April 25, 2007 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

PROCEEDINGS Vol. XLV No. 2

The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Hodder): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

This afternoon we have members' statements as follows: a statement by the

Member for the District of Carbonear-Harbour Grace; a statement by the Member

for the District of Terra Nova; a statement by the Member for the District of

Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi; a statement by the Member for the District of Kilbride;

a statement by the Member for the District of Humber Valley; and a statement by

the Member for the District of Conception Bay South.

The Chair recognizes the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace.

MR. SWEENEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this House today to extend congratulations to the Conception Bay

North CeeBee Stars, the 2006-2007 Herder Memorial Senior Hockey Champs.

Mr. Speaker, there won't be another thirty-nine-year waiting period for the

Herder Memorial championship in Conception Bay North. The Conception Bay North

CeeBee Stars vanquished - yes, Mr. Speaker, vanquished, I say to the Member for

Humber Valley - the Deer Lake Red Wings 5 to 2 before a packed house at Corner

Brook's Pepsi Centre on Saturday night to capture their second straight

provincial senior hockey title. Before winning the Herder last year, the CeeBees

had not hoisted the trophy since 1967.

Mr. Speaker, the Conception Bay North Female CeeBees Hockey Team won the 2007

Senior Female Provincial Championship. The win came recently at the S.W. Moores

Memorial Stadium in Harbour Grace. This is their third consecutive senior female

provincial championship.

Conception Bay North, and especially the Town of Harbour Grace, is already

steeped in historic sports milestones. Now there is another reason for the Town

of Harbour Grace to wear its historic town mantle - a second consecutive Senior

Herder Memorial Championship and the third consecutive Female Senior Hockey

Championship.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join with me in extending

congratulations to the Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars, the 2006-2007 Herder

Memorial Senior Hockey Champions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

MR. ORAM: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a tremendous individual, William

Burry. Mr. Burry spent thirty years as a teacher. He taught in Springdale, Baie

Verte, and in Carmanville. In 1969 he moved to Hare Bay, where he taught there

and in neighbouring Dover. The last six years of his career were spent in Gambo,

where he presided as principal of Bayview Heights Academy.

Mr. Speaker, while busy teaching, Mr. Burry devoted much of his remaining

time as a member of the Hare Bay-Dover Lions Club for approximately twenty-seven

years. While a Chartered member, he was also bestowed the honour of the title of

District Governor.

Mr. Burry was active with the local air cadets and served on the recreation

committee in the town. He was also very active at Knox United Church in Hare

Bay, and served on its board of management for a number of years. Mr. Burry was

known as a person who was always there to help out in any way he could.

Bill Burry passed away on April 6. His funeral was held at the church in

which he served for years, with over 200 people in attendance. Amongst those

paying their respects were many Lions Club members, as well as teachers,

students and friends.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members today to join with me in celebrating the

life of this great man, and his legacy.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am very pleased to stand today and pay tribute to the work of the Multiple

Sclerosis Society of Canada and to recognize Sean Kirby and Sarah Cowan from the

Society, who work untiringly for the constituency they represent. Today we have

all received red carnations from the Society marking MS Awareness Month in

Canada which will begin next Tuesday.

During May, MS Society volunteers and staff carry out numerous public

awareness activities both nationally and locally. It is also the time of its

spring fundraising season.

The month of May is very special to people impacted by MS. It marks a time

when the Society not only promotes awareness but also reflects on the

outstanding progress that has been in treatments and the search for a cure.

Staff and volunteers of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada are tireless

in promoting the needs and concerns of people suffering from MS. Some key

highlights of their programs for a healthy and well-balanced life include:

support and self-help groups; special equipment provision and funding

assistance; services and reference materials to support those who provide

full-time care to a loved one with MS; a cross-Canada education series to help

people deal with depression, a common symptom of MS; programs directed at

children six to eighteen years old who have a parent with MS.

The MS Society is to be congratulated on its many programs and the untiring

work it carries on in supporting people with this disease. It is also to be

congratulated on its successful fundraising that results in its being the

primary funder of MS research being done in this country.

So, I urge all of my colleagues in the House to wear the red carnations

proudly today and to support the MS Society's fundraiser later in May by

procuring many more carnations at that time for family and friends.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Kilbride.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DINN: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this House today to pay tribute to an

outstanding individual in the District of Kilbride.

Master Warrant Officer Terry Hurley of the Goulds was recently presented with

the Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation by General Rick Hillier.

Mr. Speaker, Terry was commended for his bravery in foiling a robbery at a

store in Kilbride on February 21, 2004. When Terry walked into the store shortly

before 9:00 p.m. on that night, he saw a man holding a knife to the clerk's

throat. The robber attempted to run away but Terry, without any regard for his

own safety, grabbed him and restrained him until the police arrived.

Without his presence and quick action that night, nobody knows what could

have happened. His decisive action was instrumental in taking a criminal off the

streets and probably protecting other unknown victims from future robberies by

this individual.

Terry Hurley has dedicated his life to the Canadian Armed Forces. He joined

the Forces on February 2, 1971, and retired in April 2004 after thirty-three

years of service. He is presently a Company Sergeant Major with the Royal

Newfoundland Regiment, First Battalion.

He and his wife, Roxanne, also received the Chief of Defence Staff Coin, a

personal memento from General Hillier for their dedicated military service.

Mr. Speaker, I ask this hon. House to join me in recognizing Master Warrant

Officer Terry Hurley's great courage and dedication, and I should mention that

he is here in the House today.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.

MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this House today to recognize a special

constituent from my district, Mr. Dick Baker of St. Jude's, who is hailed as a

bona fide hero.

On a Sunday afternoon Dick Baker was sitting at home with his friend, Vaughn

Cross, overlooking Deer Lake, when fate cast a new role for the retiree. Mr.

Cross had seen two snowmobilers cross the lake and had noticed that they

disappeared. Dick grabbed his binoculars, he spotted two dots on the lake and

realized that an emergency was happening.

Mr. Speaker, the quick-thinking Mr. Baker immediately threw on his boots and

coat, jumped on his snowmobile and headed out as fast as he could. By the time

he got to the couple, Allan Rubia and Clara Cull, they had been in the frigid

water for over ten minutes. Their snowmobile had plunged through the ice about a

mile offshore from Baker's lakefront home.

Knowing time was running out, he had to move quickly. Baker threw a rope to

Cull who was able to get out of the water without too much trouble. Helping

Rubia out however, proved to be a trickier piece of work but he succeeded. Baker

managed to get them both back to shore with the help of his buddy, Vaughn Cross,

who had called the ambulance. They took the survivors to Dick's home until the

ambulance had arrived.

Mr. Speaker, the search and rescue crew arrived and praised the efforts of

Mr. Baker for his rapid response to an emergency which most assuredly saved the

lives of not one, but two people.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join with me in extending

congratulations to Dick Baker on his wonderful act of heroism in saving the

lives of Allan Rubia and Clara Cull.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to inform my hon. colleagues about an exceptional individual

from my district who has been named the Conception Bay South 2006 Citizen of the

Year. Zita Butler was one of three nominees, which also included Neil Tilley and

John Scott. An award was presented to Ms Butler on April 14 by the Conception

Bay South Lions Club.

Ms Butler has volunteered her services to a variety of social programs to

assist her community. She has been involved with the Girl Guides since 1951, the

Canadian Cancer Society and the Conception Bay South-Paradise Community Food

Bank. She is also known as the Breakfast Lady for her work in ensuring

elementary children have access to the most important meal of the day.

Ms Butler is a member of the Salvation Army where she serves as community

care secretary and visits homes to provide an uplifting spirit of love and

encouragement.

Her contribution to CBS also includes being a member of Emergency Response, a

coordinator of the CBS Red Shield Campaign, an active participant in the

Christmas Kettle Campaign and is a member of the Salvation Army Congress

Committee.

She also knits caps for newborn babies, makes lap blankets for the elderly

and knits for those in need overseas. She also canvasses for health causes,

assists with catering at All Saints Anglican Church, volunteers for the Canadian

Bible Society and helps coordinate the World Day of Prayer.

I congratulate Ms Butler on her commitment and achievements and ask all hon.

members to join with me in congratulating her.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair has been advised that Mr. Sean Kirby and Ms Sarah Cowan of the

Multiple Sclerosis Society are also in the public galleries and we want to

welcome them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide an update on the Red

Tape Reduction initiative. I am pleased to report that this initiative is

continuing to deliver results in reducing regulatory requirements for

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

During the period from July 1 through December 31, 2006, a total of 4,295

regulatory requirements were removed from the system.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: This brings the total number of regulatory requirements

removed from the system to 21,205 since the initiative began in August 2006.

The department is now over one quarter of the way to achieving the objective

of reducing the number of regulatory requirements within government by 25 per

cent in three years. I am very pleased with the success of this project to date,

and I am confident we will achieve our objective within the specified time line.

Not only are we seeing results in terms of the numbers, we are also seeing

positive results with regards to the level of service government provides to

clients. The Red Tape Reduction initiative is fostering an environment where

government is more aware of the impact of regulations on the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, the Red Tape Reduction initiative is also about supporting a

change for the better in the way government interacts with clients. I believe

that the positive impact on how government views the regulatory process will

remain for years to come.

The work of the Department of Business with regards to regulatory reform

would not be possible without the support and commitment of departments,

agencies, boards and commissions. I believe the success of the red tape

reduction initiative to date has largely been a result of the tremendous work of

government employees involved in the project. I extend my thanks and

appreciation to the red tape reduction initiative team at the Department of

Business, and all government employees for your continued commitment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.

MS FOOTE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the minister for an advance

copy of his statement today.

This is nothing new in terms of a red tape reduction committee. I recall,

before I was elected to government, in fact, that the government of the day had

such a committee as well, but I do commend the government and those involved in

trying to do away with a lot of the unnecessary rules and regulations sometimes

that tend to creep into government policy and government regulations.

I would be interested, in fact, in seeing a list of the regulations that have

been done away with. I know the minister says that since, I guess, July, when

they started this, that some 21,205 regulations have been done away with, and I

would be interested in having those. There must be a list of them somewhere. I

would really be interested in seeing those, just to see the type of impact this

is making on people in our Province and, yes, in terms of government service.

Obviously that is what this is all about, trying to simplify a lot of things

that are going on today in government for the people who have to avail of

government services and regulations.

One thing that I do recall, though, when this was done previously, was that

there was a tendency for them to creep back into the system if you are not

diligent in trying to ensure that those that are removed stay removed.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's allotted time has expired.

MS FOOTE: Just to clue up, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: Leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been agreed to.

