Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 1 December 10, 2021 CONTENTS OFFICIAL LANGUAGES Mr. Melanson Hon. Mr. Higgs Mr. Melanson Hon. Mr. Higgs Mr. Melanson Hon. Mr. Higgs Mr. Melanson Hon. Mr. Higgs Mr. Melanson Mr. Melanson CORONAVIRUS Mr. Melanson Hon. Mr. Higgs Mr. Melanson Hon. Mr. Higgs Mr. Melanson Hon. Mr. Flemming Mr. Melanson Hon. Mr. Flemming Mr. Melanson

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 2 Hon. Mr. Flemming Mr. Melanson Mr. Melanson Mr. Melanson Mr. Melanson Hon. Mr. Higgs Mr. Melanson Hon. Mr. Higgs HIRING Mr. K. Arseneau Hon. Mrs. Johnson HOUSE SITTINGS Mr. K. Arseneau Hon. Mr. Savoie Hon. Mr. Savoie Hon. Mr. Savoie CANNABIS NB Mr. Austin Hon. Mr. Steeves GASOLINE PRICES Mrs. Conroy Hon. Mr. Holland CORONAVIRUS Mr. D’Amours Hon. Mrs. Shephard Mr. D’Amours Hon. Mrs. Shephard

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 3 [Translation] OFFICIAL LANGUAGES Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr. Speaker, New Brunswick has a very rich history. Whether we are talking about the Francophone or Anglophone community or First Nations communities… Now, there are also newcomers to New Brunswick. New Brunswickers respect each other. New Brunswickers have values and always aspire to do better. They want to be more successful in New Brunswick. Mr.

Speaker, the diversity we have in New Brunswick is one of our greatest riches. These are great riches that other societies and provinces would really like to have. Yesterday, the Premier said that using a second language—in this case, it was French—was a game. Can the Premier, first of all, correct what he was trying to say yesterday, and then apologize? [Original] Hon. Mr. Higgs (Quispamsis, Premier, Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, PC): Mr. Speaker, I, too, am proud of the diversity in this province. In fact, there is nothing to correct.

The Leader of the Opposition is free, as is any member of this House, to use either official language or maybe any language for that matter. I would encourage anyone to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr. Speaker, I did mention in my opening remarks that respecting each other is one of New Brunswick’s biggest values, but it is an individual value. We are all brought up to respect each other. The Premier, yesterday and today, gets up for about five or six seconds and does not even recognize that he made a mistake.

He does not even recognize that by saying that using the second language… In my case, I used French to communicate to all New Brunswickers. To Francophones, I speak French. [Translation] To Francophones, I speak French. [Original] And I speak English when I speak to Anglophones and everybody. But today, he does not even recognize that he made a mistake. Can you please get up, Premier? First of all, recognize that respecting each other is a value. Second, you made a mistake, you did something wrong, and you should apologize.

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 4 Hon. Mr. Higgs (Quispamsis, Premier, Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, PC): Mr. Speaker, I absolutely think that respecting each other is a value and one to be cherished. Having frank discussions in any language is a value and something that we can do in our province, unlike in many provinces in the country. It is unfortunate that the Leader of the Opposition or anyone in this House tries to make more out of what I said yesterday. I have nothing further to add to it. Thank you.

Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr. Speaker, I have known and worked well with many different Premiers. Being the Premier of this province brings a lot of responsibility. Actually, a Premier probably has more responsibility than any other individual in this province. One has to be up for that responsibility and take it seriously. Also, by being Premier, in times when you make a mistake, you have to recognize that you made a mistake. It is human nature, and people will respect even more the fact that you recognized that you made a mistake and apologized when you did so.

Again, the Premier will not even recognize that. When he is pushed against the wall, when he is questioned, and when people do not think as he does or may not have the same values as he has, he just loses it. Could you please, Premier, get up and apologize? [Translation] That is all. [Original] Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time. Hon. Mr. Higgs (Quispamsis, Premier, Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, PC): Mr. Speaker, I think this is a very calm, methodical, and direct discussion.

