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December 2, 2014

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 49

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Before we start today's proceedings, I want to

especially welcome Mr. Stelman Flynn to the Speaker's gallery today.

Mr. Flynn was recently elected in an election in Humber East and will

be sworn, I think, sometime next week.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we have members' statement from the Member for St. John's East; the

Member for St. John's South; the Member for Burgeo La Poile; the Member

for Cape St. Francis; the Member for Bellevue; and the Member for Baie Verte

Springdale.

The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate an organization that has been making an

important difference in the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of children

and parents in and around St. John's for twenty years.

The Brighter Futures Coalition of St. John's and

district brings together parents, community members, and professionals from

the St. John's area. Through a

variety of programs, Brighter Futures promotes a healthy birth, growth, and

development of children age six and under and their families.

Their home base is in my District of St. John's East,

but Brighter Futures offers programs like their Healthy Baby Club and Family

Resource Centres in locations including Bell Island, Torbay, Mount Pearl,

and Paradise, as well as several locations in St. John's.

The Healthy Baby Club, run in partnership with Eastern

Health, gets children off to the best possible start, providing support,

nurturing, and guidance to pregnant women in a relaxed and friendly

environment. Numerous other

programs give children and caregivers the chance to socialize, learn, and

become part of their communities.

I ask all hon. members to join me in thanking Brighter

Futures for the work they have done and continue to do for our Newfoundland

and Labrador families.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today, I recognize a new inductee into Canada's

prestigious Governor General Curling Club.

The club, which was started in 1874, has a maximum of 100 members and

twenty-five emeritus members from across Canada at any given time.

The main focus of the club is to recognize those who

have made a significant contribution to curling.

Some of its members are legends of the game and all have helped build

the sport. It is considered a

huge honour to be invited to join this prestigious group of men and women

who have contributed so much to curling.

The club's crested red blazers are a familiar sight at

national and international championships.

This Province's newest inductee is a resident of my colleague's

district of St. John's North.

I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating my

brother, Bob Osborne, who is truly now one in a hundred.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize and commend MacKenzie

Ambulance Service of Channel-Port aux Basques, on their first annual Pack

the Back fundraiser. Their goal

was to Pack the Back of one of their ambulances with items in the support of

the local food bank and churches.

During the month of November, one of the MacKenzie's

ambulances, along with staff and members of the Port aux Basques Cadet

Corps, were stationed in the back of the ambulance outside the Grand Bay

Mall, to collect food items and other donations in support of local

charities that help families during the holidays.

Due to inclement weather and increased call volume,

they were only able to participate in a portion of the planned twenty-two

days. However, in that brief

time, they received $268.00 in money and gift cards; 392 food items; fifteen

miscellaneous household items; books; movies; stuffed animals; clothing; and

a crib set. These items will be

used in Christmas hampers that will then go out to families around our

communities.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join

with me in commending the staff of MacKenzie Ambulance Service and the Port

aux Basques Cadet Corps on giving so generously and selflessly of their time

for this very worthwhile cause.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize Holy

Trinity Elementary School in my district.

On September 26, the students at Holy Trinity took

part in the annual

Terry Fox Walk. This school

community has the incredible distinction of being the first school in the

Province to raise over $13,000.

They raised $13,352 in one single run, beating last year's total of

$12,614.50.

They were recognized by the Terry Fox Foundation in a

video that was sent to the school by Terry's brother thanking them for their

efforts. The school community is

truly making a difference in cancer research.

Congratulations to the children, teachers and staff,

and all the stakeholders at the school community, and the Towns of Torbay,

Pouch Cove, Flat Rock, and Bauline for supporting them and keeping Terry's

dream alive.

I ask all hon. members to join with me in thanking the

students, teachers, and the whole Holy Trinity Community for their

continuous efforts in cancer research.

Cancer affects us all.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bellevue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. PEACH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On November 22, I had the great privilege of attending

the 100th birthday celebrations for Martha Smith of Dildo.

Martha was born in Dildo to Leah and Arthur Reid.

She was the second oldest in a family of seven.

Martha left home at the age of fourteen to work for a family in St.

John's, and she stayed eight months before she could come home.

Martha married Albert Smith and they had two children,

Lillian and Charlie. Her husband

Albert drowned at Gander Lake in 1953 while working at a lumber camp.

Martha became a widow at thirty-eight.

She was left to raise two children and she never remarried.

In 1956, Martha took a job working at the quick freeze

plant at South Dildo, starting at fifty cents an hour.

She worked until 1973, when she had to stop work to look after her

mother who became ill.

Martha still lives in Dildo with her daughter Lillian.

She has seven grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.

All of them live in the Dildo and New Harbour area.

She is quite active and attends church regularly with her sisters,

Florence Williams, Julie Higdon, and other family members.

I ask all the hon. members of this House of Assembly to

join me in congratulating Martha Smith on reaching a milestone of 100 years.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Baie Verte Springdale.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. POLLARD:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It was the first time in their history.

The friendly, picturesque community of Shoe Cove on the Baie Verte

Peninsula celebrated their first ever Come Home Year.

From July 21 to 27, Shoe Cove was indeed the place to be.

Family, food, fellowship and music was the order of the day as eager,

enthusiastic friends converged upon the community, swelling the population

fivefold.

Committee members Edna Welshman, Lori Payne, Thelma

Fahey, Marion Starkes, Tracey Newbury, Bessie Welshman, Barbara Foster,

Cynthia Skinner, and Chairperson, Elizabeth Welshman are to be commended for

such an outstanding effort to ensure the celebrations were a raving success.

My wife and I had the privilege to experience the sense of community,

as we witnessed old friendships rekindled and new friendships forged.

Gospel singer Glen Tetford and entertainers Bugs and Debbie added

flavour to the celebrations.

The slogan said it all: so much to do, so much to be

seen, come back to the shoe in 2014.

I invite all hon. members in this House with a unified

voice, to help me offer accolades to the local service district of Shoe Cove

for the tremendous success of its first ever Come Home Year celebrations.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Order, please!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would be remiss if I did not extend my best wishes to

the good people of Shoe Cove. He

is a hard act to follow. I am

glad he is my Parliamentary Secretary.

I rise in this hon. House to provide an update on the

work we are undertaking as part of the Premier's Summit on Health Care.

Primary health care is the day-to-day care needed to

protect, maintain, and restore our health, and we are looking at how we

deliver primary health care services in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Premier made a commitment to hold a health care summit to gain

insight and perspectives from patients as well as all residents of the

Province.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that this process

is now up and running, and off to a great start.

We have planned regional forums across the four health care regions,

and completed our first session last week in Grand Falls-Windsor, with a

second one scheduled for this evening in the beautiful City of Mount Pearl.

Our first session saw over sixty participants coming

together to discuss a wide range of primary health care issues in areas

including mental health and addictions, dementia care, healthy living,

aging, and chronic disease management.

Mr. Speaker, we are also adding additional sessions as

previously announced. These

include sessions in Kippens, Gander, Burin, St. Anthony, and Clarenville.

More information on the times and dates for these sessions is

available on our health summit Web page.

We have also been talking about other ways in which

feedback can be provided into this consultation process.

To assist with this, last week we launched a new interactive online

engagement tool known as the Dialogue App.

Mr. Speaker, the Dialogue App was purchased from a UK

software company, and adapted for the primary health care consultations by

the Office of Public Engagement.

The app is trusted by governments around the world and is used by more than

forty organizations on three continents.

Residents can join the dialogue today by visiting

dialogueapp.gov.nl.ca.

We value the feedback we continue to receive as part of

this process, and we encourage all residents to register for a forum, to

express interest in participating in the summit, or to provide feedback by

visiting the Department of Health and Community Services Web site or by

calling 1-844-729-6310.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. It is unfortunate

that we do have some of the poorest outcomes here in Canada.

We have some of the highest rates of stroke, cancer, high blood

pressure, diabetes, just to name a few.

A significant amount of our Budget goes to health care; just about

forty cents out of every dollar.

It is interesting to hear the Premier announced a

summit on health care. He was

the Minister of Health for quite some time.

He was in the position to call the summit long before now if he was

truly interested in understanding the issues.

We, as the Official Opposition, held our own health

care roundtable last year.

People from all different aspects of the health care system attended and

gave us valuable information to help create a better health care system.

The overwhelming message that came from our session was that the

health care system did not need more money, but there needed to be smarter

spending.

Just this year, we have held other sessions all over

the Province on seniors' issues and health care, with excellent turnouts and

very informative results.

It is time government finally started listening to the

people of the Province, eleven years after taking power.

The problem is they should have been listening all along.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. I am glad to see the

Premier and the minister giving attention to our health care system.

For the eight years that I have been in this House of Assembly, I

have been listening to people in my district and the Province and bringing

their health care issues into this House.

I hope that at the end of this consultation process, we

are going to see action by this government to have a health care system that

works for the people. I hope

that any software tools employed in the consultation will emphasize, not

trivialize, the issues that I know the Premier is going to hear raised by

the people coming to these sessions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Seniors, Wellness and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to note that tomorrow, December 3, is the United

Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Mr. Speaker, an inclusive society that welcomes

diversity is essential to building a strong and dynamic Province and we

all have a role to play to ensure equal opportunities and choices for all of

our citizens. This morning, I

met with the Provincial Advisory Council for the Inclusion of Persons with

Disabilities, where we discussed issues of common interest and how we can

move forward.

Tomorrow I will attend a business leadership breakfast,

sponsored by the Network of Disability Organizations, where the discussion

will focus on the fact that people with disabilities make up a largely

untapped labour pool in our Province.

I know there are several members will be attending and I am glad to

see that, because I believe this is an issue that transcends politics.

The keynote speaker will be Randy Lewis, Vice-President

of Walgreens in the United States.