MS FOOTE: Just a caution that you might want to stay on top of it to

ensure that they do not creep back into the system, as there is a tendency for

that to happen if we are not diligent.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this House to inform members of how the Province's collection of

original works of arts has been substantially increased and enriched with the

addition of sixty pieces purchased under the 2006 Art Procurement Program. The

works acquired from fifty-four artists include: stained glass, oils, acrylics,

watercolours, tapestries, wood block carving, sculptures etchings, textiles and

mixed-media works. With these recent purchases, Mr. Speaker, the Art Procurement

collection has risen to a total of 2,586 pieces.

These pieces were created by Newfoundland and Labrador artists, people living

right here at home and taking their inspiration from our beautiful Province. The

newly purchased works will be displayed in public buildings throughout the

Province for years to come, bringing attention and recognition to visual arts

and artists of the Province in the long term. These works, Mr. Speaker, can also

be viewed on-line at www.therooms.ca

Mr. Speaker, last year I had the great pleasure of announcing a $125,000

budget for the Art Procurement Program - a $50,000 increase from the previous

budget of $75,000. This investment demonstrates this government's continued

commitment to the local visual artists. Our research shows us that our Art

Procurement Program is one of the strongest and most widely supported in this

country.

The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery manages the submissions and adjudication

process, as well as ongoing support and care for the acquisitions. The art

procurement jury is made up of five regional representatives from the arts

community.

Mr. Speaker, through the Arts Procurement Program we enrich our public spaces

while also shining a well-deserved spotlight on our local artists and their

accomplishments. Not only does the program offer visual artists - emerging and

established - a chance to showcase their work to a wide audience, it also

increases the public's awareness of the great importance of arts and culture

in our daily lives.

I would like to thank all of the artists who submitted their works for

consideration and recognize the contribution they make to our cultural

landscape. Artists and the art they create are the heart and soul of cultural

activity. In Budget 2006, this government firmly established this role in our

future by implementing the first-ever strategic cultural plan, Creative

Newfoundland and Labrador: The Blueprint for Development and Investment in

Culture.

Mr. Speaker, the work of every artist in this Province is a testament to the

rich talent we have in this Province. The Art Procurement Program continues to

contribute to the professional development and economic success of our very

valued artists.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. ANDERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Unfortunately, I

forgot my reading glasses at home today but I paid great attention as you read

your statement.

Minister, it is a good news story. We, too, applaud all the artists in the

Province who make such a huge contribution to our society. We look forward to

another increase in the Budget this year because, if you give another increase,

Minister, it will bring it back up to the amount that the previous Liberal

government had allotted in the years that we put money into this program.

Certainly, Minister, it is a tremendous boost and we, too, want to thank all

of our artists who play such a vital role in making our Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador proud of its heritage and proud of its culture.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On Monday, Mr. Speaker, government announced it would be appointing Mr. Paul

Reynolds as the Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioner of Members'

Interests. Even though this position has been traditionally held and occupied by

impartial and non-partisan individuals, as it still is in every other province

in the country, the Premier appointed an individual who is the past-president of

the provincial Tory Party, a close personal associate with the current PC

election chair, Mr. Ross Reid, and is still an active member of the Virginia

Waters PC District Association.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Why was there no mention of Mr. Reynolds

political ties in his biographical information that you released on Monday?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, based on comments from the Opposition when

we appointed the last Chief Electoral Officer, we felt that information was not

particularly important because, to quote Mr. Kelvin Parsons, the Opposition

House Leader: It is the Premier's prerogative to nominate a person of his and

the Cabinet's choice. To me, politics are irrelevant. To me, if he is

appointed for this job, which he no doubt will be, he parks his politics at the

door. When he goes in to work, he is the Chief Electoral Officer and he is the

Commissioner of our interests and he parks his politics at the door.

Politics was not relevant. It was not relevant when Mr. Chuck Furey was

appointed, and it is not relevant now.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I say to the Premier, politics are relevant in this issue. He is supposed to

be impartial. The Premier did not quote what I said when I stood and faced the

individual sitting in the gallery at the time, and told him I would not be

voting for him and did not vote for him, I say to the Premier.

Mr. Speaker, one of the guiding principles of Elections Newfoundland and

Labrador is that you must be non-partisan. As a matter of fact, ads - and I have

a copy here for you, Premier, if you do not have one - currently being run in The

Telegram and other newspapers around the Province say that enumerators and

returning officers cannot apply if they had been in the service of a political

party.

I ask the Premier: Do you see the irony in appointing a sitting member of the

PC Association to the Chief Electoral Officer's position while lower-ranking

staff working in that office must be non-political and non-politically

affiliated?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Leader of the Opposition: Why didn't

he raise that point in the by-election in Humber Valley when the sister of the

candidate was working as the returning officer and was basically showing up at

polling stations? I didn't hear him mention any impropriety about that then.

It was not an issue then, but he was out there, so it is not an issue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Anyway, irregardless of that, Mr. Paul Reynolds is an

exemplary individual. He has an outstanding record of public service. He was a

former Mayor of Wedgewood Park. He was a councillor in Wedgewood Park. He was a

councillor in the City of St. John's. He served on many volunteer boards. He

has been in the private sector. He has been in the public sector. He is very

capable of doing that job. There is no need for you to disparage his reputation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, the individual to whom the Premier referred from

Humber Valley was appointed to that position many, many, many years ago and she

was not politically aligned, unlike Mr. Reynolds today.

I ask the Premier - he does not need to try to besmirch the character of that

individual in Humber Valley whom he knows was non-politically aligned when she

was appointed to that position.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, the Chief Electoral Officer and the Commissioner

of Members' Interests is not only supposed to be impartial, but he or she must

be perceived to be impartial.

I ask the Premier whether he believes it is appropriate to appoint a

long-time political friend and worker of the PC Party to oversee a general

election. How does this instill confidence and ensure fairness in our democratic

process?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I ask the hon. member opposite if it is

appropriate to appoint some of these people: Mr. Eric Gullage, a former

candidate who was appointed to the Workers' Compensation Review Commission;

Mr. George Saunders, a former candidate and Mr. Grimes' campaign chairman,

appointed to the Regional Appeal Board; Mr. Gerry Glavine; Mr. Norm Whalen,

past-president of the association, appointed to three particular boards; June

Alteen, who ran against me out in Corner Brook. Was it appropriate to appoint

her to any of these boards? Mary O'Brien; Len Stirling; Danny Dumaresque, a

good friend of everybody over on that side over there and now the president of

the party. He couldn't sleep at night before, but now he is a good president

for the party. Paul Dicks - everybody remembers Paul Dicks - Newfoundland and

Labrador Hydro Corporation; Siobhan Coady, EDGE Evaluation Board; Wanda Dawe -

and it goes on and it goes on and it goes on. The nerve of him to get up and

speak from the other side of his mouth.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, none of those individuals were appointed to

positions that were supposed to be politically impartial.

I say it to the Premier, lets talk about some of the ones that he has

appointed in the last three years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. REID: Dean MacDonald, Steve Marshall, Valerie Marshall, Glen Tobin,

Mike Monaghan, Len Simms, Darren King, Joan Cleary, Leon Montgomery, Nada

Borden, just to mention a few, I would say, Mr. Premier.

Mr. Speaker, not only was Mr. Reynolds bragging this morning in The

Telegram about his close ties to the Tory party, but we have been advised by

several people that Mr. Reynolds had made no secret of his dislike for the

Liberal party. These are certainly not the actions of an independent officer of

the House of Assembly. As a matter of fact, he was also quoted, Premier, this

summer on a local golf course as saying that he was not too pleased with you

because he had not been rewarded with a political appointment.

I ask the Premier: Is this appointment an effort to reward a disgruntled

political friend or is it an attempt to subvert the democratic process for your

own gain, or is it a combination of both?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I can tell you something he did not do, he

did not phone up and ask to be appointed as a judge and offer his son up as a

candidate for the Tory party. He did not do that.

Let's go back to when Mr. Furey was appointed, the people who agreed when

we appointed Mr. Furey, the people who agreed with it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Anna Thistle: I believe he will give an unbiased

decision. That is what Anna Thistle said, the member. The House Leader basically

agreed with it totally: It is the Premier's prerogative to nominate a person

if it is the Cabinet's choice. And it goes on. Judy Foote: I believe that he

will give an unbiased decision, every decision he makes.

The person we appointed the last time was a former Cabinet minister, a

Liberal, and all of these people who are now shouting out and disagree with Paul

Reynolds agreed with that position because he was one of them. The biggest

criticism was that we should not put a former political candidate in office and

we did not do that. We put an exemplary gentleman in that office and he will

fulfill his mandate well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, the Premier says he did not put a political person

in that office this time. Where have you been? Where have you been? Read the

newspaper from this morning, I say, where your chosen one indicates his ties to

your party and to you, I say, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Chief Electoral Officer is responsible for the placing of

ballot boxes throughout districts in this Province and the hiring of staff

during an election. It is certainly questionable whether these decisions will be

made in the best interest of all political parties in an equitable manner, and I

will go further to say that officials in the PC Party may have additional

influence in the decision-making process as a result of Mr. Reynold's tight

ties with Ross Reid, the campaign chairman for the provincial Tory campaign.

I ask the Premier: Why would you appoint someone with such close ties to your

campaign manager, Mr. Reid? Is it to influence the process?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: That type of statement is not worthy of a comment. The

answer is no, quite simply.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. REID: I did not think you would have an answer for that one.

Premier, let's see if you can answer this one. Mr. Reynolds will also be

responsible for reviewing all MHA's conflict of interest statements. Every

year each individual in the House of Assembly has to present a statement to the

Commissioner in which he or she outlines how much money they owe, as well as how

much they own and all of their assets.

The taxpayers of this Province, I should say, paid to establish a blind trust

for the Premier - and I think it cost the taxpayers around $35,000 - yet he has

refused to state publicly the name of the trustee overseeing that blind trust to

remove any perception that Mr. Reynolds might be unwilling to release this

information because of political considerations.

I ask the Premier: Will you stand here today and tell us the name of the

individual or individuals who control your blind trust?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, it appears that the hon. gentleman

opposite is trying to impugn that I have done something wrong with regard to the

establishment of a blind trust; that it was inappropriate for me to submit

expenses on a blind trust, which cost me several hundred thousands of dollars,

actually, to set up. I have taken the business interests that I have had and I

put them in the hands of somebody else in order to serve the people of this

Province. I have done it quite willingly. Are you trying to impugn that there is

something wrong with that?

If you are concerned about Mr. Reynolds, I can tell you quite clearly, Mr.

Reynolds is not the blind trustee of my blind trust.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.

MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and

Community Services.

The announced expansion of the Prescription Drug Program was, indeed,

welcomed news for a number of individuals and families dealing with high drug

costs. Although this program enhancement does not fix the entire problem of high

drug costs, it is a step forward. One problem with the announcement, Mr.

Speaker, is the lack of detail on what will be included in the calculation.

Can the minister please provide assurance that the cost of all medications

and essential items, like ostomy and insulin pump supplies that are not covered

by either program but are widely used, would be included at least in the

calculation of the application process?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the member opposite would well know, given the fact that he has been

proclaiming his knowledge of the health industry because of being a pharmacist

for many years, he would know the answer to that question very clearly.

What we announced yesterday, or a couple of days ago, was an enhancement in

our Prescription Drug Program. We said at that time that we were expanding the

program to include many more people; in fact, 14,000 more families.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: And that the program provided for a contribution towards the

drug costs based on your income.

Now, the question that he is asking today here in the House is: What drugs

are actually covered in the program? As I had said during the briefing on this

particular issue - and if the member had an opportunity to attend, some of these

questions would have been answered at that particular time - that clearly this

is not a process where we are looking at adding new drugs to the program. I had

indicated at that time that there is an annual review process. There is a

mechanism in place to review new drugs to be added to the program, and that is a

separate exercise, a separate part of a process. What this does, Mr. Speaker, is

enhances the coverage to many more Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and that is

the basic thrust of this program.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.

MR. BALL: I will remind the minister that my question was not about what

was included. I realize they will not be included. What I asked for was the ones

that are not included, like insulin pump supplies and ostomy supplies. Can they

be included in the calculation, not the benefit list?

As you know, Mr. Speaker, inflation over time can shrink a family's limited

income. That is why I am concerned to see that there is no mention of indexing

in this program to counter inflation. For those families who are on the

threshold of established income levels, a small increase in their pay could bump

them into another category and result in higher drug costs.

Can the minister please indicate that it is the government's intention to

index this important program so that individuals and families can at least keep

pace with inflation and not be negatively impacted?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not sure what the member means when he says, include in the calculation,

because it is pretty simple. It lays it out pretty clearly. We have thresholds

established from zero to $40,000 annually, you pay 5 per cent; a simple

calculation, not a lot of factors to be considered, just two digits. A second

grouping is between $40,000 and $75,000, you will contribute 7.5 per cent; again

a simple calculation, two digits. The third level takes you from $75,000 to

$150,000, and for those people in that income bracket they will pay 10 per cent;

once again a simple calculation, no other factors to be considered.

Straightforward. A pretty simple calculation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.

MR. BALL: Well, I love the idea that it is a simple calculation because

that may answer question three, because it is important to remember that people

will have to wait at least six long months before this program benefits. I have

called for this program to be made retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal

year. The minister has indicated that he is not prepared to make this program

work for all patients until election time.

I ask the minister: Is he at least prepared to commit the necessary resources

so that the turnaround time for processing applications under this program is

within a few weeks rather than the eleven-week delay we now see with the energy

rebate program?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, I do not think the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador mind waiting four or five months to have such a major enhancement to

this program, considering the fact that prior to this, this program was never

improved since 1980. The members opposite sat in government from about 1989

through to 2003 and never made one single improvement in this program.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. WISEMAN: Here we are, Mr. Speaker, in the last three years since we

have been in government we have taken the budget for this program from $97.5

million to this year being $151 million.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, this is the second year in a row that we have

added more people to coverage. This is the third year in a row where we will add

new drugs to the formulary.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: The member opposite stands in this House and complains about

having a program announced today and it takes some time to ramp up, establish

the application process, to make the changes in the software to accommodate it.

I do not think the people of Newfoundland and Labrador mind waiting four or five

months, considering they waited twelve years for the people opposite to make an

improvement in this program.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.

MR. LANGDON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, last year the Town of Stephenville received $600,000 from the

provincial government to cover the shortfall in the town's budget when Abitibi

Price closed the mill in the town.

I ask the minister: Is the provincial government providing the $600,000 grant

to the town for 2007-2008 to balance its budget this year?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are in negotiations with the Town of Stephenville, had

conversations with the Mayor of the Town of Stephenville, and we will certainly

be doing something to alleviate their concerns this year with respect to that

problem.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.

MR. LANGDON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is clear that the Town of Stephenville has suffered because of this

closure and it is understandable that they receive funds from government as they

struggle with the situation, but, Mr. Speaker, there are many other towns that

are struggling because of the lack of constructive economic policy.

I ask the minister: Can these other towns, like Harbour Breton, Fortune,

Marystown, recently Botwood, Bishop's Falls, Grand Falls-Windsor - who had to

take a portion of their budget as a result to keep Abitibi Consolidated in the

Town of Grand Falls-Windsor - can these towns then expect to receive some relief

from government as well?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will just remind the hon. member opposite that at the time of the situation

with the mill in Stephenville, the Town of Stephenville also had a major flood

there at that point in time. They lost over 100 homes that we had to replace. We

put in something like $20 million, as a government, to help the people in

Stephenville and the municipality. They were hit twice with a major catastrophe

in their town, Mr. Speaker. Therefore, we have not had representation from the

municipalities that he mentioned with respect to that particular problem.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.

MR. LANGDON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I understand, as the minister said, when the problem was in Stephenville,

just the same as it was when it was in Badger, that the provincial government

spends a certain amount of money, up to $500,000, and then from $500,000 to $3.2

million, I believe it was, and after that the federal government takes up 100

per cent of the cost. I can understand that.

I want to ask the minister as well: The fact that he is helping the community

of Stephenville, and I asked for the other ones - there are many other small

communities out there - it has come to my understanding and I just want to ask

the minister if he can confirm it, that when we were in government we did the

infrastructure program, and to many of the smaller communities the provincial

government picked up as much as 90 per cent of the small town share of the

infrastructure program. It is now my understanding that the provincial

government will pick up no more than 30 per cent of the share of the smaller

municipalities and many of them cannot avail of improvements and new

infrastructure or construction because of that. I ask the minister: Is that

correct?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Two issues here: One with respect to the infrastructure. There are

municipalities in this Province today, as we speak, that get an 80-20 ratio and

some as high as a 90-10 ratio in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, as

we speak. That really has not changed. We do try, Mr. Speaker, to keep it at

70-30, but depending on the financial situation, the financial evaluation of the

municipalities. If there are emergencies, or whatever the case may be, we would

address that in particular.

With respect to rural municipalities and some of the municipalities that the

hon. member just mentioned, with respect to the plants closing and what have

you, this past two years this government has put somewhere around $20 million

into these communities for work and to help alleviate the problems, Mr. Speaker.

We try to distribute that in a fairly even manner across the Province.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, not long ago I asked the people within the

Department of Municipal Affairs to give me the stats on it and see how it broke

down, and it was just unbelievable how balanced it was between the districts on

that side of the House of Assembly and the districts on this side of the House,

Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My questions today are for the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

The department has stated that 480,000 tons of garbage end up in our

landfills every year. The Auditor General reported for 2004 - and these are the

latest figures that I could find - that we had the lowest waste diversion rate

in Canada. The minister has finally promised a new Waste Management Strategy to

deal with this problem, so my questions for the minister are: How soon can we

expect the new Waste Management Strategy, and will it include annual targets for

waste diversion from landfills and adequate resources Province-wide to bring our

solid waste diversion rate in line with the rest of the country?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BYRNE: Mr. Speaker, the provincial solid Waste Management Strategy is

something that we inherited, as a government, when we took over. The previous

Administration came up with a plan that we endorsed, at that point in time, with

some minor changes. The problem was, at that point in time, Mr. Speaker, they

had allocated no funds in the short term or the long term; $200 million was the

price that they had put on it.

We, as a government, had worked out a deal with the Newfoundland and Labrador

Federation of Municipalities with respect to the gas tax. We will be

implementing that. As we speak, there are meetings with the Northeast Avalon

Joint Council today, I think, with respect to waste management. I had meetings

last week with the Humber Valley Joint Council on waste management a few weeks

ago, and the program now, Mr. Speaker, is that we can move forward. It was only

last week that it came to Cabinet for the final approval. We have had $5 million

in the Budget this year for it under Municipal Capital Works, and there is going

to be upwards of $20 million from the gas tax in the next year or two years. So,

Mr. Speaker, we are actively pursuing that.

With respect to closing out dump sites or waste sites, whatever the case may

be, we have an overall strategy to close out the sites and bring in a number of

sites, from 250 down to approximately 3 major sites with some transfer stations

around the Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, I did not get a direct answer to my question. I

am presuming that the two departments are going to be working together, since my

question was for the Minister of Environment and it was the Minister of

Municipal Affairs who answered.

I asked specifically around targets. Are the two departments looking at

annual targets? How are we going to get to the 50 per cent reduction that we

have been told the government wants to have happen?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BYRNE: Mr. Speaker, the Waste Diversion Strategy that we have, yes,

there is a target of 50 per cent. There are areas in the Province now - we have

Eastern, Western, Central and Labrador - whereby the plan that is in place will

have varying stages of readiness. The overall target is 50 per cent diversion,

make no mistake about that, and it will give us a longer lifespan for the waste

sites that we are contemplating putting in place.

The government will be again subsidizing the sites themselves. The waste

diversion is a strategy that we will be working with the Department of

Environment and Conservation on, working hand in hand to implement the

Provincial Waste Management Strategy. To say any more than that, I do not know

what more you would be expecting other than that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My questions are for the Minister of Transportation and Works.

The minister continues to announce the money for hardtopping' of the

Trans-Labrador Highway, telling people, going back as early as six months ago,

he had a signed deal in front of him, on his desk, with the federal government.

Then, like a broken record again just a few weeks ago the minister announced -

for the fourth time, I think, this government, in the last three years - that a

deal is now reached and they will proceed. Yet, the federal Member of Parliament

in the Cabinet for Newfoundland and Labrador has said that there is no deal

signed.

As recent as Friday the Premier was noted in the news as saying that without

a deal, if the Province moves forward, the federal government has said they are

on their own.

I would like to ask the minister today, Mr. Speaker: What is the real story?

Will your government be moving forward with the paving of the Trans-Labrador

Highway, and is there a deal with the federal government?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and

Labrador Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HICKEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just to correct the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, I never, ever

said - she said, I never said - that we had a signed deal. What we had from the

federal government, Mr. Speaker, was a proposal, which we accepted, of $10

million from Minister Cannon and Minister Hearn. That was in November of last

year.

