Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements — 29 November 2005 (45th General Assembly, 2nd Session, Vol. XLV No. 38)
2005-11-29
Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
November 29, 2005 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol. XLV
No. 38
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Hodder): Order, please!
Admit strangers.
This afternoon we are pleased to welcome to our House, sixty five students in
the public gallery from Queen Elizabeth Regional High School in the District of
Conception Bay South. Their visit is part of their curriculum studies in
Canadian History, Canadian Studies and Canadian Law.
They are accompanied by their teachers, Mr. Fred Wood and Mr. Trevor Rowe.
Welcome to the our House.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: This afternoon, as well, I am very pleased to welcome in the
Speaker's gallery Ms Darlene Neville, who is the new nominee for the Child and
Youth Advocate position.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: I do believe that, by leave, we will now proceed to that
particular process.
The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I have spoken to my colleagues opposite, both the Official Opposition and the
Leader of the New Democratic Party, and, by leave, I want to move the following
motion:
"WHEREAS subsection 4(1) of the Child and Youth Advocate Act provides
"The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate shall be filled by the
Lieutenant Governor in Council on a resolution of the House of Assembly."
NOW THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that Ms. Darlene Neville be appointed as the
Child and Youth Advocate."
MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Motion 1, to move that the
Office of the Child and Youth Advocate shall be filled by the
Lieutenant-Governor in Council on a resolution of the House of Assembly and
thereby to appoint Ms Darlene Neville to that position on resolution of our
House.
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today and ask this hon. House to
approve Ms Darlene Neville as Child and Youth Advocate for the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador. Ms Neville has served in this capacity since being
appointed on August 1, 2005. During that time, she has acted in the role with
the full powers and responsibility of Child and Youth Advocate.
Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more precious or valuable than the welfare and
well-being of our children, which is why the Office of Child and Youth Advocate
is one of such critical importance to our Province. Therefore, the selection of
the Child and Youth Advocate must be taken seriously, and with considerable
thought and consideration, and our government is very, very pleased with the
selection of Ms Neville.
She has taken on this role with great vigour, and has clearly demonstrated a
true passion for this important position. She has already been involved in
extensive investigations, and taking seriously the challenges of the job. She
has also recently visited Labrador in an effort to gauge the needs in that
region of the Province.
As a trained social worker who has worked throughout the Province, including
Placentia, St. John's and Twillingate, Ms Neville brings a multitude of skills
to this office that will serve her very well. Along with her training at
Memorial University, she also has a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Dalhousie
University and has worked in private practice, the provincial Department of
Justice, and with the Newfoundland and Labrador Legal Aid Commission both in St.
John's and Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
Mr. Speaker, Ms Neville has practical experience, knowledge, and, most
importantly, compassion. She cares deeply about children and recognizes, as we
all do, that we must protect our youth as they represent the future hopes and
dreams of this Province.
It is my pleasure to ask all Members of the House of Assembly to approve Ms
Darlene Neville as Child and Youth Advocate for our Province.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to second the motion put forward by the Government House Leader.
The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate was an initiative undertaken by a
government of which I was a part and a government led by Premier Roger Grimes
because we realized the importance of the position of the Child and Youth
Advocate because it had not happened in the Province before. So, I would like to
welcome you, Ms Neville, to that position and I hope that you will be a strong
Advocate for the children of this Province.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am pleased to support the resolution before the House regarding the
appointment of Ms Darlene Neville as a Child and Youth Advocate.
I have had a strong interest in the whole issue of youth advocacy and the
laws, and the consequences of those laws and actions of government in this
Province since before I entered this House in 1990, starting with the
representation of a number of young men before the Hughes Inquiry which looked
into the failures of previous governments to look after properly the people in
their care and to enforce properly the laws designed to protect young people,
including a lack of enforcement of the reporting requirements under the then
Child Welfare Act.
It is extremely important that we have this Child Advocate. I know a number
of members of this House, including the Member for St. John's West and Your
Honour, were on a committee that looked into the whole issue of children's
laws in the Province and recommended the Child and Youth Advocate be appointed,
and I am very pleased that Ms Darlene Neville has been appointed as a Child and
Youth Advocate. She has a strong background, both in law and in social work, and
has the advantage - and I will say this - an advantage of being outside the
system. It is very important that there be an oversight of the system from
someone with the level of knowledge, training and experience of someone like
Darlene Neville as the Child and Youth Advocate, and I am quite happy to endorse
the resolution and her appointment.
I will say on just one, not quite sour note, but that as an Officer of this
House of Assembly, I took it upon myself some months ago to write the Premier
and ask that since we are engaged, in this particular case, in establishing a
new representative as an Officer of the House of Assembly that we should
consider a process that involves all parties in the House at some point in the
process prior to an appointment being made. This is not, in any regard, a
reflection on the nominee, who I have the upmost respect for, but it would give
a greater level of confidence for Officers of the House to know that their
appointments have been considered by all parties in the House and have their
support. The normal procedure has been, not only for this particular Officer but
for others, that the party House Leaders or leaders, normally, are consulted
prior to an appointment being made, consulted in the manner of indicating that
the appointment is about to be made in a brief period of time following that.
That is a courtesy and one that is marked by tradition. But, I had suggested,
and I still suggest, that the next time an appointment may be made for an
Officer of the House that there be some other process whereby the leaders, or
representatives of the parties, are involved in some more meaningful
consultation before a choice is made.
Having said that, Mr. Speaker, and I do not wish, in any way, to tarnish the
occasion and the nomination of Ms Darlene Neville, who, as I say, whose
appointment I support and our party supports wholeheartedly.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House that the resolution be now
approved?
All those in favour, aye'.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.
MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.
The Chair reads the resolution is carried unanimously.
On motion, resolution carried.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
Statements by Members
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair has notice of the following Members' Statements: The hon. the
Member for the District of Humber Valley; the hon. the Member for the District
of Torngat Mountains; the hon. the Member for the District of Topsail; the hon.
the Member for the District of Grand Falls-Buchans; the hon. the Member for the
District of Trinity North; and the hon. the Member for the District of Grand
Bank.
The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS GOUDIE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today to recognize the Town of Reidville on having been presented the
Torngat Municipal Achievement Award for 2005 in Innovation in Regional
Cooperation. The Town received this prestigious award, along with their first
Tidy Town Award, at the recent Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of
Municipalities Annual Conference.
In 1999, the town experienced some financial challenges and, as a result, its
level of services to residents suffered. It has since made significant strides
and has blossomed into a tremendous success story.
In addition to cleaning up the town and completing several projects to
enhance its appearance, the Town of Reidville has developed a remarkable Animal
Control Program, for which this award was presented. The town now provides
animal control services to various surrounding communities, servicing both sides
of the Bay of Islands reaching as far as Cox's Cove, Rocky Harbour and Baie
Verte.
Further to these animal control services, the Town of Reidville also provides
backup firefighting services to the Town of Deer Lake. In recent years,
Reidville initiated a Memorandum of Understanding with the Town of Deer Lake to
develop a safe, regional water supply service.
The community of Reidville is a shining example of co-operation in
regionalization. I ask all members to join me in recognizing the Town of
Reidville, along with their staff and community volunteers, for their tremendous
achievements.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. ANDERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Tim Borlase, who
was honoured with the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador on November 10. He is
known for promoting and sustaining the arts and culture of Labrador for over
thirty years, and connecting Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with their
heritage.
He has been involved with a number of educational programs involving the
Aboriginal people in Labrador communities, and he was a founder and organizer of
the Labrador Creative Arts Festival. Furthermore, he has been involved in the
development and the delivery of the Melville Music Festival, the Heritage Fair,
the North Coast Sports Meet, and the High School Drama Festival. In addition, he
was the founder and director of the Mokami Players and oversees the Happy
Valley-Goose Bay Arts Council.
Tim Borlase has been known for his involvement with the Association of
Cultural Industries, where he became the author of the Cultural Policy for this
Province. In addition, he was a program specialist with the Labrador School
Board and has created and directed radio programs for CBC. He is perhaps best
known for his work editing and compiling Songs of Labrador which includes
songs, personal stories, photographs and sketches.
Other awards that he has received include the Happy Valley-Goose Bay Arts
Achievement Award, Best Director and Best Production Awards for his involvement
with the Newfoundland and Labrador Drama Festival, and the Lifetime Achievement
in the Arts Award.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in recognizing the
achievement and expressing congratulations to Dr. Tim Borlase.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Topsail.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS E. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate Ocean Quest Charters of
Conception Bay South, which was awarded the prestigious 2005 Parks Canada
Sustainable Tourism Award on October 25, 2005, during Canada's Tourism
Leadership Summit in Quebec City. The other two finalists were from New
Brunswick and British Columbia.
The Parks Canada Sustainable Development Award reflects the three pillars of
sustainable tourism development: economic viability, environmental
sustainability and cultural appropriateness. Mr. Rick Stanley and his team of
professionals have contributed to the long-term viability and sustainability of
the Newfoundland and Labrador tourism industry.
Ocean Quest Charters offers a variety of products to residents and visitors,
including scuba charters, dive packages, wreck site dives, scuba training and
adventure charters. They are passionate about conservation and protection of our
natural resources, the protection of our environment and the preservation of our
cultural heritage. Their motto, Mr. Speaker, is: take pictures, leave bubbles.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the members of this hon. House to join me in
congratulating Mr. Rick Stanley and his team on receiving this very prestigious
national award.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grands Falls-Buchans.
MS THISTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to congratulate Ms Erin Milley, Grand
Falls-Windsor's Youth of the Year for 2004.
Ms Milley, a recent Grade 12 student at Exploits Valley High School Maple
Division has devoted much of her time to extracurricular activities,
volunteerism and church involvement.
Mr. Speaker, Erin's involvement with music and drama as a member of the Bel
Canto Singers, high school concert band, EVH Chorale Group, EVH Maple Big Band,
Central Newfoundland Kiwanis Music Festival participant, Broken Hearts,
Broken Homes actor, winner of the Arts and Culture Centre Battle of the
Bands, and School-stock participant demonstrates her outstanding qualities. She
also studies piano and voice.
Erin is also active in her church. She is a Sunday School teacher and a
church nursery worker. Other activities include being involved with STUFF
children's program as a teacher, Tutoring for Tuition, a Circle Square Ranch
volunteer, participating in Encounters Canada and student leadership.
As you can see, Mr. Speaker, Erin Milley is committed to her community and
very deserving of this prestigious award.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members of this hon. House of Assembly to join with me
in congratulating Ms Erin Milley, Grand Falls-Windsor's Youth of the Year
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Trinity North.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Random East Fire Department on
their tenth anniversary.
Ten short years ago, the communities of Lower Lance Cover, Britannia, Petley,
Hickman's Harbour and Robinson Bight came together to establish a new fire
department and, within one year of that, those communities had raised some
$20,000 to go towards the purchase of a new fire truck that costs some $100,000.
Mr. Speaker, within six short years of that, they had the remaining amount
raised and paid for.
This year, on their tenth anniversary, I had the honour of participating with
them as they cut the ribbon to open a new fire hall that they had just recently
built.
Mr. Speaker, I have always been impressed with the dedication and commitment
of volunteer fire departments in my district, and I am always mindful of the
tremendous sacrifice they make. In fact, that evening, as we all sat around the
community centre in Britannia to celebrate their tenth anniversary, in the
middle of the dinner a fire call came in, and it was almost as if in unison all
of the blue shirts in the hall jumped simultaneously and ran out of the building
to respond to that fire call.
As we sat there enjoying the rest of our meal, Mr. Speaker, I could not help
but think how many Christmas Days, how many anniversaries, how many children's
birthdays, have those same people throughout that community and other parts of
Newfoundland and Labrador jumped from their meals and special celebrations to
respond to fires in their community, to protect the other residents of those
communities.
I think, Mr. Speaker, this is shining example of how communities come
together and, through hard work and dedication and commitment to their
communities, are able to make successful, vibrant places for people to live.
I ask all members of this House to join me today in congratulating this fire
department on ten successful years of community service.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate students who attend
St. Joseph's Academy in Lamaline.
St. Joseph's Academy won a national award recognizing its quality physical
education program. The Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance presented the school with the National Platinum Recognition
Award for Quality Daily Physical Education.
St. Joseph's Academy was one of 800 out of over 15,000 schools across
Canada that qualified for the award. St. Joseph's met the requirements for the
award by introducing a house system to their students which focused on
participation, hosting a fundraiser for the Terry Fox Cancer Centre and the
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, and hosting several
regional tournaments. The school has an intramural program that involves all
students from kindergarten to Level III.
Sandy Cooper, the physical education teacher at St. Joseph's Academy, was
nominated by the school and selected the Eastern District Teacher of the Year
for the 2004-2005 school year. That award is sponsored by the Physical Education
Special Interest Council.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating the
students of St. Joseph's Academy on their award, and also Sandy Cooper on
receiving the 2004-2005 Teacher of the Year Award.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.
Statements by Ministers
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today in this hon. House to advise members that this Thursday,
December 1, 2005, marks the effective date of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims
Agreement, and to congratulate the Labrador Inuit on this momentous occasion.
Mr. Speaker, many changes will be triggered by the effective date. It will
have an impact on the people in businesses throughout Labrador, and I encourage
anyone who might be impacted by this agreement to become informed on what it
will mean for them. Most importantly, the Nunatsiavut Government will officially
come into being, representing a new governing structure for the Labrador Inuit.
The Labrador Inuit have waited almost thirty years for this day, and it will
mark a new era in Labrador. Having this land claims agreement come into effect
will give the Labrador Inuit more control over their own affairs. The agreement
sets out a new regime for land ownership, resource sharing and self-government,
including Inuit ownership of 15,800 square kilometres of land to be known as
Labrador Inuit Lands. This is where the Nunatsiavut Government will exercise
most of its power.
Mr. Speaker, the date will also mark the formal establishment of the Torngat
Mountains National Park Reserve of Canada under the Canada National Parks Act.
This park consists of approximately 9,600 square kilometres.
Mr. Speaker, the Nunatsiavut Government will also have jurisdiction over
language and culture and will enable the Inuit to preserve and promote Inuktitut
as the language of everyday life and to develop an education system in which
with further opportunities to prosper and grow.
The Labrador Inuit Association, as well as the Governments of Canada and
Newfoundland and Labrador have worked very diligently and co-operatively to make
this day a reality. Mr. Speaker, in May, 2004, the Labrador Inuit voted on this
agreement and support was both overwhelming and definitive. Approximately 85 per
cent of eligible voters went to the polls, and 76 per cent of eligible voters
cast a ballot in favour of the agreement.
A day of ceremony is planned for December 1 in Nain, and I look forward to
attending it along with the Premier, Ministers Shelley and Osborne, Opposition
members, and Aboriginal and community leaders.
Mr. Speaker, on December 1, 2005, the face of Labrador and the Province will
be forever changed. I ask my hon. colleagues to join with me in congratulating
the Labrador Inuit as they celebrate this momentous day in their history.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. ANDERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the minister for an
advanced copy of his statement.
No doubt, Mr. Speaker, it is going to be a tremendous day. Thirty years is a
long time to be waiting. There are many people who need to be thanked and I am
sure that the federal negotiating team and the Labrador Inuit Association
members will thank their people. I want to go back to Premier Tobin who offered
fast-track negotiations. I want to thank Premier Roger Grimes, who did so much
to bring this to a final agreement, and certainly to the Premier of the day and
to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs for carrying on and making sure that this
deal became a reality.
Mr. Speaker, Nunatsiavut means our beautiful land. I say to the minister, he
said this December 1 will change the face of Labrador forever, and for me, as an
Aboriginal, I hope it will be changed for much better because if there are
people in this Province who deserve a better way of life, it is the Aboriginal
people.
Mr. Speaker, God bless the people of Nunatsiavut and God bless our beautiful
land.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Labrador West.
MR. COLLINS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the minister for an advanced copy of his statement, and I, too, would
like to congratulate all parties who were involved in this process to make this
day become a reality.
Mr. Speaker, the Inuit on the North Coast, anybody who has been to the North
Coast and had the opportunity to travel there, know full-well that the North
Coast needs a lot of improvements in many areas. Hopefully, this is a first step
in improving the lives of the people who live there.
Mr. Speaker, many people in the world today, particularly minority groups,
face being wiped out as a culture and losing their identity. This process that
will start here, hopefully, will preserve the culture and identity of the Inuit
people for centuries to come and it will give them control over their language,
which is pretty important to the Inuit people and to all cultures -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The member's allotted time has expired.
MR. COLLINS: By leave, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER: By leave?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave is granted.
MR. COLLINS: - and it is important to protect the language and the
culture and, hopefully, this new initiative and the new government will make
that a reality, as I said, for many centuries to come.
Again, I congratulate all people and I look forward to being there on
Thursday as well with the Premier, the minister, the Member for Torngat, the
Leader of the NDP and others who will be travelling to Nain on that day.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?
The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise to draw attention of Members of the House of Assembly of a very
important issue that is facing the agricultural industry in Newfoundland and
Labrador and, indeed, one that is facing the industry across the country.
While we have made significant progress in Newfoundland and Labrador in
recent years to enhance, grow and diversify the agriculture industry - not the
least of which was the five-year $17.5 million land consolidation and
development program we announce in this year's budget to increase the
availability of suitable farm land - there remain issues that need to be
addressed.
Today, one of the most critical issues is the current round of World Trade
Organization negotiations and the potential impact that it could have on this
Province's supply-managed commodities; namely, egg, chicken and dairy. This
current round could culminate at negotiations in Hong Kong in mid-December.
So everyone is aware, the supply-managed commodities in this Province
represent close to 80 per cent of this Province's agriculture, and these
sectors continue to grow. For example, in 2004, the egg industry grew close to
14 per cent to $13.3 million; the chicken industry grew nearly 8 per cent to
$23.3 million; and, the dairy industry grew nearly 4.5 per cent to $29.5
million. And just last month, I was quite pleased to welcome two new entrants on
behalf of the government to the dairy industry.
Obviously, these industries are vital to the agricultural industry in this
Province - most of which occurs in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, that is why our government takes such a firm position on the
issue. And the position is this: there should not be any weakening of the
country's import controls that would have a negative impact on our
supply-managed system. The federal government has to ensure that current import
quota levels are not increased and over-quota tariffs are maintained at existing
levels. Our government will continue to drive the message home to the federal
government, as well to other provincial governments the importance of
maintaining our right to keep this orderly marketing system. It is working for
producers, it is working for consumers, and it does not need fixing.
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the egg, chicken and dairy organizations
in this Province who are lobbying alongside this government, and other
provincial governments as well, to see that the integrity of our supply-managed
system is not tinkered with and that these industries be allowed the opportunity
to continue to grow in this Province and elsewhere.
Thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate receiving an advance copy of the minister's statement.
God only knows we need as much protection as we can when it comes to certain
industries, including the egg, the chicken and the dairy industries. I hope we
fare much better in our negotiations at the United Nations in regard to these
industries than we fared at NAFO when it comes to some of our fishing interests
in the past. I also notice the timing of these things is in mid-December, and I
am not sure if it is just United Nations officials who will be doing the
negotiating or if high level government personnel were expected to be there. I
would think the advent this morning of the election federally might be somewhat
disruptive and not in our best interests if we are not represented at this most
important occasion by our federal people. Again, we wish them well. We are only
a small voice in the wilderness sometimes when it comes to protecting our
interests, but needless to say we still need to be a voice regardless of how
small we might be in terms of the world size. This is important to us and we
certainly need to be speaking out and encouraging people to protect our
interests at the federal level.
I am not sure if this is on the Premier's wish list or not, when it comes
to federal protections, but whatever can be included on that list certainly now
is the time to do it.
Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am pleased that the minister has taken the time to make this statement in
the House today. It is extremely important that we understand that international
organizations, such as the WTO which used to be called GATT, the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trades, can have a significant affect on what happens
in a place like Newfoundland and Labrador and in many countries throughout the
world. This whole notion of free trade sounds good on the surface, Mr. Speaker,
but what started out as a reduction in tariffs has turned, through the WTO, as
being a threat on sovereignty of certain countries and nations, such as Canada,
when we try to have an orderly marketing system such as an egg marketing board
or a dairy marketing board that allows us to try to be self-sufficient in some
of these products.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The member's allotted time has expired.
MR. HARRIS: By leave, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER: By leave?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave is granted.
MR. HARRIS: I was going to ask at the beginning just to avoid this
interruption, but I know the Speaker is constrained by the rules and perhaps we
should have a look at them.
The notion of protecting certain self-sufficiency that we have through these
marketing boards was an issue going back to the Free Trade Agreement with the
United States, as part of NAFTA, trying to ensure that the marketing systems
that we have providing for agricultural activity in a place like Newfoundland
and Labrador is important for economic and production reasons. It is also
important, Mr. Speaker, for self-sufficiency reasons. Most of the food that we
consume in Newfoundland and Labrador today comes here by truck from some other
place. The rules that are in effect here often prevent local initiative to take
place, so it is important that we protect these industries.
It seems that despite the big promoters of free trade, such as the United
States, when it is something that they want to protect, they are big enough and
strong enough to do damage to a country like Canada, such as they have been
doing under softwood lumber.
The things that we have, that we need to protect, we need to make sure that
as strong an effort as possible is done to ensure that our ability to make rules
about our own production in these matters continues to exist, and I support the
minister and others in their efforts to do so.
MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This morning the Governor General of Canada dropped the writ for a federal
election to be held on January 23, 2006.
As we all know, a federal election represents an ideal opportunity to put
forward to federal parties the issues of importance to Newfoundland and
Labrador. Our government did this during the last federal election just
seventeen short months ago, and we had great success with this approach.
Indeed, we were able to garner from all leaders a commitment that
Newfoundland and Labrador would become principal beneficiaries of our offshore
revenues; and, after several months of negotiations, we achieved the new
milestone Atlantic Accord agreement.
Given the proven effectiveness of this approach, I have again submitted a
letter outlining issues of importance to this Province, to the leaders of the
federal Conservative, Liberal and NDP parties.
Mr. Speaker, there are so many matters of critical importance to the people
of this Province and my letter includes those that we feel most represent issues
which require the positions of these parties.
This letter puts forward several questions to the leaders covering the key
areas of: the fishery; energy; federal presence in the Province; equalization;
Labrador specific issues; Marine Atlantic; and economic development and
infrastructure.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that the intent of this letter is to
put forward issues that are unique to our Province. Through the Council of
Atlantic Premiers and the Council of the Federation, I join with my fellow
premiers in promoting pan-Canadian issues with the federal parties such as
health care and education, among others.
We expect responses from all leaders, and we would also like to hear from
each and every candidate on their individual positions on each of the questions
that we have posed.
We have attempted to include as many topics as possible; however, if there
are other issues or if something extraordinary comes up during the course of the
election, then we would expect to hear the positions of the parties on those
items are well.
The responses will serve to assist Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in making
an informed decision as election day approaches.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to table the letter here in the House of
Assembly. I wish all candidates the very best in the election which started in
earnest this morning, and I look forward to hearing from candidates and their
leaders on issues of importance to our Province.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Premier for his statement, the advance copy of his statement, but
we have not seen the letter so we do not know yet what the Premier has asked for
in his wish list from the federal government.
I do understand, though, in listening to the Premier and some of his Cabinet
ministers in the last few days, that there are a couple of issues there that we
have been talking about for a long period of time. I find it a little strange
that it is only now, in the middle of an election, or at the beginning of an
election, that the Premier has brought these forward.
One is custodial management. I hope that one is on the list. We fought for it
when we were a government for a number of years. I know that when the Premier
was in Opposition he started an all-party committee - that he forgot to invite
our party to, I might add - and then quickly dissolved it once he became
Premier. In the past two years, when questioned on custodial management in this
House of Assembly, his Minister of Fisheries, and indeed the Premier, have
praised the Prime Minister on the move that he has made with regard to custodial
management. We do not think they moved far enough, and I am just wondering why
he is moving that issue forward right now.
Another issue that seems to be on the list - maybe I am wrong; again, I can
only go on what has been in the media the last few days - is that of early
retirement in our fishing industry. We have asked time and time again of the
Minister of Fisheries, has he put forward a formal request to the federal
minister pertaining to early retirement, and talked about what portion we would
be willing to pay, or what percentage? As far as I know, there has never been -
in our discussions with the federal government - a formal request by this
Province to the federal government for early retirement.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The member's allotted time has expired.
MR. REID: By leave, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER: By leave?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted for concluding comments.
MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, you talk about a federal presence here in the
Province; we support it 100 per cent. We do not think that the federal
government should be cutting jobs and services in the Province, but we find it a
little hypocritical that this is coming from a Premier and a government that has
slashed services to many parts of rural Newfoundland and Labrador by closing HRE
offices, courthouses, highway depots and hospital beds.
I say to the Premier, as I said to the Justice Minister last week, when you
are asking for something from the federal government, you should look in the
mirror first and see what you are doing to parts of this Province.
Again, we support a lot of these issues. We just think that the timing for
the Premier to bring it forward is a little strange.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Leader of the Opposition, I think this is actually
one of the Premier's better ideas. In the last election -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. HARRIS: - writing a letter to the leaders in the forthcoming general
election last time was a very good idea. It gave the NDP, for example, an
opportunity, for probably the first time, to have a Newfoundland and Labrador
manifesto showing their support for issues that are important to Newfoundland
and Labrador with the clearest and most comprehensive program on offshore energy
and revenues to the point that the Premier, himself, agreed that it was the best
position and the closest to that of our Province and most important to our
Province.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The member's allotted time has expired.
MR. HARRIS: By leave, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER: By leave?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.
MR. HARRIS: Mr. Speaker, I have not seen the list yet, but we can
certainly guess at some of the items that we all agree are important to
Newfoundland and Labrador. I think that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador
can count on the NDP to respond to these issues in a most positive way but also
talk about the issues that we believe are also important across the country,
such as a greater involvement of an affordable housing support for
post-secondary education and better programs for post-secondary students,
financing, and all the other good things that will come with more New Democrats
in the House of Assembly. So, we are looking forward to the federal election and
we are looking forward to our party's response to the Premier's letter and
to hear what other parties also have to say in their campaign to represent the
people of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?
Oral questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, yesterday during
Question Period - I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday during Question Period the Minister of Health and
Community Services stated that a decision to close beds at the Fogo Island
hospital was a decision made by the Central Health Care Board. Stated in Hansard,
"...this government supports the decision of the board because the board
knows best what the situation is on Fogo Island...".
I ask the minister: Was there any correspondence from the Central Health Care
Board indicating that ten beds should be closed on Fogo Island, and are you
willing to table that documentation?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Service.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. OTTENHEIMER: Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday, from time to time
decisions are made by our various health care authorities, and this is one of
them.
With respect to the issue on Fogo Island, there is currently a needs
assessment being done. As I indicated yesterday, Mr. Speaker, this government
will monitor the needs assessment that is being done. In short order, there will
be recommendations and findings and we will work closely with Central Health
with a view to whatever changes are required, whatever additions may be
required, whatever those findings are, we will support those findings and work
in the best interest of not only Fogo Islanders, Mr. Speaker, but, indeed, any
residents who are covenant of the jurisdiction of Central Health.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I say to the minister, there was a needs assessment done before we - when we
were in government - decided to build that hospital. I take it, from your lack
of an answer, that you do not have any written correspondence from the health
care board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, last night I contacted a member of the Central
Health Care Board. This individual told me that board members, along with the
CEO and the chair of the board, found out about this decision when it was
reported in the media following a press conference by the Premier after he spoke
with the Chamber of Commerce in Gander.
I ask the minister: Why are you now blaming this poorly thought out decision
on the health care board when it was obviously a decision by your government, or
at least by your Premier?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. OTTENHEIMER: I will top that, Mr. Speaker. Last night I spoke
personally with the new CEO of Central Health.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. OTTENHEIMER: I will equal that comment by saying I spoke personally
with the Chair of Central Health.
Mr. Speaker, let me repeat. As we speak today there is a needs assessment
being done with respect to the health care needs of the residents - of your
constituents, I say to the Leader of the Opposition, your constituents. There is
a needs assessment being done as we speak today, and when that is finalized we
will work with Central Health with a view to ensuring that Fogo Islanders needs
are met, and as I just mentioned, not only them but, indeed, others under that
jurisdiction.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I say to the Minister of Health, you may have spoken to the new CEO or the
new Chair of the Central Health Care Board, but, I say to the minister, you did
not speak to the CEO and the chair who were in the position at the time that the
Premier made his comment in Gander.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. REID: They did not, as you know, send any recommendation to you to
close ten beds on Fogo Island, and if they did, table it in front of the House,
I say to the minister.
Mr. Speaker, during a by-election this past summer in the District of
Exploits, the Premier and the Minister of Education overruled a decision by the
Central School Board to close a school in Bishop's Fall.
I ask the minister: Why don't you do the right thing, stand here today,
reverse this decision, and ensure that the people on Fogo Island have good
access to quality health care services?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. OTTENHEIMER: Mr. Speaker, the residents of Fogo Island are as
important as, and deserve the same equality and fairness as, any other citizen
of this Province. There is a need assessment being done. I have just said that.
I have said it several times. We will await the outcome and we will work hand in
hand with Central Health to ensure and their needs are addressed.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I say there was a need assessment done five years ago. There was no need
assessment done when the Premier announced that he wasn't opening ten beds,
and since that time senior citizens have been forced to leave the Island to die.
There are patients out there who are waiting in the hallway in stretchers when
there are ten beds in that facility that your government refused to open!
Now, Mr. Speaker, during an election campaign the Premier told town councils
on Fogo Island that their new hospital with twenty beds would open. Instead,
after being elected, this government decided to close ten beds, cutting the
capacity of the hospital in half.
I ask the Premier: Were you serious about your commitment, or was this just
another empty campaign promise to get votes during an election?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: What we do during an election is never to get votes.
That is a practice, Mr. Speaker, that has been followed by the Liberal Party, by
members of the -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: - Liberal Party, in order to try and buy votes. That is
obviously what is going on at the federal level right now. They are spending
billions of dollars in order to buy favour from the people of Canada. That is
not the way this government operates. That is not the way this party operates.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, reference was also made to the decision in
Exploits. To deal with the situation in Exploits, that decision was based on the
facts. There was a need, and that is why that board decision was changed. There
was another similar situation in that same district where representation was
made to us and a decision was made by the school board and that decision was not
reversed, so we are fair to the people and we act in an appropriate manner. Now,
that is the answer.
With regard to the situation in Fogo, the Leader of the Opposition knows that
myself and the Minister of Health yesterday discussed this matter, as we have
discussed this matter before on several occasions. I have indicated to the
Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair yesterday afternoon, I indicated to the
Leader of the Opposition, that this is a matter we would take under
consideration. It would be discussed with the boards, and the boards would reach
a decision after the needs assessment is done.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: You are trying to take advantage of an indication by us
that we are going to have a hard look at this situation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes the Leader of the Opposition.
MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, I say to the Premier, he used boards for his
convenience. When they agree with what he wants to do, he applauds them. When
they disagree, he overrules them.
Mr. Speaker, I have raised the issue of the ten bed closure on Fogo Island
many, many, many times since 2003. We have never received a response from this
Premier. Numerous individuals from Fogo Island have made representation on
behalf of the residents here to the government and to Open Line shows in the
media in the Province. This government did not act.
I ask the Premier: Premier, will you give a commitment today that the
remaining ten beds that your government closed on Fogo Island will open before
the end of this year?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, as I indicated to the hon. member in
person yesterday, and to the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, this is in
the hands of the Minister of Health. This matter is being looked at, it is being
very seriously looked at, and it will certainly be considered, but will be done
according to the normal processes after a needs assessment has been done, and it
will follow proper channels.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: It is certainly a matter that is under very serious
consideration by our government.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.
MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, I say to the minister and the Premier, there is
no need to do an assessment when you have to move seniors from Corner Brook out
to Port aux Basques, I can guarantee you that.
I have spoken to people who are personally affected by the policy of moving
seniors away from their families to another town. Recommendation 172 of the Hay
Report: The husband was called by his wife early in the morning, telling him
that she was being moved that morning to Port aux Basques. He rushed to the
hospital to try to get the details. He left 2:00 p.m. to go home to have his
lunch. His wife called and said, they are taking me. He rushed into the hospital
and his wife was gone by ambulance to Port aux Basques. The procedure followed
is cruel and inhumane and no way to treat our seniors.
Will the minister put a stop to this cruel and inhumane policy being carried
out right now?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. OTTENHEIMER: Mr. Speaker, the first available bed policy which is now
being implemented by Western Health, as I indicated yesterday, is an unfortunate
one but, unfortunately, is a necessary one. This is why: because it is
essential, obviously, that those individuals, those residents of the West Coast,
who are residents of the City of Corner Brook or that region, who require
critical care, acute care or surgery, it is essential that a bed be available
for them so the appropriate medical services can be delivered.
We are not delighted with the fact that we have seniors who temporarily, I
might add - temporarily, this is not a permanent move, as is being suggested,
Mr. Speaker, in a press release that was released by the hon. member yesterday -
this is a temporary move that is done in response to a pressure situation that
Western Health now finds itself in, and it is dealing with these somewhat
difficult circumstances to the best of its ability. Mr. Speaker, as a
government, we support their decision because it is done in the interest of the
residents of that region.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.
MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, I say to the minister, some of those moves are
going to be up to two and three years; some may never make it back.
It is just strange, three-and-a-half years ago when this was recommended by
the board, when the Premier was in Opposition, he was adamant that this should
not happen to seniors. I guess a little walk away across the House changes
people's views.
The minister has stated many times that there are no beds available at the
Western Memorial Regional Hospital. This is absolutely false. There are many
beds at the Western Memorial Regional Hospital which have been shut down. The
hospital board had to close down beds through lack of funding from this
government. The Minister of Justice and the Member for Humber East has told
people to give him until Friday to see what he can do with this policy change.
I ask the Minister of Health: Would you provide the board with enough funds
to open up a wing of this hospital to stop this callous act?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. OTTENHEIMER: Mr. Speaker, I say to the hon. member, the information
that he has presented in this House is inaccurate. In fact, the last time there
were beds closed at Western Memorial was eighteen beds, approximately, Mr.
Speaker, some ten years ago. That is the reality.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. OTTENHEIMER: Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that this situation is
being clouded by inaccuracies; and I refer, Mr. Speaker, to the news release
that was issued yesterday by the hon. member. He says, for example,
"Government tried to hide this issue and sneak through its
implementation...".
Mr. Speaker, there was nothing hidden, there was nothing secret, there was
nothing sinister, there was nothing clandestine, about what is taking place
here. In fact, last week, Western Health issued publicly a press release
notifying the public exactly of its intentions.
Mr. Speaker, these decisions, as difficult as they are on certain individuals
and on certain families, are being done for the right reasons: to protect the
health care needs of those who live in the region.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.
MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, I say to the minister, when there are families
who go up to the Western Memorial Regional Hospital and ask the staff and ask
the management, can we wait a couple of days until we make arrangements to try
to bring our parents home, and they say, no, it has to be done at that minute,
it is rushed, Sir, I guarantee you it is rushed. Believe me. I can give you
people's names who that happened to. I will guarantee you, Minister, you are
absolutely wrong on that. Absolutely!
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. JOYCE: I have spoken to a son whose parent is moving. His father is
eighty-nine years old and his wife is moving to Port aux Basques. They have been
married for over seventy years and now they are being separated. The Premier was
adamant against this policy when he was in Opposition. Adamant! Last year your
government recognized the Year of the Senior and their contribution to society.
You have $2 billion in the bank, enough funds to cover the cost. You have the
beds available to place these seniors.
The question is: Do you have the sensitivity and the political will to keep
seniors near their spouses and families during the last years of their lives?
AN HON. MEMBER: No, he has no (inaudible).
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. OTTENHEIMER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The hon. member, Mr. Speaker, fails to recognize the health issues here. Take
for example if there was a motor vehicle accident, an emergency situation, and
if an individual required immediate medical attention, what happens if there is
no bed? This decision is clearly being made in the health care interests of
those individuals who live in that region.
To repeat the point made by the hon. Premier yesterday, we have recently
broken ground with respect to a new long-term care facility -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. OTTENHEIMER: - in the City of Corner Brook that will cater to the
needs of almost 300 residents of the West Coast community. Mr. Speaker, this
decision, I acknowledge and I repeat, is inconvenient, it is difficult for those
families who are impacted, but again I repeat, it is in the health care
interests of those people who may well need, and in fact do need, those
particular services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, the fact the Premier has lumped the issue
surrounding the fishery in this Province in with a dozen other things on his
wish list just goes to show how little importance he attaches to the fishery and
how little he understands about the importance of the fishery to this Province,
particularly to rural communities.
Premier, there are many people throughout this Province who have worked a
lifetime in the fishery industry who have been looking to this government to put
in place an early retirement program with the support of the federal government.
There is no record in Ottawa of a proposal from this government requesting the
federal government partnering such a program.
Premier, why has your government not put such a proposal in writing?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows the difference. We
have made our intentions known publicly at federal provincial meetings. The
former Minister of Fisheries and the current Minister of Fisheries, this matter
has been discussed in detail at the Cabinet level and the importance of it is
indicated because it is item number one in my letter to the federal government.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: "Does your party support providing an early
retirement program on a 70/30 Federal/Provincial cost-shared basis for workers
impacted by changes to the industry?"
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, that not only asked the question but it
gives the answer as well because we, as a government, are prepared to put up our
30 per cent and we want them to put up their 70 per cent.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, what the Premier has done is too little too late.
You dropped the ball on this file, Premier. You dropped the ball and now you
expect the federal government to pick it up and run with it.
On the eve of an election you come to the table asking for the federal
government to partner or for some of the federal Liberals to commit. Premier,
how do you expect them to commit to a proposal when they do not even have the
details to make an informed decision? Why won't you put an actual proposal in
writing so at least you would have some credibility when you go to hold their
feet to the fire?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, credibility of putting the federal
government's feet to the fire is not something I am worried about, believe me.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, obviously, the hon. member did not read
the letter and she should also go down through the other items. We have listed
fisheries as the number one item in our letter to the federal MP. Second item -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Second item: "Does your party support this request
for a Northern Shrimp allocation..." for people of Harbour Breton and the
people of Conne River in order to save that community? Item number two!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Item number three, which was referred to by the Leader
of the Opposition: "Will your party support imposing custodial management
on the continental shelf immediately outside Canada's 200-mile limit...?"
Item number three!
Item number four -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I am asking members to keep their responses to a minute. In that connection,
the Chair recognizes the Opposition.
The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The problem is, that this government has to be dragged kicking and screaming
in order to get anything to focus on the fishery.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, the issue of custodial management. Here was a
prime opportunity for this Premier to single out one issue of significance to
this Province, and that is custodial management. Mr. Premier, you failed the
people of the Province again. Certainly heavens you know, that if we could
secure custodial management it would have just as big an impact as securing the
Atlantic Accord. Why haven't you singled out custodial management as that one
significant issue?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, so what would the Member for Grand
Bank-Fortune have me do? Does she want me to drop item number one, which is the
early retirement program, and single out custodial management? Does she want me
to drop item number two, to try and save the people of Harbour Breton and to
give a shrimp quota to the people of Conne River? Is that what you would like me
to do, and single out custodial management? Well, we have custodial management
here.
I will add, Mr. Speaker, item number four: "Does your party support the
province's view that recovery of cod stocks is best achieved through the
implementation of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Cod Recovery
Strategy...?"
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Do you know what, Mr. Speaker? This letter went out
after lunch yesterday. We already have an answer to that one because Geoff Regan
came out shortly afterwards and said that it would not happen. So, we have an
answer to that one already.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Finally, Mr. Speaker, item number five: "Does your
party support the development of a comprehensive Aquaculture Framework
Agreement...?"
Those are the questions we asked on the fisheries, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier can stand up and rant and rave all he wants, but the point of the
matter is that he is playing politics with these very significant issues.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MS FOOTE: These are issues you should have dealt with months ago, Mr.
Premier, not third year into your mandate.
I am asking you again: Why haven't you singled out custodial management? Is
it because your views are not the views of the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador on this most vital issue?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in a letter that we sent seventeen months ago to the leaders of
custodial management was a primary issue. In the letter that we sent twenty-four
hours ago, custodial management is a huge issue. Now, obviously, the member had
her questions prepared before she got the letter. She did not read the letter.
She did not decide to reconsider her questions before she asked them. So, she is
caught out because she had her questions prepared before and she has nothing
else to ask us. That is the truth of the matter, Mr. Speaker. She also has a
very short memory about what this government did for the people in her
community, the people in Fortune.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: She also has a very short memory about what this
government did for the people in her community, the people in Fortune.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
A question has been asked and the Premier is making a response. I recognize
the Premier, if he has any concluding comments to make.
PREMIER WILLIAMS: (Inaudible) Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the Premier.
Alexi Kolosovs has spent thirty-two weeks in the West End Baptist Church.
Alexi Portnoy and his family have been in the church in Marystown for the past
seven weeks and I, at least - and I am pretty sure the Premier has, and others -
have received in excess of 1,100 e-mails in support of the Portnoy family. They
and about a dozen other families in this Province are subject to deportation
orders, Mr. Speaker, and I want to ask the Premier whether he and his government
are prepared to act, to intervene, to try and support these families to remain
in the Province and continue to be contributing members of our society?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this is an issue that has caught the attention of everyone in
the Province and has, I think, solidified the viewpoint of people within the
Province. I can only endeavour, in the absence of my colleague, the Minister of
Justice and Minister Responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, to, I guess,
glean and get any information that department has been involved with and to
report back to the House.
Having said that, I think it is important for all of us to recognize, from
the government's point of view anyway, not unlike anyone else in the Province,
that this is an issue that has captured the attention of the people in the
Province and one that we feel, I guess, in line with to a large degree with the
people who are in Marystown right now seeking a way and a mechanism by which
they can stay.
I can only hope that the interventions by the MP, Mr. Matthews, to the Deputy
Prime Minister, Anne McLellan, who has given a commitment to review the
situation will bear some fruit.
Having said that, I do endeavour, to the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi,
to report back to the House with an answer to his question, given the fact that
the Minister Responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs is noticeably absent
today for he is on government business elsewhere.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
So far, all that has happened is the Minister Responsible for Immigration in
the Province has said that she would bring the matter to the attention of the
In the last couple of weeks - three people were deported in the last week or
so. There were five skilled workers deported in August and, as I indicated, some
other dozen families are subject to deportation, not just the Portnoys. Some of
these individuals are skilled individuals who are supporting and making possible
economic activity in woodworking and clothing manufacturing, and are important
to those businesses.
I know the government is considering an immigration policy. Will the Premier
and his government step up this activity and show some intervention now so that
we can possibly save these people from deportation and - as the discussion paper
says how immigration will support a growing economy - start with trying to help
these families from being deported so they can be part of this growing economy
in Newfoundland and Labrador?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I do not necessarily disagree with the statements put forward by
the Leader of the NDP, and the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi, but I do not
necessarily agree either, and here is why.
The member, as a member of the legal profession, understands that with
federal immigration there is a process that is involved, and that each case is
judged upon its individual merit. So, in order for any member in this House,
none of us, I believe - I certainly don't - I cannot speak for everyone, but
generally speaking I cannot speak to the details of the cases that you put
forward.
You would also know, as a member of the legal community and legal profession,
that as each case is judged on its merit there is no blanket policy. There may
be exceptions and individual peculiarities that deal with the cases that you
brought forward. So, on behalf of the government, we are in no position to speak
to the individual merits or demerits of the cases that you have brought forward.
Having said that, on the larger sort of issue of pan-Canadian immigration
policy, government generally supports any policy that would see workers be
involved to bring trades and skills to the Province that necessarily do not
exist today. What I can say to the member -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The time allocation for the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi has expired.
The Chair recognizes the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. ANDERSEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It was a sad day for youth in Labrador yesterday. Yesterday, the Premier told
the children of Labrador that they are not as important to him as children on
the Island portion of this Province. He told them that, because they live in
Labrador, the government will not build education facilities like they are
building in Corner Brook and St. John's because they are waiting for funding
from the federal government.
Premier, why have you used the youth of Labrador as pawns in a political game
with the federal government? Would you use the children on the Island the same
way? Better still, would you use your own children in this manner?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, there are times when I have the utmost
respect for the hon. member opposite, and there are times like today when I do
not. I am deeply disappointed. He knows the difference. He knows the commitment
that I have to the children of Labrador. He knows the commitment that this
government has to the people of Labrador, particularly the youth. He knows the
commitment that we have to Aboriginal youth in particular.
Yesterday, he actually stood on his feet and talked about ministers and the
Premier not going to Labrador and not meeting with people on an individual
basis. He was on the same plane I was on last year when myself and other
ministers, with you, went up and visited communities as your request, and sat
down and talked to people and listened to people, and they had a huge impact on
me, I have to tell you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: He was on Open Line and endorsed our actions, Mr.
Speaker.
We will deal with this problem and we will deal with in a proper manner. I
used the term favourable consideration yesterday, which gave you a good
indication of where we are going on this, and you get up and do that today.
Shame on you, Sir!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. ANDERSEN: Mr. Speaker, the Premier can attack me all he wants, but I
will stand up for the children of Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair is having difficulty hearing the hon. the member. The hon. the
Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. ANDERSEN: Premier, if you are serious when you say you will treat the
youth in Labrador the same as you do on the Island portion of this Province,
then do so by giving them the Christmas present they deserve.
In your own words today, Premier, the health and well being of our youth are
very important. Will you back up these words today and announce when we are
going to get a tender call for the much needed and much deserved auditorium for
the youth in Labrador?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, unfortunately this afternoon we have seen
the spectacle of cheap, dirty politics to the lowest possible degree. In a
conversation yesterday with hon. members opposite, I indicated that we were
giving consideration to points that were raised yesterday. The Leader of the
Opposition gets up today and grandstands on behalf of the people of Fogo because
we are reconsidering this. What does the hon. Member for Torngat do? Exactly the
same thing. Not only does he try and get political credit for this, he tries
then to heap blame for Aboriginal children and Aboriginal youth, for lack of
compassion, on the shoulders of this government. Shame on you, Sir! I have
nothing else to say to you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The time allotted for Question Period has expired.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Special Committees.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. JOYCE: You can't take it. You can't take it.
AN HON. MEMBER: You should be ashamed of yourself.
MR. J. BYRNE: (Inaudible). That is pretty low. That is pretty low!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please! Order, please!
I am asking members for their co-operation so we can continue with the
proceeding of the House.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees. Tabling of Documents.
Tabling of Documents
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Today I am tabling the Public Accounts of the Province for the fiscal year
ending March 31, 2005, as required by the Financial Administration Act.
Again, this year they have received a clean, unqualified audit opinion by the
Auditor General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I say to hon. members, if I cannot get the attention of the members, the
Chair will recess the House.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
Further tabling of documents.
Notices of Motion.
Notices of Motion
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I give notice that I will on tomorrow move that the House resolve itself into
a Committee of the Whole to consider certain resolutions relating to the
advancing or guarantee of certain loans made under the Loan and Guarantee Act,
1957. (Bill 62)
MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion?
The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
On behalf of the Minister of Education, I give notice that I will on tomorrow
ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,
An Act To Amend The Memorial University
Pensions Act. (Bill 63)
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to move the following Private Member's Motion:
WHEREAS Labradorians must be the primary beneficiaries of any development of
the hydro resource on the Lower Churchill River; and
WHEREAS the Premier promised during the 2003 election campaign, "We will
not develop the Lower Churchill unless the primary beneficiaries are
Labradorians. You have my assurance on that"; and
WHEREAS the government party promised during the 2003 election campaign that,
"a Progressive Conservative government will make use of the hydroelectric
potential of the Lower Churchill to promote industrial development and meet
domestic energy demand in Labrador"; and
WHEREAS Labrador communities must have electrical power which is affordable
and reliable to sustain and grow the local economy; and
WHEREAS Labradorians expect a heritage fund will be established to ensure
future investment into Labrador and its people; and
WHEREAS there must be respect and inclusion for all of Labrador's
Aboriginal peoples, the Innu Nation, the Metis Nation and the Inuit must be
consulted and engaged in meaningful discussions on the development; and
WHEREAS local business procurement and local employment opportunities must be
a fundamental part of any plan to develop the project, a Labrador First Policy
must be adopted; and
WHEREAS environmental concerns must be considered and addressed through
environmental assessments, Labradorians must be provided with intervener status;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly call upon the government
to ensure that Labrador receive the maximum benefits of the development of the
Lower Churchill Power Project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a deal on the Lower Churchill not be concluded
unless the electrical needs of Labrador are met and a Labrador development fund
is established to ensure that Labradorians are the primary beneficiaries of the
export of their hydro electricity resource.
MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion?
The hon. the Minister of Government Services.
MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will on tomorrow ask leave
to introduce a bill entitled,
An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act. (Bill 61)
Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion?
The Chair would ask leave of the House to table a document just delivered to
me. It is from the Auditor General and it is the report On the Audit of the
Financial Statements of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador For the Year
Ended 31 March 2005.
Further notices of motion.
Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Labrador West.
MR. COLLINS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today to present a petition on behalf of a number of residents of this
Province concerning the right to hunt on Sunday. Mr. Speaker, I presented this
petition a couple of weeks ago and to just explain a bit more what the people
who signed this petition expect government to do, I will elaborate further on
that and the reasons for it.
Mr. Speaker, as we are all aware, there are not too many things today in
society that people cannot do on Sunday; from Sunday shopping to opening Liquor
stores recently on Sunday, to a host of other things. Hunting is one of the
activities that is pursued by a large number of people in this Province and they
feel that it is wrong for them not to be able have the opportunity to hunt on a
Sunday.
Now, Mr. Speaker, most of the people in this Province who hunt are not close
to populated areas. They are far back in the woods. I know in the case of
Labrador, you are hundreds of miles in from the closest community, where the
only people near you are hunters as well. When you leave to return home on a
Sunday, if you did not get your animals or have a successful hunt on Saturday,
even though you are a hundred miles from the closest place, you are still not
allowed to hunt an animal because of the fact that it is a Sunday. That is
wrong, Mr. Speaker.
I understand also, Mr. Speaker, there are some people out there who have
concerns over this. You often hear the argument about berry pickers in the woods
during September month. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the minister, in
implementing Sunday hunting, can strike an agreement that would accommodate most
people in the Province that would be reasonable and acceptable to a large
segment of the population.
There may be such things, for example, as a delay when Sunday hunting will
start in certain areas of the Province because of people's other outdoor
activities in the Province, such as berry picking and things of that nature.
I implore the minister, on behalf of the people who signed this petition, to
really take this under consideration, give it some though, and implement a
process whereby hunters of the Province can be accommodated to hunt on Sunday,
as well as other people being able to pursue their activities on Sunday without
any fear as well.
I ask the minister, Mr. Speaker, to look at this issue, to change the
regulation, and to allow people the right to be able to hunt on Sundays.
Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?
The hon. the Member for Placentia & St. Mary's.
MR. MANNING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I stand today to present a petition on behalf of some of my constituents. The
petition reads:
To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland in Parliament
assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador ask for the House of Assembly to accept the following
prayer:
We the undersigned citizens of the St. Mary's Bay area hereby draw your
attention to the lack of a safe means of transportation in the Riverhead-St.
Mary's area.
WHEREAS it is the duty of government to provide proper transportation to all
residents of Newfoundland and Labrador regardless of where they live;
THEREFORE your petitioners ask that government immediately put in place a
plan to address the current serious situation.
As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to present this petition on behalf of a number
of residents in my district today.
Certainly, last week we heard the new Minister of Transportation and Works
put forward the early announcement of a Provincial Roads Program for the year
2006. Certainly, it was welcome news to the ears of people in my district. I
believe it to be a positive move, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the government,
given the fact that at least now we know that there is an amount of money that
is put aside next year for roads work throughout the Province.
In the past years the tenders came out very late, and trying to lay asphalt
in the fall, early fall and late fall of the year, is certainly a detriment to
the contractors out there and certainly to the job being done and being done
properly, Mr. Speaker.
This past year, we had some work done in the District of Placentia & St.
Mary's. In the St. Mary's-Riverhead area there was some new pavement laid
just outside Colinet. Also, throughout Branch country, Route 100 between Branch
and St. Brides, there were some culvert work that was carried out. New culverts
were placed in five different locations, and a very major traffic thoroughfare
in the Placentia area known as Jerseyside hill was paved also.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the past Minister of
Transportation and Works for his co-operation on delivering that money, and
helping to deliver that money, to the District of Placentia & St. Mary's
this past summer.
Much more work needs to be done in the District of Placentia & St. Mary's
in relation to road work. Just to touch on a couple of those places: Outside the
community of North Harbour on the road to Colinet is a major area that needs
work. Throughout Branch, St. Bride's and throughout the Cape Shore area to
Point Verde, throughout Dunville, Freshwater, the road highway down to Admiral's
Beach, through the communities of St. Joseph's and O'Donnells, the road to
Mall Bay and down through St. Shotts, and the access road to Fox Harbour and
Ship Harbour, just to name a few.
As you can see, there is a lot of work that needs to be carried out and,
hopefully, as part of the new Provincial Roads Program that was recently
announced, the District of Placentia & St. Mary's will receive money to
look at those roads. I believe road improvements play an important
part in rural
development, economic development. To have proper roads throughout the area, I
think, would be very positive not only for the district but indeed for the
Province as a whole.
I put forward this petition on behalf of the people of Placentia & St.
Mary's today and ask that the government give it due consideration as they put
forward their plans for next year, the 2006 Provincial Roads Program.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?
Orders of the Day.
Orders of the Day
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Order 5, second reading of a bill,
An Act To Amend The Workplace Health,
Safety and Compensation Act. (Bill 45)
MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 45,
An Act To Amend The
Workplace Health, Safety And Compensation Act, be now read a second time.
Motion, second reading of a bill, "An Act To Amend The Workplace Health,
Safety And Compensation Act." (Bill 45)
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and
Employment.
MR. SHELLEY: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I am glad today to start off debate on this particular Bill 45. Just as the
Explanatory Note says, it is to amend the act to establish a procedure for the
Workplace, Health, Safety and Compensation Commission to issue electronic worker's
clearance certificates to persons authorized to request and receive them.
Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what it is all about. We have had quite a bit of
discussion, even new into this department, on this particular bill, but the fact
of the matter is that Bill 45 will provide a service consistent, really, with
what is happening throughout different government departments. It happens,
certainly, with the sheriff's department, with the registry, with the personal
properties security registry and so on. It is the whole idea of streamlining
and, of course, the whole idea of lessening the red tape of government. So this
would, of course, be a productive move. It was something that has been asked
for, for quite some time, Mr. Speaker.
As part of its Web strategy, the commission will replace its manual process
for issuing certificates of clearance - approximately, by the way, 18,000
requests a year, Mr. Speaker. So, there are quite a number of these requests
that come in. This will be able to be turned over within a day now, with the new
electronic system. I think for everybody involved, all stakeholders, this will
certainly streamline, through an electronic sense, what we can do very quickly
as opposed to long waits of manually.
At the same time, Mr. Speaker, just to make note of it, I am certain that
through Committee stage we will have some more questions on it, but it removes
that red tape. It gives the opportunity for employers and lawyers to get that
information a lot more quickly, and I think it benefits everybody. So, I think
it is a good move in the right direction. It is something that has been
discussed for a number of years. It has been requested by a number of people. I
am certainly glad we can move forward with this particular bill, and I look
forward to debate and comment from my colleagues opposite.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bellevue.
MR. BARRETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it appears that this is just a bit of a housekeeping bill and
making the thing e-friendly. This government has gone really e-friendly. It is
an e-friendly government because they are cutting out so many offices in
Newfoundland and Labrador I guess that pretty soon the only way you will get any
response from this government is by computer, because there will not be anybody
left in the employee to work on any problems.
I guess the only problem I have with this is the security of the system. How
secure is the system? Because, really, we are talking about privacy issues.
Right now, for example, if I represent somebody for Workers' Compensation,
particularly in the appeal process -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I would like to ask members if they could keep their conversations somewhat
to a lower level. The Chair is having difficulty hearing the hon. Member for
Bellevue.
The hon. the Member for Bellevue.
MR. BARRETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Right now, when we request information on a file, the injured worker has to
sign a form indicating that it is okay to release the information to a third
party. Normally, what happens is that the information comes by private courier
to the person who requested the information. I guess the question I have for the
minister is: Right now, will this be all online that you can go on - and we all
realize that the worker's file is a very private file. It has all the medical
records, all the medical information about the person. How secure will the
system be in terms of making sure that nobody can go in on the system? I know
when they put some of the other systems online, in terms of the deeds and other
information, that anybody could go on the computer and get access to people's
information. So, I have some concerns about this. What will happen in this
particular case? I guess if it is guaranteed that there will be no access to
information that will be easily available by anybody, I would not have any
problem with the legislation.
The other part of the act indicates that there will be a fee charged for this
service. Right here, it says in the act: The commission may charge a fee for the
provision of information requested under this Act. Most of the people that I
have represented in the sixteen-some years that I have been involved in politics
- I have represented probably hundreds of people on Workers' Compensation
appeals. Does that mean now that the information we need to get to be able to
represent a constituent - will we have to pay a fee if we need to access the
information on a computer system? This can be very, very expensive.
We all know that most of the people who need help in this area cannot afford
high priced lawyers. Most of the injured workers who contact me and ask me to
assist them in their Workers' Compensation appeals cannot afford to go and
hire a lawyer. I would say most of the members who represent rural Newfoundland
and Labrador, the majority of appeals that are done by Workers' Compensation
in rural Newfoundland is done by the local MHA, whether on this side of the
House or the other side of the House. As a matter of fact, I would say that
probably 90 per cent of the appeals that are done is representation by the MHAs.
Right now the files and all that sort of thing that will only be available by
computer will still be available in hard copy and sent to us so that we can have
it in advance to be able to sit down and analyze the files, consult with the
doctors and all the people involved, all the professionals who are involved with
the files. Normally, the medical records are listed. Will we have to pay for
this information so that we can represent our constituents and represent them
well in their hearings before the Workers' Compensation Tribunal?
If the minister is able to answer some of these questions about this piece of
legislation, I have no problem with it. Hopefully, if they are doing something
they are improving the lot of the injured worker.
I could go on and on in terms of a speech about workers' compensation and
the job that has been done over the last number of years, but I will wait for
the Committee and see what answers the minister has on this particular piece of
legislation. If there are any other issues, I will handle them in Committee, Mr.
Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Further speakers on second reading.
The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to say a few words about Bill 45,
An Act To Amend The Workers'
Compensation Act. We support the legislation, Mr. Speaker, because it will make
things a little more speedy for the operations of the people dealing with
workers' compensation and operating on liens that exist on properties as the
result of assessments and assessments due.
I did have some questions on it, Mr. Speaker, and it may be something we can
discuss at the Committee stage. There is an issue here in terms of what
authority the board now has to charge for letters that are being given to people
seeking information on assessments and on liens. No fee is charged for this
service right now, and the act provides that it will be. One, perhaps, even more
disturbing issue is that the time limit the Workers' Compensation Commission
has to respond to requests is rather long, I think some twenty-one days.
If I can explain how this works, Mr. Speaker, and why this is important. This
is one of these things known as statutory liens. In other words, there is a lien
on a property by someone who is supposed to pay assessments that is there
regardless of any paper work having been done to notify the public of those
liens. This is an important matter for someone buying a house, for example. If
you are buying a house from a contractor who builds a whole series of houses, in
order for you to actually get title to that house there has to be - any liens
that might be on it, whether it be a mechanic's liens for wages, whether it be
a mortgage, whether it be a debt that might be owed by the contractor as
registered in the Sheriff's Office, someone acting on your behalf, a lawyer or
a law firm, would normally conduct a number of searches to determine whether or
not there are any liens on the property. They would go to the Sheriff's Office
and give the Sheriff a certain amount of money to conduct a search. The
government collects money for that purpose. They would go to the Registry of
Deeds in this building, or employ a searching service to do so, and to see if
any of the workers of that company were not paid, or any of the suppliers of
materials were not paid and filed a lien, an actual piece of paper filed in the
Registry of Deeds.
There are a number of searches that have to take place, but there are other
liens that do not really require any particular action in order to be put in
place, and one of those is outstanding assessments for workers' compensation.
Assessments that are required to be paid automatically attract a lien.
Retail sales tax is another one, for example. What has to happen in those
cases is that the lawyer or the law firm would write a letter to the Minister of
Finance, for example, and say: Are they any outstanding retail sales tax owing
by this company? Are there any school taxes owed by this company or individual?
That is the big racket we have had in the last year with the Minister of Finance
about school taxes going back eight, ten, twelve years, that people did not even
know about. All of a sudden, when they are trying to get a mortgage, they find
out that they owe $2,500 in school taxes going back ten years. That is the kind
of lien that I am talking about, a statutory lien that exists as a result of
legislation before this House.
What happens in those cases is, you have to write the minister, ask for a
clearance, or, in this case, write to the workers' compensation commission and
ask for a clearance. Now, that procedure has been a little bit cumbersome in the
past - I think everybody acknowledges that - and sometimes the workers'
compensation commission has had some difficulty responding to those requests.
What the minister's legislation is hoping to do is streamline that process to
the point that it can now be done electronically. I do not think anybody in the
Province, who is involved in this process, would have any difficulty with that.
Unfortunately, the mechanisms, I am not sure, are there to effectively conduct
the process. Let me give you an example, Mr. Speaker.
If you were to buy a property tomorrow, or make agreement to buy a property
or a house tomorrow - and this goes on every day in this Province, people
closing real estate transactions - normally there is a one, ten days, two weeks,
maybe maximum three weeks, to close a property on an ordinary transaction.
Somebody offers to buy a house and they are going to take possession of it in a
few weeks. It is only after the financing been approved does normally a lawyer
get involved in searching the title and satisfying themselves that the property
is properly able to be sold. So, sometimes these requests go into the
government, to the Sheriff's Office, two or three or four or five days before
the closing and normally they are able to get a response. I would assume that in
a normal course of events an electronic request, an electronic response, could
happen a lot more quickly. I would expect that to be the case.
What I see instead, Mr. Speaker, in the legislation is a provision that it is
only - if there is no response from the worker's compensation commission
within twenty-one days then you can assume there are not liens. The problem, Mr.
Speaker, is that people do not have the luxury of waiting twenty-one days to
close a transaction. The transaction is closing tomorrow or the next day, or
next week, not twenty-one days from now, so I have a few problems with it. The
principle is a good one, that you can have an electronic request and an
electronic response, and that there is a commitment to acknowledging that
request very quickly, but the concern that I have is that the provision of the
legislation actually makes things worse instead of better when it comes to
efficiently dealing with requests of that nature.
From that point of view, Mr. Speaker, the attempt to make the process more
streamlined, I do not have a problem with it, but I do not want to see this be
another source of fees for the government, or for the workers' compensation
commission in this case, or a case where there is a situation where fees can be
charged.
What happens, Mr. Speaker, in fees of this nature, they are regarded to some
extent as hidden fees. We have seen registration of documents fees goes up; we
have seen Sheriff certificate fees go up from $25 to $50 to $75. These have
happened by this government over the last year or so, trying to raise money for
the public purse, but what happens is that they get tacked on every time a
transaction takes place. They show up on bill that you get after you have
financed your mortgage or after you have bought your house. You see a list of
all the fees that the law offices had to pay out on your behalf to the
Government of Newfoundland to register documents, to get Sheriff certificates,
to get something from city hall, and I do not want to see another fee from the
workers' compensation commission to say it is another $50 that ends up being -
sometimes people call them lawyers' legal fees. They are not legal fees at
all. These are taxes that the government is imposing through its various
agencies, and sometimes municipalities charge $25 to give you a certificate
saying that we do not have any work orders outstanding on this property. These
are the kind of things that are hidden fees that creep up, creep up and creep
up. They ultimately have to be paid by the consumer. A lot of them - I am not
saying they are not necessary, but in some cases, particularly in the case of
the ones where the government is collecting them, they are actually forms of
revenue for the government.
We might brag from time to time and say we do not have any land transfer tax
in Newfoundland and Labrador. In Ontario, you pay a land transfer tax; we do not
have one. No, we do not have a land transfer tax but we charge you $4 for every
$1,000 your property is worth in order for you to register your deed.
Registering your deed is pretty important if you are going to be sure to have
title. We do not have a land transfer tax, but it might cost you $1,000 in fees
to have your title registered and your mortgage registered, which is a
requirement of the bank to lend you the mortgage. These are really forms of
taxes, Mr. Speaker, and I have concerns about that.
The second thing that I have concerns about, and this is something that I
hope the minister will speak to because there seems to be an access to
information issue here, or a privacy issue perhaps - there was a flip side of
that - in terms of what people's accounts might be with the workers'
compensation commission. If I, as a business, or I, as an individual, have
obligations to workers compensation - they may be disputed amounts, they may be
legitimate amounts - to me that is, in a sense, similar to taxes. If my company
business how much taxes I owe unless somehow or other they are involved in that
particular transaction or they have some reason to know. I suspect that the same
thing goes for workers' compensation assessments.
There may be competitive reasons why I would not want my fellow competitor or
contractor to know what my workers' compensation assessment is. There may be
reasons why - if this discloses the size of my operation. It may disclose things
about my standing with the workers' compensation commission. It may disclose
things about my financial ability to deal with certain things. It is a privacy
issue. If money is owed to the workers' compensation commission, you either
get a clearance or you do not. Should it be the case, Mr. Speaker, that somebody
inquiring - whether it be a law firm or a lawyer, just somebody looking for
information - have the right to request of the workers' compensation
commission, how much money does the Government House Leader's business owe to
workers' comp? Why should that be a matter of public information?
MR. E. BYRNE: I don't have a business.
MR. HARRIS: He does not have a business. Do you see what I mean? Here he
is being slurred already and he does not even have a business. He does not owe
money to workers' comp; he does not have a business. This is his business, but
when he retires and he uses his great, talented experience to set up a business,
he may owe money to Workers' Compensation. Whose business would it be, except
his, as to what money he owes?
So, I think these are questions that are opened up by this legislation. They
have not really been before this Legislature before, because I don't think
there has been a right of somebody making inquiries to know anything other than
yes, there is no Workers' Compensation lien, or yes, there is. Then they can
make their decisions about whether to close a transaction or not, or do
something about it.
These are questions that are important, as in the principle of having more
efficient operations at the Workers' Compensation Commission, making it easier
for information, and particularly with respect to liens being made available is
a good thing. I find it hard to understand how giving the Workers'
Compensation Commission twenty-one days to respond is going to speed up any
transactions. In fact, it may give them an excuse to say: Well, we have
twenty-one days to respond, so what is the hurry? I am not suggesting that would
be the attitude, Mr. Speaker, but it certainly leaves that open to individuals
to interpret it in that way.
Having said that, Mr. Speaker, in principle, we support the legislation.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Gander.
MR. O'BRIEN: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I certainly rise in this House today to
support the amendment to the piece of legislation, Bill 45,
An Act To Amend The
Workplace, Health, Safety And Compensation Act.
From being in a position of business prior to my political life, I think this
is a very worthwhile exercise and a very worthwhile amendment to this piece of
legislation. It is certainly a piece that deals exclusively with streamlining
and efficiency within the system; which is very, very important to employers,
very important to lawyers and consistent with government's plan to minimize
the red tape, which is so important to employers out there today. We have heard
it time and time again over the last number of years. I have dealt with it
myself in regards to my own business and what it takes to push things through
and get things done. I think this is a very good thing, a very worthwhile piece
of legislation on the amendment side. I think the employers and Chambers of
Commerce across the Province will certainly embrace this piece of legislation in
regards to its efficiency. That is what it is all about.
It says here that it will replace the manual process for issuing certificates
of clearance. I think there are approximately 18,000 requests made yearly in
regards to that piece there. If you can just imagine 18,000 requests over a year
period on a manual process, how hard that is to deal with on an ongoing basis.
We are living in an IT world. There is no denying that, and we have to move with
the times. I think this piece of legislation, actually, is in consistency with
other pieces of legislation across Canada. You know, everybody is moving to a
more efficient, more streamlined program and delivery service. The employers are
moving towards that and themselves. We did over a period of time. I remember
when I got into pharmacy first, all we used was a typewriter, a pen and a
calculator. Then we moved into the IT world of computers, and now you can pretty
well fill a prescription without even touching the actual medications. You do it
on a computer and then it goes to a bank of medications. It selects the right
pill and then it dispenses it right into the bottle and puts the label onto it.
That is called streamlining and efficiency, Mr. Speaker.
That is what this is all about. It allows the lawyers to request information,
get it from the commission and get a manual certificate. I must also say that
when you move into an IT system in regards to streamlining, there is always that
fear that the manual process would cease to exist. That is a fear, but in this
case the manual certificates will, again, parallel the IT system but, hopefully
in time, as we move along, you will see the manual system phase itself out and
then the IT system will take over. I am sure that is what is going to happen,
Mr. Speaker, to be honest with you, because I believe that the employers will,
certainly, embrace this. I cannot see anybody out there not say that this is a
great amendment. It is a great move forward. I think it is a great initiative by
the department and I can only see good things coming from it.
Also, I might add, I noticed that in the piece of legislation, I asked a
question in regard to jobs. It does not cause any job loss within the commission
itself, and that is a very, very good thing. I think, as a matter of fact, in my
world when computers were introduced first, we thought there was going to be all
kinds of job loss within the pharmacy program, but it actually increased jobs
because we were able to do more things and provide more services. So, that is
actually what happens in the real world. They always say that a computer would
replace fifteen or twenty jobs in the workplace and that kind of stuff, and I
have heard all those kinds of comments over the years and whatnot, but that is
not what happens. It actually creates jobs or, at least, makes them more
efficient.
Also, the piece of legislation on the amendment also has a sector there which
would guarantee that the transactions would be tracked and monitored by the
commission, all the way through, to make sure that they are being used in the
right context and that kind of stuff, and only a minimal amount of information
is going to be released as well; the name, the address, and the outstanding
assessment account balances will be only provided to the legal communities. So,
that is a very minimal amount of information going out over there. I do not
think anybody's rights are violated in that regard as well.
So, I think all these things are very, very good things in regards to this
amendment. Mr. Speaker, I can only say that I support this piece and take great
pleasure in getting up here and supporting it.
Mr. Speaker, that is about all I have to say on this matter. I comment the
minister in bringing this forward in this House today.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: If the minister speaks now he will close the debate at
second reading.
The hon. the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.
MR. SHELLEY: And Labrador Affairs.
MR. SPEAKER: And Labrador Affairs.
MR. SHELLEY: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I know it is a long name, Mr. Speaker, but you have to try to get used to it.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the beginning of this debate today. Certainly, as I
said right from the outset, this is all about streamlining and, of course,
making this a better system. If we look through government, through a lot of
departments, especially with registries, this has been done in many already. I
note, for example, the sheriff's department, Enforcement Registry, it is now
this system; personal property securities registry. So, any registries.
I just want to make a couple of comments, not to answer all the questions at
this stage, but certainly to make some indications to some points that were
brought up. First of all, by my colleague for Bellevue on the security of the
system. I ensure the minister that the security will be maintained. In fact, the
information - and, Mr. Speaker, there may have been some confusion on the part
of the Member for Bellevue, but just to clarify. He talks about doing cases for
constitutions as we all do, and I have done it many times. This is not about all
of that information. This is specifically for one thing only, and that is for
certificates of clearance on liens and that type of thing, for doing business of
that sort. It is not about all the information at the commission or nothing. So,
I just want to clarify that for the Member for Bellevue, that it certainly does
take into any account of that; information will be available, as it was all the
time and he will still be able to do his cases and support his constituents and
work on their behalf when it comes to the commission. So, it has nothing to do
with that, just strictly the clearance certificates that sometimes they need for
business transactions. That was one of the points that the Member for Bellevue
brought up.
Also the security, as I just told him, that will continue to be as is,
keeping in mind this point, Mr. Speaker, that this information provided to the
legal community about the employer status will be very limited. As the Member
for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi probably already knows, it just strictly sticks with
the name, address and the outstanding assessment of account balances. That is
all, no more information than that, so the security is maintained.
Mr. Speaker, just to make a couple of comments, and if we want to continue
this in Committee we certainly can have some more questions later, but to
respond to the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi on one point on the twenty-one
days, I tell the member, first of all, it was twenty-eight days. It is now
reduced to twenty-one. A lot of that has to do with the experience of the people
at the commission who have been dealing with this for a number of years, and I
am sure many people throughout the Province are familiar with that, Mr. Speaker.
The fact of the matter is, it has gone from twenty-eight days now down to
twenty-one days.
Mr. Speaker, I say to the member, very rarely - this is from experience of
the commission doing this - has that time ever been used, the entire
twenty-eight days. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, I have some numbers for the
Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi. I will certainly be glad to share those
numbers with him. Just to give you an example: Last year, just over 18,000
requests came in, in one year, to the commission, and 90 per cent of the 18,000
that came in - I say to the member, 90 per cent, these are numbers just from
last year; we can do previous years, too, to give you some more examples of it -
were handled within twenty-four hours. Then, to further that, I say to the
member, 7 per cent were handled within 72 hours.
The fact of the matter is - and this is the way it has been explained to me;
and, of course, the member being a background lawyer would understand this -
that is 97 per cent that have been handled within seventy-two hours. This was
last year, and apparently every year previous to that was very similar. Three
per cent last year got very complex. They went on with audits and so on, so it
was difficult, Mr. Speaker. In those extreme cases it does take a considerable
amount of time, sometimes a couple of weeks, even up to the twenty-one day
period. After that particular time, when that does run out - that is why, if we
had to wait in those very rare occasions for the twenty-one days to pass, Mr.
Speaker, at the end of that time that means the lien would be no longer
required. It would run out, basically.
From my understanding last year - as I say to the member, to answer that
question - 97 per cent were handled within seventy-two hours, and 90 per cent
were handled within the first twenty-four hours, so it is usually done pretty
quickly.
By the way, Mr. Speaker, another point to add to this is that the manual
process will still be there for the people who do want to use it. On the other
hand, for people who use the electronic process, the twenty-one days, although
being there, they believe and they are pretty confident, in discussions I have
had with my officials, that they will be able to turn most of these over -
around 90 per cent, certainly 95 per cent - within a couple of days, a couple or
three days. I think that makes it pretty efficient, Mr. Speaker. I am pretty
pleased with that.
I will make one more comment, Mr. Speaker, that was brought up earlier by the
member. If that does not address it, we will certainly discuss it further in
Committee stage. Also, on the fees, there are still no fees with the people who
have been using this regularly, employers and lawyers. I do not have a
percentage on that, Mr. Speaker, but I pretty well think that is everybody that
uses this system for this particular piece of information. Employers and, of
course, lawyers on behalf of their clients - and, you are right, the member said
it would be another fee tacked on to the service that they are providing. Well,
Mr. Speaker, there is no fee that will apply to the employers and lawyers in
this case who are looking for this information for a business transaction.
It says, may charge a fee. That is only if, Mr. Speaker - we have a piece of
legislation here that, if there are nuisances that would arise, or some kind of
abuse of the system, I suppose you could say, in other words, that the fee is
there possibly for those type of things. Otherwise, it is going to stay the
same. There will be no fees for the employers and lawyers who use this on behalf
of their clients to make that particular business transaction.
Mr. Speaker, I think it is a very good piece of legislation. It is something
that was requested and suggested for a number of years now, I understand. I am
only new into this department, but certainly in the briefings I have had with my
officials and people at the commission who have dealt with this for many, many
years, that is their experience. The fact of the matter is, a lot of this will
be handled within a day, two to three days at the most, and it should be able to
streamline the entire system.
I am delighted to bring this forward on second reading, Mr. Speaker. I look
forward to more comments from my colleagues in Committee stage.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House that Bill 45,
An Act To
Amend The Workplace, Health, Safety and Compensation Act be now read a second
time?
All those in favour, aye'.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.
MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.
Carried.
CLERK: A bill,
An Act To Amend The Workplace, Health, Safety and
Compensation Act. (Bill 45).
MR. SPEAKER: Bill 45 has now been read a second time.
When shall this bill be referred to a Committee of the Whole House? On
tomorrow?
MR. E. BYRNE: Later today, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Today.
On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Workplace, Health, Safety And
Compensation Act," read a second time, ordered referred to a Committee of
the whole House presently, by leave. (Bill 45)
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Order 8, second reading of a bill,
An Act Respecting Denturists. (Bill 60)
MR. SPEAKER: I do believe that debate had begun on Bill 60, and that the
minister had spoken.
Continuing debate on Bill 60, which is
An Act Respecting Denturist, the Chair
recognizes the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: I was getting to my feet, Mr. Speaker, and the hon. the Leader
of the NDP party was saying I should get up and sink my teeth into this bill.
Mr. Speaker, with all the tension that has been in the House of Assembly
today maybe I will tell a little story that has to do with denturists actually.
The minister, I am sure, will appreciate this. In my district, of course, there
isn't a denturist, and it is not unusual, I say to the minister, not to be
able to find a denturist on the Coast of Labrador. What we do have is a
travelling clinic, you see. When the dentist comes in and someone needs to have
false teeth, they can have an impression done right there at the clinic and it
is sent out to St. John's to have these teeth made for the individual.
I know of a circumstance, Mr. Speaker - and actually the individual involved
may be even watching the House of Assembly this evening because I know they like
to do that. Anyway, this individual gets a call from the local clinic telling
him that his teeth are in and he can come and pick them up. He goes over to the
clinic to do that, Mr. Speaker, picks them up, gets home, opens them up, and
this is a huge set of dentures. Now, this man, if you ever met him, has a really
small mouth, something like the member.
[Laughter]
MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, he took them out and looked at them and said:
Well, maybe they are mine, so I will try them anyway. He tried to get them into
his mouth but, Mr. Speaker, they would not fit. As the story goes in a small
town, by six o'clock that evening we had found out who owned the teeth, and it
was only a matter of crossing the harbour, exchanging the teeth with the fellow
down the road and getting your own back. That was my story about denturists. Mr.
Speaker, it was quite funny at the time and is always much funnier when you hear
this chap tell it. Anyway, it is the circumstance of where we live and sometimes
it can cause you to have some fun with it.
The bill the minister has brought in today, Bill 60, will no doubt allow the
denturists in our Province to have an association that will fall in line with
all of the other professional associations within the health care sector, so
that when there are situations that arise with regard to denturists and their
profession, any issues that may be, I guess, around misconduct or any particular
issues to that order, they can be dealt with through an appropriate mechanism,
and the mechanism is what has been brought forward today as part of this
legislation. It will give them an opportunity to have an open and accountable
process in which all of the information can be put forward and looked at and
viewed by the public. I think, Mr. Speaker, that is important in terms of
maintaining integrity within all of these professional associations and within
the actual professions that they represent.
With those few words, I just want to say to the minister, that I will be
supporting the bill he has brought forward as it relates to denturists, and I
will wait until it is tabled in third reading.
MR. SPEAKER: If the hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services
speaks now, he will close debate on second reading.
MR. OTTENHEIMER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again I thank the hon. member for her comments and her support of Bill 60, An
Act Respecting Denturists. This is the last bill of this nature. This is,
actually, the tenth bill that we have addressed with respect to health care
professionals in the Province. Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank both members
opposite, the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair and the Member for Signal
Hill-Quidi Vidi, for their support throughout the process.
Mr. Speaker, I now move second reading of Bill 60,
An Act Respecting
Denturists.
MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that
this bill be now read a second time, that is Bill 60,
An Act Respecting
Denturists?
All those in favour, aye'.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.
MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.
Carried.
CLERK: A bill,
An Act Respecting Denturists. (Bill 60)
MR. SPEAKER: Bill 60,
An Act Respecting Denturists has now been a read a
second time. When shall this bill be referred to a Committee of the Whole House?
MR. SULLIVAN: Later in the day.
MR. SPEAKER: Later in the day.
On motion, a bill, "An Act Respecting Denturists," read a second
time, ordered referred to a Committee of the Whole House presently, by
leave." (Bill 60)
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Acting Government House Leader.
MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I now call Order 6, Bill 48.
MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 48,
An Act To Amend The
Income Tax Act 2000 No. 2, be now read a second time.
Motion, second reading of a bill, "An Act To Amend the Income Tax Act
2000 No. 2." (Bill 48)
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This bill is to amend the Income Tax Act to allow for an non-refundable
credit for eligible adoption expenses up to a maximum of $10,000. This is based
upon the federal adoption tax credit. We want to be able to move simultaneously
with the federal government on this particular issue. That will allow for that
credit to be applied as an adoption expense. It is very straightforwa