be judged on the decisions that they make. I'd like to think that this

government and our Premier have kept these things in mind when it comes to

gender, when it comes to demographics. We try our best to make sure we have

people from all over this province. We keep everything in mind, but you have to

judge us on the decisions that we've made. I'd like to think that's something

that our Premier has made a priority, but again you have to base it on what

comes out of it.

I think

that you would hold yourself open to criticism if you didn't keep these things

in mind. It would look awfully odd if you had an all-male board making decisions

like that. I don't think that's where we are as a province. I don't think that's

where we are as a country. I think everybody is getting in line with that line

of thinking.

Thank

you.

CHAIR:

Shall the motion carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, clause 1 carried.

CLERK:

Clauses 2 through 4

inclusive.

CHAIR:

Clause 2 through 4 inclusive.

The hon.

the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Chair.

We sort

of got mixed between 1 and 4 because we couldn't help it, but now that we're

specifically in the area of 4, I just have a couple of specific questions then.

I take

it the minister is probably not ready yet to give the further information that

he said he would give us. If he's not, I'll wait for third reading. But I do

want to ask the Minister of Justice, the House Leader, in making the commitment

that you made when we were discussing a minute ago with regard to diversity, you

made a commitment that the two appointments that would be included under the

Schedule C of the Public Service

Commission Act you're committing that diversity will be considered, how can

you make that commitment? I just need to have that answered.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, it's a good question.

What I can say is that after speaking to Cabinet Secretariat, what they are

saying and what we are guaranteeing is that diversity will be considered when

these applications go to the Public Service Commission. If something happens

that that is not the case, then I'm very sure that this matter is going to end

up on the floor of this House and I'll be asked why I said one thing and

something else happened.

This is

in consultation with Cabinet Secretariat. Diversity is something that should be

considered; it will be considered. It's always considered by Cabinet, that's for

sure, so that's basically what I can say to that point.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

I ask the minister then: Was

consideration given to putting that principle actually in the legislation? I

think that would be really important if that is going to be, would it be

possible to actually have an amendment, just putting that principle in the

legislation around the appointments of the council itself and the formation of

the council?

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much for

recognizing me. The minister doesn't want to speak to it and I don't have an

amendment ready to put on the floor.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

CHAIR:

Order, please!

MS. MICHAEL:

The minister isn't speaking

to it at the moment.

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MS. MICHAEL:

He is thinking, okay.

CHAIR:

Shall clauses 2 through 4

inclusive carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, clause 2 through 4 carried.

CLERK:

Be it enacted by the

Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as

follows:

CHAIR:

Shall the enacting clause

carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, enacting clause carried.

CLERK:

An Act To Amend The Order Of

Newfoundland And Labrador Act.

CHAIR:

Shall the title carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, title carried.

Motion,

that the Committee report having passed the bill without amendment, carried.

CHAIR:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I move

that the Committee rise and report Bill 31.

CHAIR:

The motion is that the

Committee rise and report Bill 31.

Shall

the motion carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, that the Committee rise, report progress and ask leave to sit again, the

Speaker returned to the Chair.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Order, please!

The hon.

the Chair of the Committee of the Whole.

MR. WARR:

Mr. Speaker, the Committee of

the Whole have considered the matters to them referred and have directed me to

report Bill 31 carried without amendment.

MR. SPEAKER:

The Chair of the Committee of

the Whole reports that the Committee have considered the matters to them

referred and have directed him to report Bill 31 without amendment.

When

shall the report be received?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Now.

MR. SPEAKER:

Now.

When

shall the said bill be read a third time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, report received and adopted. Bill ordered read a third time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this

time I would call from the Order Paper, Order 4, second reading of Bill 32.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, that

An Act Respecting

The Centre For Health Information, 2018, Bill 32, be read a second time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 32,

An Act Respecting The Newfoundland And Labrador Centre For Health

Information be now read a second time.

Motion,

second reading of a bill, “An Act Respecting The Newfoundland And Labrador

Centre For Health Information.” (Bill 32)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I'm

delighted to rise in this hon. House today to open the debate on Bill 32, as I

said,

An Act Respecting the Centre for Health Information, 2018.

In light

of the guidance you've provided in the shiny new Standing Orders that we have,

I'm going to tell a tale of NLCHI and make the case for why new legislation

governing this body is appropriate.

This, I

think, is relevant because it is a story of evolution and it describes how

health care, particularly in the IT sector, has evolved over the last 22 years.

The centre was, in actual fact, first established back in 1996 and at that point

it was a subdivision, if you like, of Eastern Health. It became fairly obvious

not long after that, that that was not going to suffice and it had a broader

reach and a broader impact.

So in

2007, the current Centre for Health

Information Act was passed, and NLCHI became an agent of the Crown under

that act. Basically, my next bit of my narrative will be to describe how the

centre has evolved over that period, what the gaps are and what problems this

new act is designed to remedy.