He will be talking about how that company found that a diverse

workforce is not only profitable and efficient, but it is an environment

preferred by all employees. His

company has made it work and we believe that as a society, we must also

make it work.

Mr. Speaker, in 2012 the provincial government released

Access. Inclusion. Equality. A

Strategy for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities .

The strategy is designed to bring about changes in policies,

services, programs, and attitudes.

Since that time, we have taken action on several initiatives

contained within the strategy, including providing grants to community-based

organizations for projects such as the installation of ramps, supporting

initiatives that promote inclusive work environments, and providing

financial assistance to retrofit private vehicles with modifications such as

the installation of lifts and hand controls.

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister Responsible for the Status

of Persons with Disabilities, I look forward to working with the members of

the community of persons with disabilities and the Provincial Advisory

Council, to achieve the shared goal of a truly inclusive society.

I invite all members of this House to support us in that goal, and to

join with me in recognizing the United Nations International Day of Persons

with Disabilities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. The UN proclaimed the

International Day for Persons with Disabilities to promote a greater

understanding of the shared and varied experiences of persons with

disabilities or the overall benefit of a more inclusive society.

Tomorrow I will attend the breakfast the minister referenced, along

with my colleagues, the Member for St. Barbe and St. John's North.

In 2012, Mr. Speaker, government released their

strategy for the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

This strategy relies on the development of an action plan for

specific initiatives. The

minister just indicated the first plan will be released in the new year

three years after the strategy.

When we have to wait three years to see a strategy

identify concrete initiatives like promoting inclusive work environments, I

am sorry, Mr. Speaker, I feel that is shameful.

I am sure I am not alone in the calls I receive from constituents

with disabilities calling me because they cannot find work, because

government programs are inadequate.

Today and every day, we should reflect on what inclusion really means

and how it actually benefits us all.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement here

today. We also recognize the

United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities; however,

recognition of the day should also be geared to a focus on the realization

that we have not done enough as a society to progress the ideals and changes

to perception of what it is to live and work with a disability.

More work is needed, and groups such as COD-NL are the great

advocates to lead it, Mr. Speaker.

We appreciate hearing more from government on these

initiatives that they will be progressing on in the future.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in this hon. House to recognize this

week as National Safe Driving Week, which officially began yesterday,

Monday, December 1. There has

been significant attention over the years to the issue of driving under the

influence of alcohol; however, many people may not be aware that It's Not

Just Alcohol That Impairs, which is this year's theme of Safe Driving Week.

This week is an important time to remind all

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that it is not only illegal to operate a

motorized vehicle if your ability to drive is impaired by alcohol, but it is

also illegal to drive under the influence of drugs.

This can include illegal drugs, prescription drugs, or over the

counter medication. This

activity could lead in charges under the Criminal Code even if the vehicle

is not moving.

Mr. Speaker, many people are also not aware of the

effects of fatigue on one's ability to safely operate a vehicle.

Research shows the chances of making mistakes increase when you have

slept less than five hours, or if you have been awake for more than sixteen

hours. In fact, Mr. Speaker, if

you have been awake for seventeen hours or longer, it can be equivalent to

illegal blood alcohol levels.

This year, motor vehicle collisions due to impaired

driving will claim approximately 2,000 lives in Canada, between five and six

people a day. In addition,

10,000 more individuals will be seriously injured, and most of these

collisions are preventable.

This week provides a valuable and timely opportunity to

raise awareness of potential road hazards and to cultivate safer, more

defensive driving habits. It is

a reminder to ensure our vehicles are properly equipped for the season,

eliminate distractions behind the wheel, socialize responsibly and never

drive impaired, whether that is under the influence of alcohol, drugs or

fatigue.

As we move forward into the New Year, I urge all hon.

members to join me in promoting road safety awareness in our Province, and

to remind their constituents that it is not just alcohol that impairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. We, too, would like

to recognize National Safe Driving Week, Mr. Speaker.

Obviously, it is a very important week to raise a message with the

general public to ensure they are driving safely on our highways.

The minister indicated the problem we are having with

impaired driving in the Province.

That is certainly something we want to curb.

I encourage people now as we get into the Christmas season, if you

are going to partake during the season, do not get behind the wheel.

I want to thank MADD for all the work they are doing.

I have had meetings with them.

They have some great ideas to help improve safety as it relates to

drinking and driving.

Mr. Speaker, I never heard the minister mention the

issue of texting and cellphone operation.

That is something else, a message you want to get out there, the

hazard associated to people on cellphones and people texting while they are

driving. We encourage people to

refrain from that activity.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not

mention the problem we are having and the carnage which is taking place in

our Province all throughout the year as it relates to moose-vehicle

accidents. While drivers have to

be attentive, government has a role to play there.

I encourage them to do so.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his

statement today. Back in, I

think it was 1996-1997, I was hit by an impaired driver and still live with

the consequences sometimes.

Teens and young adults account for one-third of all

alcohol-related deaths due to impaired driving, Mr. Speaker.

It is completely preventable.

Groups out there are combating the problem such as MADD's School

Assembly Program. People in

groups are doing their part.

Mr. Speaker, it remains a question among the motoring

public out there and the public in general: Why aren't drivers getting the

message? Why do we as a society

still see impaired driving, in spite of all the education programs out

there, and in spite of the knowledge and the particular act and the offences

in question?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This morning the Premier said that good governance

demands accountability and that accountability demands openness.

I ask the Premier: With this in mind, will you now be

open and accountable to the people of the Province and call a public inquiry

into the cancelled Humber Valley Paving contract?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year when the matters

involving the contract between Humber Valley Paving and the Department of

Transportation and Works became known to my predecessor, Premier Marshall,

he very quickly called the Auditor General.

He asked the Auditor General, who is an independent Officer of this

House, to conduct a full and frank investigation and review of the

circumstances regarding the cancelling of the Humber Valley contract,

particularly in Labrador.

He has done extensive work.

He has had unfettered access to documentations and officials in

government. He has carried out a

number of interviews with officials and people inside and outside of

government. He has completed a

comprehensive report and has filed that report with five recommendations,

which we fully intend to implement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier mentioned that they asked the AG to do a

full and a frank report, but the AG has not been satisfied.

The Premier obviously seems that he is satisfied.

I ask the Premier: If the AG is not satisfied, after

you requesting him, or your government requesting him, to do the report, how

can you been satisfied?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think it is very important to point out that the

comprehensive review that was carried out by the Auditor General, I think

there was 185 officials and former officials that he had access to all of

their records, all of their documentation, as well as he had the option to

call and have interviews with essentially whoever he wished to have to do

that. There were sixteen

different people that he interviewed.

Not only did he interview them and conduct interviews

with them, but they were done under oath, the same as they would be done in

a public inquiry. They were

under oath, and not only did he interview them but the independent counsel

that the Auditor General had retained to assist him in the work that he was

doing also interviewed them.

There was an examination and, as some looked it, a

cross-examination by the independent legal advice that he had retained as

well. Mr. Speaker, I believe the

Auditor General has done a comprehensive review of all of these

circumstances.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier talked about review of documentation; that

was one of the problems that the AG actually had with his review, that there

was hardly any documentation. I

will remind the Premier, too, that some people who were asked to appear

before the AG did not; they actually refused.

Mr. Speaker, the AG said that the process to consider,

to evaluate, to decide, to draft, to execute a termination of the contract

occurred within seven-and-a-half hours.

He said that the benefit of more time would have helped government

fully consider all other options.

I ask the Premier: From start to finish, why was the

process expedited in this manner?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The hon. member points out there was a broad range of

officials and former officials who were interviewed sixteen in total.

There were former staff in the Premier's Office.

There were executive members of the Department of Transportation and

Works. There were

representatives from Humber Valley Paving who were interviewed, again under

oath, Mr. Speaker.

Just to clarify, in a public inquiry, it is a course of

action whereby people can be interviewed under oath, examined, and in some

cases cross-examined. Mr.

Speaker, that is what happened.

That is what the Auditor General did.

He is an independent Officer of the House and I can tell you, for me

and the people on this side of the House, we fully respect his role and the

work that he has done on this file.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, the AG clearly said that he was not satisfied.

The Premier seems to be satisfied, even though the AG is not.

When government started this process, they claimed that their key

objectives for cancelling the project were, number one, to ensure that the

paving work would be completed on time and on budget; number two, the

objective was not to hurt Humber Valley Paving or its employees.

I ask the Premier: Have you met these objectives?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Those who have not taken the time to read the report, I

invite anyone to do that. It is

a public report. It is a very

comprehensive review. He has

laid out a number of findings and a number of recommendations, Mr. Speaker.

He has also concluded that while there are some suggestions made

about the reasons why the contract was concluded and so on, he has laid out

that there is no documentary evidence of undue influence in decisions to

mutually terminate the contract.

I think that is very important, Mr. Speaker, to point

that out. He said that there was

no documentary evidence. Not

only did he have the documentary evidence, but he had the access to full

interviews under oath, sworn interviews with a number of officials, former

officials, politicians, and so on sixteen in total, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, when you establish the process to get the AG

involved there were two objectives, I say to the Premier.

I ask you one more time: Did you meet the two

objectives that the minister clearly established as the objectives when this

project was cancelled?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, what happened here is Premier Marshall did the responsible

thing. That is what he did here.

He knew there was a set of circumstances, he knew that the public

wanted to know what the circumstances were, and we engaged with the Auditor

General and I would say, Mr. Speaker, the Premier engaged very early with

the Auditor General.

I would like to point out and remind members of the

House, which I know they are all aware and also to the people of the

Province, the Auditor General is an independent Officer of this House.

He has broad-reaching powers.

