Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Statements by Ministers — 11 December 2014 (47th General Assembly, 3rd Session, Vol. XLVII No. 55)

2014-12-11

Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)

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December 11, 2014

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 55

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Before we begin today's proceedings, I would like to

observe an old parliamentary tradition.

I have the pleasant task of formally welcoming two new members

who were duly elected in the by-elections of November 25, 2014.

I will call the new members in alphabetical order by

electoral district.

The first new member is Mr. Stelman Flynn representing

the District of Humber East.

I have been advised by the Clerk of the House that the member has taken

the Oath of Office and the Oath of Allegiance to the Crown as required

by the Constitution, and has signed the Members' Roll.

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

The Member for Humber East requests to take his seat.

MR. SPEAKER:

Let the member take his seat.

Mr. Flynn, welcome.

MR. FLYNN:

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The second new member is Mr. Steve Crocker representing the District of

Trinity Bay de Verde. I

have been advised by the Clerk of the House that the member has taken

the Oath of Office and the Oath of Allegiance to the Crown as required

by the Constitution and has signed the Members' Roll.

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Mr. Speaker, the Member for Trinity Bay de Verde requests to take his

seat.

MR. SPEAKER:

Mr. Crocker, welcome.

Let the member take his seat.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Also, before we begin routine proceedings, there are a number of

welcomes from people in the public gallery that I would like to

acknowledge. Firstly, Mrs.

Mary Lee and her family are here with us today.

She will be the subject of a member's statement in a little

while.

We have Jennifer Caines, the Manager of Northern

Harvest Sea Farms; Mark Lane, the Executive Director of the Newfoundland

Aquaculture Industry Association; and Roberta Collier who is also a

development officer with the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry

Association.

With us also, we have Carol Furlong, President of NAPE,

and Bert Blundon, the secretary-treasurer of NAPE; as well as Debbie

Forward, the President of the Registered Nurses' Union of Newfoundland

and Labrador.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we have member' statements from the Member for the District of

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune; the Member for the District of St. Barbe;

the Member for the District of St. John's Centre; the Member for the

District of Carbonear Harbour Grace; the Member for the District of

Humber Valley; and the Member for the District of Virginia Waters.

The hon. the Member for the District of Fortune Bay

Cape La Hune.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to extend

congratulations to Northern Harvest Sea Farms Group for their great

accomplishment of being the world's very first salmon company to achieve

four-star Best Aquaculture Practices status.

This was achieved by the company in early December when Northern

Harvest Smolt Limited in Stephenville earned the Best Aquaculture

Practices certification.

I highly commend President Larry Ingalls and the

management and employees for their continued commitment to excellence

and improved performance standards.

This company has proven to be a global aquaculture leader and we

are very proud that they have attained hatchery, feed mill, farm and

processing plant certification to Best Aquaculture Practices standards.

On behalf of all residents in my district, I would like

to thank Northern Harvest Sea Farms Group for your leadership in growing

the aquaculture industry in this Province and providing rural

Newfoundland and Labrador with new, sustainable opportunities for

economic growth and employment.

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

congratulating Northern Harvest Sea Farms Group for their four-star Best

Aquaculture Practices status.

I would also like to commend them for ensuring the viability of

the aquaculture industry in this Province and for making quality

assurance their top priority.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to commend the producers

and participants of the reality series

Cold Water Cowboys.

The producer, Paperny Entertainment, details the lives of

Newfoundland and Labrador seafood harvesters as they struggle to survive

and thrive in the ever-turbulent fishing industry.

Two skippers, Todd Young and Conway Caines, and their

crews are from the District of St. Barbe and are stars in the show, some

of which is filmed in Cow Head.

They are described as heroic characters, big individuals,

tenacious, intelligent, and great personalities who are struggling to

maintain a way of life that has been part of our Province for centuries.

Cold Water Cowboys

brings home to viewers the hazards, financial uncertainty, and risks our

people face in their workplace; small boats on a dangerous ocean.

This local production of

Cold Water Cowboys also has economic and social benefits as tourists

want to meet the participants.

Discovery Channel airs the show, now being filmed for a second

season.

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

join me in commending the producers and participants of this homegrown

reality series.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

People from all over our fair city came together on

Monday at the Knights of Columbus in St. John's Centre to share a

Christmas meal. Almost every

community group in the city helped identify those families most in need.

Deep thanks to teams at Froude Avenue and Buckmasters

Circle Community Centre, the Seniors Resource Centre, the Hub,

Marguerite's Place, Bridges to Hope, RIAC, Turnings, the Tommy Sexton

Centre to name a few. It

was a Christmas dream team.

Kelly Anne Evans' Skylarks caroled us with passion and

panache, the ever-elegant Singing Legionnaires charmed everyone's socks

off, and Terry Rielly, our city's favourite teddy bear, was there with

hugs and laughs.

Santa, who bore an amazing resemblance to Bruce

Templeton, was a big hit, along with his dedicated elves: our city's

Labatt's workers who volunteered again this year.

Thanks to the wonderful chefs from the Sheraton Hotel

and their helpers who cooked the delicious turkey meal and the amazing

knights in shining aprons, our Knights of Columbus, who donated the hall

and who always volunteer so generously.

All this was organized, hosted, and provided by the

generosity of Rogers and Associates.

It was a magical afternoon.

Bravo to all.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House to recognize Erin Follett of

Harbour Grace for her bravery and determination.

On Tuesday, November 25, Lieutenant Governor Frank

Fagan and his wife Patricia honoured the thirty-five-year-old mother of

three with the Fortitude Medal, an award bestowed upon those who have

demonstrated hard work and dedication through pain and adversity.

She is only the second person in the Province to have ever

received this award.

Erin received the prestigious award after continuing to

volunteer with the CLB and other organizations while battling breast

cancer. As her treatments

continued, so did her dedication to her family: husband Wally, and

children Matthew, Abigail, and Alexandra.

Erin is an officer in the CLB and all three of her

children are active members of the organization, supporting their mom at

every opportunity. She and

her family participated in the Relay for Life in Upper Island Cove in

June.

The community of Harbour Grace has shown tremendous

support to Erin and her family, with seventy-five people showing up for

the presentation.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in

congratulating Erin Follett on receiving the prestigious Fortitude Award

and wish her well in the future.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Humber Valley.

MR. BALL:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate

bodybuilders from Deer Lake who competed at the 2014 Provincial

Bodybuilding Championships recently held in St. John's.

This competition saw Dawn Park of Deer Lake win her

first provincial championship in the Figure Short category, this

completing a three-year rise that saw her finish third in 2012, second

in 2013. With the provincial

title, Dawn will now compete at the 2015 nationals in Halifax, Nova

Scotia.

Along with Dawn, Shania Caravan won first place in the

Bikini Short category in her first provincial title.

Breanna Byrne finished seventh in the Figure Short competition,

and Charles Crocker capped a successful weekend, finishing second in the

men's Heavyweight category.

Mr. Speaker, a special note of acknowledgement again

goes to Dawn Park, who along with competing in the competition, also

coaches both Breanna Byrne and Shania Caravan, and is the owner of Park

Fitness in Deer Lake where the group trains.

I ask all members of this House to join me in

congratulating these young men and women on their achievements and wish

them every success in future events.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Virginia Waters.

MS C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize a constituent

in the District of Virginia Waters, Mrs. Mary Lee.

With a passion for working the land formed at a very

young age, in 1996 Mary began to volunteer in the Brother Jim McSheffrey

Community Garden, taking on the responsibilities of the garden

co-ordinator in 2002.

The garden was started to provide the residents of

Brophy and McGrath Place, and surrounding area, a location to grow their

own healthy food. As the

garden grew, so did the waitlist of volunteer gardeners who wanted to

join Mary in getting their hands dirty and their souls close to the

earth. The garden attracts

all walks of life, Mary has said.