At the

time the current act came into force, the centre's primary objective was to

establish for the province an electronic health record system. For those who

have not worked in that environment and may not be entirely familiar with it, an

electronic health record is essentially a single unified repository of an

individual's health care history. It's supposed to be comprehensive and it's

supposed to be accessible to those in the circle of care who need to have it at

the time they need it. It does so in an electronic format.

The

existence of such an EHR – Electronic Health Record – really cannot be

understated. It provides real-time information from various sources for people

who may need to access that information to determine changes in treatment and

assessment of their patients. Really, it's become an essential tool for

clinicians, not just physicians, but anyone involved in what is now called,

through other legislation, the circle of care.

To date,

the centre has accomplished a lot of the work it was set out to do and some

more. We do have now a fully functional health record, which is now working

under the working title of HEALTHe NL. The information that presents to a

clinician is generated from a variety of sources. We've had discussions about

some of these in this hon. House already, and I would mention specifically the

Pharmacy Network which was inaugurated last year and became the subject of

foundational building block, really, for the Prescription Monitoring Program

which we discussed in legislation in the last session, and I'll come back to

again.

It also

includes the regional health authorities, a PACS system – PACS is an acronym for

Picture Archiving and Communication System. What this essentially is, is imaging

done for patients in a whole variety of ways – so it's X-rays, ultrasound, CT,

MR, and ultimately the new PET scanner when that is up to speed. And it allows a

practitioner anywhere in the province to access both the images directly, if

they choose to, but also the reports generated by radiology reporting. It's

truly a great asset for specialists, and the reports, I think, are of benefit to

all.

Built on

that, one of our recent successes – pioneered in Central Health, in actual fact,

just to digress ever so slightly – is telepathology. We have replicated for

black and white digital images of X-rays, for want of a better word, to full

colour images of pathological specimens and slides which now allow for a virtual

community of pathologists to provide input in difficult or challenging cases.

Just to

go back to the Pharmacy Network, Mr. Speaker. This, for clarity and just to

refresh folk's memory, is a record of all the prescriptions filled and

medications dispensed by all 201 pharmacies across Newfoundland and Labrador.

This is a foundational building block, it's a real-time repository and it's now

the basis of the Prescription Monitoring Program. We had lengthy discussion and

debate about that in the last session. This is to deal with the opioid issue we

have in this province which is a significant, if not one of the major, public

health threats to the citizens of this province.

I've

referenced the Picture Archiving system, but in terms of how this works from a

patient and a provider's point of view, it's a single portal for secure access

for health care providers to a medication profile. It receives real-time data

from the laboratories we have across the province and information regarding

hospital in-patient admission. All of this is available at the time of need on

the desktop of a practitioner so that they get the biggest possible, most

complete possible picture of the health and problem status of the individual in

front of them.

Over the

last 22 years, the staff of the centre has dedicated a lot of work to improving

HEALTHe NL and making it still a success and a key initiative. That work is not

yet complete; there are other strands that need to be drawn in. I may allude to

some of these later on.

There is

an electronic medical record which sits underneath the electronic health record,

which is physician and nurse practitioner centric, but again provides that level

of detail for the clinician at the time of point of care. NLCHI have been

instrumental in rolling that out in conjunction with the Newfoundland and

Labrador Medical Association, particularly, to private physicians' offices to

try and again integrate that missing piece into the bigger picture as it were.

Over the

course of particularly the time since 2007, the centre has acquired or been

given additional responsibilities. The Prescription Monitoring Program and

Pharmacy Network were never envisioned in anything more than broad concept back

in 2007.

One of

the problems that this legislation is designed to fix is a provincial shared

services model for IT and what we've called eHealth rather than HEALTHe NL. We

announced this is as an initiative in October of last year. What this is, is an

approach which will leverage the expertise in each of the RHAs but eliminate and

streamline the processes. Because, at the moment, we have four RHAs each with

stand-alone, separate systems which while it is compatible with each other are

not integrated, and we have duplication of administration and network functions

and these kinds of things.

In a

way, analogists to the shared services model for purchasing and inventory

control across the RHAs, the background of the shared services IT, eHealth piece

is that these functions will be steered, coordinated, maintained and updated

through a provincial body based at the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for

Health Information.

This

initiative is a new one and, therefore, the existing legislation does not

reflect the mandate of NLCHI. It also doesn't reflect other areas which the

centre has been involved in since the original act was proclaimed in 2007. To

fill these gaps, Bill 32 basically, in its crafting, will update the objects of

the centre's act to include those areas in which it's engaged but weren't

specifically referenced in the original legislation.

For

example, the most prominent of these is managing the provincial databases

related to health. We've had discussions in here, particularly around diabetes

and chronic diseases. We now have a diabetes registry as part of a chronic

disease registry. The centre will be the home of these, will look after the

networking and the interfacing of this database and registry with other entities

throughout the health authority. We actually have the Newfoundland and Labrador

Cancer Care Registry which was new and came into being within the last 18

months.