He has, I believe, great capacity to do his job, as he has done in

the past. I believe he has done

his job well here that has resulted in five recommendations, as a result of

his report five recommendations which we are implementing all five, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Number one, Premier Marshall did not find out until

five weeks later. He found out

at an airport in Halifax, we were told.

So I call on you, Premier: Will you now do the responsible thing, as

the previous Premier has done, and answer this question for the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador? The

two objectives that were outlined when the AG was called in based on the

cancelation of this project, did you meet the objectives of that

cancellation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, when former Premier Marshall became aware of these

circumstances he was part of the steps taken in the outcome that we have

reached today in having a report from the Auditor General.

That forms part of the report; that forms part of the circumstances

that existed.

Mr. Speaker, I supported the actions of former Premier

Marshall, in his decision to bring in the Auditor General.

As I started to say in my last answer, he is a competent person.

He has broad-sweeping powers.

We know in the past, when the Auditor General has conducted

investigations and reviews of circumstances, there are times when he has

taken other actions and made other recommendations, such as the

investigation the Auditor General did on this very House just a few years

ago, which resulted in him filing referrals to the police saying there

should be more investigation.

That did not happen here, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, we gave the Premier a couple of opportunities

here to be truly open and responsible.

He refused to answer the questions: Were the two objectives met?

Mr. Speaker, the government actions to cancel this

contract and release $19 million in bonds meant that the several

subcontractors in Newfoundland and Labrador were left without payment.

We understand that there is a $1.18 million holdback on this

contract.

I ask the Premier: Has any of the holdback money been

paid out?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have a responsibility to ensure that the holdbacks

were put in place. In this case,

the mechanics' lien holdback was indeed put in place.

It is still held in trust; $1.18 million by my department.

Mr. Speaker, Humber Valley Paving did put a statutory

declaration to my department outlining they wanted the money released.

I was not convinced that the subcontractors were satisfied that their

payments were not outstanding, so I declined to release that.

We are now going through an exercise of determining

what avenues we have to be able to satisfy those outstanding debts by those

subcontractors. We encourage

people to file their declarations with the courts and then in due time, Mr.

Speaker, we will assess exactly how we rectify those situations.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

I say to the minister and I also say to the Premier, if you had to have

taken that time, this project and this contract would not have been

cancelled in the first place.

I ask the minister: The two objectives that were

outlined a few minutes ago not to hurt Humber Valley Paving, not to hurt the

employees, on time and on budget, Minister, are those two objectives met?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately we were eleven kilometres short in Labrador in

completing it this year. I will

tell you, here are some of the key notes about what has gone on the

Trans-Labrador Highway around contract 1-12.

Here are the things: eleven kilometres short, that is all we have not

completed; 500 kilometres have been completed and paved for the people of

Labrador on the Trans-Labrador Highway.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, $683 million has been put into the Trans-Labrador Highway by

this Administration. Zero is the

number of kilometres that were paved by that Administration when we were

there looking at the Trans-Labrador Highway.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister goes on with the rhetoric again.

Here we go again. If you

look back over the history of the Trans-Labrador Highway, maybe the minister

should answer the question, who started it?

Now, Minister, was the project on budget?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, we do not mind rising in this House and answering questions put

to us by members of the Opposition.

We do it every day, and I do it every day.

I will continue to do that.

I will continue to do my role and answer questions from the

Opposition members, the same as all of us here on this side of the House.

When they put three or four topics and comments on top

of their question, then sometimes we have a desire to answer some of their

remarks as well, Mr. Speaker.

When the member opposite gets up and says, well, you have not answered the

question, you have not answered the question, sometimes we are addressing

some of the other matters that they put forward as well.

Mr. Speaker, what we did here was we did the right

thing. Premier Marshall,

supported by this government and I know members opposite support it as

well was to call in the Auditor General and have the Auditor General do a

full review. He has done that

full review.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What we have not seen is the statutory declaration that

the minister just mentioned.

That has not been tabled.

I ask the minister: Would you table that to this House

of Assembly?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I noted earlier, Humber Valley Paving did indeed put

a statutory declaration to my department.

We reviewed it. We looked

at it. We were not convinced the

subcontractors were going to be satisfied to receive their payment, Mr.

Speaker, so we turned it down.

Again, I encourage anybody who feels they have a claim against Humber Valley

Paving for contract 1-12 to table that with the courts and we will deal with

it accordingly.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Mr. Speaker, the minister is suggesting we have a company in this Province

that they were in business with, that they actually cancelled a contract

within seven-and-a-half hours.

Some weeks later this same company files a statutory declaration claiming, I

would imagine, the subcontractors were paid.

Why isn't the minister satisfied with that?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, we had inquiries by a number of companies saying they have not

been rectified with the outstanding debt.

Mr. Speaker, they could not satisfy us through their legal process

that everything was satisfied.

So as a result, until we are completely satisfied this is about protecting

the investment of the people of this Province and those subcontractors.

We continue to do that, because we are holding that investment right

now.

The mechanic's lien is held by my department and will

not be released until we feel all the subcontractors have been taken care

of. They have a legal process

here to go through that we may be able to indeed support them by releasing

the monies to the courts to rectify that situation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just want to be clear for the people who are

following this situation. Did

Humber Valley Paving actually sign that statutory declaration that you are

saying?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, legal counsel for Humber Valley Paving came to our legal

counsel and had discussions and put in what they felt was their open process

around whether or not their subcontractors were satisfied.

We reviewed that. Because

we knew there are people out there who have already made inquiries that they

have not been taken care of and there are still outstanding debts, we felt

until we are completely satisfied, until we know the taxpayers' money is

protected here and those subcontractors are indeed fulfilled in their

contract obligations, we would not release it.

Mr. Speaker, we are still holding that because we want

to protect those subcontractors.

Until that point is made, we will then release it to the courts to deal with

it accordingly.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Mr. Speaker, in this new, open, and transparent government that you are

talking about today, I ask the minister, will you just please or the

Premier, will you answer the question: Did Humber Valley Paving sign the

statutory declaration that you are talking about?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I had mentioned, their legal counsel approached our

legal counsel. They submitted a

form outlining exactly why they felt the money should be released.

We again went back and said we understand there are subcontractors

there who have not been fully paid.

As a result, we felt it was not in the best interest of the Province

and the taxpayers for us to release that.

We have as our foremost objective here to protect the

taxpayers, and those taxpayers include those subcontractors, Mr. Speaker.

That money will not be released until we are satisfied their money

has been rectified and all outstanding debts have been paid.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Mr. Speaker, this process has taken a long time.

I ask the minister: Would he now table the documents

that he is referring to in this House of Assembly?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As this was a legal document, I will check with my

officials and our legal counsel to determine whether or not it can be

tabled.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, if it can be tabled, I will come back to this House and table

it to the people of this Province and to the Opposition.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Mr. Speaker, this process has been ongoing for quite some time now.

We have many small businesses in the Province that are left with

bills that are not paid for work they have done with this contract.

I ask the Premier: What assurances will you put in

place to make sure those small businesses are paid for the work they have

done on that contract?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

As I have outlined, we are holding the mechanic's lien, Mr. Speaker, because

we want to ensure that those subcontractors who feel they have a lien

against Project 1-12 are going to be satisfied.

That is part of it.

We look at it case by case, Mr. Speaker.

We are encouraging people.

There is a legal process for them to go through and we are

encouraging them on a daily basis to do that.

The moment we are comfortable that we can move forward on this, we

have many options open to us, we will make sure that people who have a

legitimate claim to that will be rectified.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is unfortunate that the Premier of the day and the

minister who is now on his feet defending the cancellation of this contract

did not take the time to do due diligence back when this project was

cancelled. The AG said,

actually, he could find no operational reason why government had to cancel

the Humber Valley Paving contract and release $19 million in bonds the day

before the PC leadership deadline.

He also said there was no evidence that it was even discussed in

Cabinet.

I ask the Premier: You must agree that this is a very

unusual set of circumstances that we are in today.

Will you now call a public inquiry into this cancellation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, as I stated here today, the Premier of the day, Premier

Marshall, took steps to ensure there was an independent review of the

circumstances involving the contract with Humber Valley Paving.

That was conducted by the Auditor General for the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador, a qualified, competent, respected independent

Officer of this House of Assembly.

It was ordered by this government.

It was supported by members opposite.

He carried out a full review, Mr. Speaker, and has resulted in his

recommendations.

He had unfettered access to documentation from 185

different people. He had a right

to interview who he felt was important to interview; he has interviewed

sixteen people. He has completed

his report and made his recommendations.

As I have said, we support and accept the recommendations and we will

be implementing them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What was unusual about this set of circumstances the

Premier obviously did not acknowledge that it was extremely unusual.

I want to remind the Premier, the AG was not satisfied.

There was no documentation.

As a matter of fact, he clearly outlined about the lack of

documentation. He also said that

there was no evidence that it was discussed in Cabinet when they were

meeting outside the Cabinet door just fifteen minutes prior to a Cabinet

meeting. Also, the Premier of

the day was not notified.

I ask the Premier: Would you consider these

circumstances to be unusual unusual enough to call a public inquiry into

this cancellation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Much of what the member opposite has outlined are

findings that are contained in the report.

They are findings that have been determined and reached by the

Auditor General in the review that he has done, that he has carried out

the review that he carried out, at the request of the government, which was

supported by members opposite.

Mr. Speaker, he has done a very competent job here.

I believe he has done a very competent job.

I am not sure if the members opposite are calling into question the

competency and the work of the Auditor General.

I hope that is not what they are doing

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Because I believe what the Auditor General has done here has been a good job

in doing an investigation. He

has made a number of things and he has said there is no documentary evidence

of undue influence in the decisions to mutually terminate the contract.

I think that is probably a very important point.