Unfortunately, there is not any content to talk about here, because there is no issue to talk about other than what political gain the Leader of the Opposition hopes to make under a nonissue. I will leave it at that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr. Speaker, it is really hard to understand the Premier’s reaction, reasoning, and arguments in support of what he says or even what he does not say. As you know, we are an officially bilingual province with values and rights.

No matter who we are in New Brunswick, I think we recognize that we are in New Brunswick. It is absurd to want to imply that members use a second language to play politics. That is incomprehensible, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Premier, why not simply admit you made a mistake and say to New Brunswickers: I apologize?

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 5 [Original] Hon. Mr. Higgs (Quispamsis, Premier, Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, PC): Mr. Speaker, I have nothing further to add to this discussion. Thank you. [Translation] Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr. Speaker… [Original] (Interjections.) Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Order, please. [Translation] Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr. Speaker… [Original] (Interjections.) Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr.

Oliver): Order, on both sides. [Translation] CORONAVIRUS Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): I will stop there. Did… It is quite obvious that we are not going to get anywhere with this Premier, which is unfortunate; it is just unfortunate, because it indicates a real lack of respect for all New Brunswickers. [Original] It is unfortunate that the Premier will not even recognize some of his mistakes. If I make mistakes, I recognize them. I think that we all do, but he never does. Anyway… Mr. Premier, through you, Mr.

Speaker, yesterday, we debated a motion to have an independent inquiry to try to make improvements for any potential future pandemics. On this side of the House, we all voted for it. The government refused to really look into it, to

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 6 try to identify where we can make improvements, in case we have another pandemic. Premier, why did you vote against it? Hon. Mr. Higgs (Quispamsis, Premier, Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, PC): Mr. Speaker, I think that it is appropriate to make some comparisons to past emergencies in our province. I remember when we had an ice storm. It was probably when the Leader of the Opposition was in government. It was in the northeast, and it was a very traumatic event.

Do you know one thing that his government did not do? It did not evaluate the ice storm during the ice storm. It dealt with the issues and the people’s concerns that were at hand at that time, and then there was an evaluation done. And, Mr. Speaker, I remember when we had floods here in our province. Do you know what we did not do? We did not stop rescuing people from their homes or helping them move their belongings out to evaluate and ask: Are we doing it the right way? We actually did the job at hand. So do you know what you do in the middle of a pandemic?

You actually deal with the pandemic, and you deal with the residents and the response. It is unfortunate that the Leader of the Opposition cannot get that fact and the history of how evaluations are actually done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. (Interjections.) Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Order. Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr. Speaker, the Premier obviously either did not read the motion or did not listen to or read the briefings because, Premier, the motion does not say to have the inquiry right away.

I left it open because I truly understand—and I actually said this yesterday—that we should wait until after the emergency measures are lifted. I completely agree with you. This is not a witch hunt. I do not know why you are so insecure about this request. That is not the purpose. We just want to make sure that we recognize what was well done, because many things were, but there may have been some gaps. Unfortunately, pandemics will happen again. This world is getting smaller and smaller.

We are just trying to put an independent inquiry in place to have a review and to see what can be improved for the future, for future governments and for future responses. Why can you not support that, Premier? Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time. Hon. Mr. Higgs (Quispamsis, Premier, Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, PC): Mr. Speaker, this is something that is dealt with in the government every day in terms of analyzing best practices or analyzing performance. It is not something that you bring in

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 7 here, in the Legislature, for a political show at a time when we are in the middle of a pandemic, because that is what it is. Let’s put it as what it is. That is all it is. It is a political show here in the middle of a pandemic to make noise, especially right now, going through this fourth wave. Mr.

Speaker, as with every practice and with more of what we are doing today than ever before, we are analyzing the services that the government delivers to learn how we can do them better and we are making decisions that matter. I know that it is a concept that the Opposition Leader and his team do not relate to, but it is a conversation that is needed to ensure that we spend taxpayers’ dollars wisely and that we keep getting better at what we do.