Growing vegetables that her three daughters and six

grandchildren love and having them involved are the greatest rewards for

Mary. She loves being in the

garden, getting her hands in the soil, but could do without the moose

that sometimes eat her crop.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in

recognizing Mary's tireless, heartfelt, selfless contribution to her

community in helping bring the harvest to many tables in her

neighbourhood and also providing true community building with her

labour.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today I am pleased to rise in this hon. House to

provide an update on the Open Government Initiative.

In March of this year, the Government of Newfoundland

and Labrador launched the Open Government Initiative, joining several

other governments across Canada and sixty-five countries around the

world in committing to the principles of transparency, accountability,

participation and collaboration.

Mr. Speaker, between May and October, the Office of

Public Engagement conducted forty-two public engagement sessions with

over 700 participants across the Province and offered new ways for

people to provide their input on how government can improve the way it

does business.

By visiting

www.open.gov.nl.ca , residents can access numerous proactive

disclosures, including Orders in Council, updated access to information

response timelines, and all responses to general ATIPP requests.

It is also worth highlighting, Mr. Speaker, that Newfoundland and

Labrador is the only province in Canada to post all completed provincial

government responses to general ATIPP requests online.

Mr. Speaker, in the coming weeks, we will continue to

invite public feedback on the What

We Heard document, create innovative and useful engagement tools,

and move forward to develop this Province's first open government action

plan.

I encourage people to keep providing their suggestions

by emailing us at

ope@gov.nl.ca

or by calling 1-877-895-8891, which of course is toll-free.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. After forty-two

sessions across the Province, I really do hope that this government and

the minister will listen to the people of the Province.

Data is a strategic asset.

Access to reliable authoritative data gives citizens and

businesses the raw material to make informed decisions and create

opportunities.

This government has not committed to releasing

thousands of usable datasets that could benefit residents, businesses,

and the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Much of the data that is available is not in usable form.

If you look at DataBC, they have thousands of data that is free,

searchable, available for anyone to repurpose.

Things like Crown land tenures, land-use plans, broadband

availability, and digital mapping forms are all there.

This reduces red tape, it increases transparency, and it improves

service delivery.

This government is so secretive on data that when you

ask for information of things like the Library Board minutes of

Newfoundland and Labrador, I am sent back an e-mail with the ATIPP form.

Rather than giving the minutes that the board has produced, it

has to go through ATIPP.

I guess everybody publicly will now see that through

ATIPP. That is embarrassing.

That is how bad it is for government here.

This caucus would repeal Bill 29.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

statement. Clearly, this

update is another attempt by this government to mask the damage done by

this government's infamous Bill 29, and it is not working.

Proactive disclosure is a good thing, but the truth is government

still can and still does keep secret whatever they want, something

everyone on this side of the House knows.

The minister asks for people to keep providing

suggestions. So here, just

off the top of my head, are a few.

Revoke the offensive sections of Bill 29,

section 18 and

section

20(1)(c), and as we asked in our June ATIPP submission and government's

unwritten policy dictating all requests for assistance of information

(inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform this hon. House

about the accomplishments being achieved through the Newfoundland and

Labrador Green Fund. This

fund has played a large

part in supporting energy efficiency,

environmental sustainability, and climate change projects in our

Province.

In 2007, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

received $23 million from the EcoAction Trust Fund for Clean Air and

Climate Change to initiate programs or projects with potential to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions.

Our government also invested $2 million bringing the

Newfoundland and Labrador Green Fund to $25 million and the Department

of Environment and Conservation began implementing several innovative

projects.

Mr. Speaker, today I can report that through the

Newfoundland and Labrador Green Fund almost all of the $25 million has

been invested into initiatives that use a variety of different

approaches and that have resulted in improvements to such organizations

as the Gathering Place, the Corner Brook Civic Centre, the Town of St.

Anthony, Ronald MacDonald House, the Stella Burry Community Services

Centre, and others. Through

the fund we are seeing measureable and significant reductions in

greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, the projects, upgrades, and

changes we have supported have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions by 200,000 tons annually the equivalent of taking 50,000

cars off the road.

Mr. Speaker, undertaking measures to counteract the

changing climate and the effects it causes are increasingly important

and our government will continue to enhance our environmental protection

efforts and play our part to help ensure a sustainable and healthy

environment for the future.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. REID:

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

Mr. Speaker, we all have to go above and beyond to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Green Fund has enabled some organizations

across this Province to make needed improvements in the fight against

greenhouse gases.

Now that this fund has been used up, we have to look to

see what other funds this government will commit to and can secure from

the federal government to address this issue.

I would suggest that the government encourage municipalities to

try to access the half billion dollars in the Green Fund administered by

the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Our Province has not taken advantage of this fund like

we should, because the needed partnerships have not been brought

together. I encourage the

government to continue to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the

environment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would also like to thank the minister for the advance

copy of his statement here today.

Yes, indeed, we have to agree with government on this end that

there is some great work being done by the Newfoundland and Labrador

Green Fund, and we also have to put out a thank you to the federal

government for their contribution to it.

We would like to see some changes to the program that I

hope the minister will consider.

We would certainly like to see more investment, for example, in

the Green Fund so that smaller communities can take advantage of this.

That could be part of future municipal funding as well, and for

government to add more coverage for non-profit organizations to cover

their energy costs, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, it has been reported that there are delays with

the Hebron platform construction.

This stems from delays on components being built in South Korea.

I ask the Premier: What is causing these delays?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, the Hebron Project is another tremendous project that is

going to help develop the offshore oil resources for the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador and bring tremendous benefits, not only in the

immediate, in terms of job opportunities, but long term, in terms of

royalty and equity benefits that would be shared around our Province for

decades to come.

Mr. Speaker, recent media reports about scheduled

delays we have checked that with Exxon.

We have also checked with the partner to this project, Nalcor,

and both have confirmed that the project is on

schedule for first oil in

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Some of the benefits that have left this Province, or

were supposed to be intended for this Province, are certainly not that

of the third module construction here, because that is, as I said, being

built outside the Province.

It has been reported that the delays are at Hyundai

Heavy Industries in Korea the same facility that was awarded the third

module work that the government allowed to leave the Province.

So I ask the Premier: Can you confirm that indeed the

delay is on the third module that was allowed to leave this Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, as I am sure the hon. member knows, when you get into

projects of this magnitude in the multi-billions of dollars, whether it

is in Long Harbour or Muskrat Falls or at Hebron, there are always

schedule pressures, without question.

With

schedule pressures, there is also a flow of skill set,

employment in and out, peaks and valleys of employment, Mr. Speaker.

That is the nature of these large projects.

With the reports that came out in the media, obviously

we checked into that. It has been

confirmed by Exxon and by Nalcor, our partners, that the first oil is

still on

schedule for 2017.

Within that, will there be some

schedule pressures in various aspects of

the project? Without

question, Mr. Speaker, but what is important here is that first oil is

still on

schedule for 2017.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, the underlying assumption in the Hebron

development agreement was that all the work that could be completed in

the Province would be completed in the Province, as long as it did not

affect the overall project completion and the cost schedule.

We know that government let the work leave for $150 million, Mr.

Speaker.

So I ask the Premier: What is the current value of the

contract that is now being done by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South

Korea for this third module?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I do not have the exact number of the contract, but I do

know back a couple of years ago, maybe in October when the negotiations

were on around three particular modules that had to be developed for the

Hebron Project, one was the drilling support module and the

accommodations module, which will be built here in the Province.

Thanks to a benefit's agreement and dispute mechanisms that were

built in, we entered into a negotiation with Exxon around a third

module, which is the drilling equipment set.

As a result of the evaluation that is being done

internationally, or being done here in the Province, it was determined

that it was a $150 million benefit that belonged to the people of the

Province, and we were able to negotiate that from Exxon.

In doing so, we will invest that $100 million to create more jobs

and different skill sets will be able to avail of the benefits again of

the offshore development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I remind the minister that when that work was allowed

to leave the Province, the project then was at $8.3 billion.