One of

the other roles of the centre which evolved from its original format was the

preparation of health reports. Its original funding back in 1996 and up to 2007,

a lot of it came from Canada Health Infoway which was a federal method of

flowing funding for IT to try and make a system of data collection across the

country that was compatible. And, if you like, CHI – Infoway as it's now called

– was the backbone; it was the pipes through which information could flow. NLCHI

has been involved on our end at the provincial level in supplying data

compatible with their reports, which go through Infoway to the Canadian

Institute for Health Information, or CIHI.

A lot of

the national benchmarks and the national data, from our point of view, go

through the NLCHI, the local Centre for Health Information. That was not

referenced in its original mandate.

The

other piece is we are developing with these databases a significant repository

of information about a very useful population, not only useful to the people of

the province but useful to the broader scientific community. We are seen

increasingly as a location, because of the integration of our health records and

because of our unique founder population, for research both of an applied and a

more theoretical nature.

We have

no means of coordinating that in a sensible way that will benefit the people of

this province. Much work and much thought has gone into this, but the enabling

piece will be this new act which will allow and put into place, formally,

conducting research and evaluation as one of the objects of the Centre for

Health Information.

The

final piece which is of crucial importance in an environment of evidence-based

medicine is that, again, this data repository is a treasure throve of health

analytics. I would like – and I have said to the CEO and to the board of NLCHI –

to see the centre become a decision support tool for the Department of Health

and for the regional health authorities where a question of topical interest,

incidents of Lyme disease, spikes in the rate of syphilis, these kind of things,

can be addressed through one central repository and get real-time data back that

can help inform public health decisions, health policy decisions and clinical

issues related to population health. That isn't in existence in the mandate at

the moment. It will be and it is enshrined in the new act.

These

are problems of evolution. They were not envisaged in a granular way when the

2007 act came. Really, we need, as legislators, to make sure that our

legislation is up to date and reflects the needs of the people.

Managing

these databases, operating them and running the network is a skill or a set of

skills that the staff at the centre have. The ability to pull out this data and

analyze it is one they have developed and actually are building on. Really, I

feel, as a legislator who's also responsible for overseeing the biggest

department in government from a financial point of view, that really and

honestly this is the way to bring evidence into policy and such decisions.

As I

mentioned earlier on, the provincial eHealth model is part and parcel of that.

The list of objects set out in

section 4 states quite clearly this is now to be

the responsibility of the NLCHI to manage, operate and maintain a consolidated

and integrated system that contains all of it, the information, the application,

the networks, to look after both the clinical and the administrative functions

of the RHA. Those administrative databases have started to migrate into NLCHI as

well. That provides decision support for senior management teams, as well as

down to the director level at the RHAs.

The key

in all of this, in anything to do with health information, is privacy. This act

also then goes on to confirm the centre's obligation to continue to maintain the

privacy of individual's personal health information which is collected, used,

disclosed, stored or disposed of by the centre. Those are the words of the act.

It does so in clear accordance with the

Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act , but also the

Personal Health Information Act which

governs specifically those health regulations.

section 4 it also leaves flexibility. Just as in 2007 some of these entities and

activities I've described were never envisaged. In 2018, there are things we

cannot foresee that may roll out down the road in 2021, 2022. This piece of

legislation enshrines some degree of flexibility to do this by way of

regulation.

Set

against all this is a requirement and a need that the public and indeed the

President of Treasury Board has mentioned in speeches in public, which is to

enhance the transparency and accountability of the operations of the centre and

it's management.

So as

such, effectively, the changes proposed in this act reconstructs, slightly, the

Centre for Health Information as, if you like, a fifth RHA. It grants the

minister authority to give direction to the centre in the same way he or she can

to the RHAs. It does so quite clearly within the constraints of that

section to

further the objects of the centre, to provide guidelines to follow the duties

and responsibilities and exercise of its powers, and to coordinate the work of

the centre so it aligns clearly with the polices and work of government, other

government agencies within the realm of health, as broadly defined, and

community services in the province.

Because

of gaps in the previous legislation, the bill also sets out the centre's powers

to deal with property. It specifies, like the RHA, that while it may acquire or

dispose of personal property, any dealings with real property as well as loans

or investment must have ministerial departmental approval. That's entirely

aligned with the arrangements in the regional health authorities.

The

reason for this is essentially the government is the main source of funding for

the centre, so we have to build into legislation these accountabilities so that

we, as custodians of the public purse, can demonstrate to our constituents, the

taxpayers of this province, that the financial contribution that we make, as

government, is used in line with the objects of the centre and for the benefit

of the people of this province, directly, as a whole.