It needs to be a way of life—not something that you question every time, but a way of life—so that you are always making decisions for the future that are better than the ones you made yesterday. Thank you. Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Justice did speak on the motion, and he seemed to be quite in favour of going forward. Again, I did not put a specific timeline in the motion because—you are right—today, we have to keep dealing with this pandemic. The reality, though, is that before July 30, there were 2 365 cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick. Right?

Since August 1, we have had 6 858 cases. Since August 1, 92 people have died, and before that, 46 people had died. We are just trying to understand. We are not trying to be political. If you want to be, go right ahead. But this is the right thing to do. Everybody who has an understanding of how things should be done will tell you that it is the right thing to do. It should be unanimous consent. Please agree with an independent review. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time. Hon. Mr.

Flemming (Rothesay, Minister of Justice and Public Safety, Attorney General, PC): Well, it is interesting that for all the decisions made in August, the Leader of the Opposition was there, present, and at the table and a member of the COVID-19 Cabinet committee. He knew what was going on. He knew the decisions, which were done by consensus, which is how Cabinet operates.

He chose, for political purposes, to fly off in a huff, quit the meeting, and quit the COVID-19 Cabinet committee so that he could sit over there and use the pandemic and irresponsibly throw snowballs at people who are trying to do the best thing for the people of New Brunswick. As for when I was commenting on the analysis, of course, you do an analysis. But halfway through the fire, you do not tell the fire department to stop fighting the fire and to go off and do some navel-gazing as to whether or not it has enough water in the hose.

The other thing is that you do not need to do a review by hiring some independent person because we

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 8 have good people in government. I have confidence in the people in government, and they can do the job. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time, minister. Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Well, Mr. Speaker, I think that the members of government—not all, but a few—think that this is a boxing match in a boxing ring. They just want to keep throwing punches, throwing punches, and throwing punches.

Listen, this has been a worldwide pandemic, and your tone this morning, minister, is different from yesterday’s, unfortunately. Seriously, this is a pandemic in which 138 people have lost their lives. We are not blaming anybody. We just want to get a complete understanding of the right things that were done, what may have created some gaps, and how it can be improved. Why are they so insecure about having an independent review? We are not asking for it to be done now. After the emergency measures are lifted, have an independent review. It should have unanimous consent. It should be just the right thing to do.

Premier, please get up and just say, Yes, we will do it. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time. Hon. Mr. Flemming (Rothesay, Minister of Justice and Public Safety, Attorney General, PC): You know, this really is something else. I mean, I am not in a position to speak for the Premier, but why do you not rejoin the COVID-19 Cabinet committee? Why do you not stop? Why do you not go back? I have been on the COVID-19 committee from its inception, as Minister of Health and then as Minister of Public Safety. You came to the meetings. You asked good questions. You contributed. Why do you not continue to do that?

Now, you are saying that you want an independent review. Independent review? Man, you were in the room. There was nobody closer to it than you were. I am not casting aspersions, and I am not being petty or anything else like that. We are a team. Join the team. You quit the team. We have an empty chair that we look at—your chair. Come back if you want, or let people do their job and get out of the way. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time, minister. [Translation] Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr. Speaker, why would we not have a public debate? Why would we not have genuine transparency?

The COVID-19 committee was all about discussion; the decisions were made by the Premier and Cabinet.

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 9 Why meet behind closed doors to talk about issues that affect people’s safety and health, as well as their families? Members of a significant number of families have died as a result of COVID-19. This pandemic is affecting our children, who are infected by this virus. Why not have this public debate here in the Legislative Assembly? Why not have an independent review to see how we could improve? Yes, improve, as a government and a province.

Great things have been done, but there are certainly things that can be improved. I do not understand the government’s attitude. Mr. Premier, say yes to an independent commission. [Original] Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time, member. Hon. Mr. Flemming (Rothesay, Minister of Justice and Public Safety, Attorney General, PC): There is no reason in the world—and it is good management and good practice—to do an after-action review so that you have constant improvement. They are called “after-action” reviews because they are done when the particular issue is over.

They are done by people in government who analyze, review, and improve. You are not asking for anything that is not going to be done at the right and proper time. You are asking for something that you do not trust the public service to do. You want an independent one. I will tell you something. There have been enough studies commissioned by government that amounted to nothing. I do not know what you could do with them all. You could build a 10-storey building with them, there are so many. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time, minister. Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr.