So, in return on $8.3 billion for that one module, allowed to

leave the Province, there was $150 million; but three months later, as

we know, there was an announcement that the budget had increased and

ballooned to $14 billion.

I ask the Premier: With these budget changes, what

analysis have you done to fully determine did we get the full benefit at

the $150 million, as opposed to the new $14 billion project?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, at the time when you are negotiating these agreements and

we will do more in the future because of the tremendous prospectively

that exists in the offshore we enter into looking at the benefits and

our commitment, as we have seen over the past ten years, is to ensure

that we develop these resources for the benefit of Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

We enter into agreements around equity shares, around

the royalty regime that impacts the fiscal arrangements for the

projects, Mr. Speaker. The

evaluation, particularly in the third module, was done where we saw the

benefit to the Province should be around $150 million and we were able

to secure that.

Beyond that, Mr. Speaker, we all recognize the cost

pressures and the increase.

If further evaluations have been done, I have not seen it.

I will certainly look into it.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last week the Premier was not aware of a policy that

forces MHAs, at least Opposition MHAs, to direct constituency requests

through the minister's political staff.

Yet, this exact policy in this House was defended by the current

Premier when he was a minister two years ago.

I ask the Premier: Why did you say you did not know

about this policy, when this policy was in effect indeed when you were a

minister?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can tell the member opposite, it was a practice that

had existed in government.

When I became minister, in my first department, in Service NL, when I

first became Minister of Service NL, we were not heavily enforcing this

practice that had occurred before.

Then I began to receive complaints at my office, through

officials, about a couple of members opposite whereby staff did not want

to have to deal with those particular members, Mr. Speaker.

We told them to redirect them to my office and we would deal with

their complaints. That is

what happened, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The policy has received a lot of attention.

Maybe the Premier thinks this new Access to Information and

Protection of Privacy review panel maybe he believes his decision and

his ability to make decisions supersedes that panel.

As well, many media and people in this House of Assembly have had

issues with this.

Having ministers involved, having ministers political

appointed staff involved in basic constituency matters jeopardizes the

privacy of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Just a few minutes ago we heard a minister stand up and talk

about an Open Government Initiative.

I ask the Premier: Will you now eliminate this practice

and allow MHAs to again deal directly with government officials on

constituency matters?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The other problem we ran into, and that I became aware

of, is that we had numerous officials, numerous government employees who

have many tasks and duties and responsibilities in their day-to-day

work. What was determined is

that there were members opposite contacting numerous people in the

department looking for assistance on the same matter.

What came down to it was we had a number of officials

from time to time who were working on the same issue, Mr. Speaker.

It was not a good use of resources.

It was not an effective use of government resources.

We felt the appropriate thing to do was to have a

single point of contact for members opposite.

It creates better efficiency, better opportunity, and better

co-ordination of information.

We were trying to assist members opposite as well as our own

members here in the House, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What I am asking the Premier, this is appointed

political staff that we are talking about.

Right now we are getting the same officials being copied on

e-mails coming back from the department.

I ask the Premier, do the right thing.

If you are concerned about openness and transparency for

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, eliminate this outdated policy.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, I can tell you the member opposite is speaking out of both

sides of his mouth here today.

There are times they have written us members opposite have

written ministers in my government and asked for assistance with

matters. He is asking now

that not happen, that they be able to go directly to employees within

government departments.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard from government employees,

not all cases, but where they did not want to have to deal with members

opposite. We found cases

where more than one official within a department was dealing with the

same matter for members opposite.

Then we have members opposite who write ministers in

government. They do it

frequently. They write

ministers in government.

They ask for assistance and support.

Mr. Speaker, when members opposite, like the Member for

St. Barbe treats employees like he is on record of doing in the past, we

have to protect the employees of this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.

MS C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, both Alberta and Saskatchewan have

released their mid-year financial position.

They did it in November, and they did it despite the volatility

of oil prices. Our oil

producing Province has failed to do so.

Even if the Minister of Finance were to table the document this

afternoon, we would still be the last to do so.

I ask the minister: Given the increasing level of

concern being voiced by people, how is it that we are the only Province

in the country still waiting on a financial update?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I said to the member yesterday, we will, Mr.

Speaker, provide an update of where we are going to be to the end of

March, 2015. In fact, I had

a discussion about this this morning, about how settling things had

become or whether or not we were going to be able to give some

reasonable forecast. As I

said yesterday, we would do it before Christmas, and I am happy to

report to the House that we will be able to do it before the end of next

week.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.

MS C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, provincial Finance Ministers from across Canada are meeting

this weekend in Ottawa. They

will be discussing the impact of declining oil prices on their fiscal

position. These ministers

will go to the meetings prepared to discuss the issues from a

knowledgeable standpoint, all except one.

I ask the minister: If you do not know where you stand

and a fiscal outlook has not been prepared

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS C. BENNETT:

what are you going to tell your counterparts in Ottawa?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

Mr. Speaker, it must be awful nice to be able to stand in the House and

say that I know all things and I can be all things to all people.

To suggest, Mr. Speaker, that as a Minister of the

Crown representing the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, together

with my officials, that we will travel anywhere and participate in any

activity unless we are well informed, well understood, and able to make

a valuable contribution to the discussion at hand.

I think anybody who leaves this House of Assembly to represent

the people of Newfoundland and Labrador will always represent their

interests

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

and represent it in a fashion that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

will be proud of our presence and our contribution on a national stage.

That will be no different this weekend, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.

MS C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to the minister that a simple mathematical

equation of an estimate of $65 oil, $75 oil, $85 oil might be a good way

to forecast out where we are going to be till the end of March.

If the minister has the information and he is going to

have that information in Ottawa, why won't he release it here in the

Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN:

Mr. Speaker, this weekend in Ottawa, as Finance Ministers from across

the country, we will be talking about what is happening globally.

We will be talking about what is happening with the economy of

the country. We will be

meeting with the Governor of the Bank of Canada, who will be talking

about his fiscal outlook for the coming year.

We will be talking about those things that are happening globally

and nationally that impact each and every one of us.

I doubt very much it will be drilling down into the

Estimates book of each province across this country, Mr. Speaker.

We will be talking globally about those things that impact all of

us, and we all have an interest in, and we will all contribute to that

conversation. With that

sharing and those insights, we will gain new things from each other that

will help inform what we do as a nation as we advance our economy, and

we will be the benefactor of that strong national economy, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, that reminds me of the excuse for not sending in your

homework, about the dog eating it.

Mr. Speaker, government recently introduced a voluntary

Operating Grant Program for child care centres.

Instead of creating more affordable child care for families, the

sector is saying that the proposed rates do not reflect their true

operational costs.

I ask the minister: Why did you bring in this program

without consulting with child care operators about the financial

realities of the sector?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The hon. member gets up opposite day after day after

day criticizing this government in the child care sector and education,

and the work that we have done as a government, Mr. Speaker.

What he fails to do, Mr. Speaker, he fails to identify and

acknowledge the good work that we have done as a government when it

comes to early childhood education.

You only look at the recent report, Mr. Speaker and I

will not look at it but you look at the recent report, there is no

province in Canada that has made stronger improvements in early

childhood education than Newfoundland and Labrador.

Between 2011 and 2014, it is this government, in this Province

here that made greater gains and better improvements to early childhood

education than any other Province in Canada, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, the Premier should not be proud of being last in funding

and last in access in Canada.

Child care operators are saying the proposed rates for the

operating grant will compromise the quality of programming and the

viability of centres. The

proposed rates do nothing to improve the wages of early childhood

educators, or their retention, or their recruitment in the centre.

I ask the minister: Why would you bring in a program

that compromises the quality of care and the sustainability of the child

care sector?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have regular contact with AECENL the

Association of Early Childhood Educators of Newfoundland and Labrador,

who very much support what we announced last week, and who very much

support our 10-Year Child Care Strategy and the work that we have done

and the progress that we have made.

Mr. Speaker, just this week I saw a Tweet from the

Pratt Foundation that said yet again, another great move by the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in terms of supporting early

childhood education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Mr. Speaker, when I launched this last Friday afternoon, I had child

care providers come to me and say what a great initiative this is.

What a difference this will make for the parents and the children

here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We will continue to work through those areas.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Hopefully the minister will meet with the Pratt

Foundation instead of just reading the Tweets.

Government has promised that the Inclusion Supports

Program will be revised this year as part of the10-Year Child Care

Strategy. There is no

indication that these changes, along with the promise of a centralized

child care registry, will be delivered on as promised this year.

I ask the minister: Do you still plan to deliver on

those commitments? If so,

when will you announce the changes to the Inclusion Supports Program?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will see if I can take them one by one.

He seems particularly angry this afternoon.

I do not know what is wrong with him.

Mr. Speaker, he talked about the Pratt Foundation.

I am pleased to inform him though, I do not know why I have to

inform him of everything that I am doing every single day.

I have already had conversation with the Pratt Foundation.

A meeting has been arranged for them to come in and sit down and

further discuss the initiatives that we are planning and that we are

working with them to put in place, as well as with AECENL and many other

groups that we deal with on a regular basis.

I was not aware that I had to give him the dates of the meetings

and the times and places.

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to meet.

That is our plan. A

date has been set. I will

get it for him so that he will know the date of the meeting.

It is early January.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Maybe the minister could release the polls.

Mr. Speaker, due to shortage of staff with Hydro,

meters on the Coast of Labrador continue to be unread.

Hydro bills to those customers are most often based on estimates,

with no adjustments when they are eventually read.

I ask the minister: What criteria are used to estimate

hydro bills for the people on the Coast of Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I am sure there is an expectation that the people in

coastal Labrador are not treated any differently than the people in

Ramea or St. Brendan's, or Fogo Island or anywhere else.

The process that is followed to read meters, I would suspect, is

in place and followed.

The member opposite raises an issue here.

I will gladly go back to Hydro and ask the question about

staffing, ask the question about the assessment that is done on meters,

how that is fixed up in the monthly bills.

I will gladly get all that information for the member opposite

because, like him, we believe the people in coastal Labrador deserve to

be treated fairly, just like everybody else.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, if there was not an issue, I would not be asking the

questions.

Mr. Speaker, I realize that it is not unusual for hydro

bills to be based on estimates, periodically; but certainly, not as

frequently as those that are going on, on the North Coast.

What I do know is that customers are consistently receiving

unusually high hydro bills because of this.

I ask the minister: Will you direct NL Hydro to

immediately investigate the operations on the Coast of Labrador to

ensure that customers are being treated fairly on hydro costs, which I

repeat are consistently higher than normal?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite raises a very important issue, no

question, for the people of coastal Labrador.

If there is something wrong with their bills, number one, they

have an option of going to Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro directly; but

since the member has raised the issue, I will gladly go back to

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and ask them to investigate if there is

any issue there whatsoever and ask if it can be rectified.

Mr. Speaker, once again, as we have often referenced in

this House, as the Minister for Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs have

often referenced to me about the challenges and the needs of coastal

Labrador, if this is one, that the member brings forward, I will gladly

direct Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro to go and have a look into this

issue and do all we can to ensure that those people are treated fairly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. REID:

Mr. Speaker, government committed to net metering way back in the 2007

Energy Plan but has done very little to implement this policy, while

other jurisdictions in Canada have moved ahead.

Today, they released a report that outlines a framework for

developing a policy that might be implemented sometime in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Why has it taken so

long to implement net metering in this Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, our government outlined in the Energy Plan in 2007 a vision

and a direction that we want to move with respect to the development of

our energy resources in this Province; net metering was one of them.

While the member opposite suggests that we have not

done anything, in fact, what we have done in recognizing that we are

going to move from an isolated system to an interconnected system, what

we have done is we have hired a consultant to do a piece of work.

The work is done. We

have made it public once again, a clear indication of an open and

transparent government. We

have made it public.

What we will do now is that we will consult the key

stakeholders, NEIA and the Public Utilities Board, so that we make sure

we put in the right policy that makes sense for the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. REID: Mr.

Speaker, I remind the House that the commitment to this policy was made

back in 2007.

I would

like to ask the minister: When can businesses and individuals expect to

see net metering implemented in this Province?

When can they expect it?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural

Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I want to remind

the people of this House and the people of the Province that in 2007

when we released the Energy Plan, which was solely designed to develop

the resources to benefit the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, there

were 107 recommendations in that.

Over ninety of those have been implemented or are being enacted

and worked on as we speak, Mr. Speaker.

We have

done a good job with the Energy Plan.

There is more work to do, but the Energy Plan was far reaching,

from 2007 and onward. We

knew, as we developed our energy resources, we would have to get to a

point to address these kinds of issues.

We are

committed to delivering on a policy of net metering, we are committed to

working with key stakeholders, and we are committed to getting it right

so we ensure these kinds of decisions do not negatively impact the

ratepayers of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Norcon Galatea which

government sold for $214,000 and then leased back after a $1 million

investment by the buyer, continues to operate on the Bell Island run.

I ask the

minister: How much has government spent, to date, in lease payments on

this vessel?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This

Administration is committed to providing service for people who live on

islands. We have done that

through our ferry replacement strategy; two vessels in the water,

providing service for people in St. Brendan's and Long Island.

There are two more in the process of being built that will

service the people of Fogo Island, Change Islands, and Bell Island, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL: We have a strategy in place, Mr. Speaker, to address the needs in

Labrador, so we are moving forward on that.

Unfortunately, as we went to the world market, we could not find vessels

that could provide a necessary gap between the new vessels coming and

the service that we needed to provide.

This was the only vessel available, Mr. Speaker.

So we have invested, to make sure that service is provided for

the people of this Province, and we are going to continue to do that.

Our new vessels will be here in the next coming months.

Thank you,

Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third

Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Christmas hampers to the poor give families some

relief, but come January people earning minimum wage continue to face

the same problem of not having enough money to feed themselves and their

family.

I ask the Premier: Why won't this government

significantly raise the minimum wage, allowing more working people to

buy their own food?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great privilege to get up and

speak about minimum wage.

This government has done tremendous work in minimum wage.

In fact, just about in, I think it is 2006, we started increasing

minimum wage. The minimum

wage of the Province was at $6.

Next year it will be at $10.50.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Mr. Speaker, had we taken the approach of the NDP and tied it to the

CPI, next year it would be $7.50.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the Premier: Will he agree to his own review

committee's recommendation for a minimum wage increase to reflect the

loss in wages since 2010 and an annual cost of living index?

That is what they wanted.

Why isn't he doing it?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Like I said, Mr. Speaker, this government is doing tremendous work when

it comes to minimum wage. We

are looking after the worker and the employer as well, to make sure that

the jobs are there for the workers of the Province.

Also, Mr. Speaker, we are committed to consult with the

people again. We are

committed to doing another review in 2015, I tell the hon. member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to know that the minister is going to do what

legislation says they are supposed to do.

That is what they have to do is a review.

I ask the Premier: What is the logic of promoting food

drives while joining the Liberals and voting against our resolution to

raise the minimum wage to a decent level?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This government will take backseat to no one in this

House of Assembly, particularly the NDP.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

When we stand here and talk about what this government has done to

support the low-income earners of this Province, we have a Poverty

Reduction Strategy that is the best in the country.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Yet, you stand here every single day and argue against the stuff we are

doing to support the very people you are standing today and arguing for.

It is shameful.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: If the Poverty Reduction Strategy

is so great, how come the use of food banks has gone up between 2013 and

2014?

MR. SPEAKER:

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague has said, we have a Poverty Reduction

Strategy that is touted across this country.

Now, second to that, we have recognized that there is

always work to be done, and we have launched consultations.

I believe we sent out something like 500 invitations to groups.

Mr. Speaker, the more important part to our second poverty

reduction review is that we are going to speak to the people who live it

daily to get input from them so that we can make the changes that will

improve the lot of these people.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

John is a senior who has a workplace injury and cannot

work any longer. He now

needs help. His very basic

expenses are $300 more than he takes in.