In that

regard, Bill 32 provides direction on the submission and approval of the budget

for the centre. It again further aligns it with the RHAs, which all of the ABCs

are most aligned in turn with the desire of the Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board, from fiscal alignment with government and the

government employees.

entrenches in legislation, puts in legislation for the centre to appoint an

independent auditor and an annual requirement for auditing of the records,

accounts and transactions. It also, as a fail-safe, permits the minister to

audit the accounts and if need be, heaven forbid, to appoint an administrator,

should the centre ever find itself in unforeseen situations of serious financial

difficulty.

further expand the accountability, Mr. Speaker, Bill 32 expands the membership

of the board of NLCHI. It looks to make sure that the governance structure also

aligns with the mandate that we are setting out in legislation. Again, something

of an evolution has occurred since 2007 when it was first set up as an agent of

the Crown.

addition to members appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, a director

to the board would be appointed from each of the Department of Health and

Community Services and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. While,

traditionally, an employee of OCIO has always served on the centre's board, it's

not been a specific requirement. It's been a tradition, a precedent; it's not

enshrined.

This

legislation will change that now, that there has to be a member of the Office of

the Chief Information Officer on the board. This is crucial, we feel, given the

intersection where the databases and information assets held by the centre

overlap and mingle with those held by OCIO. That perspective has to be present

at a high strategic level.

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, with accountability in mind, Bill 32 makes specific

reference to the appointment of the CEO of the centre and now requires the

Lieutenant-Governor in Council, in consultation with the board, to appoint that

position. That has not been the case to date.

The CEO

of the centre is obviously going to be an important employee of the centre. It's

that person's statutory duty to be responsible for day-to-day management and to

conduct the centre's affairs responsibly and prudently. As such, in reflecting

the seriousness and the importance of that position, the act makes it that the

position's appointment will be conducted in accordance with the process

established under the Independent

Appointments Commission Act and puts it on a par with the case for other

chief executive officers of other crown agencies.

Mr.

Speaker, the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information is a

crucial, integral part of our health care system. It has been a leader in its

field provincially and nationally in the development and management of

electronic information tools in the health care realm with benefit to the people

of this province.

Bill 32

continues the centre as a corporation and as an agent of the Crown. It updates

the centre's enabling legislation to reflect its actual mandate, with also some

flexibility for future developments and evolution that can't easily be seen

through a crystal ball at this stage. It recognizes the centre's role in

developing the provincial model of shared services for health. It allows for the

expansion of its mandate and enhances its accountabilities as an agent of the

Crown.

Mr.

Speaker, I regard this as an important legislative initiative and would ask all

Members of the House to support this. I look forward to answering questions and

listening to feedback from the other side of the House as second reading and

then Committee unfolds.

At this

point, Mr. Speaker, I would like adjourn debate on Bill 32.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Given

the hour of the day, I would suggest that we recess until 2 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER:

This House stands in recess,

consistent with Standing Order 9(1)(b), until 2 o'clock this afternoon.

Recess

The

House resumed at 2 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

I'd like

to draw all the Members' hon. attentions.

In the

Speaker's gallery I'd like to welcome and recognize Mr. Don Roche. He's the

superintendent of Prisons. He will be referred to in a Ministerial Statement

this afternoon.

He is

joined by his wife, Terri Roche; his son, Lucas Roche, who I understand is

studying political science; and his mother, Mary Roche, who it's her first time

ever in the House of Assembly today. So welcome to you Mary, and also welcome to

long-time family friend Ms. Barb Cadigan.

A big

welcome to all of you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will hear statements

by the hon. Members for the Districts of St. John's East - Quidi Vidi, from

Harbour Main, Cape St. Francis,

Harbour Grace - Port de Grave, Fortune Bay - Cape La

Hune.

The hon. the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I'm delighted to congratulate Dr. Falah B. Maroun for

being invested into the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Dr. Maroun came to Newfoundland and Labrador to do a

three-week locum in 1967 and has been in the province ever since. Like many

Lebanese before him, including my own grandparents, he chose to stay and make

this province his new home.

Having completed training at the French faculty of

medicine in Beirut and the Montreal Neurological Institute, Dr. Maroun held the

position of chief of the division of neurosurgery in St. John's for almost 40

years.

Since 1968, he has been actively involved in clinical

practice and teaching at Memorial University's faculty of medicine. For a number

of years, Dr. Maroun was the only neurosurgeon in the province.

Dr. Maroun was awarded the Order of Canada in 2002 and

has been appointed lifetime honorary president of the World Association of

Lebanese Neurosurgeons. Dr. Maroun was instrumental in establishing the Lebanese

Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, an organization of which I'm a proud

member.

There is immense pride in the Newfoundland and Labrador

Lebanese community in the recognition of Dr. Maroun's life and work.

I ask

all hon. Members to join me in congratulating Dr. Falah Maroun, who is watching

us right now, for his outstanding accomplishments and contributions to our

province.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Harbour Main .

MS. PARSLEY:

Mr. Speaker, this Sunday I

was delighted to attend the annual Crystal Dip in the Town of Holyrood.