Speaker, I want to clarify a couple of points. I have total trust in the public service. I do not trust the front bench and some of the people on the backbenches. Those are the people whom I do not trust— honestly. (Interjections.) Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): You can say all you want. (Interjections.) Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Order. Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): The reality is… Let me add this, Mr. Speaker. There are other…

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 10 (Interjections.) Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Order, please. Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): There are other provinces and jurisdictions around the world that are already doing independent reviews. They are already doing them. The pandemic is still on, but they decided to do them. The World Health Organization is also doing one.

Independent—independent—is about making sure that the information is provided but that, most importantly, the recommendations will be totally independent and objective and transparent. It is about making sure that we can use the recommendations in the future if another pandemic does occur. There is nothing wrong with that. Premier, just agree to it. It is the right thing to do. Hon. Mr. Higgs (Quispamsis, Premier, Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, PC): Mr. Speaker, I know that the Leader of the Opposition is trying to make up for the fact that he quit the COVID-19 Cabinet committee.

He was part of the discussions up until… I guess he quit a month or two ago—whenever it was—but he was there at the time when we made changes to open up. He was also there when analyzing every Public Health decision or every Public Health recommendation or every analysis that was done. There were requests to bring in more subject matter experts, and we did that as well. He knows the process. He knew, coming out of that meeting, the recommendations.

I guess you would have to count, if you could count, any changes made to the Public Health recommendations while the leader was there that made them different from what Public Health came in with. There were always good questions asked, and there were always new considerations. It is unfortunate that he quit and that he is no longer part of that, in the middle of a pandemic. That would be like a firefighter saying, I have lots of water, but I am tired of fighting fires, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time. [Translation] Mr. Melanson (Dieppe, Interim Opposition Leader, L): Mr.

Speaker, I am listening to the Premier and certain other members of his government, and I see them laughing and poking fun. We are currently in the midst of a pandemic. I left the committee because there was an abuse of power by the government. Also, it was not a decision-making committee. Decisions were made by the Premier himself and by his Cabinet. That was the mandate, and I have it in my possession as the Premier wrote it. That is this committee’s mandate. What we are looking for is transparency. We want to have the discussion here, in public. Why hide behind curtains or doors?

These are issues that affect people’s safety and health.

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 11 So, today, we are again asking questions, and we want answers. People want answers. There are outbreaks all over the place. Mr. Premier, when the emergency measures are lifted, we should have an independent review. [Original] Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time. Hon. Mr. Higgs (Quispamsis, Premier, Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, PC): Mr.

Speaker, I appreciate that the Leader of the Opposition, not being in the decision- making and all of that, wants to question the process, but I would ask… And it was under Cabinet confidentiality, because we brought in all kinds of information to have a very meaningful, factual discussion. It would not be appropriate to bring it out and discuss and debate it again the next day, because we did want to get all the facts on the table. Everyone was entrusted with that and followed that closely.

I would have to say that during that process, while the Leader of the Opposition was there, I bet he cannot name one time when a Public Health recommendation was not followed. Yes, there would be nuances, there would be debates, and there would be discussions. Does this work? Does that work? I bet—and I am not going to ask him to break confidentiality on this—that in his own mind, he cannot think of once when a change was made to a Public Health recommendation.

That says a lot about the decision process or the value of the COVID-19 committee that got us through COVID-19, and we will continue to get through COVID-19. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time. [Translation] HIRING Mr. K. Arseneau (Kent North, G): Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw your attention to two New Brunswick civil service competitions. The first is for the position of agriculturist responsible for tree fruit and ornamental greenhouses. This is someone who will work directly with farmers throughout the province. It is a provincial position.

The second position is that of human resources development manager at the Department of Social Development in the Miramichi region. This person will be responsible for staff management and conflict resolution, as well as providing staff with motivation and personalized coaching. Mr. Speaker, the Miramichi region serves Rogersville, Baie-Sainte-Anne, Neguac, and the Francophone community in Miramichi. The Premier says he is a man of action, but,

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 12 following his disgraceful comments yesterday, this worries me, given that both these positions were posted as Anglophone only; so, no prior qualification in French is needed. Can the Premier explain to us why Francophones are not entitled to these essential services? [Original] Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time, member. Hon. Mrs. Johnson (Carleton-Victoria, Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, PC): Mr.