He has asked Newfoundland and Labrador Housing for a rent sup.

Now he is on the growing waitlist with no idea when he might get

help. He is about to be

homeless. He wrote me and he

said he had no idea how difficult life would be for him when he turned

sixty-five.

I ask the minister: What is he going to do for John and

the many seniors like him?

MR. SPEAKER:

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I have met now, since coming into this portfolio, on

several occasions with representatives from Newfoundland and Labrador

Housing. I will tell you

that they will step up and do what is ultimately possible to assist

people such as John, Mr. Speaker such as John.

They do it on a daily basis, Mr. Speaker.

In the case of John, I would imagine that he has

submitted an application.

That being the case, Mr. Speaker, I have full faith and trust in the

people of Newfoundland and Labrador Housing that they will find a

solution for John and people like him.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

They need affordable housing, not sympathy.

Mr. Speaker, John also desperately needs a hearing aid.

Seven months ago the Department of Health said he would get one

soon. He can hardly hear.

I ask the minister: What is he going to do to help John

and the many people like him?

MR. SPEAKER:

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

quick reply.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, we sympathize with people such as she has mentioned.

The thing is to find solutions, and that is what we will do.

I will speak to the member's circumstance she has talked about.

Mr. Speaker, if there is a way that a solution can be found, it

will be found.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

A petition to the House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador has the greatest

percentage

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask all members for their co-operation, please.

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The petition of the undersigned residents humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador has the greatest

percentage of the workforce earning the provincial minimum wage in

Canada, with women, youth and those from rural areas making up a

disproportionate number of these workers; and

WHEREAS the minimum wage is inadequate and does not

provide enough money for the necessities of life because a person

earning minimum wage working forty hours a week makes $20,800 a year

which is barely above the low-income cut-off of $19,496 and a working

couple with two children are also close to low income; and

WHEREAS in 2012 the Minimum Wage Review Committee

recommended an increase in the minimum wage in 2013 to reflect the loss

of purchasing power since 2010 and an annual adjustment beginning in

2014 to reflect the consumer price index; and

WHEREAS the provincial government instead legislated

two twenty-five cent increases, one in October 2014 and one in October

2015 with no indexing; and

WHEREAS other provinces and territories are continuing

to raise their minimum wage and six now have a higher minimum wage than

Newfoundland and Labrador;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

an increase in the minimum wage in 2014 to reflect the loss of

purchasing power since 2010 and make an annual adjustment to the minimum

wage beginning in 2015 to reflect the consumer price index.

As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I am standing here today with over 1,000

signatures from these petitioners who have asked that I stand today and

speak to this issue. They

come from all over the Island.

We have them from the St. John's Metropolitan Area, Mount Pearl,

all over the Northeast Avalon, Stephenville, Corner Brook, Grand

Falls-Windsor, Marystown, Deer Lake, St. Jude's, Sibleys Cove, Badger,

Ferryland. People all over

the Island who are concerned, Mr. Speaker, about the fact that minimum

wage is not going up to match the cost of living.

Minimum wage when the government here first started

they did, for two to three years, put an index in.

They based it on a wage that was too low anyway and then two

Budgets ago they ended the indexing on that low wage.

Now after four years, the workers in this Province actually got

an extra twenty-five cents an hour, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Once again, I ask all members for their co-operation.

Take your private conversations outside the Chamber.

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party, to continue.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The workers this year, just this past month on November

1, got an extra twenty-five cents after four years, Mr. Speaker.

What we have happening now in this Province is that when we were

almost the best in the country with regard to minimum wage, now there

are seven jurisdictions in the country ahead of us.

We are now towards the bottom when it comes to the minimum wage.

When you look at a country like the US, we do not often

look to them for social programs and being progressive around social

programs. Yet, Seattle, Mr.

Speaker, has put theirs up to $15 an hour.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS a non-consumption advisory was issued for well

number three (drinking water) in the Town of Freshwater on June 20, 2006

due to exceeded levels of arsenic; and

WHEREAS this well services forty-four residents of the

Town of Freshwater and remains their only source of drinking water; and

WHEREAS any consumption of water from the well will

pose a significant health hazard to the consumer;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

Newfoundland and Labrador to provide the necessary resources to the Town

of Freshwater in order to provide clean and safe drinking water to the

residents affected by well number three.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this is a serious, serious situation

indeed for the people in that town.

When I stand up here and speak, I look across the way there and

it is sad to say that it does not seem like there is anybody over there

listening to what I am trying to say here.

We have people it is people.

They are concerned they are drinking this drinking water.

It is going to pose a situation to their health, Mr. Speaker.

I am going to tell you something right now, somebody on that side

over there better pay particular attention to this one.

Mr. Speaker, we just had a water report released not

too long ago and I am going to tell you something right now, there are

180 boil orders. I am

talking about boil orders that are in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Those guys over there better

AN HON. MEMBER:

Boil order advisories.

MR. SLADE:

Boil order advisories, if you want to call it advisories.

Mr. Speaker, the point of it is and if they were so concerned

about what is taking place here as they are at correcting me on whether

it is advisory or boil order, we would have no problems.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to tell you something, those

people in Freshwater deserve a little drop of drinking water, and I am

going to stand in this House every day until this government over here

does something about it.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Labrador's coastal communities already pay

extremely high hydro rates; and

WHEREAS small businesses are struggling to stay in

operation against rising cost of operation; and

WHEREAS Nalcor, a Crown corporation, is proposing an

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

increase to business rates;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

Newfoundland and Labrador to work with Nalcor to establish rates that

are fair and consistent to the whole Province.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have already been on my feet a number of

times on this petition, and I will continue to do so.

I have to tell you, it just turns your stomach when you listen to

the other side stand up and say we support the process.

I stumbled across a piece that was put in the paper last week:

Hydro cites aging assets, rising costs as reasons for rate increase.

Fine, they want to double their rate of return on equity because

they have rising costs with their infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, why did they choose to do it on the backs

of the most vulnerable, the smallest communities with the high rates in

coastal communities, and then they have the gall to stand up and say

they are subsidized? The

people who live in those small communities, all they see is resources

that pass by their door every single day and they cannot catch a break.

Back in 2013 there was a rate application that was

filed and there was an area of Labrador that was supposed to have a 25

per cent increase. The

Vice-President of Nalcor said in print last week the utility

re-evaluated its position following a flood of criticism, because do you

know what was going to happen, Mr. Speaker?

If Lake Melville was hit with a 25 per cent increase, they had to

shut down Muskrat Falls and everything else, they would have done it.

So, we have Hydro turn around and say well, let's go

and let's target the little coastal communities in Labrador, let's

target the mom-and-pop operations there, because there are just a

handful of them and there is nobody going to fight back.

It is very unfair, Mr. Speaker.

What is extremely disappointing is to hear members opposite say

we support the process, they are already being subsidized, and we are

not going to do anything about it.

Well, we are going to continue to keep this in the

forefront. I will be making

a presentation to Hydro to say not only did you receive a flood of

criticism on your initial 2013 application, but we have big issues with

this one, when small businesses are paying $6,000 a month just to keep

the heat and light on. We

have seniors who are choosing, do I go out and fill my prescription or

do I turn up the heat? That

is wrong, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Labrador's coastal communities already pay

extremely high hydro rates; and

WHEREAS small businesses are struggling to stay in

operation against rising costs of operation; and

WHEREAS Nalcor, a Crown corporation, is proposing an

11.4 per cent increase and 20 per cent increase to business rates;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

Newfoundland and Labrador to work with Nalcor to establish rates that

are fair and consistent to the whole Province.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Now, Mr. Speaker, this petition is signed by people on

the Coast of Labrador. It

has been signed by the people who are going to be affected.

I heard the Minister of Natural Resources and I heard

the Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs say they support the

process. I have heard many

members over there stand up and say Nalcor is a Crown corporation, owned

by the Crown. We own it, yet

they will not do anything to protect the people of the Province from

their own company.

They did two years ago when there was a 25 per cent

increase for Lake Melville in Labrador West.

It was pulled off the table.

Why? Because there

was a flood of criticism.

So, what do they do now?

They go to the least vulnerable in the Province and they say yes, go

ahead. Go to the Aboriginal

communities. Go to the

coastal communities. It is

okay. That is what this

government supports? It is

shameful, Mr. Speaker, especially when they are going to sell power from

Muskrat Falls at four cents a kilowatt hour.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned

residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Route 2 on the Conception Bay South Bypass Road

is the second busiest highway in the Province; and

WHEREAS we must ensure the safety of the residents who

use the access road, especially when driving at night; and

WHEREAS brush clearing can reduce the risk to drivers

from the local moose population;

We, the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to

urge the government to allocate funding to include brush clearing for

the Manuels Access Road.

Mr. Speaker, the Manuels Access Road is part of Route

2. Route 2 starts downtown

at Gower Street, goes west, and then on up through Conception Bay South.

The

section that I am concerned with is that area from the

Trans-Canada Highway to Manuels Bridge.

We refer to it as the Manuels Access Road.

Mr. Speaker, there are significant numbers of moose in

that area. It is a narrow

area where the woods, the forest narrow out between a pond and what we

refer to as Weir's pit. That

is the area where moose come out through the woods and are on the

highway there. I went

looking for stats to see how many accidents there have been there.

Right now we are just going by anecdotal information.

I could not find the stats that I was looking for.

Mr. Speaker, this is the second busiest stretch of

highway in the Province, second to the Outer Ring Road.

In 2012, Route 2 along the Conception Bay Bypass had an average

of 24,900 vehicles per day and about 32,000 vehicles on peak days.

That was before it was open to Holyrood.

Now, Mr. Speaker, this is not only an issue for the District of

Conception Bay South; I am get getting calls from people in the District

of Harbour Main, people in the District of Topsail.

To add to this, Mr. Speaker, we know that moose are

more active from dawn to dusk.

We have 32,000 vehicles on the highway.

Most of them are travelling in the morning on their way to work,

in the afternoon on their way home.

Mr. Speaker, the town has written the Minister of

Transportation and Works any number of times.

The first time we wrote the Premier, when he was minister.

Then we wrote the Member for Labrador West, when he was minister.

We did get a response from our current minister saying,

basically, that there would be more tenders called.

We will be considered at that time.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I find the latest tender call has

brush being cut towards Kilbride, not to Conception Bay South.

Mr. Speaker, the last accident on that highway was Saturday past.

We need brush to be cut.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind the member his speaking time has expired.

MR. HILLIER:

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have a petition related to health care from the

Heatherton to Highlands area.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there has not been a permanent doctor at the

clinic in Jeffery's for almost a year; and

WHEREAS this absence of a permanent doctor is seriously

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

Highlands area and causing them undue hardship; and

WHEREAS the absence of a doctor or nurse practitioner

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

which is necessary for their continued good health;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

Newfoundland and Labrador to take actions which will result in a

permanent doctor or other arrangements to improve the health care

services in the Heatherton to Highlands area.

Mr. Speaker, I have presented petitions on this topic

before. It is a very

important topic. It is part

of a developing crisis that is happening in the Bay St. George area.

The Jeffrey's clinic has not had a doctor for close to a year now

and it is causing serious problems.

There is a senior's home in the area; there are also a number of

young children. Anyone who

gets hurt has to travel about an hour to the hospital in Stephenville.

Also, the doctor in St. George's has announced that he

will be leaving the middle of this month.

Within a few days St. George's will lose their doctor as well.

People there will have to travel to the hospital in Stephenville

just to get any services at all, which adds to the waiting time for

everyone in the area who is serviced by the Stephenville hospital.

It is a serious matter that is developing.

I want to make note that the people in the area are not

calling for a new position or a new doctor.

They are asking for government to take actions to recruit a

doctor or a nurse practitioner for the area so that the people can get

the services they need. It

is something that has already been budgeted for, that is already

approved. It is a position

that has been in existence for a number of years.

The position just needs to be filled.

That is the situation.

I am looking forward to government taking some action to address

the concerns that have been raised in this petition.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Order 2, third reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic

Act No. 2, Bill 37.

So moved by me, seconded by the Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board, that the said bill be now read a third

time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that Bill 37 be now read a third 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 Highway Traffic Act No. 2.

(Bill 37)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a third time, it is ordered that the bill do

pass and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill,

An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic

Act No. 2, read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the

Order Paper. (Bill 37)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Once again, at this time I would like to call Motion 3,

to ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The

Municipalities Act, 1999, Bill 41.

So moved by me, seconded by the Minister of Fisheries

and Aquaculture, that the said bill be now read the first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that the hon. minister shall have leave to

introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Municipalities Act, 1999,

and that the said bill be now read a first time.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the said bill be

now read a first time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Municipal and

Intergovernmental Affairs to introduce a bill,

An Act To Amend The

Municipalities Act, 1999, carried.

(Bill 41)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The Municipalities Act, 1999.

(Bill 41)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a first time.

When shall the bill be read a second time?

MR. KING:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 41 read a first time, ordered read a

second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to call from the

Order Paper, Order 6,

An Act To Amend The Pensions Funding Act And The

Public Service Pensions Act, 1991, Bill 39.

So moved by me, seconded by the Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board, that the said bill be now read a second

time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that the said bill be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The

Pensions Funding Act And The Public Service Pensions Act, 1991.

(Bill 39)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. WISEMAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is an extremely important day in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

It is an extremely important day for the people who work for the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

It is an extremely important day for all the residents, because

what we are making today, Mr. Speaker, are some changes to a pension

plan covering many of the people who work in the public sector.

You might recall in this House, back in September,

there was an announcement of an agreement that had been reached a

Public Service Pension Plan reform agreement, Mr. Speaker, on September

2. The then Premier of the

day, Premier Marshall, and the then Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board, Minister Johnson, announced that together with the

various unions that represent employees who are working for the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, they had reached an agreement

about reforming the Public Service Pension Plan.

That covered many of the employees throughout

government, and boards and agencies, through our five largest unions:

CUPE, NAPE, AAHP, the Nurses' Union NNLU, and IBEW.

These were the five unions that were a part of that agreement

that was signed back in September.

I am very proud today to stand on behalf of government to bring

this bill to the House of Assembly.

As I am doing this, I first of all do want to thank,

though, all of the people who participated in this process, particularly

the leadership of the five unions that I just identified.

Because this is, I think, Mr. Speaker, a shining example of when

individuals understand there is a problem, that all of us need to solve

and understand there is a workable solution if everybody turns their

head to it and works very collaboratively and co-operatively towards a

solution that benefits all.

What this legislation now does, and as I highlight some

of the features of this legislation and some of the changes about to be

made, I think people of the Province would recognize that this is a

piece of legislation that once and for all puts in place a legislative

framework for the sustainability of the Public Service Pension Plan.

Those of you might recall, Mr. Speaker, that this bill

as well the other day when I introduced and gave notice I said there

were two bills, Bill 39 and Bill 40.

Both of them are related but they are separate bills.

I will first want to address my comments, because the piece of

legislation we are debating right now is Bill 39.

Bill 39 is

An Act to Amend the Pensions Funding Act and the

Public Service Pensions Act, 1991.

Pension reform, Mr. Speaker, is necessary to ensure

that all pension plans are sustainable for employees, for retirees, and

all taxpayers. We all have a

significant and vested interest in ensuring that the pension plans are

sustainable. We need to

address what has been a growing unfunded liability in pensions and other

post-employment benefits.

Mr. Speaker, it was projected that in 2014-2015 the

pension and other post-employment benefits, unfunded liabilities would

make up to 74 per cent of the Province's net debt, growing in

2016-2017, that would grow to 85 per cent of the net debt if we had not

taken the action. I think

that speaks to the significance of this agreement and the significance

of the impact this legislation will have on current employees and

taxpayers of the Province.

In 2013-2014, the Province's pension interest expense

alone on the unfunded liability for all its plans, not just the one we

are talking about here today but for all of the plans, was $345.5

million. As of December 31,

2013, the total pool pension fund assets for all of the pension plans

was $7.9 billion. The total

unfunded liability was over $5 billion.

Overall, five defined benefit plans were about 61 per cent funded

only 61 per cent funded as of December, 2013.

The Public Service Pension Plan itself was 60 per cent

of that total unfunded liability of all the pension plans.

This agreement, on the future of the Public Service Pension Plan,

is an important first step in reducing the overall unfunded pensions and

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Littlejohn):

The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.

MS C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy to speak today to Bill 39,

An Act to Amend

the Pensions Funding Act and the Public Service Pensions Act.

Mr. Speaker, I will certainly be clear upfront that the

Official Opposition will be supporting this bill.

We have had the opportunity to participate in numerous briefings

this year, including our first briefing back in May.

More recently, yesterday on the changes and the evolutions that

are going to take place in the pension programs that have been talked

about by the minister today, and we will certainly be supporting that.

It gives me great pride to stand here, as a matter of

fact, as a member of the Official Opposition and talk about three

fundamental pieces that the Leader of the Opposition has consistently

spoke about when it came to pension reform.

We have always stated that there were three conditions that had

to be met in order for us, as an Official Opposition, to support changes

in the pension plans.

What we have said, and what the Leader of the Official

Opposition has said, is that it had to be a negotiated benefit, and

quite evidently it is.

Government, as well as unions, had to all sign on to the deal.

We have said that it could not affect current pensioners.

In fact, it is not.

Importantly, it could not shock the system.

Certainly, what we are talking about today is a strategic plan to

evolve our pension program into one that provides stability in the

future and that does not shock the system.

I do want to take a moment to thank the staff, as I

said earlier, who provided the briefings, but I also want to take a

moment to recognize the unions that are here in the House today.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private

Employees, the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union, the Canadian

Union of Public Employees, and the Association of Allied Health

Professionals, as well as the International Brotherhood of Electrical

Workers.

I want to say a particular thank you to the union

leadership. There is a

profound responsibility that these union leaders have for their

membership. As was

articulated by the minister earlier, these discussions certainly have, I

am sure, presented challenges but true leadership is about facing the

challenges and facing the facts and facing reality.

I want to say congratulations to the hard work that the union

leadership have demonstrated.

I congratulate them for their efforts and for their hard work

that they have put in to get the changes to this point.

I had the opportunity to sit in and observe the press

conference when the announcement was made.

It was certainly evident from the demeanour of the union leaders

who were present that day that they take their responsibilities very

seriously for their memberships.

They are to be congratulated for their hard work and long hours

to get to where we are today.

So thank you.

I also want to take a moment to thank the Newfoundland

and Labrador Public Sector Pensioners' Association because you cannot

have a conversation about affecting pensions and changing pensions

unless you clearly recognize that potentially could have an impact on

people who are earning pensions right now.

Having that voice and having that important stakeholder group

represented I think is a very important part of the process.

This particular change to the pension programs for the

Province deals with about 60 per cent of our pension issue.

From an asset perspective that is, I believe, about $5.2 billion

from the Public Service Pension Plan out of a total of about a little

over $8 billion of total assets.

We have addressed 60 per cent of the problem and that leaves 40

per cent left.

In the interest of adding some levity to the debate, I

found it curious that the minister, when he listed the pension plans

that are left to be addressed, he left MHA pensions as the last pension

plan to be addressed. I will

start my comments by saying we advocate that the MHA Pension Plan be

addressed as quickly as possible.

Our leader spoke about that in June.

We have made a public commitment that we will address the MHA

Pension Plan. We certainly

look forward to and encourage government to make the same leadership

commitment that we have.

As a background, I mentioned earlier that we had the

opportunity to sit in on a briefing in May.

That briefing was held with the Department of Finance and it was

regarding the government pension plan.

There was a technical briefing and there was a tremendous amount

of information that was provided.

As members of this House know and the listening

audience at home understand, the Newfoundland government has a pooled

pension fund that currently contains five defined benefit plans.

There is the Public Service Pension Plan, which we are

specifically talking about today, the Teachers' Pension Plan, the

Uniformed Services Pension Plan, Members of the House of Assembly

Pension Plan, and of course the Provincial Court Judge's Pension Plan.

The audited financial statements for the fund as of March 2014

indicated that the total fund assets were about $8.1 billion with

estimated liabilities of about $12.9 billion, which resulted in an

unfunded liability of about $4.8 billion, or a funded ratio of about 63

per cent.

One of the things that struck me as I was listening to

the technical briefing we had back in May was the plan membership.

Total membership in the pension plan as of May 2014 active

members who are paying into the pension plan were a little over 36,000.

People who had deferred their pensions was a little over 6,000.

Pensioners represented almost 27,000.

That combined means we are talking about changes that impact the

lives and the families of about 69,000 individuals.

That is why it is important for changes to be made in a way that

is respectful and mutually agreed upon.

Certainly sharing the risk on a go-forward basis, I think, is one

of the reasons why we will be supporting it.

Interestingly enough, though, when you dig down under

the numbers and you talk about the average pension that is paid out, the

public service pensioners' average pension is a little over $16,000.

I think for many people in this House of Assembly, understanding

how our public service employees continue to be challenged around the

increasing cost of living when you think of a pension plan that is about

a little over sixteen and a half thousand dollars, well, you can

certainly have an appreciation for why this is a very serious

conversation for us to undertake in this House particularly as an

employer of so many, and wanting to be a respectful employer of so many.

The average pension for the teachers' union is about

$29,000; for uniformed services, it is about $26,000; MHAs, it is about

$36,000; and the provincial judges, it is about $44,000.

The annual contribution to the plans right now in 2013,

government contributes about $164 million and the employees contribute

about $187 million. This is

not split 50/50, because some people actually buy back some of their

pensions.

As I mentioned earlier, in June 2014, earlier this

year, the Leader of the Official Opposition announced that he would take

a leadership approach to reforming the MHA Pension Plan; and certainly

this side of the House is looking forward, as I said earlier, to that

discussion, and we would eagerly encourage government to have that.

Pension plans currently account for about 74 per cent

of the Province's projected net debt as of March 31, 2015.

There was about 27,000, as I said earlier, contributing plan

members. With announcements

made about this change impacting many people, these five unions and

government came together to make the changes.

The pension plan intentions were that it would remain a

defined benefit plan, and obviously, the changes were contingent on the

unions and government implanting a joint trusteeship.

As the minister referenced, this would require government and

unions to be responsible for the sustainability plan inside a

corporation or a partnership where they shared equally the risks of

deficits, and equally the rewards of potential surpluses.

In addition, the administration of the plan would be overseen by,

obviously, this independent corporation and the fund would be held in

trust by that corporation.

This responsibility for these new fourteen directors

who are going to take on the responsibility of managing this pension

plan is a huge responsibility.

There are many people depending on the viability of this pension

plan going forward, and the responsibility of those individuals who both

union and government choose to add to that board will be a heavy burden

to make sure they do the background information and they have the best

expertise available to them to make the decisions that need to be made

in the best interest of the plan owners.

As I said earlier, the sharing of risks and rewards is

going to require an attention to detail and an ability to be nimble and

move quickly that this corporation should be able to provide, as has

been demonstrated in other jurisdictions.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to stand here and again

say a thank you to the union leadership for the work they have done, and

we look forward to standing in the House and supporting the bill as it

is presented.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Labrador West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to be able to rise and speak on Bill 39,

An Act to Amend the Pensions Funding Act and The Public Service Pensions

Act, 1991. I think this is

something that affects everybody in Newfoundland and Labrador.

If you are not getting contributions from this pension plan, then

certainly as a taxpayer within the Province you are contributing towards

it. So I think it is a very

important piece of legislation that we are talking about here today.

As the minister and the member from the Opposition both

did, I would also like to acknowledge the union leaders.

When you say union leaders, you talk about for the union

leaders, this was a huge step to take to come together with government

and show their leadership, and show how important it is that government

and the unions come together to address, first of all, this issue of the

pension plan and then to find a solution as to how we can make the

pension plan sustainable.

I certainly would like to acknowledge and thank the

union members and their leaders, especially, for showing their

leadership in doing this.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MCGRATH:

In saying that, I would also like to acknowledge the government of the

day for addressing this. I

participated in many of the conversations in bringing this forward.

I remember the former Premier using the analogy of kicking the

ball down the road, or kicking the puck down the road.

You can continue to do that if you want to.

Eventually, as you move forward, it is going to be there waiting

for you. I acknowledge the

government of the day for addressing this and working with the unions

and the union leaders to address the situation and find a sustainable

way to move forward.

Also, the senior officials within the departments that

dealt with this act, they have done a phenomenal job in working with

government and with unions to bring this forward to where we are today.

In saying that, I would like to thank the senior officials who

gave the briefing today. It

was an in-depth briefing. I

have to say, as I was going through the briefing, I was sitting there

and thinking to myself, why am I standing and speaking on this bill,

because it is a very complex piece of legislation that we are dealing

with.

On September 2 of this year, the government and the

five largest unions, as you have heard the previous speakers talk about,

the AAHP, CUPE, IBEW, NAPE, and the Nurses' Union representing the

Public Service Pension Plan, signed the Public Service Pension Plan

Reform Agreement. Basically

what this agreement is going to do is ensure the sustainability of the

pension plan into the future.

We are going to see some of these changes to the Public

Service Pension Plan and the defined benefit plan coming into effect on

January 1, 2015. The amount

of work that has gone into this and as I stated, I was involved in

quite a few of the conversations and the negotiations that were

happening. To see that being

implemented, starting on January 1, is going to be a proud day for both

government as well as the unions to see this happening.

The implementation reform began today or yesterday when

we saw the unions and the government signing the agreement.

Talking about bringing this to second reading today in the House

shows the joint sponsorship on the pension reform.

I think that is so important.

The government and the five largest unions that

represent the public service pension unionized members signed this

agreement, the Pension Plan Reform Agreement.

That was signed on September 2 and then today we are starting to

bring that forward.

As you heard the minister mention earlier, there were

three main objectives that the government had in bringing this forward.

First of all was to have a sustainable Defined Benefit Pension

Plan. I think we have all

realized over the years, either through our own private lives or as

public figures in the Province, that if you have a plan of any kind and

it is not sustainable, then it does not work.

It was very important that we have a pension plan and a Defined

Benefit Pension Plan that will sustain itself.

Secondly, we wanted to allow a reasonable retirement

income for the public service employees.

That is only fair that after years of service and paying into a

plan, you want it to be a plan that is reasonable.

It has to be a reasonable retirement plan.

If not, you do not get the buying into it.

Thirdly, we wanted to reduce the financial impact on

the taxpayers. As I said in

my opening comments, the taxpayers are also paying into this pension

plan through their everyday lives.

So, if we can remove some of that burden for the taxpayers, then

it affects everybody in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We are hoping this plan that we are working with now jointly over

the next thirty years will sustain itself.

As I stated, we did work closely with the unions.

We have a joint sponsorship agreement, or an arrangement there

through the funding policy and the framework, and that is forming the

Public Service Pension Plan Corporation.

That will work with the joint trustee.

I think this is a great accomplishment there in the agreement.

One thing that was there for the public employees was

ensuring that the taxpayers were no longer liable for 100 per cent of

future deficits. Having this

joint agreement of the government being 50 per cent responsible and the

unions being 50 per cent responsible, I think that gives ownership.

Through the great leadership we are seeing in both government and

in the unions today, that was one of the important things, to me, that I

felt was giving some strength and meat to this agreement.

Now that we have these agreements and the legislation

before the House of Assembly, what we have to do now is inform those who

are impacted by it. Make

sure we get the details out there, make sure the changes are there, and

make sure the people who this affects can understand exactly what is

happening. Because I have no

doubt, as we all have over the past few months, when it became public

that this reform was going to happen, there were a lot of questions

being asked. A lot of

questions are being answered, but there are a lot of people who are

trying to understand exactly how this will affect them.

It is important that we, as a government, make sure we can get

that information out there.

We are asking that people be patient.

We will provide the information.

As you heard the minister comment, he will certainly be answering

questions here in the House.

I have no doubt there will be questions asked to him, and he will be

answering questions there.

Through our Human Resources Secretariat, on their Web

site there is a lot of information already posted on that.

I encourage people who do have questions and have access to that

Web site, go on the Web site and you will get answers there.

If you are like me, I do not like going on a Web site.

I like the tangible piece of having a face-to-face conversation.

I feel, for me, it works better when I speak with someone.

Obviously, we have a lot of other people who feel the same way.

We have dedicated staff right now in place.

They were put in place in September.

They will remain in place, the dedicated staff, to answer

questions and walk people through this reform.

Since September 2 up to December 9, actually we had

1,364 calls. We had 266

e-mails, with a total of 1,630 inquiries.

As I stated, a lot of people are asking questions.

They are looking for clarity.

They are looking at how this is going to affect them.

Again, I commend the government for having that

dedicated staff in place to answer these questions, giving the

opportunity for people to understand exactly how they will be affected.

We will keep that dedicated staff in place throughout the process

in January. I would

certainly encourage people to take advantage of that and get your

questions answered there.

The joint trusteeship of the Public Service Pension

Plan means that both government and the members of the plan will be

responsible for the sustainability.

That takes the active employees right now who are there,

retirees, and also taxpayers who are paying into it, we will all share

equally. As you heard the

minister allude to earlier, we will share the surpluses and we will also

share the deficits.

What it does, it gives the ownership to manage the

retirement plan

whereas before, when government was 100 per cent

responsible, that meant the taxpayers are 100 per cent responsible.

If there was a deficit there the taxpayers were paying it all.

Whereas now with the joint ownership here, I certainly feel that

the management of the plan is stronger with this joint trusteeship.

You heard the minister mention the Other

Post-Employment Benefits Eligibility Modification Act that is going to

be there. There are going to

be changes there. That is

some of the changes that we do see in the act itself.

There are the ten years of pensionable service instead of five,

the immediate retirement under the Public Service Pension Plan upon

termination of the employment for new employees.

One of the other key factors that I think people one

of the questions that was asked: How does it affect those who are

already within the employment?

Some of the changes there, a lot of this will refer to new

employees as they come on after January 1, 2015.

In the bill there will be a five-year transition period.

I know that had a lot of discussion.

That five-year transition period is for the implementation of the

changes that will come.

Employees who qualify for the unreduced pension, they

will have a transition period and be grandfathered under the current

rules for group health and group life insurance benefits, if they have

five years of service, within that five years.

The employees who qualify for the reduced pensions, they must

retire during the transition period, within that five-year period.

They would have to retire within that period in order to qualify

for the group health and group life insurance benefits as they are now.

Then we have deferred pensioners.

Deferred pensioners are people who no longer are employed with

the public service, but they have deferred their pension so that when

they do retire they want to avail of the benefits.

They will have to meet the eligibility requirements for the

unreduced or the reduced pension, and they must retire during that

transition period, the five-year transition period.

After the transition period, an employee will not

qualify for group health and group life insurance benefits unless they

have at least ten years of service.

It will go from in the old plan of five years' service, after

that it will be ten years' service.

This again gives an opportunity to strengthen the plan.

The pensions bill itself provides for the establishment

of the trustee corporation

Document details

Collection	Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	2014-12-11
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	2014-12-11
Language	en
Format	htm
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	17c456dd75504c1c128f1ba2fd9ca174ef0d8d91

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (htm).