This

year, 20 brave souls took the frosty plunge into the frigid waters of Conception

Bay in support of the Canadian Mental Health Association. To give you an example

of how cold it was, Mr. Speaker, the dip was moved from its original location of

Holyrood Beach to Maloney's Beach on the opposite side of the harbour as there

was too much ice ashore for the dippers to safely enter the water. Thankfully,

Mr. Speaker, following the icy dip, we all were treated to a pancake breakfast

complete with hot chocolate, tea and coffee.

Events

such as these not only create a great sense of community pride but serve as a

support mechanism for non-profitable in our province. I am pleased to inform my

colleagues that a cheque for $3,512 was cut for Canadian Mental Health

Association after the breakfast. The dip is very near and dear to my heart, as

we all know how much mental health awareness and support matters to families and

individuals who are suffering and, indeed, in need of help.

I ask

all Members to join me in congratulating the Town of Holyrood, the Canadian

Mental Health Association, the dippers of this year's Crystal Dip and the brave

job they undertook to help this very worthy cause.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I rise

today in this hon. House to recognize Christopher Coady, an incredible

18-year-old karate athlete from Flatrock.

Christopher is a member of both the Junior and Under 21 National Karate Team and

the Senior National Karate Team. He has proudly and successfully represented

Newfoundland and Labrador throughout the country and around the world.

Last

year, Christopher won two silver medals and a gold medal at the National Karate

Championships in Quebec City. He won a bronze medal in the team fighting

category and placed ninth in the individual category at the Senior Pan American

championships in the Caribbean. He finished fifth in both the individual and

team fighting categories in the Junior and Under 21 Pan American championships

in Argentina. He was crowned champion at the Atlantic Canadian Karate

Championships right here in St. John's. He also travelled to Spain to compete in

the Junior and Under 21 World Karate Championships. He is the first Newfoundland

and Labrador karate athlete to achieve such an honour.

Mr.

Speaker, while partaking in all this competition and travel, Christopher also

graduated from Holy Trinity High in Torbay with first-class honours and was

named Senior Male Athlete of the Year for his school.

I ask

all hon. Members to join me in congratulating Christopher Coady on everything he

has accomplished in 2017 and wishing him continued success in 2018.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Harbour Grace - Port de Grave.

MS.

P. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am proud to recognize the late Eric Dawe of Bay

Roberts. Mr. Dawe was known to many as Mr. Bay Roberts, as he spearheaded the

formation of the town council in 1951. He was elected to the first council and

later chosen as mayor.

Not long after, he ran for provincial politics and was

elected as MHA for the District of Port de Grave, and eventually was appointed

to Premier Joey Smallwood's Cabinet as the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

Prior to his entry into political life, Eric was a

businessman working with the family business in the nail manufacturing. He later

entered into another family enterprise, Avalon Coal Salt & Oil Limited. It has

been said by authors, such as Bill Rowe, that Eric Dawe was a natural when it

came to political foresight.

This foresight was also evident in Eric's management

style at Avalon Coal Salt & Oil, his family-owned company that has prospered for

more than 150 years. It was an honour to know Eric Dawe and I am grateful to

have received some strong advice from him. He was a husband, father,

grandfather, great-grandfather and friend who touched the lives of many.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune

MS.

PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House to commend Mr. Sheldon George

for his exceptional career in aquaculture and his recognition as NAIA's

Aquaculturist of the Year for 2017.

Sheldon has a bachelor of science degree, majoring in

biology and the advanced diploma in aquaculture from our very own Marine

Institute, and has spent over 20 years engaged in the aquaculture profession. He

started his career in New Brunswick for 10 years on fish farms and progressed to

being a husbandry manager for a Norwegian company, then a buyers group.

Fortunately for us, he got back involved with the

aquaculture industry in our province and has spent over a decade promoting,

assisting and fostering the development of commercial aquaculture in

Newfoundland and Labrador. Currently, as production manager with Cooke

Aquaculture, he is very well known for his passion and energy for aquaculture,

and we thank him for his commitment to growing the industry and serving his

community.

Sheldon

plays a key advisory role on various boards and committees, including the NAIA

board, the Cabinet steering committee on Growing Forward and others.

I ask

Members of this hon. House to join me in recognizing and thanking Mr. George for

playing an instrumental role in proving that aquaculture is a viable,

profitable, and community sustaining initiative.

Congratulations, Sheldon.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in

this hon. House to recognize today as Pink Shirt Day.

Pink

Shirt Day is an international movement which brings awareness to bullying, how

it affects all of us, and what we can do to prevent it. This year's theme is

“Nice Needs No Filter.”

Pink

Shirt Day is being celebrated by students across the province. This morning I

had the pleasure of participating in an assembly at Larkhall Academy and I was

amazed at the enthusiasm and kindness that was on display. Students, teachers

and staff, wearing pink, celebrated friendship and created an important

awareness that violence and bullying is not acceptable in any form.

Mr.

Speaker, it's important that people subjected to violence and bullying know

they're not alone and there's help and support available to them. To help with

these efforts, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development has

provided $13,000 shared amongst 32 schools through Safe and Inclusive Awards.