Mr. Speaker, I went through the correspondence there just yesterday. We have

had seventeen engagements with the federal government, and that includes my

predecessors, in this government since we have been.... This is the number one

project for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The sad part of all of this, Mr. Speaker, is that just recently in a meeting

in which my deputy minister spoke with the deputy minister from the Department

of Transport Canada we were informed, after Minister Hearn had made a $175

million infrastructure announcement in the Province, of which he had included

the Trans-Labrador Highway, we find out in a meeting of the officials that the

deputy minister of Transport Canada said he really did not care what the

regional minister had announced, but he had also stated that we could not -

because obviously we would like to start this, this June - the deputy minister

has stated that it will take ten to twelve weeks before the agreements are

signed. Further, Mr. Speaker, he said that Treasury Board and the Cabinet had

not approved the funding up to this particular point in time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. HICKEY: That is the reality of the day, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the minister that it was him, in

a telephone conversation with an individual in Labrador City, who ended up in

the local papers in Labrador, quoting him as saying he had a signed deal in

front of him. I just remind him of that, Mr. Speaker. He has a short memory;

short on facts, for sure.

Mr. Speaker, communications are so poor now between the Province and the

federal government they cannot even get clarification on a public announcement.

On March 22 in the House of Assembly you committed, in Hansard, Minister -

you can read it - that the provincial government would proceed with or without

the feds on the Trans-Labrador Highway.

I ask you today: Do you stand by that commitment, and will the Trans-Labrador

Highway start this spring?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and

Labrador Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HICKEY: Mr. Speaker, let me say to the hon. Member for Cartwright-L'Anse

au Clair who just, by the way, received $1.5 million for roads upgrading in her

district last week -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HICKEY: Mr. Speaker, the same member who just got the ferry Apollo

extended on a number of occasions this past year -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HICKEY: Mr. Speaker, let me say without question that this Premier,

this government, this minister - the Trans-Labrador Highway is the number one

infrastructure going forward in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and

we will start this highway this summer and she will have the pleasure to come in

to the announcement. I will ensure the member - she did not come to the Northern

Strategic Plan last week when the good money was announced for Labrador, but I

will commend the Member for Torngat Mountains. He was there - and the Premier

recognized him - and was very glad of the money that has been spent in Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, this government will put our record against anything that

government over there ever did when they were (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time allocated for Question Period has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Before we proceed with other matters and routine proceedings, the Chair would

like to rule on a point of privilege raised by the Member for Grand Bank on

March 26, 2007. Specifically, reference was made to the fact that the Premier,

in responding to a question on March 23, quoted from a letter from Mr. Jake

Thornhill, Chair of the Concerned Citizen's Committee of Fortune.

Because of its nature, a true question of privilege arises very infrequently

in Parliament. As noted in Parliamentary Privilege in Canada (2 nd

Edition) by Joseph Maingot, on page 14, and I quote, "To constitute

"privilege" generally there must be some improper obstruction to the

Member in performing his (or her) parliamentary work in either a direct or

constructive way, as opposed to mere expression of public opinion or of

criticisms of the activities of the Members...".

Again, to quote Maingot, page 223, "A dispute between two Members about

questions of fact said in debate does not constitute a valid question of

privilege...". The same point is made in Beauchesne's 6 th

Edition of Parliamentary Rules & Forms ,

Article 31, page 13.

Further on page 224, Maingot states that, in circumstances where the

government is alleged to have provided information only to its supporters, the

matter "...may well amount to a grievance against the government, but in

the absence of any order in the House forbidding such activity, there is no

personal or corporate privilege that has been breached in the doing, and neither

does it constitute contempt of the House in the "privilege"

sense."

Thus, while the matter raised by the Member for Grand Bank may cause her some

concern and she is free in a parliamentary sense to communicate her viewpoint,

the actions and commentary of the Premier in the House on Friday, March 23, does

not constitute a prima facie case for a point of privilege.

The Chair wishes to further rule on a point of - the Chair will have to defer

the ruling. I do believe that the Clerk has a copy.

I wish to rule on a Point of Order raised by the Government House Leader on

March 26, 2007. The Point of Order referenced an exchange at the beginning of

Question Period between the Opposition House Leader and the Premier.

Specifically, the Opposition House Leader referenced an affidavit signed by the

Premier and forwarded to the Auditor General with regard to the fibre optic

deal. In the exchange, the Opposition House Leader stated, "This affidavit

appears deliberately evasive...".

The Government House Leader, in raising the Point of Order questions the use

of the words deliberately evasive in the context of describing an action of the

Premier and it was his view the comments of the Opposition House Leader,

"...accuses and imputes to an hon. member that the member is deliberately

misleading or not being forthcoming with the House in a response."

I have reviewed the context of the comments and I thank both the Government

House Leader and the Opposition House Leader for their presentation on the Point

of Order. The Chair wishes to reference the advice in Marleau and Montpetit,

chapter 13, pages 525-527, "The codification of unparliamentary language

has proven impractical as it is in the context in which words or phrases are

used that the Chair must consider when deciding whether or not they should be

withdrawn."

I am satisfied that the words used by the Opposition House Leader,

particularly in the context of an affidavit, are unparliamentary and I ask the

Opposition House Leader to withdraw them.

The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I accept your ruling and will do the honourable thing and withdraw my remark.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motions.

Answers to Questions for Which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Kilbride.

MR. DINN: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from the

injured workers and Injured Workers Association of Newfoundland. These people

want our government to address the hardship and poverty among its members

created by the legislation referred to as the Workplace Health, Safety and

Compensation Commission Act, the offsetting pension clause in that act.

During my campaigning this past winter, when I ran in the by-election in

Kilbride district, I had the occasion to talk to several injured workers. I

spoke to them individually about their own circumstances, but there was one case

in particular. At the end of January I knocked on a door in my district and a

young fellow answered the door. His mother was inside and they wanted me to come

in. When I went in they wanted me to wait a few minutes so I could talk to the

father, the husband in the family. I waited ten or fifteen minutes for the

gentleman to get out and be ready to talk to me. It took him that long to be

able to get himself out of bed. When he came out and spoke to me, the man was

pretty well in pain the whole time, but what I thought was most outstanding, the

thing that stands out in my memory more than anything else, is the fact that he

told me his financial circumstances. He said that when his Canada Pension and

what he was getting from workers' compensation were put together, he was

getting $15 a month from workers' compensation and that he was basically

living in poverty. Now this government has done a lot of good things, and I

think they can do an awful lot of more good things. I would ask that this

government check into that situation. Have a good investigative inquiry into

that so we can see different circumstances that are there.

I also met with a delegation from the Injured Workers Association and

speaking to them, they told me that they are nine years, I think, at this and

their dedication and sincerity led me to believe that this is not something that

is a fly-by-night or something that is not very serious because I think it is.

What I would ask our government and our minister responsible - and I am sure he

will do this - is to have a good look at this situation and see if we can do

something to rectify that in some way.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: It being 2:59 p.m. - normally, we would go to Private

Members' Day at 3:00 o'clock automatically. The Chair will not call for

further Petitions, there would not be time to complete. Unless there is

agreement, the Chair will call for Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

Private Members' Day

MR. SPEAKER: In accordance with Orders of the Day, it being Wednesday, I

do believe we have a private member's resolution being presented by the hon.

the Member for Grand Bank.

The hon. the Member for Grand Bank District.

MS FOOTE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand today to speak to my private member's motion on the crisis in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador. I do this with some reservation, Mr. Speaker, only

because the situation that rural communities find themselves in, in our Province

today, is sad. It is a sad situation when I look at what has happened in the

last couple of days - actually, last year as well - when we talk about a job

fair. The heading in the paper, of course, today said: Alberta Bound. That is

indeed a sad situation. In fact, many of these people are lining up to find work

in Alberta and it is not just in the oil industry any more. Now, of course, we

have people looking for jobs in the health care sector. We have people looking

for jobs in the call centres out there. A lot of these people - I would suggest

the majority of these people - are, in fact, from rural Newfoundland and

Labrador. That is what is so sad about this, because a lot of these individuals

have never before left their communities either to travel or to look for work.

So, for many of them it is actually their first time away from not only their

community but away from Newfoundland and Labrador.

When we talk about a crisis situation, when you end up with out-migration to

the extent that we are seeing today from our rural communities then yes, indeed,

we are facing a crisis situation in rural Newfoundland and Labrador and, in

fact, in some of the urban areas as well. At this point in time, the crisis that

I see whenever I visit a community in rural parts of our Province, they are, in

fact, in crisis. You can see that because a lot of our councils are having a lot

of difficulty collecting taxes; and, of course, it is those taxes that go to

pave roads and provide other services in this communities.

When I drive through a lot of the communities, and I look at Fortune in

particular, the roads have not been done in ages. Of course, we know that the

plant in Fortune has been closed now for two years, so when a council there

tries to collect taxes they are met with blank stares from people who are

saying: I don't even have enough money to feed my family. I don't have

enough money to do any of the things that I am supposed to do as the head of the

household or as parents for our children.

It is a difficult situation, particularly in a place like Fortune where the

plant closed down two years ago and today they really have no indication of what

the future has in store for them.

It is not just Fortune. I singled out Fortune because that is where the plant

is located, but in reality there are at least seven other communities that

depend on Fortune and the plant in Fortune for employment. Look at Lord's

Cove. Look at Lamaline. Look at Point May. Look at any of those communities.

Even some of our people in Grand Bank work at the plant in Fortune. So, when I

say they are in a crisis situation, I know what I am talking about because I

live it with them every day. The calls that come into my office, and come into

the offices of my colleagues, most, I guess - all of us who represent rural

communities - the calls that we get tell us the true story, and it is not the

story that was presented in the Throne Speech yesterday.

That is not reality, and as much as you try to paint a rosy picture of what

is going on in this Province, you are not living in the real world. I would ask

the government to be realistic, to wake up and recognize and realize that our

Province is, in fact, in a dire circumstance, particularly the rural parts of

our Province.

Job fairs - I mean, people who want to go away to work should be allowed to

go away to work, and we should encourage them to do that, but people who are

being forced to leave this Province in search of employment, that is a different

story. In a lot of cases you will find the head of the household, the father,

will have to go away and leave the mother behind, if the mother is not working,

and the children. You know what happens in a lot of these cases? He goes away,

or if the mother is the head of the household she goes away, and they miss so

many important occasions in the lives of their children.

It is a sad situation when we see what is happening to the fabric of the

family in Newfoundland and Labrador today. Again I say in rural Newfoundland in

particular because again the majority of those who are signing up at these job

fairs are, in fact, from rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Now, I know the Premier says from time to time: Well, you know, they will

come back. I think he calls them homing pigeons, and his good friend Dean

MacDonald, I think, recently referred to them as the same thing when he spoke to

the Chamber of Commerce in Conception Bay South.