The Auditor General took the time to highlight that in his release.

It is a very important point and it is noteworthy, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will say to the Premier, we actually did support the

AG's review of this cancellation.

The AG, when he came back, made reference that he was not satisfied,

could not be satisfied with what he had seen, lack of documentation, all the

other reasons that I have just outlined.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier of the day, even though he

mentioned about the Auditor General, who is not satisfied, I ask the Premier

one more time: Why will you not call a public inquiry so small businesses in

this Province know that they can be treated fairly in this process?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that we have a very good relationship with the

business community in Newfoundland and Labrador and we always treat them

fairly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

We work very hard to support business opportunities in our Province and

young entrepreneurs.

When inquiries are called just to review some of the

inquiries over recent years that have taken place, the Wells inquiry, the

Cameron inquiry, the Lamer Inquiry, Hughes Inquiry; all inquiries that were

done in this Province that quite often dealt with loss of life, very serious

and critical incidents of a very personal level for people and breach of

people's liberties and discussions about have their liberties been breached,

those types of very serious matters.

What we have done here is we have called in the Auditor

General; he has done a comprehensive review, Mr. Speaker.

I respect the Auditor General.

I respect the work that he has done.

He has used his very broad powers to carry out an investigation and

he has completed that.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I agree with the Premier that many of the situations

that he just talked about were very serious, but so is this, because it

speaks to businesses and small companies in this Province being fairly with

taxpayers' money. The Premier

said this morning that being open is quickly becoming the new norm for

government.

Mr. Premier, actions speak louder than words.

Will you call a public inquiry into the cancellation of the Humber

Valley Paving contract, yes or no?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, we did take action.

We took swift action over here on this side of the House as a government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

We took action on the events that transpired.

That is why we called in the Auditor General, Mr. Speaker.

We have seen in the past, Mr. Speaker, at times when

the Auditor General has found that there were further concerns that required

further investigation and further review.

That has happened in the past.

In the very time that the Auditor General did a review of operations

of the House of Assembly and certain members within the House, and sent

referrals to the police, to the RNC saying there needs to be further

investigation in that matter.

That is an example, Mr. Speaker.

When the Auditor General feels that there is further work that needs

to be done, where he is unsatisfied to the point that further review and

investigation needs to be done, he has done that in the past.

That has not happened here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

I say to the Premier, why don't you just be open and transparent with the

people of this Province? Give a

simple answer: yes or no. Will

you call a public inquiry into the Humber Valley Paving cancellation, a

contract that was cancelled in seven-and-a-half hours?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not sure if the member opposite is trying to

suggest in any way, shape, or form that the work of the Auditor General has

not been open and transparent.

The Auditor General carried out a process.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

He has broad powers, Mr. Speaker.

The Office of the Auditor General has very broad powers to do full,

in-depth investigations. One

hundred and eighty-five officials from fourteen government departments

provided documentation to the Auditor General where documentation existed,

and in places where documentation did not exist, provided a statutory

declaration, a sworn declaration, saying that they did not have further

documents. He had the right to

interview who he saw fit. He

interviewed sixteen people under oath, Mr. Speaker, the same as what would

happen in a public inquiry.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier is already talking fiscal restraint months

ahead of his Budget, the federal government is cutting millions of federal

dollars for health care, and yesterday we learned Nalcor will be looking for

another half billion dollars.

I ask the Premier: Does he have a vision for our health

care system, other than cutting services?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member opposite is quite aware of the fiscal

circumstances that face not only this Province, but many provinces in

Canada, and many countries by the spiraling oil prices and the volatility of

world oil prices that we all face today.

Us and other provinces rely on those oil prices very importantly for

the operations of government and the work that we do in our respective

provinces.

I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that we have to make some

very difficult decisions. I can

tell you of utmost importance and first and foremost is the best interests

of the people of the Province.

Having regard to all of the circumstances, we are prepared to govern, we are

prepared to make those difficult decisions, and as time moves forward we

will be going through a process to make those decisions as we have to.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Then I ask the Premier: What is his plan to end

wait-lists for Janeway occupational therapists who are so swamped that they

can no longer conduct school visits for children with autism?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, all aspects of health care are very important to us as a

government. They are very

important to us, as they are important to the people of the Province.

As I said just a moment ago, as we face these very

difficult and challenging fiscal times, having in mind as well that we know

that it is anticipated that in the big picture and the big scope as time

goes on that these are going to be short-lived, they are going to be months

or a short number of years. What

we are doing is we are continuing to make investments, carry out projects,

and put the Province in a place that is going to benefit all Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians for decades to come.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the Premier: Well, what does he think about a

parent being told that their child must wait up to two years to see an

occupational therapist?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, as a government we are very concerned about wait times for

health care services, and we have reduced wait times in a number of key

areas. Earlier, the member asked

about services for children with autism.

In this fiscal year alone, we will invest $12.5 million in the

provision of programs and services for children with autism and

developmental disabilities.

In terms of wait times, Eastern Health is implementing

some new wait time management processes for autism-related services.

We have seen already a decrease in the average wait times for speech

language pathology services and for occupational therapy services, as well.

We have seen a decrease in wait times for both of these services and

we continue to see improvements.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The consultations for the review of the Residential

Tenancies Act were completed in 2012, two years ago.

People presented very serious problems in those consultations.

I ask the minister again: Why is he not releasing the

report and its recommendations?

People are waiting. Is he trying

to hide some of the recommendations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the hon. member for her question.

As I said last week in my answer, Mr. Speaker, we held ten public

consultations across the Province between September and November 2012; 142

individuals presented in-person presentations and we also had twenty-eight

written submissions, Mr. Speaker.

We are not hiding anything, Mr. Speaker.

We all know the Residential Tenancies Act governs the relationship

between landlords and tenants is a very important piece of work.

We will do our due diligence and we will release it when we are

ready, Mr. Speaker. When we are

done with the work to its completion.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre for a quick question.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister once again: Why won't he release the

Newfoundland and Labrador housing and homelessness report completed last

year? Is he trying to hide how

desperate the housing crisis has become?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I tell the hon. member across the

way, we are not hiding anything.

We are an open, transparent government.

That is why when we do our work we consult with the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador. We

are highly committed to updating this legislation, and when we have done our

work we will bring it to the House of Assembly so all the people of the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador can have a look at it, evaluate it,

review it, and say what a good job we have done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answer to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the Town Council of Bryant's Cove has applied

for funding of $958,403 from the provincial government over the past three

years, 2011, 2012 and 2013, for upgrades and paving to Point Road but has

not been successful; and

WHEREAS Point Road has deteriorated to the point that

council can no longer maintain this road, and residents and businesses are

complaining about the cost incurred to upkeep their vehicles due to the

condition of the road and the risk to their personal safety; and

WHEREAS school bus operators are expressing concern

about the condition of Point Road and are indicating that there is a

possibility that buses will not operate on this road in the upcoming school

year; and

WHEREAS Point Road has the highest population and

traffic than any other municipal road in the town with seven side roads

branching off; and

WHEREAS the residents are stating they will not be

paying any property tax until upgrades are carried out on the road;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to funding

application to the town council to have Point Road upgraded and paved this

year.

As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I spoke a little bit on this last night,

or yesterday evening. Of course,

there is a bigger issue here.

School buses are going out over that road and kids are popping all over the

place in the bus. There is some

concern about the children's safety here also.

Mr. Speaker, we do not understand why the Town of

Bryant's Cove have been denied year after year after year the funding.

The town is prepared to put their share into it.

So one would only think it is a matter of process.

Remember yesterday when I spoke I talked about

forty-eight districts. Mr.

Speaker, forty-eight districts and every district should be at least treated

equal. This is not the case

here. This is not what is taking

place here. This is a town that

has been neglected by this government, and neglected in a big way, I say,

Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the council in this community have reached

out to this government and I expect for the government to turn around and

reach out to them. This is

something that needs to be done; it has to be done.

Other than that, I do not know what else to say here because I am

baffled for words for the simple fact this government is just ignoring the

people of Bryant's Cove. These

people deserve that opportunity.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A petition: To the hon. House of Assembly of the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition

of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the communities of Castor River South, Castor

River North, Shoal Cove West, Bird Cove, New Ferrole and Bartletts Harbour

were contracted under Phase 2 of the Rural Broadband Initiative to receive

Internet service in May 2013; and

WHEREAS the above communities were scheduled to have

that service installed in the fall of 2013; and

WHEREAS the company contracted to provide that service,

EION Inc. experienced delays and the new

schedule for Internet service for

the above communities was for March 2014; and

WHEREAS the equipment has now been installed to provide

this service, but due to technical difficulties the company EION Inc. has

not yet completed the installation of this service; and

WHEREAS even though contracted, residents have been

advised that not all areas or all residences included in the contract will

get Internet service;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to immediately resolve the issues and delays

associated with providing Internet service as contracted through EION Inc.

to all of the above named communities.

As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this is a situation where government

appears to have gone out and hired a contractor to provide a service.

It seems government may have paid the contractor, but the people know

one thing for certain, they are not receiving the service.

Yet government is bragging about having Phase 2 of the Broadband

Initiative completed, when in fact maybe they have spent all the money.

It would be typical of this government not to have done any due

diligence, not to have checked up on it further, and to have left

communities along the way without Internet service.

Mr. Speaker, in one case the broadband service, the

tower that is supposed to serve the communities of Shoal Cove West, Reid's

Harbour, and New Ferrole is put on one side of a hill which actually blocks

any signal from New Ferrole. The

representatives of the company who have attended say, well, you need another

tower. It seems as if somebody

at the governmental level did not bother to check and put the tower in the

right place. Now they cannot

receive the signal.