These awards recognize the efforts of schools in establishing and maintaining

safe, caring and inclusive learning environments, promoting effective actions to

create positive school climates, and sustaining safe and caring communities.

Congratulations to all of this year's recipients.

Ensuring

all students throughout Newfoundland and Labrador have a positive, safe and

caring environment in which to learn is a priority for our government. Our Safe

and Caring Schools Policy helps to establish this through school-based protocols

and practices that challenge all forms of bullying, harassment and inappropriate

behaviour.

Mr.

Speaker, if we all make an effort to act with kindness toward one another, we

have the potential to make a difference in people's lives and to provide the

example we want modeled by children and youth. One kind word can change

someone's entire day.

I ask

all hon. Members to join me in celebrating Pink Shirt Day and to share the

importance of being kind to others each and every day.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East - Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. The subject of

bullying and its effects have gone unnoticed for far too long. Victims of

bullying often carry with them the hurt and trauma for years. Such instances are

compounded when the victims are in their formative years, which is why it is

incumbent on us to all promote safe and caring environments for our students.

While

I'm pleased to see the Liberal Members publicly coming out against bullying, the

irony cannot be lost on anyone that the Education Minister delivering the

anti-bullying statement has himself exhibited behaviour that he is supposedly

against.

This

side of the House is pleased with the efforts of students, parents and teachers

who combat all forms of bullying, but there is much more we need to do.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. MICHAEL:

I join the minister in

recognizing Pink Shirt Day and thank all recipients of the Safe and Inclusive

Awards for their work against violence and bullying in schools. These

initiatives provide anti-bullying education at an early age within our school

systems and help build a foundation against bullying and harassment into the

future. We need to learn from them.

General

education is needed in our schools, our workplaces and beyond to broaden our

understanding of what constitutes bullying and harassment and how to prevent it.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm pleased to rise in this hon. House today to welcome the

new Superintendent of Prisons, Mr. Don Roche. Superintendent Roche began his

career in adult corrections in 1982 and has more than 30 years of service in the

field of corrections.

During his career, Superintendent Roche worked at the St.

John's Lock-up and the Salmonier Correctional Institute, but spent the majority

of his career at Her Majesty's Penitentiary where he served as a duty captain, a

training captain and Assistant Superintendent of Operations. His previous

leadership experience within our prison system is extremely valuable and he is

certainly very well respected amongst his colleagues.

Mr. Speaker, Superintendent Roche has significant

experience in the field of training and has provided mentorship and guidance

within adult corrections throughout the province. He is a recipient of the

Corrections Exemplary Service Medal and was a certified Suicide Intervention

Skills Trainer and a certified Use of Force Instructor.

I have great confidence in the professional and

hard-working staff we have at our correctional facilities and we are very

fortunate to have Superintendent Roche in this role as we work to strengthen

corrections and the justice system in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in welcoming

Superintendent Roche and to thank him for taking on this important role.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The

hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement

today. I, too, would just like to reflect on the 30-plus-year career of Mr.

Roche so far. I can tell you, I have heard it said many times and I've heard it

over the years how he's made a significant contribution

to, not only the prison system, but also to those who work there and those who

have been housed there over the years. He's highly respected by many and I can

tell you, many have benefited from his role in the prison system and his

contribution to our province.

I'd like

to very briefly, Mr. Speaker, acknowledge his family that's here with him today,

and specifically I'd like to address his mom for a moment, if I may, because I

know from the Member for Cape St. Francis here sitting behind me, I hear that

Mr. Roche's mother is a common dance partner of the Member. They've had occasion

to have a dance from time to time. He speaks very highly of her and I know that

she, as a person, is reflective in her son, Don.

congratulate Don and his family. I wish him all the very best.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister. I thank Superintendent Don Roche for taking on this very

challenging and crucial role. Many of our correctional facilities are antiquated

and are often operating at overcapacity, which places an enormous strain on

staff and inmates, also making true meaningful rehabilitation very difficult.

With his

background and focus on rehabilitation, I am sure Superintendent Roche will

contribute to positive change in the corrections system. My hope is that

government will allocate the needed resources so he can effectively manage and

do this important work with his dedicated staff.

Thank

you, Superintendent Don Roche. Bravo!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Yesterday, here in the House when I asked about the $400,000 government funding

grant awarded to the company –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

No interruptions, please.

Please

proceed.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, here in the House when I asked about the $400,000 government funding

grant that was awarded to a company –

AN HON. MEMBER:

Humber Valley.

MR. SPEAKER:

I remind – my first and final

warning for the day. There's to be no heckling when I'm listening to someone

else who's been addressed, please.

Thank

you.

Please

continue.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, in the House when I asked about the $400,000 government funding grant

that was awarded to a company owned by the Premier, the Premier admitted that he

intentionally delayed the funding process to allow his assets to be placed in a

blind trust.