I find that insulting, and I am sure they find it insulting, to be referred

to as homing pigeons. Oh, they will go away and they will come back - kind of

nonchalant, you know. Oh, no big deal here. They will go away and find work in

Alberta, or they will find work in P.E.I., or they will find work in British

Columbia, but they will come back when the work is here.

Well, you know, that is not true. That is not true. How many times do you

have to go away, leave your family, before you realize: I would much rather have

my family with me. I would much rather have my children grow up around their

parents.

That is what is happening now in places like Fortune. It is what is happening

in places like Marystown. It is what is happening in places in every rural part

of Newfoundland and Labrador, and it is not just parents and their children. Now

we have the grandparents going as well.

So, we have rural communities that are disappearing, and disappearing because

people have no choice. They have no choice but to leave and go look for work

elsewhere if they are going to provide for their families.

Now, I know there has been some project funding, and I know there has been

some retraining, and I know the federal government prefers to retrain, but

retrain for what? There are no job opportunities today in many of our rural

communities, so what are they retraining for? Retraining to go to Alberta?

That is not what we are all about in Newfoundland and Labrador. We need to be

able to find employment here. We need to have a government that recognizes that

we are not homing pigeons. We need a government that acknowledges there is a

serious situation in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, and I do not see that from

this government and I certainly did not see that or recognize that in yesterday's

Throne Speech. In fact, I wondered what world the government is living in. It

sounds like a wonderland, not Newfoundland and Labrador. That is why I repeat

again that this government has failed in its responsibility to do everything it

can to help create employment opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Now, I am not one who believes that government has a responsibility to create

jobs. I do not believe that for a minute, but I do believe that government has a

responsibility to put in place policies, programs, and rules and regulations

that will help create jobs in our Province, that will ensure that companies are

attracted to our Province, that they will want to invest in Newfoundland and

Labrador. That is why I have great difficulty with a government who has put up a

sign that you are closed for business. Well, it is time to take down that sign.

It is time to take down that sign.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair notices there are a great number of conversations going on. I ask

members if they could keep their words and their volume somewhat under control

and the Chair would be able to hear the hon. the Member for Grand Bank with

greater clarity.

Thank you for your co-operation.

The Chair recognizes the Member for Grand Bank.

MS FOOTE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not sure how interested the individuals opposite are in this particular

private member's motion, but I can tell you that the people in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador, and many of the people who are watching today to hear

what you have to say are very interested, and are really under a great deal of

hardship and want to know that those of us who are elected to represent them are

doing the best that we possibly can to make things a little easier for them.

I do appreciate, Mr. Speaker, that you brought to the attention of the

members opposite the need to listen and to hopefully stand when you have an

opportunity and speak to the people who are hurting today, particularly in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador.

People are having to move away. Again, I say if it is by choice then more

power to them, but when it is not by choice, when they are being forced to move

in order to provide for their families, then that is difficult. That is why I

refer to a crisis in rural Newfoundland and Labrador when they go, when their

families follow them and houses get barred up, stores close, there are not

enough people, in fact, to buy the goods and avail of the services that are

provided by whatever agency or organization or store or school that exists in

that particular community. When that happens communities die, and we are seeing

it every day.

We have a government here who has been in power now for three-and-a-half

years, six months to go before a fall election. The Premier campaigned, along

with his candidates in the last provincial election, and suggested and said, in

fact, that they had a strategy to revitalize rural Newfoundland and Labrador, a

strategy to turn things around, because people in rural Newfoundland and

Labrador were thinking that maybe things could get better; maybe I will not have

to go away. Well, it is clear today that there was no strategy. There was no

vision. There was no plan. There was not Plan A. What did we hear yesterday? Now

there is a Plan B. It is a conference that is going to take place entitled: A

Roadmap for 2020.

Well, I can tell you, based on the people I have talked to, and the

communities that I have visited, there will not be many people around in 2020 to

take advantage of whatever you are going to come up with based on that

conference.

So, here we are. Obviously, there was no strategy. Obviously, there was no

plan. Obviously, no vision, and six months out you are trying to convince people

that you do have a plan, that you do have a vision. People are not fooled that

easily, or I would like to think they are not. They need help now. They needed

it a year ago. In my district they needed it two years ago, and to suggest that

you are going to put a road map in place to get people through, and a road map,

a plan, to take them up to 2020, does very little for those who are finding it

hard today to make ends meet.

You know, my hat goes off to the people in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Whether you are on the Burin Peninsula, the Connaigre Peninsula, the Northern

Peninsula, along the South Coast, wherever you are, they have hung in there,

some of them, particularly families who watch their husbands or their wives

leave, and they have hung in there because they want to stay in the homes they

built. They want to remain in the communities they have helped build, and they

are very determined, hard-working individuals.

It is a tragedy when they are not seeing the government, that many of them

helped elect, do anything, put any kind of policy or program in place, to help

them deal with the dire circumstances in which they find themselves.

They do not want to be Alberta bound. They do not want to be B.C. bound. They

do not want to be P.E.I. bound. They want to live in the Province that they

helped to build, the Province they love, the Province where they have worked so

hard to make a living and to raise their families.

When I hear the federal government talk about retraining, I have to ask the

question: Retraining for what? I know some of these fisherpeople who are being

so-called retrained, but what they need is an early retirement package. They

need someone to acknowledge that they worked year in, year out, in one of the

most demanding industries in the world, and that is the fishery. They need

someone to acknowledge that it is time that they were allowed to retire with

dignity. They need someone to respect what they have done all of these years to

help this Province make headway. An early retirement package is not too much to

ask. They are asking this government to take the $30 million that it says it has

set aside, to take that money and spend it on an early retirement package.

For the government to look up and say: Well, no, we are not going to let the

federal government off the hook. We are not going to let the federal government

off the hook, so we are not going to put our money into helping you. We are not

going to do anything about an early retirement package until the federal

government comes to the table.

Well, with the relationship that we see today between the federal and

provincial governments, you and I know that will never happen. My fear is that

the provincial government is using that as a way not to invest that money in a

program that is so badly needed.

So, why don't you acknowledge the difficult circumstances that many of our

people are finding themselves in, and put in place an early retirement program

so that they do not have to work until they are sixty-five? People who have

stood, day in, day out, on concrete floors in fish plants, people who have gone

to sea, people who are looking to the government to acknowledge that at this

stage of their life they would like to be able to retire - and that would be an

important component of restructuring the fishery.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair advises the hon. member that the allocated time for her

introductory comments has expired.

MS FOOTE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will have time to clue up at the end of it.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise this afternoon to speak to this motion,

actually, this private member's resolution. I say it is a pleasure to rise to

speak to this resolution because it gives us an opportunity to set the record

straight on what this government has done over the past three-and-a-half years

since we took over government back on November 5, I guess it was, 2003, and to

put it in perspective against what was here prior to us walking into government

on November 5, 2003.

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member opposite, the hon. Member for Grand Bank, and

her colleagues certainly have every right and are certainly correct sometimes

when they talk about the problems, the challenges, the situation in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador. Mr. Speaker, they could just as easily talk about the

problems, the situation and the challenges in any other rural part of our

country, rural part of our continent, and rural part of our world. Mr. Speaker,

I suppose you could probably find the same kind of problems in rural China as

you would find in rural Newfoundland and Labrador with out-migration, people

moving to urban centres, people moving from one province to another province for

better opportunities and what have you. That is what is happening in

Newfoundland and Labrador, just as it is happening in rural parts of the rest of

our country.

Mr. Speaker, our concern is not what is happening in rural parts of Alberta

or rural parts of Ontario where out-migration is a problem as well. Our concern,

of course, and so it should be, is what is happening in rural Newfoundland and

Labrador and what is the most appropriate response to the out-migration that has

plagued this Province probably since time immemorial, but certainly since the

early 1990s in a more serious and substantial way.

The member opposite in her resolution says that the House of Assembly

condemned government on its failure to deliver any comprehensive actions to deal

with the crisis situation in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. Mr. Speaker, has

she been asleep for the last three-and-a-half years? Did she miss the $3.5

million response to Arnold's Cove two-and-a-half years ago? Did she miss the

$10 million response to Cooke Aquaculture on the Connaigre Peninsula about six

months ago? Did she miss the $20 million-odd response to Stephenville when they

faced their flood conditions? Did she miss the million and millions - I can't

even remember the number now. What was it, $150 million?

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. TAYLOR: One hundred-and-fifty million dollars we talked about for

Stephenville in order to try and keep Abitibi open, which they walked away from.

That wasn't the government that walked away, Mr. Speaker, that was the company

that walked away.

Where was she, Mr. Speaker? Did she miss the Aquaculture Working Capital Loan

Guarantee Initiative that we brought in about two-and-a-half years ago to get

Natures Sea Farms underway, amongst others, to do other things as well - but to

get Natures Sea Farms in operation on the South Coast after North Atlantic Sea

Farms went into receivership? Did she miss that? Did she miss what happened, the

announcement back last fall when Cooke Aquaculture came in here and announced

200 direct jobs on the Connaigre Peninsula or Bay d'Espoir and Poole's Cove

area? I do not know, Mr. Speaker, but they must have missed all of this because

I certainly did not miss it.

I know we have a lot of problems and a lot of challenges in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador, and I know that there are a lot of people leaving

rural Newfoundland and Labrador to go to urban areas within the Province and

areas outside of the Province, but every one of them are not leaving because

they have to, I can guarantee you that. The vast majority of people that I am

aware of last year in my area, the people who I know personally who left, did

not leave because they had to. They left well-paying jobs at the hospital in St.

Anthony. A good friend of mine left a business on the Northern Peninsula with

six people employed and had all the toys that I could ever hope to have, had a

very good business, had a beautiful home, but he decided to close it up, sell it

to his brother and go to Alberta because that is where his buddies are. That is

why he went, because there is big money up there to be made. He did not go

because he was not making good money in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I heard the Leader of the Opposition yesterday talking about Augustine

Rumbolt. I know Augustine Rumbolt as well as anybody. Next to the Member for St.

Barbe, I know Augustine Rumbolt probably better than anybody else in this House.

I have known her for a lot of years. I can tell you, Augustine Rumbolt - even

though she said the Premier drove her out of Newfoundland when she was on the

radio last fall. Well, I tell you, Augustine Rumbolt did not leave the day that

she did the interview. Augustine Rumbolt had to wait to get her layoff from the

Department of Transportation and Works before she could go. She worked for us

for about six months last year, as she has done for the last three years since

we got in government. Now, I do not know if she worked with them before that,

when they were in government, but I can assure you she worked for three years

with us with the surveyors on Conche Road. She had twenty-two weeks of work last

year, if I am not mistaken. She did not leave because she had to leave, she left

because she wanted to go. For anybody to suggest anything differently is

completely misleading, including for Augustine to be saying it.

We did not hear her on shouting about digging up the road in Plum Point for

the last couple of years. Why? Well, the last time I checked, the plant in Black

Duck Cove was back in operation. The plant that was the cause, the root of

Augustine's discontent, has been reopened. The plant is working very well

under a different management. The people are getting as much employment as in

any other shrimp plant in Newfoundland and Labrador. That is why you do not hear

Augustine talking about digging up the road anymore because she does not need to

dig up the road to stop the shrimp trucks from coming off the Peninsula because

the four plants on the Peninsula have been doing very well, with the exception

of last year when Daley's went into receivership and closed down Anchor Point.

Well, I am not sure that any of us can stop receiverships from happening, but,

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that they will be back in operation this year and they

will have as good a season as they have ever had.

What have we done since we came into government? When we came into government

- as I recall, the total budget for economic development in the government of

the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, the government of our hon.

colleagues opposite, I think it was somewhere in the order of $2 million.

MS DUNDERDALE: Two point six million.

MR. TAYLOR: Two point six million, my colleague tells me, who was the

Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development for a number of years, so

for sure she knows.

What do we have there now? Because we did not do anything, according to the

Member for Grand Bank. Now that is a completely different message than the one

you get when you talk to people engaged in rural economic development. That is a

completely different message from the one that you hear from people in the

business community who tell us that the programs we have in government right now

are some of the best that we have ever had in the history of the Province. That

is the message that we get from business. That is the message that we get from

people in rural economic development. Why do they say it? Why? Because we

brought in an aquaculture working capital loan guarantee initiative. We brought

in an aquaculture capital investment program worth $10 million. We brought in a

regional sectorial diversification fund, $5 million annually. We brought in a

small and medium-sized enterprise fund that sits at $18 million now. We brought

in a commercial cod aquaculture demonstration farm project funded at $500,000

annually, Mr. Speaker. That is what we have done on a program front for economic

development in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Now, let me tell you where some of that money went.

AN HON. MEMBER: Not on Water Street.

MR. TAYLOR: No, it never went on Water Street, I can guarantee you that.

None of it, not a cent went on Water Street, I can tell you. The Member for

Grand Bank, she knows it because she was there with me when I announced it. Two

hundred-and-fifty thousand went to the Grand Bank Heritage Society right in her

own district, right in her home community, I believe, for the construction of a

provincial mariner's memorial; $20,000 to the College of the North Atlantic

Burin Campus to support research on the use of ocean wave technology; $984,000

to the Bay St. George college for the Campus of the North Atlantic in

Stephenville to establish a training capacity and film a video production in

para-medicine; $167,366, approximately, to the Hawke's Bay town council to

assist with the construction of a salmon

interpretation centre at the Torrent

River Fishway. Mr. Speaker, next week we will be announcing a little bit more

money on that - $154,059 to the town of Roddickton to develop a new natural

heritage and resource centre; $132,332 to the - I am not sure if I am going to

pronounce this right, I apologize to the Member for Torngat - Torngasok Cultural

Centre to assist with the restoration and stabilization of the Moravian Mission

building and historic complex at the Hebron national historic site.

Mr. Speaker, that is a long ways from a government doing nothing. What you

want to do is try to find out where the $2.6 million was spent when they were in

government because we are spending somewhere in the order, I would suggest, of

around ten times that annually on economic development in Newfoundland and

Labrador right now. Now, we did not do it the first year we were in government.

No, our financial situation did not allow us to, but we started down the road of

putting the right tools in place and the right funding mechanisms in place to go

there. When we recognized the potential in various regions and sectors of our

economy, we put the programs in place and we funded them, Mr. Speaker; and it

made no difference.

I hear the Mayor of Port aux Basques, and I am sure the member for that

region will probably bring it up when he speaks later today, talking about a

company who was interested, supposedly, in coming to Port aux Basques recently,

and blamed us for not getting the EDGE approval done. They never did provide us

with the information that was required, even when they were told that they were

going to be approved if they gave us the information. We met with them on

February 24 and told them that. He did make a suggestion that maybe if their

member was a different colour that they might have been treated differently and

might have been dealt with more expeditiously.

Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that the Member for Burgeo & LaPoile - he

did not treat me that way when he was in government, I can tell you that,

because I remember a couple of times I went to him and we were jammed up pretty

bad on the Northern Peninsula at the time. I remember that he provided funding

to a couple of initiatives in our area, as he should, because it was required. I

can guarantee you that this government does not work that way either. If we did,

the tens of millions of dollars that have gone into aquaculture on the South

Coast in the last little while would not have gone there, because I do not

recall - there was a time when the member for that area was blue, but he is not

blue right now; he is red.

So, Mr. Speaker, people need not make allegations of this government treating

people unfairly because of their political strip. This government puts money and

spends money and invests money in areas where it is justified to do so, and we

will continue to do so in the future, regardless of the political strip of a

district.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, I have to go on and talk about a few more

initiatives that we have funded: a $250,000 loan to support iceberg water

bottling in St. Anthony; $87,000 for cultural stone and brick manufacturing in

Centreville; a $45,000 loan to Labrador Envirotech of Happy Valley-Goose Bay to

implement a process to purify industrial waste water; $14,000 to Fab-Tech

Industries Inc. in Glovertown; $34,000 to D&A Enterprises in Bishop's

Falls; a $150,000 loan to the Gateway of the North RV park in Deer Lake; a

$250,000 loan to Holson Forest Products Ltd. of Roddickton; a $50,000 loan to

Nova Fish Farms Inc. of St. Alban's. Mr. Speaker, I could go on. There is a

long, long list of it. There are press releases just about every week on various

funding initiatives.

You talk about job fairs. I was just informed by my colleague, the Minister

of Education, in May there will be two job fairs, two education job fairs, here

in the Province where the provincial government this year will be hiring 300

teachers.

Mr. Speaker, yes, there are people leaving Newfoundland and Labrador and

going to Alberta, and going to the Yukon, and going to B.C., and going to

Ontario, and going to Florida and wherever else they are going for various

reasons. Some of them have to go. I know a number of people in my district who

go every year to the Annapolis Valley working on farms. Mr. Speaker, I hope

there will be a day when they will not have to go.

Mr. Speaker, the groundwork is what we have been trying to lay for the last

three-and-a-half years. We have made some very good investments, and we are

continuing to make some very good investments, and we will make more investments

as we become aware of them, Mr. Speaker.

You know, you would think, from listening to the member opposite talking

about work, about investments - let's talk about the Roads Program, for

example. Where do people think the roads money is being spent in Newfoundland

and Labrador? The provincial roads budget is like Ivory Soap; 99.44 per cent of

it gets spent outside of St. John's. It is a rural expenditure.

Where have we been building schools? L'Anse-au-Loup, Mobile, Port Saunders.

I am not sure, there are more than that. Anyway, I am just trying to think of

them now. Mr. Speaker, there is not a whole lot of school construction in St.

John's, I can guarantee you that. The vast majority of the money on

infrastructure and the vast majority of the economic development money spent by

this government is spent in rural Newfoundland and Labrador and it far, far, far

exceeds anything that was done by the previous Administration during their term

in office.

Mr. Speaker, we can talk about economic development for a long time, and

reference a whole lot of initiatives that we funded over the past few years. I

am not sure if I said this one or not, but I will just carry on with a few more:

$122,768 from the Regional Sectoral Diversification Fund and Business Market

Development Program in Western Newfoundland's tourism industry. We invested

$100,000 from the Regional Sectoral Diversification Fund and the Small and

Medium-sized Enterprise Fund for tourism development in Central Newfoundland. We

invested $50,000 from the Innovation Program, the College of the North Atlantic,

to establish a centre for Northern Peninsula diversification in St. Anthony;

$101,000 for the King's Point whale pavilion and exhibit; $89,000 for the Town

of Triton for their Great Whale Coast branding initiative; $29,000 from the

Regional Sectoral Diversification Fund to assist groups grow regional economies

in St. Mary's Bay Centre, Fortune East, Bay St. George. There have been

millions and millions of dollars over the past three years put into forestry

road upgrades and development; $75,000 to the Mary's Harbour Town Council for

the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, the Mary's Harbour Town Council,

for major improvements to their ferry site, servicing Battle Harbour, as I

recall; $18,000 to the Labrador Straits Historical Society for a walking trail

system.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

I remind the hon. Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development that

his time for speaking has expired.

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If I could have a minute to clue up?

MR. SPEAKER: Does the hon. member have leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. member, by leave.

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I will just say this in closing. Over the past three-and-a-half

years the amount of money that is put into rural economic development by this

government far exceeds anything that has been put into rural economic

development in the past twenty years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Far exceeds, on an annual basis, Mr. Speaker.

As I said, Mr. Speaker, when we came into government there was a total of

$2.6 million available for regional economic development and rural development

in the government of the people who sit across the floor right now. Right now,

Mr. Speaker, there is in excess of $20 million available; $5 million for grants;

$18 million for loans, there is $10 million gone into aquaculture. There is a

vast array of funding available on a loan guarantee initiative for aquaculture.

There are millions put into road construction. Just to speak about that, the

provincial roads budget right now is three times what it was when we took over

government in 2003.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Three times as high, Mr. Speaker.

When people get up - I do not mind them criticizing us in government. I do

not mind pointing out that there are problems in Fortune. They are absolutely

right, but the problems in Fortune and the problems in Harbour Breton, and

places like that, Mr. Speaker, maybe they would not be there today if the people

across the floor had made the appropriate investments in aquaculture and

economic development initiatives when they were in government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Instead, Mr. Speaker, we have had to do it since we got

there, and the fruits of our labour are starting to show in places like that.

You can certainly see the difference on the Connaigre Peninsula as a result of

the work of this government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, in conclusion I will say this. While they say -

about the Northern Peninsula, yes, there are lots of challenges on the Northern

Peninsula, but the person who hopes to be their candidate in the next election,

the Mayor of St. Anthony, has been in The Northern Pen on a number of

occasions recently, and what has he said? Things have never been better in St.

Anthony.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.

MR. LANGDON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to have a few words as well on the private member's motion

that was brought forward by the Member for Grand Bank.

I want to begin by saying, I guess like the Leader of the NDP did yesterday,

the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi. Her comments, if I can paraphrase it,

were something like this: When two people look at the same situation, or look at

what is being presented, they very often come to very different conclusions and

see things differently. I guess this is the whole idea when you have a debate

and when you speak on a topic that is in front of you.

It would be remiss of me not to say, as the minister of rural development - I

do not have the name right but he knows who I am speaking about, the Member for

The Straits & White Bay - that there is good potential for aquaculture on

the Connaigre Peninsula. There is no doubt about that, and it is the right thing

for government to invest in an area.

I look at the Southwest Coast of the Connaigre Peninsula, which I happen to

represent, it is ideally located for aquaculture. We are no different than, in a

sense, to invest there in the Connaigre Peninsula than the Province of Alberta

does in its oil sands. We have the best water areas for aquaculture in

Newfoundland and Labrador for fin fish, and government should invest. I look

forward to the day when there will be many, many more millions of dollars

invested in that area to create more jobs than there are right now. I recognize

that, as we speak, there are cages that are being built in the expansion of the

aquaculture industry, but we always do not find that - in that particular

industry that is there now, it is not going to employ every person who is on the

Connaigre Peninsula, I recognize that.

Getting back to some of the comments that the minister made as well. You

know, we sat in government for a number of years. I think it was six or seven

years that I was part of government. I was a member of the party, but for six

years Cabinet. I recognize that as a part of Cabinet - I was not there

originally when it happened, but the Hibernia project, the Terra Nova project,

the White Rose project and the Voisey's Bay project are all projects that were

delivered by the previous Administration. Now as these people, as a government,

are in power at this particular time, they are reaping the benefits from that.

The millions and billions of dollars that they have to do schools and education

and health and so on, came from the previous Administration projects. You can

play politics with it if you like. I do not normally do that in the House. I try

to present what I think is a good balanced debate on the subject when it is

brought forward. These are the four or five projects that I have lined out. What

are the ones that have been developed since the present government has been in

Administration?

We see that the Hebron-Ben Nevis is not going ahead. We see that Hibernia

South is not going ahead, and it is because of a breakdown in negotiations.

There can be all kinds of reasons why it is not going ahead. Well, it is not

going ahead and it is hurting people not only in St. John's and the Northeast

Avalon, but it is hurting people in the rural communities as well. There are

many, many communities in the rural parts of this Province that are in dire

situations. All of us who represent rural parts of the Province, even though we

come from different political stripes, we come from different backgrounds, has

to recognize the fact that this so.

I would be remise also if I didn't thank the Minister of Transportation and

Works for a million dollars of road work in the district that I represent. I

appreciate that on behalf of the people who I represent. You are not giving it

to me, you are giving it to them. They sent me here.

You know, in 2007 and 2008 a million dollars in road work doesn't go as far

as it did ten years ago. You are looking at about $200,000 for a kilometre to

repave and refurbish. A million dollars will do what? Five kilometres. The Bay d'Espoir

highway because of increased capacity down there and the work that is being done

in the agriculture industry, the road and the infrastructure, because the road

wasn't built for it, is in a bad mess.

We have about eighty or ninety kilometres from the Trans-Canada over to

Harbour Breton - when I came in here eighteen years ago we had none of it, it

was all gravel road. Through the Road for Rails agreement and provincial money

we did a lot of work in that particular area, but that was eighteen years ago

and it is starting to deteriorate. You know, when you get to a place on the

Harbour Breton highway called Redfish Hook Hill, out to Harbour Breton, there is

about 30 kilometres, and, man, I am telling you, if you want to see rough road

that is rough road. Going into St. Alban's it is the same thing, and there is

about thirty kilometres on the Bay d'Espoir highway that is really, really

bad. The crew that is there with the maintenance find it very difficult to fill

in the potholes. That is the reality of it.

I am not any different than anybody else in other rural parts of the

Province. It costs a lot of money and I recognize that. We have many

municipalities out there, small rural communities in Newfoundland and Labrador,

and as I said there are many people in the other side of the House of Assembly

here who recognize that they are in a desperate situation. What has happened is

the population is beginning to dwindle and people are moving out to Alberta and

to Ontario and other places in Canada and there are no new people coming in. The

people who are there are left with the responsibility to keep the towns going,

to look after the maintenance and the infrastructure that is there, and they can't

do it, they are finding it difficult to do so. Many of them can't even find

the money to be able to look after the road clearing and they owe government

sums of money they are finding difficult to pay.

I tried to dispel - and I think other members over there from the rural parts

of the Province know what I am talking about. You get a lot of people on the

Northeast Avalon when they talk about people in the rural parts of the Province:

Oh, they don't pay anything. They don't pay any taxes. They don't

contribute their fair share. Well, go down to the District of Bonavista North

and ask the people in New-Wes-Valley how much they pay for water and sewer and I

will guarantee you there is no other community in the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador that pays as much as they do. They pay twice as much as the people

in the St. John's region. They pay their fair share of taxes. I recognize the

problem that any government would have, to be able to take care of the

infrastructure needs. There are no two ways about that.

The other thing is that we are living in a different age. I can remember when

the people from the community that I came from - I have said that in this House

many, many times ago - when the people, as loggers, would go away for two or

three months and then come back, mow the grass, do all the other chores that

they had to do, and they would go back to work again. But, do you know what? The

younger people in the communities, the younger couples that are there, are

looking at it and saying: We cannot do it any more on seventeen and eighteen

weeks work and unemployment insurance.

That is the reality of it, and they are leaving, and you cannot help but

support them in that particular way. That is why I would like to commend and

congratulate the people in Burin over the last number of days who defied Earle

McCurdy, the union leader, who wanted them to take a wage rollback. Can you

imagine? When they negotiated that contract, gas was about seventy or eighty

cents a litre. What is it today? A dollar twenty. Stove oil and furnace oil was

probably forty cents a litre. What is it now? Seventy-five cents. It is about

time. If we are going to keep our young people and our young professional people

in Newfoundland and Labrador we are going to have to pay them more. We are not

going to be able to compete with Alberta, and pay them $35 an hour, and

time-and-a-half after eight to ten, and double time after ten hours, but you

cannot live any more on $8 and $10 an hour. We have to realize that. That is the

situation that people in the rural areas are thinking about.

This morning, I had a call from my area down in Harbour Breton. This morning,

as the bus went over to the Trans-Canada it was loaded with people from Harbour

Breton going away to work again. Are they going because they want to? No, they

are not. There is a lot of uncertainty in the community. Since Mr. Barry went in

there and did the work in the plant, the work has been sporadic. When you are

working for twenty-five or thirty hours a week, you cannot pay all of the bills.

The people are out there and as we speak today the plant is closed. They do not

know if it is going to be open next week or next year. I have talked to the

Premier about that. He realizes that as well, but the problem is that these

people have to live. It is not what is going to be two years down the road or

three years down the road; they have to live now. These are the concerns that

are there.

That is not fairytale something. That is something that is real, something

that people here can understand. We represent these people, and I feel for them;

not that I have a total, 100 per cent total concern for the people in rural

Newfoundland and members opposite do not have it. That is not what I am saying.

We all do. We all care. We all recognize the situation.

I have to again refer to the Minister of ITRD, I think is the acronym. He

talked about the dollars that he gave to tourism. All power to you for giving

it. You know, you will make the communities hopefully better by having those

attractions for people who come to visit. I am going to tell you, and you know

as well as I do - I do not have to tell you, you have probably forgotten more

than I will ever learn on that - these tourism things are not going to sustain

the communities. They will help but they cannot do it themselves, on their own.

We have to find some employment for them.

I could go into all kinds of situations to say, for example, like in the last

term before the election where the government said we have a plan, but there is

no point for me to say that you had a plan and it was not carried through. The

point is that today, as we speak, there are a lot of people out there in the

rural parts of the Province who are hurting. We have to find a way to do it.

I think, if it is government that is led by the Premier here, or whatever

government is in place, there is a real challenge out there to be able to meet

the needs of the people who live in this Province. There are no two ways about

that. It is very, very difficult, and obviously going to get worse.

I was somewhat surprised today when the minister talked about the Town of

Stephenville, where they got $600,000 the first year when the mill was closed. I

can understand that, and they should do it; but, if you are going to do it the

second year then you have to stop and think about it and say: What about all of

the other communities that are hurting?

You talk about putting $20 million into Stephenville because of the flood.

The number of dollars might have been $20 million, but there was not $20 million

paid by the provincial government. The provincial government paid the maximum of

$3.5 million; the rest was picked up by the federal government. These things

have to happen.

There are a lot of towns that are hurting. I remember Rex Barnes, the other

day, when they were talking about Abitibi. They looked for the money, Abitibi

did, from the town, because they did not want to move out. The same thing with

Jody Fancey in Bishop's Falls and Jerry Dean in Botwood. I know all of those

guys. I worked in their area for twenty years, and know it, and they were

concerned. They did it out of fear.

I read an

article not too long ago where a lot of the people in Stephenville

are blaming it on the union executive for the closing of the mill, and that

might very well be the case, I do not know; I would not lay blame there. I guess

these people saw that it did close and they did not want it to happen to their

communities in Central Newfoundland, because if Abitibi pulled out of Grand

Falls-Windsor then I am telling you that it will leave a major, major void. I am

not sure that anybody could go in, any other industry, and pick up what is

there, because it is not only for Grand Falls-Windsor. It is from the South

Coast and the Lewisporte area and Brown's Arm and all the way out to

Springdale, Baie Verte. So these are the types of things we have to talk about,

Mr. Speaker.

Talking about, also, the infrastructure for the small communities, I mention

that again today. You know, there are many, many small communities. I think of

the community of Sunnyside, and I think of a community like Brown's Arm, and I

think of some of the smaller communities that were in the Member for Baie Verte's

district, where we gave up to 90 per cent of the provincial portion to help pay

for their infrastructure. I can tell you right now that I know of communities

that are out there that would like to have improvement to infrastructure, water

and sewer and so on, and they cannot afford the 30 per cent. That is the reality

of it. These are things that government has to come to grips with. These are

things that government has to do so that these people can find the right mix and

be able to get the services that they have in their community.

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt about it, what is happening in the rural part

of the Province is a concern. I say that again and I repeat it in the sense

that, not for the part of being redundant but also to highlight that it is

really, really a concern. Never in my time, in my lifetime of living in rural

Newfoundland, have I seen the concern of people. People have come up to me and

said: I am afraid that ten years from now this community will not be here and I

will have to move, and I have never had a credit card in my life. I have never

had a debit card. I have never had a mortgage, and now I have to move to some

area and I have to take out a mortgage.

They cannot cope with it. The stress is really, really there and all of us

who represent the rural parts of the Province are confronted with that every

day, and for us not to say it and not to recognize that it is there would be

wrong.

These are the things that government has to come to grips with, and that is

not done yet. Hopefully they will find some way. I am hoping that in the Budget

tomorrow there will be some funds, millions of dollars, that will be given to -

not in a sense to Grand Falls and to Gander, because these are not rural

communities - rural, rural communities like the Harbour Breton area and the

Coast of Bays, the Northern Peninsula, those that are remote, where you cannot

drive to their communities and commute every day. There has to be some mechanism

where you can find some way to create jobs. You are not going to create jobs for

everybody in every community. That is not going to happen, regardless of what

the government or stripe. There has to be something in that area so that people

can find work and employment and they can earn meaningful employment and support

their families. You cannot do it on twelve, thirteen, fourteen or fifteen weeks

a year on $10 or $11 an hour. It cannot happen. If we expect that to happen then

we are expecting people to do things different than what we do as we come here

to work day after day.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the hon. Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune that his speaking time

has lapsed.

MR. LANGDON: Just for a minute?

MR. SPEAKER: Does the hon. member have leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. member, by leave.

MR. LANGDON: In conclusion, Mr. Speak, I am not here to say that nothing

has been done in the rural part of the Province to alleviate some of the

difficulties that are there. It is a real challenge, there is no two ways about

that. Everybody who sits on that other side of the House and represents a rural

area realizes the challenges out there. It is going to take a lot of hard work

and it is going to take some different things than are being done now in order

to ensure that the rural part of this particular Province of ours, Newfoundland

and Labrador, will survive and people will be able to have a decent standard of

living and be able to look after their families in the area that they so choose.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. ORAM: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is interesting today to listen to the motion that has been put forth by

the members opposite. I can tell you upfront, and I want to be clear about this,

that I will not be supporting this motion. I am going to state for a few moments

as to why I am not going to be supporting this particular motion.

Basically what I get from this motion, the gist of it, is, what is this

government doing for rural Newfoundland and Labrador. I listened to the members

opposite and, of course, I just listened to the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la

Hune and I can tell you some of the things that he said I agree with. You know,

there really are. Life is not all perfect in Newfoundland and Labrador. Things

are not all bright in Newfoundland and Labrador in terms of people having to

leave the Province to find work and so on and so forth. There is a lot of truth

to that and we recognize that as a government, and that is the reason we are

working very, very hard and very diligently to put together programs and to put

together plans to ensure and help our people to stay in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

I want to say that out-migration is not a new thing to this Province.

Out-migration was happening back in the sixties as well, because I remember my

father telling me stories about back when he had his first ferry ride on the William

Carson . Not only my father, but in fact, I think out of the ten children,

there were six or seven children who actually went to Ontario. Back in the

sixties, Ontario was the hot spot. That was where all the factories were and all

the plants were and everybody wanted to go up there to make, as they called it

back then, the big money, and to be able to buy, as they called it back then,

the big cars. A funny thing, today if you have a small car you are doing really

well. Back then, if you had a big car you were doing really well. They all

wanted to go to Ontario and everybody was headed off to Ontario.

Now, the question is: Was there work back in Newfoundland and Labrador when

they went off to Ontario? Guess what? Actually there was work in Newfoundland

and Labrador, but people felt that the grass was greener on the other side, the

money was better on the other side, so they felt: We should take off to Ontario

and try to improve on our life.

Well, I want to tell you today, it is very funny that they spent a number of

years in Ontario where the grass was greener. Guess what? Today, every single

one of them are back in Newfoundland and Labrador. I am going to tell you

something else too. They are not all retired. They are actually working in

Newfoundland and Labrador, or they do what a lot of people do, they get ready

and go away for a few weeks in the summertime and then they come back in the

fall.

It is unfortunate, as I said, that people actually do have to leave the

Province to find work, but I can tell you today that a lot of times, as the

Minister of ITRD said just a moment ago, a lot of times people leave

Newfoundland and Labrador to find work because actually the work up there is

better paying. Let's face it, in Newfoundland and Labrador it is very

difficult to find a job where you are going to get $50 an hour. I was speaking

to a fellow the other day and he told me what he was offered out in Calgary. I

could not believe it. He said: Do you know much money they offered me up in

Calgary? I know what businesses pay in my area and it is not bad money. I know,

for instance, there are a couple of businesses in the town that I live in that

are actually paying out $20 an hour and it is a full-time, twelve months of the

year job. They are finding it very difficult to retain people, not because it is

not a good paying job there, because $20 an hour, in a small community such as

Glovertown with living expenses the way they are, is not bad money. That is

pretty good money.

This is what they are offering. They are offering this person I spoke to the

other day - and what he does, actually, is he is a crane operator - they offered

him $50 an hour. They are giving him his own apartment, completely furnished

apartment. They are giving him - get this - $500 a week for groceries. This is a

fact, because I saw the contract that he had. They are giving his wife a job in

the office at $20 an hour besides that and they are paying all of his

transportation costs as well as a vehicle and a credit card for gas. It is very,

very difficult for companies in Newfoundland and Labrador to compete with that

today. That does not mean that down the road, sometime in the future, we are not

going to be able to provide those types of jobs for people. I truly and clearly

believe that we are on the right path, we are on the right course to developing

a plan and developing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. It does not happen

overnight.

We came into this government three years ago, or just about four years ago

now, and we saw a lot of hard times. Back in 2003 it was very difficult. The

people in Newfoundland and Labrador decided - do you know what? We have decided

today that we want a new approach in Newfoundland and Labrador. We want somebody

to come in and give us some hope in Newfoundland and Labrador. I believe that is

exactly what this government has done. Did we spend all of our money, did we

spend all of our efforts, did we spend all of our time in urban areas? Certainly

not. Nothing could be further from the truth, because one of the problems that

we had when we took over this Province, when this government took over this

Province, was the infrastructure. There were major, major infrastructure

problems in Newfoundland and Labrador, and more specifically, the roads in

Newfoundland and Labrador were in a deplorable condition.

The members opposite, the amount of money they put into road work, I think

the last year they were in government, was like $13 million for the whole year.

I remember talking to a contractor back then, you know - and I wanted to use

this because it is important that we realize that this government is the

government that is coming forth and coming forward with a private member's

motion today talking about how bad it is in rural Newfoundland and Labrador

today. Well, back then, when they did $13 million worth of road work I had a

contractor come to me who worked at that type of work - in fact, he is a well

known contractor in the Province and has done very, very well. He comes, again,

from the town that I live in. He was telling me how desperate the situation was

- how desperate the situation was! - in Newfoundland and Labrador. He also said

this to me: Do you know what? In order for this Province to ever bring its

infrastructure back in line of where it should be, we are going to need about

$100 million a year in a budget to do it. I acknowledge that and I think the

minister would acknowledge that as well.

What did we do when we came in as a government? Well, I will tell you, we

didn't come up with $100 million right away, certainly not, but we started a

process whereby we could start putting more and more money into infrastructure

in the Province. Infrastructure didn't only include trying to provide money

for roads because we wanted to have a nice smooth road for people to drive over.

We realize how important the infrastructure is to business in Newfoundland and

Labrador, how important infrastructure is to rural Newfoundland and Labrador in

terms of creating jobs. How important is business to rural Newfoundland and

Labrador? Well, business actually creates employment. It creates a life for

people.

We went out there and we said: Look, we have to try to find the money. This

government decided they had to try to find the money to put into the

infrastructure in the Province. Right away we started to deal with the problem.

I think in our first year we put some $20-odd million into road work, basically

double what the previous government had done.

I remember talking to that same contractor and he said: You are on the right

road, but, of course, we still need a lot more. The next year we, I think,

doubled that again, if I am not mistaken, and we put even more money into

infrastructure in terms of road work. This past year, I am pleased to say, we

are putting in $66 or $67 million. That is a huge, huge amount for

infrastructure in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Now, the question is: Is this going to urban Newfoundland and Labrador? Is

this going into St. John's? Let me tell you, the fact is that most of this

money, again as the Minister of ITRD had stated earlier, most of that money, I

think he said 99.44 per cent, is going into rural areas. Now, if this government

didn't have a commitment to rural Newfoundland and Labrador and if this

government felt that rural Newfoundland and Labrador was finished, there was no

hope for rural Newfoundland and Labrador, we may as well shut the doors and go

home, if we felt that way, do you think we would be investing all this money

into rural Newfoundland and Labrador? I say, no, I don't think we would. I

think we would be saying: You know what, it is no good for us to try anything,

it is all done, all hope is gone, we can't get any deals with the federal

government. This is never going to work. Let's shut her all down. Sometimes I

wonder if maybe that is what the members of the Opposition would love for us to

say. The fact is this, the proof is in the pudding, as my grandmother used to

say. The proof is in what we are doing as a government. What we are doing as a

government is we are standing up, we are stepping up to the plate. We are not

just talking about it, we are going out there and we are investing hundreds of

millions of dollars in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. The infrastructure, in

terms of road work, is only a small part of it.

Let's move on to municipal and provincial affairs. If you talk to the

Minister of Municipal Affairs, you will find out very quickly that we put

millions and millions and millions of dollars into small rural communities. I am

not even talking about communities such as the community that I live in, that

has about 2,700 people. I am talking about communities that have 150 people,

communities that have 300 people. I have made many requests to the minister's

office to get funding to deal with infrastructure in smaller communities. The

minister and the government have said: Yes, we will certainly provide that

funding. We will do what we have to do to give communities proper water and

sewer, proper roads, and all of these issues. I can tell you right now, it is

for smaller rural communities.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. ORAM: Mr. Speaker, this is not all about big urban areas. This is

about smaller communities.

Again, if this government had no concern and felt that rural Newfoundland and

Labrador was finished, I would think that the minister would look at me and say:

Paul, boy, what is the point? Let's throw it into St. John's and Mount Pearl

and Topsail and Paradise. Let's throw it all into there, into Conception Bay,

forget what we are going to do in the smaller communities. They are just going

to die anyway. No, we are not seeing that. This government has a commitment to

rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

I am pleased, again, to be a part of this particular government. I can tell

you right now that - so there are two issues. First of all, it is the

infrastructure in terms of roads. It is the infrastructure in terms of municipal

work that needs to be done.

Let's get to economic development for a moment because, again, I hear

members on the other side talking about the fact that: Oh, you know, we do not

do anything for economic development. We are not doing anything there. Well, the

Member for Gander and the Minister for Business was up today talking about a

great initiative, the Red Tape Reduction initiative, which I was involved in and

the Member for St. John's Centre. The member for Plum Point, he was involved

as well. I can tell you right now, we worked on t