Speaker, to the member opposite, it is my understanding that we made sure that there was going to be somebody in that position. One position was not going to be mandatory bilingual, and the other position would have to be bilingual so that services would be provided in both languages to both sectors, in the appropriate form. I will have a look at that later, sir, and we will discuss it at length. Thank you. [Translation] HOUSE SITTINGS Mr. K. Arseneau (Kent North, G): This is unfortunate: When we look at the papers, they say one thing, but we see the opposite, Mr. Speaker, and that is extremely disturbing.

My second question is about House sittings. Several legislative assemblies around the country, as well as the House of Commons, have a legislative calendar. At the House of Commons, members know what their

schedule is right up to 2023. Our members, our residents, and civil society organizations deserve to know what our

schedule is here in the Legislative Assembly. This could avoid the fiascos in terms of organization and time management that we are currently witnessing. Mr. Speaker, democracy should be at the service of the people of our province. So, my question is for the Government House Leader. When will the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick finally provide itself with a legislative calendar, given that we do not yet know when we will be coming back in January? [Original] Hon. Mr. Savoie (Saint John East, Minister responsible for La Francophonie, PC): Thank you very much for the question, Mr. Speaker. This is something that has gone on at various times. This is something that we are working on. The

schedule continues to evolve. We do have some information coming forward for January. There is a week left of the session. There is still… (Interjections.)

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 13 Hon. Mr. Savoie (Saint John East, Minister responsible for La Francophonie, PC): I am sorry, what was that? I could not hear. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Continue. Hon. Mr. Savoie (Saint John East, Minister responsible for La Francophonie, PC): There is still more time for us to be able to put that

schedule together and share it with the members. If what the member is asking for or talking about is a permanent calendar, that is a different thing, which we are still working on, to make sure that members do have that certainty. Back in the day, it was very easy for members to do their work. This used to be a part-time job. It has now evolved into a full-time job. As it develops and as it goes on, we will make sure that we stay current with the changes to help people. We have a member who had a baby recently. All those pressures and all those things are requiring the Legislature to change.

We are working on making sure that it does happen. It is going to happen, but it takes a bit of time. Thank you. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time. CANNABIS NB Mr. Austin (Fredericton-Grand Lake, Leader, PA): Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of Finance presented a bill to introduce private retail into the sales operations of Cannabis NB. Bill 79,

An Act Respecting the Retail Sale of Cannabis, lays out the main concept and laws surrounding branching out from corporate stores to local, private stores under the Cannabis NB umbrella. While I would much prefer to see a bill on the full privatization of Cannabis NB, I do, however, believe that this bill incorporates the opportunity for private retail to play a part. My question, as such, is for the Minister of Finance. Can the minster tell us how many private retail licenses will be allocated in the upcoming year? And how will those licenses be distributed around the province? Hon. Mr.

Steeves (Moncton Northwest, Minister of Finance and Treasury Board, PC): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, through you to the member opposite, for the question. The licenses will be distributed around the province through a tender. We will be going to tender. I expect that to be in the late spring or early summer, when we get all the details on how the tender is going to work and what is expected in each of the stores. They are expected to be standalone stores to protect the public but also to help get rid of the illegal market. You know all of that, member. Anyway, it is going to tender.

The rules will be out in late spring or early summer.

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 14 GASOLINE PRICES Mrs. Conroy (Miramichi, PA): Mr. Speaker, in the last few weeks, we have seen the price of fuel drop substantially in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Those provinces are paying about 10¢ to 15¢ less than what we are paying in New Brunswick. New Brunswick is being hit very hard. Taxpayers are very generous to the oil refinery in Saint John. We are taxed to the max. The cost of living has doubled in the past year.

Seniors are struggling and are having a hard time to survive, and your average family struggles to make ends meet. These high prices are just one more thing to hit the people of New Brunswick. It is sad when you cannot afford to travel back and forth to work. Can the minister please explain why we are still paying so much for gas in New Brunswick and when we will see these prices drop and align with the rest of the Atlantic Provinces? Hon. Mr. Holland (Albert, Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Development, PC): Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member opposite for the question.

That is a subject that has come up through a variety of constituencies, and it has reached our desk over the last little while. As a matter of fact, the regulatory framework that sets those prices is at arm’s length of government. As a result of the inquiries that have come in, we in my department have reached out and asked for a full breakdown and explanation of the regulatory process. I think that could be a good opportunity—not just now when there are fluctuations in pricing—for an educational moment for any citizen of the province to understand the regulatory framework and how the pricing works.

We are looking forward to having that. I encourage the member opposite and any member to reach out to ask questions relating to that. I certainly will follow up with the member once we get that comprehensive breakdown of that regulatory framework and the pricing structure. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] CORONAVIRUS Mr. D’Amours (Edmundston-Madawaska Centre, L): Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the Conservative plan. Last Friday, the Minister of Health made an announcement in order to introduce new rules for the winter period.

When reporters tried to find out what the triggers will be for taking new measures, it was impossible to get a clear answer. I remember the Conservative government being a lot quicker to act when faced with far fewer cases over the past 18 months.

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 15 Can the Premier show transparency and allow the public to know what the specific triggers are? The holidays are coming up, and people are in the dark, apart from being told to check the government website. How long will we have to wait for the Premier to let the experts do the talking? [Original] Hon. Mrs. Shephard (Saint John Lancaster, Minister of Health, PC): Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the member opposite.

I am not quite sure what he is referring to regarding allowing the experts to speak because we are speaking with experts on an ongoing basis every single day. In fact, there is Public Health, the epidemiology team, and the Department of Justice and Public Safety. We are working all together on the plans that we have presented to the public. The winter plan does have trigger points. Public Health will do an assessment if it finds that cases are extremely high in one area and breaking a threshold of, I believe, 10% of population cases and testing. Public Health also looks at a lot of other circumstances.

From the very first day of COVID-19, this has never, ever been black and white, so Public Health has a responsibility to bring those measures to us. Thank you. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): Time, minister. [Translation] Mr. D’Amours (Edmundston-Madawaska Centre, L): Mr. Speaker, when I talk about letting the experts speak, I am talking about making sure the Premier does not speak about ventilation and ventilators. I want to make sure he does not talk about things he does not understand. I am talking about letting the experts speak, and I think the Minister of Health has not understood that aspect either. Mr.

Speaker, let us get back to the plan. I do not know if the government is aware that it is winter and will still be winter for the next few months. Last Wednesday, seniors who had appointments to get vaccinated had to wait more than an hour to be able to go in and get their vaccinations. Mr. Speaker, that was one hour at -15 °C. At -15 °C, it is totally unacceptable to leave people outside. It was so cold that some people decided to leave and not get their third dose. Mr. Speaker, how many months have we been going through this pandemic? Nobody has realized that it is winter at some point in New Brunswick.

Who is steering the ship? The ship is adrift; where is the captain?

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Oral Questions Original by Hansard Office Translation by Debates Translation 16 [Original] Hon. Mrs. Shephard (Saint John Lancaster, Minister of Health, PC): Mr. Speaker, the professionals at Public Health and the professionals who are throughout our RHAs and who are planning our clinics are trying very hard to plan for every single scenario that there is. We have increased our clinics—increased our clinics. We have added another 8 500 appointments for boosters. We have children vaccinated, with 23% of that age group now vaccinated. We have 63 200 booster shots already done.

Mr. Speaker, the teams are working. Do you know what? We do not like that this has happened. If that has happened, we are going to look at it. We are going to take it back and talk to our RHA partners and see what we can do to help them and support them more. But, Mr. Speaker, nobody—nobody—goes out, as the member opposite is suggesting, to try to inconvenience people. Thank you. Mr. Speaker (Hon. Mr. Oliver): The time for question period has expired.