Mr. Speaker, in the case of Bartletts Harbour, the

tower has been installed at some distance from Bartletts Harbour but the

company has not gotten around to finishing the job, so you have everybody in

that town without service. These

residents are very concerned that the company is now going to leave town.

Government is literally washing its hands of the whole thing saying

we bought and paid for it. In

fact, like so many other contracts with this government, and with the severe

financial incompetence of this government, it looks like they have either

paid for something and have not supervised it, or they probably bought

something that was not up to scratch and is not providing the service that

government claims it is.

People are absolutely irate.

They are disturbed. They

when in fact they know darn well they are not.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the Family Violence Intervention Court provided

a comprehensive approach to domestic violence in a court setting that fully

understood and dealt with the complex issues of domestic violence; and

WHEREAS domestic violence continues to be one of the

most serious issues facing our Province today and the cost of the impact of

domestic violence is great, both economically and in human suffering; and

WHEREAS the Family Violence Intervention Court was

welcomed and endorsed by all aspects of the justice system including the

police, the courts, prosecutors, defence counsel, Child, Youth and Family

Services, as well as victims, offenders, community agencies, and women's

groups; and

WHEREAS the recidivism rate for offenders going through

the court was 10 per cent compared to 40 per cent for those who did not; and

WHEREAS the budget for the court was only 0.2 per cent

of the entire budget of the Department of Justice;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the

Family Violence Intervention Court.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy once again to get up and speak

to this petition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would think that the members on the other side of the

House would want to hear what I have to say about this.

The Premier has said he is ready to reinstate the court once he can

find a way of making sure it can serve a larger part of the Province.

Mr. Speaker, I presented the Minister of Justice with a

plan on how this could be done quite easily.

I also presented the same plan to the Premier.

I have not heard back from the Premier yet.

This plan was done in consultation with people who have expertise in

Family Violence Intervention Courts.

As a matter of fact, not only theoretical expertise, but people who

have worked in Family Violence Intervention Courts.

How this can be done, you need a courtroom, Mr.

Speaker. Courtrooms are already

in place across the Province. In

fact, you do not need a special courtroom.

You simply allocate half a day a week for the Family Violence

Intervention Court into an already existing courtroom.

There is no extra cost for that.

You need a judge.

We already have the judges all across the Province.

What we do need is a judge with a little bit of extra training so

that judge, he or she, will be well versed in the issues of domestic

violence, and how to best serve them through a specialized court like the

Family Violence Intervention Court.

Then you need a Crown prosecutor.

We already have Crown prosecutors.

This would just be a little bit of their time.

They need a little bit of training; that is all.

Mr. Speaker, I will finish this another day.

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

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

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Labrador's coastal communities already pay

extremely high hydro rates; and

WHEREAS small businesses are struggling to stay in

operation against rising costs of operation; and

WHEREAS Nalcor, a Crown corporation, is proposing an

11.4 per cent increase to residential hydro rates and a 20 per cent increase

to business rates;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to work with Nalcor to establish rates that are

fair and consistent to the whole Province.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I was very saddened when I went home just

this past weekend. The largest

community in my district, a viable what I thought was a viable business

there, with a for sale sign. He

said with the cost of transportation and everything else and now being hit

with this proposed 20 per cent and to see the minister stand repeatedly

and say, yes, we support this; we support hydro wanting to double their rate

of return on equity.

That is one thing, Mr. Speaker, but the issue I want to

talk about is the application that they first filed in 2013, the proposed

increase for Labrador isolated rates was 0.9 per cent.

Lake Melville at that time was going to be hit with a 26 per cent

increase. Mr. Speaker, they

pulled it off the table and they have turned around and they are going to

double their increase on the backs of the most vulnerable in society.

Small coastal communities, older people who live on fixed income, are

now going to be hit with an 11.4 per cent increase, and business is going to

be hit with 20 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, I tabled it here in the House last week; I

held it up. Small businesses

paying $6,000 a month hydro for heat and light $5,000, $6,000 a month.

I met a lady in Walmart Sunday night from my district who is $350,

$400 on her house.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS DEMPSTER:

Mr. Speaker, I will be making a submission to the PUB because what is

happening here is a very unfair distribution.

I cannot believe that the minister can say he supports this.

I cannot believe it. We

are talking about the mom and pop businesses, the aunt Nellies and uncle

Johns. What happened to the

larger communities that were going to be hit with an increase where they are

making very big income but no, the people who have nothing coming in, only

their old age pension, these are the people who are now going to pay for

this, Mr. Speaker.

I feel it is absolutely wrong.

I cannot support it. I

will continue to stand on my feet, and I will continue to petition for the

people of coastal Labrador, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have a petition today on health care in the

Heatherton to Highlands area.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there has not been a permanent doctor in the

clinic in Jeffrey's for almost a year; and

WHEREAS the absence of a permanent doctor is seriously

compromising the health care of people who live in the Heatherton to

Highlands area and causing them undue hardship; and

WHEREAS the absence of a doctor or a nurse practitioner

in the area leaves seniors without a consistency and quality of care which

is necessary for their continued good health;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to take action which will result in a permanent

doctor or other arrangements to improve the health care services in the

Heatherton to Highlands area.

Mr. Speaker, this is a crisis situation in health care

in the area. Many people are not

getting the health care services they need

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I would ask members for the co-operation.

The hon. the Member for St. George's Stephenville

East, to continue.

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The people of St. George's Stephenville East are

concerned about the health care crisis that is developing in their area.

Many people are not getting the services they require.

This situation is about to get worse, as the doctor in St. George's

has told the health care board that he is about to leave as well and this,

of course, will lead to more demands upon the emergency centre at the

hospital in Stephenville.

I think it is fair to call this situation a crisis.

The clinic in Jeffrey's has been without a doctor for close to a year

now and people are not getting the services they require.

I have talked to the Minister of Health and I have talked to the

health board about the situation there, and I am hopeful that something will

happen soon to resolve this situation.

In the meantime, I will keep presenting petitions from

people of the area on this issue.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Labrador's coastal communities already pay

extremely high hydro rates; and

WHEREAS small businesses are struggling to stay in

operation against rising costs of operation; and

WHEREAS Nalcor, a Crown corporation, is proposing an

11.4 per cent increase to residential hydro rates and a 20 per cent increase

to business rates;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to work with

Nalcor to establish rates that are fair and consistent to the whole

Province.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, as with my colleague, the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair, we have some serious issues with this.

I would just like to take a different approach here when you are

looking at the margin of increase when compared to other areas in the

Province.

I realize that Lake Melville and Lab West had a 25 per

cent increase proposal that was put on the table a couple of years ago but

was taken off. I wonder what

would be the reaction in those districts if that 25 per cent was

implemented. They are not going

to see it, thankfully. I am

hoping it is because of the government's intervention, whether at the PUB

level or before the Crown corporation, owned by the Crown, got to the stage

of presenting to the PUB. At the

end of the day, Mr. Speaker, that 25 per cent increase was pulled off the

table.

What does this government do?

They go back to the hardest hit people in the Province.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard stories about seniors in metro St. John's

going to businesses, going to the mall, turning their heat down, and

spending the day there so they can cover the cost of living.

I have been here all months of the year; I think I may have seen it

go to minus fifteen degrees.

That is a good reason for a senior who cannot pay their bills to go

somewhere to save on their heating costs.

In Nain, Mr. Speaker, I have seen it go to minus

fifty-seven degrees and they have to grow up their families a lot of

people stay with them. If you

add to that a 20 per cent increase in residential, how much more are the

commodities going to be charged for that cost that is going to be passed on

to the consumer?

We all know where the Minister of Natural Resources

stands, Mr. Speaker. I would

like to know where the Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs stands on

this issue.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move, seconded by the Minister of Education and Early

Childhood Development, that we move to Orders of the Day.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that we move to Orders of the Day.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you again, Mr. Speaker.

At this time I would like to call from the Order Paper,

Order 2, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The Registered Nurses

Act, 2008, Bill 32.

I move, seconded by the Minister of Health and

Community Services, that the said bill be now read the second time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that Bill 32 be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The

Registered Nurses Act, 2008.

(Bill 32)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a pleasure to rise before this hon. House today

to introduce Bill 32, which is entitled

An Act to Amend the Registered

Nurses Act, 2008. The Registered

Nurses Act, 2008 regulates the nursing profession in this Province.

The Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador is

the regulatory body created under the act that is responsible for advancing

and promoting the ethical and professional standards of the nursing

profession, promoting proficiency and competency in the nursing profession

as well.

The mandate of the association is to ensure that nurses

who provide care and services to the people of this Province are qualified,

and that they provide care and services in accordance with the standards and

code of ethics applicable to the practice of nursing.

One of the ways in which the association fulfills its

mandate is to address issues where a registered nurse is alleged to have

engaged in conduct that is contrary to acceptable practice and ethical

standards. Currently, the

Registered Nurses Act, 2008 contains provisions which establish a

disciplinary process to be followed when dealing with allegations that a

nurse has engaged in conduct deserving of sanction.

Mr. Speaker, conduct deserving of sanction is defined

in the act as including the following: professional misconduct; professional

incompetence; conduct unbecoming a registered nurse; incapacity or unfitness

to engage in the practice of nursing; and acting in breach of the act,

regulations, or the code of ethics.

The process by which an allegation that a registered

nurse has engaged in conduct deserving of sanction is dealt with, as set out

in the act, and may involve a settlement of the allegation by the Director

of Professional Conduct Review with the agreement of the registered nurse

and the person who made the complaint; a referral to the complaints

authorization committee to conduct an investigation; and following which, a

referral to a disciplinary tribunal for a hearing, where there are

reasonable grounds to believe that the registered nurse engaged in conduct

deserving of sanction.

The act sets out sanctions that may be imposed on a

registered nurse who is found to have engaged in conduct deserving of

sanction. The types of orders

which may be made include the following: suspending the registered nurse;

striking the registered nurse's name from the register of registered nurses;

making restitution to the complainant or another person affected by the

registered nurse's conduct; obtaining medical treatment or counselling;

engaging in continuing education programs; and restricting his or her

professional practice.

Mr. Speaker, Bill 32 amends the Registered Nurses Act,

2008 to add provisions which will authorize the association to engage in a

process of quality assurance with a registered nurse.

The amendment requires the establishment of a quality assurance

committee whose responsibility is to carry out quality assurance reviews

related to a registered nurse's practice.

Quality assurance reviews accomplish a number of things.

They are a means of assessing the quality of care provided by

registered nurses; of identifying any areas of concern; of establishing

remedial action to address the concern; and monitoring the registered

nurse's practice to ensure the remedy is effective in addressing the

concerns.

A quality assurance review may be commenced in the

following circumstances: at the request of the Director of Professional

Conduct Review; at the request of the complaints authorization committee; or

upon initiation by the quality assurance committee itself.

While the association can now work with a registered

nurse to address concerns with respect to his or her practice, the addition

of the quality assurance provisions to the act authorizes the quality

assurance committee or person assisting the committee to exercise a number

of powers: the power to compel a person to provide information; the power to

require a person to produce information, including documents and records;

and the power to inspect the premises where the registered nurse practices.

In connection with the quality assurance review, the

committee may issue directives and orders regarding the registered nurse and

his or her practice. These

orders include requiring the registered nurse to undergo an examination,

evaluation, assessment or a review of his or her practice or capacity or

fitness to practice; obtain counselling; complete a course of studies or an

educational or a training program; restrict his or her nursing practice; and

obtain supervised clinical experience.

Adding quality assurance provisions to the act is a way

for the association to engage with a registered nurse to address concerns

with that nurse's practice before it gets to the point of being conduct

deserving of sanction, such as professional misconduct.

However, if it becomes apparent during a quality

assurance review that a registered nurse may have engaged in conduct

deserving of sanction, then the review is terminated and the matter is

referred to the complaints authorization committee to be dealt with as a

part of a disciplinary process.

Once a concern or issues is raised with the association

regarding a registered nurse's practice, if it appears to meet the threshold

of conduct deserving of sanction, then it will be dealt with in accordance

with the disciplinary process that is set out in the act.

However, if it does not appear to meet that threshold, it may be

dealt with as part of the quality assurance process.

These amendments require a registered nurse to

co-operate and authorize the imposition of certain remedial actions, which I

highlighted earlier. If a

registered nurse fails to comply with an agreement or a directive or order

of the quality assurance committee, then this failure to comply is to be

dealt with as an allegation in accordance with the disciplinary provisions

in this act.

Mr. Speaker, protection of patient records and personal

health information during any review process will remain paramount.

The amendments require that the records and specific information are

kept confidential. Through the

disciplinary process, the association would already have access to patients'

records and the personal health information of registered nurses in the

context of the disciplinary process.

The Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador has

a number of requirements and policies in place to ensure the protection and

security of the information it requires to fulfill its mandate under the

act.

The primary goal of the quality assurance provisions,

including the establishment of a quality assurance committee, is to

strengthen and improve the practices of registered nurses, and ultimately

provide better protection for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador who

receive care and services from registered nurses.

Officials in my department have worked very closely with the

association regarding these proposed quality assurance provisions and the

amendments, to ensure they meet the needs of the association.

Mr. Speaker, at the request of the association, these

amendments are subject to proclamation and will come into force at a later

date. This will provide the

association with the necessary time to fully develop its policies regarding

quality assurance and with sufficient time to appoint the quality assurance

committee.

There are currently over 6,800 nurses registered with

the association, and we hear many, many instances where nurses are providing

the highest level of care every day to the people of this Province.

However, in those cases where there are concerns with a registered

nurse's practice, it is important for the association to have the tools it

needs to address these concerns, rather than wait until they become more

serious and thereby require engagement in the disciplinary process.

Mr. Speaker, this bill enables the Association of

Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador to fulfill its statutory

mandate by ensuring registered nurses in this Province continue to provide

the highest level of care to the patients they serve by allowing the

association to deal with concerns at an earlier stage before they become

conduct deserving of sanction under the disciplinary process.

I hope all members of this House will join me in

supporting these amendments to the Registered Nurses Act, 2008.

I will leave it there for now, Mr. Speaker.

I look forward to bringing closing comments later in the debate.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy to stand today and speak to Bill 32, which

will amend the Registered Nurses Act, 2008.

Before I begin, I should put out a thank you to the

staff at the Department of Health and Community Services for sitting down

with us this morning to provide us with a briefing on this piece of

legislation. It is obviously

very important.

In terms of the size of it, it is not a huge piece of

legislation. It is just an

amendment as opposed to a new bill, but it seems to be following along the

lines of some statutes that have already been changed to address this

particular issue. My

understanding is that the Medical Act, 2011, the Optometry Act, the Pharmacy

Act, the Psychiatrist Act, and there is one more piece of legislation all on

the same vein where it has been amended to allow quality assurance.

That is the template that has been set.

Specifically, there are two templates.

The Association of Registered Nurses have decided to follow along the

blueprint set by the Medical Act, or doctors.

In this case it is very simple, or seems to be very simple or

straightforward in that we have already had we talk about self-regulating

bodies, which there are a number of professions in this Province that fall

under this, whether it be physicians, whether it be nurses, whether it be

lawyers.

You are self-regulating.

You are held to a higher standard to police yourself, to monitor

yourself, to ensure qualities are of the highest and your members are all

following a certain code, a certain ethics.

If you refuse to do that then you will have that ability taken away,

that privilege taken away. I

think the groups that have this ability do a great job of that.

In this case, it is my understanding the nurses and

government have been in conversation for some time on how to move forward.

The disciplinary aspect is already there, but this will allow for

quality assurance. That is one

of the big things we want to make sure is there.

Quality assurance is something you hear more and more of, whether it

is in the service industry, whether it is in the retail industry.

It is great to hear of quality assurance when we talk

about health care because that is what we want.

We want quality health care and you want the people who are

performing the health care, the practitioners of health care, making sure

they self-police to ensure that it is there as well.

We are certainly in favour of this.

I think it is a great move.

This particular amendment will allow the registered

nurses to conduct quality assurance investigations.

I think the minister has done a good job of explaining why and the

different components, whether it be what are the different parts that

would form quality assurance and that will be looked at?

It is not just criminals, say, or disciplinary, but it could be

issues outside of that realm that will affect the quality of the performance

of their duties but should be dealt with in a different way.

It may not be a disciplinary matter per se.

I had some specific questions in the briefing this

morning. I understand this will

not be proclaimed right away.

That is important to note because we are doing the work now in this part.

We will go through our notice and first reading, second reading,

Committee, and right into the third reading; however, this will not be put

in right away. My understanding

is we are doing this in conjunction or co-operation with the nurses because

they have a bit of work to do on their end.

They have an education part they have to do with their

own membership. That is fine; we

understand that. My question

was: What is the timeline that will take place?

I think we need to know this.

I have been told six to nine months would probably be the time

period. I think that is fine.

We need to do this right, and we need to make sure the membership are

fully aware of how this is going to happen.

One of the big parts there is a quality assurance

committee that will be struck and I think populated by the profession

themselves. That is their

mandate. They are privy to do

that and put this in place. That

will take some time. We

understand that. I hope they

will stick to that timeline because we do want to see this come into place.

We do not want to see something like quality assurance

put on the back burner. I do not

think that is going to happen. I am

just glad to hear when you hear a timeline put in place, that gives you an

expectation. I think anybody in

this Province, no matter what it is, what it is for, people like an

expectation. That allows them to

formulate their expectations.

They have done that in this case and we are satisfied with that.

Policy work has to be done by the association.

They will go out and retain quality assurance experts.

We have a number of them in this Province, a number of them in the

field. They will make sure this

is done right and properly. The

good news, as stated before, is there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

This has been done by other health care professions.

So they have some guidance they can look to there, as well as going

outside the Province. As I am

undoubtedly sure that this is already being done elsewhere.

I do not see the need right now to belabour this.

Pending any questions we may have in the Committee stage or we may

get later on, I do not know.

Sometimes the only drawback is that by the time we talk about this and have

questions, there is not enough time for the public to maybe give us input.

From what I understand, the people who are subject to this are part

of the process. I am satisfied

with that, if that is indeed the case, and I think people should be as well.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this bill.

I look forward to the Committee stage as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Baie Verte Springdale.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. POLLARD:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am very pleased and delighted to stand in this House

of Assembly this afternoon to speak to Bill 32,

An Act to Amend the

Registered Nurses Act, 2008.

First of all, as usual, Mr. Speaker, I would just like

to say a great big thank you to the people of the District of Baie Verte

Springdale for their ongoing and continued support.

It is an honour and a privilege to stand in this House any time.

Furthermore, I would also like to thank the minister

and his officials for their briefing this morning.

Albeit, I was not there because I was attending another function at

city hall on behalf of the minister.

Actually, it was the Food Security Network AGM.

I found that very informative, Mr. Speaker, this morning.

First of all, I will read the explanatory note.

This is what it says, Mr. Speaker.

This Bill would amend the Registered Nurses Act, 2008 to add

regulation making authority respecting quality assurance; add quality

assurance provisions to enhance public protection and accountability; and

allow the complaints authorization committee to refer an allegation to the

quality assurance committee.

Mr. Speaker, before I begin my comments again, I simply

want to acknowledge and recognize and applaud the efforts of physicians,

nurse practitioners, RNs, LPNs, personal care workers, all health providers

right across this great Province of ours for their genuine, competent, safe,

quality of care, tender and compassionate care that they give to the

residents of this Province of ours.

They go above and beyond the call of duty every single day.

I am sure everybody in this hon. House here recognizes that fact and

do appreciate all the work they do in providing tender, loving,

compassionate care to the people of this Province.

Mr. Speaker, health profession governing bodies are

responsible for the regulation of health professions in this Province.

They are responsible for establishing standards of conduct and

practice for their members. They

are also responsible for registering individuals who meet the health

profession's educational, training, and certification requirements.

Only those individuals who meet these requirements are permitted to

practice a regulated health profession.

These regulatory bodies fulfill an important role for the people of

this Province who avail of the services of health care professionals every

single day.

One key area for the regulators of a health profession

is to protect the public, Mr. Speaker, through the administration of the

disciplinary process set out in its governing statute.

Each health profession governing statute contains a detailed,

disciplinary process that is generally consistent right across all health

professions. The process to be

followed in each of these is set out in a very clear, concise fashion.

The process begins with an allegation that a health

professional has engaged in conduct deserving of sanction.

The registrar, with the consent of the complainant and the health

professional, may resolve the complaint; however, if it is not resolved, the

complaint is referred to the complaints authorization committee to conduct

an investigation. Where there

are reasonable grounds, following the investigation, to believe that the

health professional has engaged in conduct deserving of sanction, the

complaint may be referred to an adjudication tribunal for a hearing.

There is a requirement in all of the health profession governing

statutes that hearings be held in public unless the adjudication tribunal

decides to exclude the public.

In circumstances where the consequence of possible

disclosure of personal matters of a party to the complaint or to a witness

outweigh the preference to hold the hearing in public, the adjudication

tribunal may decide to exclude the public from the hearing or part of the

hearing, Mr. Speaker.

Where a health professional has been found guilty of

conduct deserving of sanction, the adjudication tribunal has the ability to

make the following types of orders: it may order that the health

professional be suspended for a fixed period of time that he or she may meet

certain conditions imposed by the adjudication tribunal; it may order that

the health professional surrender his or her certificate and that his or her

name be taken from the registrar; and may order that the health professional

may pay a fine.

An adjudication tribunal may also require a health

professional to obtain medical treatment; obtain counselling, including

substance abuse counselling or treatment; engage in continuing education;

and permit periodic inspection of records relating to his or her practice.

These orders play an important role in the protection of the public,

Mr. Speaker.

The amendments set out in Bill 32 will authorize the

Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador to also engage

in a process of quality assurance with a registered nurse.

A quality assurance committee will be established that will be

responsible for carrying out quality assurance reviews related to a

registered nurse's practice.

Quality assurance provisions are currently in five of the health profession

statutes. These are the

Psychologists Act, 2005; the Health Professions Act; the Medical Act, 2011;

the Pharmacy Act, 2012; and the Optometry Act, 2012.

With the adoption of the amendments to the Registered

Nurses Act, 2008, there will be more than 10,000 health professionals from

twelve health professions who could be required to participate in quality

assurance reviews, Mr. Speaker.

In cases where areas of concern are identified with respect to a registered

nurse's practice which do not meet the threshold of conduct deserving of

sanction, a quality assurance review will now be conducted.

The primary goal of the quality assurance provisions,

including the establishment of the committee, Mr. Speaker, is to strengthen

and improve the practices of registered nurses and, ultimately, provide

better protection for the people who receive care from registered nurses in

this Province of ours.

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, Bill 32 enables the

Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador to fulfill its

statutory mandate by ensuring registered nurses in this Province continue to

provide the highest level of care to the patients they serve by allowing the

association to deal with concerns at an earlier stage before they become

conduct deserving of sanction under the disciplinary process.

I support Bill 32.

I ask all members in this hon. House to join me in supporting Bill

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to stand and speak to Bill 32,

An Act to

Amend the Registered Nurses Act, 2008.

I first of all want to thank the staff from the Department of Health

and Community Services for meeting with us this morning and giving us a

briefing on this act to be sure that we were ready to speak to it this

afternoon, and to cover any questions that we might have had.

I have to say that I did not have a lot of questions

with regard to the bill that is before us this afternoon because it is

something that makes such common sense.

Obviously, I am going to be supporting it.

I remember back in 2011 we passed a similar thing in

the medical services act and had a debate there about the whole issue of

having quality assurance committees.

We discussed other things in that act at that time if I remember

correctly.

The important thing is that what we are seeing here is

something which is at the heart of professionalism, and that makes me feel

good. Any professional group,

and certainly the registered nurses are a very important professional group

in our society, would want to make sure that everything they do and

everything their members do is of the highest quality.

As any professional group does, they would have a sense of pride in

their work, and would want to make sure that anybody who is part of their

group, who is part of their association, is also always showing the best

that one can do or can give to the people they are serving.

I think the fact that government worked very closely

with the registered nurses association of the Province is important because

it should give the people of the Province a sense of comfort that both the

government and the registered nurses association are concerned that people

of the Province are getting the best possible care from people in the health

care system.

I am not going to go through the kind of detail my

colleagues have done because I do not think that needs to be repeated, but I

do think I would like to once again say that what is important about the

quality assurance committee is that it is at a different level than the

disciplinary committee. That

would already have been covered in the act that was already there.

I see it almost like a preventive measure because by the time

somebody has to be disciplined by their professional association, it seems

to me the behaviour has come to an extreme that has led to

an act that has

really hurt others.

What I see with having the quality assurance committee

is people are able to bring forward an issue, a concern that is not yet at

the point maybe where somebody has done real harm but red alerts are being

raised. The quality assurance

committee is the body that can take those red alerts, look at what is going

on, and make a decision as to whether or not there is some kind of

remediation that needs to happen in the life of the professional.

I would like to read, because people watching us right

now probably do not have this act in front of them.

They could go online, of course.

As we are doing our discussion, they could go online to the House of

Assembly and find the bill and follow it with us, but not everybody has that

capacity. I know a lot of people

who do watch us during debate probably would be interested in knowing what

it is that will get covered if somebody is investigated by the quality

assurance committee and that individual is found to be lacking in some area

with regard to the quality of the work they are doing.

I am going to read out one

section from the act because

I think it is important. I said

this act should give a sense of comfort to people that those in the health

care system, the medical professions, both doctors, physicians, registered

nurses, and other medical professions really want to give quality care.

I am going to read

section 35.3 from the bill we are discussing

today. The quality assurance

committee may itself initiate a quality assurance review of a registered

nurse or his or her practice or at the request of the Director of

Professional Conduct Review or the complaints authorization committee.

There are three bodies in this act that would have the authority to

initiate a quality assurance review.

In connection with a quality assurance review, the

quality assurance committee may, and this is important.

This is what they may demand of the person who is being evaluated.

I will use that word.

They may require a registered nurse, require, not just recommend but

require or another person who has information pertaining to or possession

of records that relate to the registered nurse's practice, to provide

information, including patient records, for inspection or review and to

permit them to be copied by the committee or a person appointed by the

committee for the purpose. That

is an extremely important piece of power that the committee has.

Also, the committee may order a registered nurse not

recommend but, order a registered nurse to undergo an examination,

evaluation, assessment or review of his or her professional practices or

capacity or fitness to practice, to the extent and under the circumstances

required by the committee.

It may also engage in periodic or random reviews or

audits of a registered nurse's performance including the consequential

review of patient records. It

may also order, again not recommend, but order a registered nurse to (

i) obtain counselling, including substance abuse counselling, until the

registered nurse can demonstrate to the committee, or another body or a

person designated by the committee, that a condition related to the

counselling has been overcome.

Also, order the registered nurse to (ii) obtain

medical treatment and authorize a person participating in the provision of

that treatment to report on it to the committee, (iii) complete a course of

studies or an educational or training program, (iv) restrict his or her

registered nursing practice, (

v) obtain supervised clinical experience as

directed by the committee and to the satisfaction of the committee, (vi) to

continue his or her registered nursing practice under conditions the

committee may specify, or (vii) report his or her compliance with an order

of the committee and authorize a person to report to the committee on

whether he or she is complying with an order.

This is all very important because it shows the

committee has powers to make sure that actions are taken.

That is extremely important.

My colleague from Burgeo La Poile talked about the

template that was used. The

staff from the department gave us that information this morning in the

briefing. The template for

quality assurance in this act is a template that was used in the Medical

Act,

an act that I referred to a minute ago,

an act that we discussed in

2011 in this House, the medical services act.

The template in the medical services act, which is now being used

here in the Registered Nurses Act, is one that we were told the registered

nurses association themselves wanted.

There is another template that covers four other

bodies: the health professionals, optometrists, pharmacists, and

psychologists. The provisions in

the template for those four acts are much more general.

The template used in the medical services act, and which is now being

adapted in the Registered Nurses Act, is very prescriptive and gives powers

of order to the committee.

The committee is actually and this is an important

point. The committee and a

person appointed by the committee because the committee does have the

powers to appoint registered nurses to work with them.

The committee and a person appointed by the committee shall have the

powers, privileges and immunities that are conferred on a commissioner under

the Public Inquiries Act, 2006.

This is a very serious body that is being set up here in this act.

I think that is what should give a sense of comfort to people.

I think people should also get a sense of comfort from

the fact that the registered nurses association of this Province wanted this

legislation. They wanted this

level of prescription that is in this act with regard to the quality

assurance committee.

For that reason, knowing how much the association wants

this, and knowing this has been carefully looked at and not looked at

once, but is a piece of work that was looked at when the medical services

act was brought in. Adaptations

obviously are made in this act to reflect that we are talking about a

separate group. Knowing all of

that, we should have real comfort that the concern for quality is high in

the medical profession.

We may want to remember something else, I think, which

should also be something that we are happy about, to remember that this

concern for quality assurance was first something that came out from the

Cameron inquiry. The Cameron

inquiry addressed the whole issue of quality assurance.

The addition of a quality assurance committee and procedure to the

Registered Nurses Act is just another case of addressing the recommendations

from the Cameron inquiry.

I think we will always have to be on our toes about

that. We will always have to

make sure we are providing the highest standards in any profession, but

especially in the medical profession, and to protect patient safety.

At the same time, we have to protect the professional as well.

I think that is exactly what a quality assurance committee will do

because of what I said earlier about the preventive nature of having the

quality assurance committee.

If somebody is running into trouble in his or her life

that is affecting their work and somebody is observing that, that can now be

picked up and it can be dealt with by the quality assurance, and in a

helping way the person can be worked with, the person can be given options

to make sure that he or she stops something right at the source instead of

having a problem that escalates to the point where disciplinary action is

needed.

I think it is extremely important to note that

something to be brought to the quality assurance committee and they could

look at what is being brought to them with regard to a particular

individual, and they could actually decide things have gotten to a point

where discipline is needed. If

that happens, the quality assurance committee will pass the case over to the

disciplinary committee which, of course, still exists in the act.

I think that is important for people to know as well

because that also is something that would bring comfort to the general

public, that they know everything has been thought about so the quality

assurance committee is not there to stop discipline from happening when

discipline might be necessary, it is there this is my language; it is not

the language in the act. As I

see it, it is there in a preventative measure to make sure we can actually

stop the actions that could lead to discipline, that we would want to have

the professional person working at the top of his or her ability and be

helped to do that.

I think those are the main points I would like to make,

Mr. Speaker. I could repeat

points that have been made by my colleagues, but I do not think that is

necessary. They did a great job.

I thank the minister for giving a good explanation in

the beginning and for his staff today because they were very helpful.

As I said, I am supporting this bill.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It is indeed a pleasure to get up, my first time

getting up in this session, representing the beautiful District of Cape St.

Francis, like I always say.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I do not think anyone in

this House today will go against this bill.

I think it is a great bill.

It is a positive bill. It

is a positive step that we are taking here today.

I want to thank the people in the Department of Health; this morning,

they gave us a great review of this new act that we are bringing in here.

Anything we do to make the lives or anything in the

health care system because the health care system is probably the most

complex thing we have in our lives.

Our health care is so important to all of us.

It is important to our loved ones when we go to the hospitals and see

them, that we are assured they are getting the best possible care they can.

I know, through personal experiences I had, you go to

the hospital and when you see a nurse going and giving that extra thing that

they do and their professionalism they show and the care they show to a

patient, it gives great comfort to the family.

It gives great comfort to the people there in hospital knowing they

are well taken care of.

I speak from personal experience, Mr. Speaker.

My mother was a nurse for thirty-two years.

She was a Public Health Nurse in the Torbay, Flatrock, Pouch Cove,

and Bauline area. Back then, in

her time, we had no doctors down there then, there were no doctors' offices,

and I think she did a little bit more than even the nursing part of it.

I can remember nights she left our home I drove her a scattered

time; my brothers drove her and she just went to comfort people who were

sick in their homes.

The majority of our nurses are the same way.

When you become a nurse, it seems like it is a calling for a lot of

people and they really take that calling seriously.

Right now, in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador, we have more

nurses than ever before. I

believe the minister said there were 6,800 nurses in the system right now.

That is just registered nurses.

We have LPNs; I think there are 2,300.

It is important that we put in place standards for

nurses to make sure all nurses I am sure everyone in this House can attest

they have been dealing with the health care system, because we all do, and

they can really say I have went to so and so and that nurse was unbelievable

or this nurse was so and so.

I was just recently in hospital myself and there was

four of us in the one room.

There were three different nurses taking care of us.

They all have their own little ways and, sometimes, nurses do things

a little bit different. When you

deal with the number of nurses that you are dealing with 6,800 sometimes

not all people, no matter what profession you are in, not teachers, lawyers,

politicians, everything, not everyone is at the same standard.

Some people have people skills and some people do not

have people skills. If a person

who does not have the people skills to communicate with a patient it is

very, very important so perhaps if there is a problem there with that,

there can be some counselling and some mentoring or whatever.

This can be done through this committee.

This is what this is set up for: quality control, to make sure that

there is a standard there and this standard is followed.

It could be something as simple as how they treat the

patient they could be a great nurse; you could be a great doctor.

Some doctors have the skills to get there, they are great doctors;

but next to that bedside they are different all together, but their

knowledge and what they do is great, and the same thing with nurses.

Sometimes if there is a problem there, this committee

can do it. This committee can

set up and say, listen here, we have some complaints about your manner

around the bedside. This can be

done through this quality control and it could be just a matter of going

back and doing a little bit of counselling, a little bit of training or

something like this. It is a

great thing to do.

The other thing that I just want to emphasize because I

know most of the colleagues here in the House already spoke about it, but it

is also an opportunity for a peer, another nurse, to look at another person

there and say we have records to keep.

You have to keep a record.

The records are so important so that when it goes into the system

everything is filed properly and when you go back to your family doctor or

you go back to your clinic to get everything checked out, everything is

there, put in. It is important,

too, with medications and stuff like this.

Again, I am sure the majority of nurses in this

Province do a fantastic job, but if there is a case that somebody is not

doing the proper work and a peer sees it, this is an opportunity for them to

notify and say the records are not being kept properly.

Because it is all about the patients.

It is all about providing the best possible care that we can, and

that is what this is doing; this is supplying the best possible care that

can be provided.

Again, like I said, I always go back to my mother and I

always remember the things she did, the little things she did as a nurse.

I was always amazed with the hours and the things done to make sure

someone was comforted. No matter

if it was going just to have a coffee with them, it was something that

comforted people. Nurses are

like that in our system today. I

was in the hospital a little while ago, and a nurse came in and just had a

general conversation with me at the bedside for a little bit.

It felt good, and that is the way they are.

That is what we need to make sure our patients are feeling good, are

positive about our system, and they are not there and they are not angry

with somebody or they are not getting the proper care.

So, I just wanted to get up today.

The Member for Burgeo La Poile brought up an

important point, too. He said

this is not going to be proclaimed right away.

I asked the same question this morning.

It will probably take about nine months to do it.

That is a good thing because that is going to give time for the

committee to put in place the proper people, and to be able to look and say,

okay, these are the standards this committee is going to look at.

It will be so important to make sure the committee does its proper

work.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to go back and talk about

nurses in general. When we have

6,800 nurses in this Province and I have to applaud our government because

I know that over the years in the nursing profession there was a shortage.

I look at the new long-term care home facility where they are looking

for nurses. It is a great job,

it is a great job for individuals, it is a profession that you are very

proud of, and nearly all of them are proud of what they do.

This legislation will be able to give them the tools to

do their job better. On behalf

of anyone in my family who has dealt with the nursing profession, I want to

say thank you to all the nurses out there because I think they do a

fantastic job. They work hard at

what they do and we rely on them.

The health care system in this Province is important to everyone, and

anyone who is sick. It is

important that our loved ones get taken care of.

I would like to just be able to thank the nurses in

this Province and, hopefully, this is a tool that will help them in their

future make sure that the quality is there.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Like the Member for Cape St. Francis, I was also

blessed to have a mother who was a nurse.

I think that when your family members are nurses, it gives you a very

close insight into what they do.

My mother was a nurse, grandmother a nurse, two aunts nurses, and a nephew

who just graduated in nursing.

Also, in my legal career in another province I also had

the opportunity to represent nurses at disciplinary hearings on two

occasions, which I think looking at this type of legislation with this type

of a committee could well have been headed off by a quality assurance

review. Because the quality

assurance review which is contemplated is something which, as the Leader of

the Third Party said, falls short of something that would constitute a

violation under the act, something that would engage discipline well, it

could, but it is something which is more remedial before there is a more

serious issue that arises in the nurses' practice of nursing.

Yes, I say practice of nursing because we think of

doctors as practicing or lawyers as practicing, but nurses also practice,

but they practice nursing. They

do not diagnose, although nurse practitioners are certainly moving in that

area; and they do not generally treat, although, as I say, nurse

practitioners are moving into that area.

Nurses generally nurse and provide the type of care

that is required for patients who may have other issues.

They may have post-surgical home care requirements, they may be

residents in extended care homes, they may be in hospitals, and they may be

served by the medical profession including nurses in a variety of areas.

As the practice of nursing is becoming more complex and

is evolving more, it is more important that they have more autonomy and that

is exactly as the Member for Burgeo La Poile pointed out, to be a

professional self-governing body, which they are with this.

That also means they assume the responsibility for oversight, peer

oversight, and review.

In the clauses that are referred to here it is easy to

see where if somebody filed a report because they thought that such and such

a nurse really needs to have, in this case, what we will call a quality

assurance review because that may head off a future problem.

By way of example, Mr. Speaker, when we look at

disciplinary issues if we look at disciplinary issues involving the

police, I have been advised by a police chief that the most frequent issue

is incivility. The most frequent

complaint is incivility because the person who is being apprehended by the

police officer was not happy about the officer's manner.

It is not that easy to be nice to somebody that you are arresting so

they like the outcome.

While nurses are not doing this, nurses are put into

situations where, in cases that I am aware of, a nurse may have worked for

the last twelve hours, all through the night, 8 at night until 8 a.m., maybe

in a nursing home, many elderly people, some suffering from a variety of

dementias and complications and whatever befalls many of us if we live to

that age. On meeting the family

at 8:00 a.m. the family is all chipper and eager to see the family may be

dissatisfied because they feel that my mother, father, or whatever has not

had enough bedside attention.

It may well be that nurse has had to deal with score