I ask

the Premier: Why are your hands all over this file when you were aware that

there is a clause in the $400,000 funding contract that states that MHAs are not

permitted to benefit from the funding?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We did

answer quite a few questions yesterday. I think the Member opposite, he would be

very aware of the facts surrounding all of these. This is not a grant. This is

indeed a loan and the stipulations and the criteria around that loan are very

clear, as he would have known since this was his preliminary announcement back

in 2015.

So, Mr.

Speaker, I just want to take you back to what's been done, the decision that was

made, and to be very open and transparent about all of this.

We've

taken this to the Commissioner of Legislative Standards, yesterday, but prior to

any of this, Mr. Speaker, all of my interests have been disclosed on an annual

basis; secondly, proactively disclosed in the application. The Member opposite

knows all this. This is simply, today, a debate in questions really about

politics.

I heard

him say yesterday, he called this a gift, Mr. Speaker. This is a loan. The

beneficiaries of all of this are to the tenants that live in those housing

units.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is

technically a loan but it's a forgivable loan. What that means is once the

conditions of the contract are met then the Premier does not have to repay that

loan. That's what a forgivable loan means, Mr. Speaker.

The

Premier has stated that all money awarded goes, actually, to the tenants.

I ask

the Premier: How is the $400,000 going to be disbursed directly to those

tenants?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Finally,

we're getting into some substance of this line of questioning. So it is a loan.

He's acknowledged that. His first question called it a grant. So he's now

acknowledged the fact that it's a loan. The loan in this particular case has

certain criteria.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm going to speak to this in a general sense because there are many

other people who would have been involved, many other companies, many other

associations that could have been involved in this particular application that

was announced on this day.

Here's

how it works. The criterion is in place over a 10-year period. The rates are

determined by the Housing Corporation. Even the footprint of those facilities is

determined by the corporation. So the loan is put in place based on the

criteria. The rates are set over a 10-year period, Mr. Speaker. That's how the

money gets in the hands of the tenants.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If the

Premier wants to call it a loan he can, but he should make it clear, it's

forgivable. It's forgivable after a 10-year period when all the conditions are

met, but the contract points out that the funding is actually a capital –

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MR. SPEAKER:

Please continue.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

contract actually specifies that the funding is actually capital assistance. It

means it's assistance to building the structure. It refers to approved capital

assistance and it depends on construction progress.

Isn't it

true, Premier, that the $400,000 is directly tied to construction of the housing

complex?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What we

want to talk about here are rates, benefits to the tenants. The market rate

would be very different than the affordable rate, Mr. Speaker. If these tenants

had to go in and pay market rates, it would have meant for many of them that

they would not be able to go in there. In many cases this could be a difference

of $200 to $300, Mr. Speaker, depending on where they are and what the market

rates would be.

This is

where the benefit comes back to the tenants, Mr. Speaker. It is about rates.

Those people that would have been excluded would not have housing options

available to them because they couldn't afford the market rates. They could

afford the affordable rates, which is determined by the Newfoundland and

Labrador Housing Corporation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, this is a great

program that benefits lots of people, but it also benefits those who apply for

the funding because the capital asset would be owned by the Premier. The

$400,000 offsets his capital assets and the cost of his capital assets and it

becomes his equity. It says so in the contract, the approved capital assistance

is dependent upon construction process.

Mr.

Speaker, yesterday the Premier went on to say that the disclosure statement was

made to the Commissioner of Legislative Standards.

I ask

the Premier: Was the conditions around the $400,000 forgivable loan, the loan

that was signed eight months after he was in office, was that forgivable loan

specifically discussed, those conditions –

MR. KING:

(Inaudible.)

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

Member for Bonavista need not rise to speak again today because I will not

recognize him.

Please

continue.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Did the

Premier specifically discuss with the Commissioner for Legislative Standards the

conditions of the forgivable loan, $400,000, and specifically review the

conditions that an MHA cannot benefit from that contract?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, once again when

we go back to this scenario that we're talking about, but indeed the scenario as

it applies to everyone that would be involved in an affordable housing project.

As he just mentioned, these are good projects where people get affordable

housing rates, where they otherwise would not have housing available to them.

All my

assets are in a blind trust right now. Mr. Speaker, I could not tell you what is

even in that blind trust.

So,

yesterday, when I spoke to the Commissioner of Legislative Standards, what was

asked – the direction would be to take it from start to finish, see this

through, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to be very open and transparent in this whole process. The Commissioner of

Legislative Standards, which the Member opposite asked to get involved. That's

exactly what we did. We've asked the Commissioner of Legislative Standards to

get involved and he will do that piece of work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I take

it from that the Premier didn't discuss the specifics of that particular

contract requirement. At least he didn't acknowledge that he did.

Mr.

Speaker, yesterday here in the House of Assembly, the Minister of Municipal

Affairs was put up, or got up, by government to answer a question that had

nothing to do with his department, only so he could go on with one of his rants

that we see here quite often and in a demeaning manner like we've seen before.

I ask

the Premier: Do you support this type of harassing behaviour from one of your

senior Cabinet ministers?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

happy to answer what I guess can only be deemed as somewhat of a question. The

Member talks about harassing behaviour, yet he stands here in this House on a

daily basis and engages in the kind of mudslinging.

I want

to go back to the questions that he was asking today about a loan. Let's put

some facts out there. His government approved it. His hand-picked CEO of Housing

approved it. It was his government that announced it. He even acknowledged that

the Premier disclosed all of this prior to, to the Commissioner for Legislative

Standards and has agreed to do it again. Yet, he continues to stand up and act

like something is going on.

What I

would say is before you talk about mudslinging, look in your own direction.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

Leader of the Official Opposition.

Order,

please!

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

going to try and stay on point here. The minister should have a look at the

release he tabled yesterday. It was conditional approval that was given in 2015,

conditional that you meet the conditions. The Premier himself decided to meet

those conditions while he was the Premier of the province, not anyone in our

government, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Municipal Affairs stood here in the House,

looked across the floor at an Opposition MHA and said to him “stand up and be a

man ….” That's what he said here. It's in

Hansard . He told a Member on this side of the House “stand up and be a man”

when he was asked a fair and direct question.

I'd like

to know the Premier's view on this. I know he likes to put the minister up to

respond for him but I ask the Premier: Who's going to apologize for your

minister? Do you accept this kind of behaviour?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs and Environment.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you very much for the

question.

It's a

great opportunity for me – a great opportunity. Here's the Leader of the

Opposition standing up talking about bullying and saying things. His staff, by

the name of Sandy Collins, has called me a clown on government time, on

government email with his knowledge because I posted him personally. He said I

took a bribe. This Leader of the Opposition did nothing.

As I

said to the Member opposite, the Leader of the Opposition: If you don't stop him

and if you don't fire him from making those false, erroneous statements, which I

challenge to stay outside, you're a part of it. If he continues to make those

slanderous statements, your staff, on your time, you are part of it. So don't go

looking at me about bullying when your staff is out making false, erroneous

accusations.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

Leader of the Official Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I stood here in this House in December of 2016 and I told the Minister

of Municipal Affairs that I'll not sit idly by and allow him to get on with his

antics anymore. I've held him to that since December 2016 and I'm going to hold

him to it in the future as well.

We're

here on the floor of the House of Assembly. The Premier and two of his ministers

on Friday addressed the province on the seriousness of bullying. Many of us are

here wearing pink shirts and ties and so on today to acknowledge bullying day

and the Premier will not respond to my questions.

Is this

behaviour by his minister acceptable to him? What is he going to do about it?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate the questions from the Member opposite. Perhaps we can remind him of

some of the things he did when he was the premier. I can remember when he was

premier he chastised the former minister of Finance for asking a question about

a sexual harassment report saying she should know better as a female than to ask

questions like that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. A. PARSONS:

I would also suggest that the

Member opposite maybe go back and look to matters that he's dealt with when he

minister of Health, the former Member for Mount Pearl North.

So,

again, if you want to stand here and sling mud, I would suggest look in your own

closet first.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS.

PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last Friday – and I applaud the effort – in an effort

to strengthen workplace harassment policies, the Premier and the Minister

Responsible for the Status of Women announced a new harassment and workplace

policy.

I ask the minister: When will changes to legislation be

coming to this House?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR.

OSBORNE:

thank the Member for her question because it is an important issue. We did put

forward our new policy on harassment last Friday. Our department is reviewing

legislation with the aim to upgrade and modernize legislation to ensure that all

people in this province who go to work in a workplace feel free to do so without

harassment. They feel safe in their own workplace.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS.

PERRY:

During the news conference, it was stated that there will be a time limit for

victims to come forward.

Given what victims of harassment may have to endure,

why would you impose such a short deadline?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister Responsible for the Human Resources Secretariat.

MR.

OSBORNE:

Thank you.

I thank the Member for her question. Again, the

timeline was a recommendation of the Rubin Thomlinson report. We've accepted all

of those recommendations. It's also consistent with the policies of the Human

Rights Commission.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS.

PERRY:

myself, have endured incidents in this House where I have been bullied. Will the

new policy apply to all workplaces, including conduct right here in the House of

Assembly?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister Responsible for Human Resources Secretariat.

MR.

OSBORNE:

Yes, Mr. Speaker, the House of Assembly accepts policies through the Management

Commission.

There is a part of the Management Commission or the

legislation put forward by former Justice Green that states if the Management

Commission doesn't put

in place a policy different than that of government, the policy government has

will be in effect for the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Fortune Bay -

Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

What will be done to ensure

this new policy is not just lip service, not just in government but in the House

of Assembly here as well, to ensure that those who perpetuate violence or abuse

of power at any time in government will be held accountable?

MR. SPEAKER: