December

10, 2008

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVI No. 48

The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Before we start the proceedings today the Chair would like to welcome a

former member of the House of Assembly who is visiting us, Mr. Sam Winsor,

welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: The following members' statements will be heard: the hon.

the Member for the District of Port de Grave; the hon. the Member for the

District of Labrador West; the hon. the Member for the District of Signal

Hill-Quidi Vidi; the hon. the Member for the District of Ferryland; the hon. the

Member for the District of Bellevue; the hon. the Member for the District of

Lewisporte.

The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Corporal M. Brazil, Royal Canadian Legion Branch #9 and Holy Redeemer

Elementary School, both from the Town of Spaniard's Bay are to be commended

for their act of remembrance each November. The highlight of their activities is

the awarding of the Gary Churchill Memorial Scholarship Award.

Each year the Grade 9 students visit the Legion and are asked to be a part of

the Remembrance Day project. All essays are judged by a panel of teachers and

the first and second place winners return to the Royal Canadian Legion as guest

speakers to their Remembrance Day dinner.

This year's winners were Kyleigh Mercer and Danielle Fry. The content and

imagination expressed by both students was outstanding.

Runner-up, Danielle Fry, received $100, plus a plaque; while the winner,

Kyleigh Mercer, received $200, a plaque and the Gary Churchill Memorial Trophy.

I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating both winners and sponsors

in this annual event to pay tribute to those who serve to protect our Province

and country.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Labrador West.

MR. BAKER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is indeed with a great pride that I rise in this hon. House today to

congratulate Josephine Gaulton Rowe of Labrador City on being recently selected

by MADD Canada as the national winner of the John G. Bates Volunteer of the Year

award.

This award is presented annually by MADD Canada to recognize an outstanding

volunteer contribution. The award recognizes volunteers within MADD Canada who

demonstrate volunteerism by a self-sacrificial giving of their time and talents

in pursuit of its mission, without expectation of reward.

Josephine started the Labrador West

chapter five years ago, after losing two

sisters some years earlier by an impaired driver, and she works very

passionately to get the problem of impaired driving under control. She organizes

Strides for Change, Project Red Ribbon, local candlelight vigils, multimedia

shows, poster and essay contests, roadside checks, and police ride-alongs.

She does countless presentations and media interviews. Josephine spends hours

in the local courthouse, court monitoring. Josephine never looks for

recognition, she just wants impaired driving to stop.

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

congratulating Josephine on receiving this prestigious award, and thank her for

fighting so hard against impaired driving.

Also, Mr. Speaker, on her behalf, I would certainly encourage all

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, especially during this festive season, to tie

a MADD red ribbon to your vehicle or your car keys as a reminder of not to drink

and drive.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great pleasure to stand in the House today and recognize one of

the many talented people in the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi, writer and

broadcaster Marjorie Doyle.

Marjorie has just been named Writer in Residence for Haig-Brown House on

Vancouver Island. Her residency will take place from January to April, 2009.

She will live and work at Haig-Brown House on the shores of Campbell River,

British Columbia. She will be dividing her time between writing, and providing

literary advice and support to the community there.

Marjorie is a former columnist with The Evening Telegram and The

Globe and Mail . As a broadcaster, she hosted the national CBC Radio program,

That Time of the Night. Besides being a broadcaster, she has published in many

literary magazines and the major Canadian newspapers.

Marjorie is the author of three books, the most recent of which is Reels,

Rock and Rosaries: Confessions of a Newfoundland Musician .

I am sure that her father, Gerald S. Doyle, who was committed to preserving

and promoting the cultural heritage of this Province, would be extremely proud

of the contribution that Marjorie is making to our great tradition.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to ask all members of the House of Assembly

today to congratulate Marjorie Doyle on receiving this marvellous placement and

wish her all the best in the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

McCarthy of Renews on celebrating his 105 birthday on October 19.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Mr. McCarthy, referred to as Paddy Iron was born in 1903.

He has been described as a typical outport fisherman who started fishing when he

was a boy of ten years old and continued to fish until he was eighty-six years

of age. His fishing career was interrupted from 1922 to 1924 when he worked in

Boston.

In 1903 the first automobile appeared in Newfoundland, from there Mr.

McCarthy witnessed and lived through two World Wars, the Great Depression, and

saw Newfoundland join Confederation as Canada's tenth province. He saw the

collapse of the cod fishery, something he thought could never happen and

subsequently he saw Newfoundland and Labrador become an oil rich province.

Mr. McCarthy's daughter, Bertha, has written a book about her father's

life and his view of history. The Book is entitled, It's Like a Dream to

Me, Paddy Iron McCarthy of Renews relives his first hundred years. This past

summer Rising Tide Theatre staged a one-man play by the same name, based on Mr.

McCarthy's life.

In celebrating his 105 birthday, Mr. Paddy McCarthy has witnessed

unprecedented change to our way of life and has no doubt exemplified a zest for

life, which I certainly had the pleasure this morning when I met with him to see

that first hand. He is indeed in distinct company in our Province for reaching

such an age.

It is a privilege for me, Mr. Speaker, as the Member for Ferryland district

to ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Mr. Paddy McCarthy of Renews a happy

105 birthday and wishing him many more birthday celebrations.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PEACH: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House to speak of the Town of Arnold's Cove

achievement. Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador awarded the Town of Arnold's

Cove the Torngat Municipal Achievement Award for Economic Development. This

award was presented at the ninth annual Torngat Awards at the Appreciation

Banquet at the Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador fifty-eighth Annual

Convention and Trade Show in Corner Brook earlier this fall.

The award recognizes the efforts that municipal leaders have put forward,

such as innovation and partnership-based approaches, to mould the local economy

into a viable future for their residents.

Mr. Speaker, the Town of Arnold's Cove was recognized for their

highly-successful and very public Vision 20/20 Plan. The plan made great use of

public input, the support agencies in the region, major employers and youth,

incorporating economic development into the town's land use planning

processes. The town is actively working to move towards a model of Integrated

Community Sustainability Planning and will be well-placed as this new approach

is rolled out across the Province.

This award provides us with an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments

of the Town of Arnold's Cove for being the recipient of the Torngat Municipal

Achievement Award for Economic Development.

I would like to ask this hon. House to join me in congratulating the Town of

Arnold's Cove on receiving this achievement award.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. VERGE: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the

tremendous contribution made to cancer research by those involved in the

Provincial Annual Relay for Life.

In my district twenty-seven teams, representing members from many

communities, were involved in this year's Relay. In 2007 we were very pleased

to see our local teams raise a little over $51,000 for cancer research a

great feat but this year's event, which was held in Lewisporte, netted in

excess of $78,000.

Mr. Speaker, I want to specifically mention one of the most active and

passionate participants of the Relay for Life. I speak of Bonnie Snow. Bonnie

was first diagnosed with cancer in 1989 at the age of sixteen. She has had two

other reoccurrences since that time but now, at the age of thirty-five, Bonnie

continues to win the fight.

Three years ago Bonnie led a team, the Cancer Warriors, that raised $3,000

for the cause. Last year that same team raised $11,000, and this year they

raised $16,000. They are already fundraising for next year's Relay for Life.

Mr. Speaker, cancer is a terrible disease that has touched all of us either

directly or indirectly. It is a disease that has taken many of our loved ones,

but thanks to the efforts of people like Bonnie Snow, efforts that have resulted

in additional cancer research money, the cancer battle is being won by more and

more people each year. It is our hope that the future will see many more

survivors of cancer and far fewer victims of this terrible disease.

Members of the House, please join with me in recognizing the efforts of all

participants involved in the annual cancer Relay for Life.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this House to recognize today as International Human Rights Day.

Sixty years ago today the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights in response to the atrocities and horrors of the

Second World War. The Declaration has become a universal standard for defending

and promoting human rights, and every year on this day the United Nations marks

the adoption of the Declaration. The promise of the Declaration is,

"Dignity and justice for all of us", which reinforces the vision that

these fundamental rights should not be viewed as a luxury.

The first sentence of the

preamble of the Universal Declaration is, "The

recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of

all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace

in the world". In recognizing Human Rights Day, we are recognizing that all

human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights and fundamental

freedoms.

Mr. Speaker, it is vitally important that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

adopt the Declaration as an integral part of the way we think. Indeed, taking on

the mantra that there is dignity and justice for all of us will go a long way

towards ensuring that all residents of our wonderful Province can participate

equally in society.

Earlier today I announced that the Department of Justice will be commencing a

review of the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Code. It is essential that

we have a Human Rights Code that is modern and that reflects our society. The

process will be inclusive and it will allow members of the public to submit

their views. I encourage everyone to take the time and to review the discussion

document on the department's Web site and make a submission or participate in

the upcoming public consultation sessions.

It is important that each and every resident of Newfoundland and Labrador has

a right to equal treatment, whether before the courts, in their jobs, or

receiving public services. People from all walks of life deserve respect, and it

is critical the provincial government and this House send a message that there

is no place in our society for discrimination.

Mr. Speaker, while many regions of the world still face uphill battles in

promoting and protecting human rights, we can be thankful that in this country,

and in this wonderful Province, that we are able to ensure that fundamental

human rights are protected. I believe that on this day, the sixtieth anniversary

of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this is something to be

celebrated.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the minister having provided us with an advance copy of his

statement today.

We, as well, of course, would be supportive of and recognize the need, and in

fact the right, that we celebrate Human Rights Day. It has had its existence for

some sixty years and unfortunately it is something that we need to be reminded

about and cognizant of every day because, albeit this has been in existence for

sixty years, we still have some major incidents on a global basis of human

rights violations. We need only refer to the situations in Afghanistan, China,

the Sudan and Zimbabwe as some examples of where in our world today we still do

not have any recognition - let alone protection of human rights, but recognition

- by these governments of our human rights.

We would certainly applaud and support all those who are involved in

monitoring human rights and violations and implementing Human Rights Codes

throughout Canada and elsewhere in the world.

Of course, not only in those areas but closer to home we have serious

indications of some human rights violations. I refer, of course, to Guantanamo

in Cuba, which President-Elect Obama is suggesting that he going to shut down,

and it is probably high time that it was shut down. Even here in our own

quarters - and I refer, of course, to the recent report on penitentiaries and

correction systems. There are some indications that how inmates are treated in

our correction facilities might, in fact, be broaching on some human rights

issues, so we even have some need for monitoring and further considerations here

on our own turf.

In fact, in terms of the consultation process which the minister alluded to,

which is certainly a good initiative as well, we would suggest that some

consideration ought to be given to remove the Human Rights Tribunal, in fact,

from a line department where it currently is, in the Department of Justice, and

have it not reporting to a line department but maybe be even a part of the House

of Assembly process as opposed to a line department.

Thank you.

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement on the sixtieth

anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.

I am very pleased to know, and I heard the announcement yesterday, that the

Department of Justice will now be starting the review of our Human Rights Code,

which is in need of being brought up to date. There are many things that need to

be changed there and I was pleased, actually, almost a year ago to have met with

the former Minister of Justice and talk about the review, so I am glad to know

that it is finally being put in place and I thank both ministers for making this

happen.

Human rights is something that we should not take for granted. As is said by

Navi Pillay, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, we must work for the full

implementation of human rights on the ground, in a way that affects and improves

the lives of men, women, and children, who are all entitled, regardless of their

race, sex, religion, nationality, property, or birth, to realization of each and

every right set forth in the Universal Declaration.

It is always good to remind ourselves of something that we may sometimes take

for granted, but for people whose rights are broken, and it happens everyday

here in our own Province, it is not something that can be taken for granted. So

it is good for us to take time to remember.

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Statements by Ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the leadership of

government and public sector staff in developing the Poverty Reduction Strategic

for Newfoundland and Labrador.

This strategy demonstrates how the efforts of public sector employees can

improve the well-being and quality of life for citizens in the Province. Our

employees were recently recognized nationally at a ceremony in Ottawa, as

finalists, for a prestigious award for their efforts in the development and

implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: I would like to point out that many of those employees are

with us today in the gallery over here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: These employees were finalists in the Institute of Public

Administration Canada Deloitte Public Sector Leadership awards program, which

recognizes organizations that have demonstrated outstanding leadership by taking

bold steps to improve Canada through advancements in public policy and

management.

I want to extend my congratulations on behalf of government, to a truly

professional team of highly dedicated public servants for their leadership and

innovation in advancing the goals and objectives of the Poverty Reduction

Strategy.

In June 2006, our government embarked down a new road to implement a Poverty

Reduction Strategy. Built on consultation, it is our earnest commitment to

transform Newfoundland and Labrador over a ten-year period, from the Province

with the most poverty, to the one with the least. Indeed, our approach is well

recognized as a best practice and model throughout the country.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: We are investing on an ongoing yearly basis over $100

million to support sixty new initiatives through this strategy. We are also

working to consult with the public and stakeholders on how we can build upon

this exceptional work.

Mr. Speaker, it is through the hard work and dedication of our staff that our

government can move forward in preventing, reducing and alleviating poverty in

Newfoundland and Labrador. So, it is with a strong sense of pride that we

celebrate the accomplishments of our public service and this team. Their

demonstrated commitment to hard work, both within government and more broadly in

their active collaboration with other members of the community, has resulted in

this well deserved national acknowledgement of our Province's efforts to

tackle poverty.

It is by working together that we realize the benefits of this important

aspect of our provincial public policy. Through the Poverty Reduction Strategy,

staff are helping to ensure that barriers to opportunity are removed so that all

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians can move forward and achieve greater

self-reliance and participate fully in the life of this Province.

I would ask that all hon. members of the House join me in acknowledging and

thanking this group of individuals for their tremendous work on behalf of the

Province and for their commitment to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the minister for an advanced copy of her statement, and first

of all, to begin by saying congratulations on your appointment to Cabinet. I

guess their gain is our loss on the Public Accounts Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by, I guess, going to the last statement that

the minister made, where we acknowledge and thank this group of individuals for

their tremendous work on behalf of the people of this Province. Mr. Speaker, I

guess that brings each and every one of us back to why we were elected to this

House of Assembly to serve on behalf of the people of this Province.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate them on being finalists, as the minister

stated. I am sure they are not only proud of their own accomplishments but I

guess they are also proud that they represent all the public servants in this

Province, which serves us so well. I had the opportunity to work in three

different departments as an executive assistant and I know full well the

commitment that they all make.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud where they said that they are consulting with

individuals throughout the Province. It was only recently that I attended a

seminar in Carbonear where the hon. the Minister of Fisheries chaired that

meeting and listened to the concerns of the people at that particular time. I

know we have accomplished a lot, but then again we listen to the public and they

still have some concerns and I am sure they will be addressed by all.

So, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Official Opposition and all the people that

we represent, I want to congratulate the public servants who were finalists. I

am sure they will keep up the good work and we will all be very proud in this

Province when we become the Province with the least amount of poverty, and

hopefully be poverty-free.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, I do want to congratulate the minister, also, on her first

statement as minister in the House of Assembly, and thank her for the advance

copy of the statement that she has made.

I congratulate, also, the team whom the minister is honouring today, and who

have been honoured with this national award of being finalists, in their

dedication and commitment. I have no doubt of their dedication and commitment. I

know some of them personally, and I know what they believe and how hard they are

working with regard to the Poverty Reduction Strategy, but I do urge government

to realize that it has to increase its focus and to put money back into people's

pockets. That is what will reduce poverty. We have to have better Income

Support. We have to have higher housing allowances. We have to have a minimum

wage that puts people above poverty, increased child care supports so that

low-income mothers can get back into the workforce. Poverty elimination should

be the government's goal, not merely poverty reduction, and I urge the

government, with its staff, to think more in terms of elimination.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers.

The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Mr. Speaker, I rise before this hon. House today to

acknowledge the Town of Winterton's rich history of wooden boat building.

The fishermen of Winterton have a long history of building some of the

Province's finest wooden boats - everything from punts to schooners. To

celebrate the community's history, the Town of Winterton opened the Winterton

Boat Building and Community Museum in 1997.

The museum is dedicated to the preservation of the skills required to

construct wooden boats that are currently in danger of being lost. It also

maintains a long-term objective of attracting skilled boat builders, training

new boat builders, and offering boat building experiences for visitors that help

stimulate economic activity in the community.

Since first being opened, it has steadily attracted visitors and wooden boat

enthusiasts. Today, I am happy to announce that we have committed over $82,000

to expand the museum's facilities and enable it to become a centre for wooden

boat building in the Province.

In addition to interpreting the history of wooden boat building on a

provincial scale, it will add boat collection and construction activities, along

with interpretive exhibits, to the museum's collection. The museum will draw

on committed traditional wooden boat building enthusiasts from across our

Province and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, these are important resources for a community-based

organization, and I am confident that the historical value of boat building in

the area will be greatly enhanced with this funding. Traditions of this nature

are an integral component of the cultural fabric of a community, and speak to

the skill and the commitment of its people.

Funding for this initiative was through the Regional/Sectoral Diversification

Fund. This highly-utilized fund addresses funding gaps of sector-specific

organizations, economic development groups, and community organizations involved

in economic development.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the hon. minister for a copy of his statement in advance.

I read the statement today and let me say to you, Minister, I am pleased,

first of all, with the investment that you are putting into the Winterton Boat

Building and Community Museum. I have had the opportunity to go there myself and

I know that it is a fabulous attraction to Newfoundland and Labrador. In fact,

it was only back about a month or so ago that there was a group of seniors from

my district who actually went to Winterton and took

part in the boat building

seminar and workshops that were ongoing there. Actually, it was my husband who

brought them down to that particular session, and it was an absolutely fabulous

gathering of people from all over the Province who participated at that time.

Boat building has been a long part of our history in Newfoundland and

Labrador. It did not matter if it was on the Grand Banks or in the Gulf or the

Northeast Coast or in Labrador, wooden boats were really the livelihood for many

families across Newfoundland and Labrador, and especially rural families.

I remember growing up in a rural community and it was not uncommon, in the

spring of the year, to see a number of people who would be building a wooden

boat somewhere along the waterfront in the community. I am sure the minister

would have seen a lot of that going on in downtown St. John's when he was

growing up, as well, in the center city.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member to conclude her remarks.

MS JONES: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

It has been a long time tradition, I say to the minister from St. John's

Centre, in some parts of Newfoundland and Labrador. No doubt, I am pleased to

see that you recognize the tradition and the value and the significance of it in

our Province and have found a way to be able to put some funding their way.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

This being Wednesday, Private Members' Day, the clock reads 2:30 in the

afternoon. Question Period is for thirty minutes and the Orders of the Day state

that members' responses should be heard at 3:00 o'clock.

I ask leave for the House to allow the hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi to respond to the Ministerial Statement and to go into the Private Member's

Resolution time.

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: We have leave.

The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate having the leave. It will be short.

Thanks to the minister for his statement.

I want to join with the House and with the minister in congratulating the

Town of Winterton on this venture. This is a fine example of the kinds of things

that can go on in communities.

Just one very quick thing: I remember when I was involved in community

economic development work on Bell Island back in the early 1980s, and one of the

things I remember the people of Bell Island saying as we looked at trying to

keep their community alive was: We used to have everything here, sure. I

remember that statement in a kitchen meeting. So, they put their minds to trying

to bring back to Bell Island some of the things they used to have. The first

thing they built was a bakery.

I really encourage the government to put a plan in place for finding

communities to work with and to find out what are the things they used to have

there, sure, and that could be put back in there and help with the development

of their community to keep them alive.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last week we asked several questions of the Minister of Natural Resources

regarding the mining operations at IOC. She responded in the House on December 2

that IOC had delayed their expansion plans.

Mr. Speaker, it seems that the people in Labrador West are just learning

about this today and we have had a number of calls from that area.

I would like to ask the minister: Since you were informed of this since

November 28, why have you not met with officials in the Town of Labrador City?

Why have you not met with the union there to get an understanding of what this

will mean to that community and if it will be a significant setback or not?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Leader of the Opposition's information apparently is not current. What

you are hearing about today is a result of an announcement by Rio Tinto, who is

the major shareholder of IOCC. Rio Tinto has announced a number of curtailments

in their business because of the current global crisis and the downward turn in

commodities. This will have another impact in terms of IOC. They have made

further announcements today. They are talking with their employees today about

further measures that they are going to deal with as a result of Rio Tinto's

decision that was made public this morning.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Unless the minister has my phone tapped, I know the conversations that I had

today with the people in Labrador City, minister, and the conversations that I

had was around the expansion plan, not the downsizing and the layoffs that Rio

Tinto has announced earlier today.

Now, Mr. Speaker, the minister confirmed in the House of Assembly that she

had met with this company on November 28 and they had said that they were going

to postpone their expansion plans for Phase I and Phase II in Labrador City.

I ask you, minister: Have you met with the leaders and the representatives in

that town to get an understanding of what the impact is going to be?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, I met with the Combined Councils of Labrador

earlier this week. I have met with Terry Bowles, the CEO for IOC, within the

last six weeks. I have had a number of telephone conversations with him, Mr.

Speaker. I will have another one today. The last communications we had around

this piece, which I reported in the House, was that they were going to complete

the work that was already started in Phase I and Phase II of their expansion but

otherwise, plans were on hold.

As a result of Rio Tinto's announcement today, Mr. Speaker, they have

decided that they are not going to continue that work, that it is going to shut

down completely. They announced a week, ten days ago, that they would require

all their employees to take four weeks' vacation, but they were going to keep

different elements of the mining operation going. They have withdrawn that.

Everything will shut down completely, including the pellet plant, Mr. Speaker,

for four weeks in July.

They are speaking with their employees. Once that is complete today, Mr.

Bowles will have another conversation with me later in the afternoon.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, it is almost a case of waiting for the phone to ring, and the minister

is in her office to see what industry is going to collapse today.

Mr. Speaker, I asked the minister last week what she was going to put in

place in the Labrador West area. You talked about a task force you have in place

in Grand Falls-Windsor to deal with the downsizing of the AbitibiBowater mill

or the closure.

What are you looking at doing in Labrador West in response to the news from

IOC and Wabush Mines?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have spoken with the management of IOC, I have talked to the Mayor of

Wabush, I have been in contact with the union. At this point in time, Mr.

Speaker, they have not asked or requested any kind of a specific response.

We had, in this House yesterday, a financial update which talked about the

stimulous that we are providing all throughout the Province, Mr. Speaker, to

provide employment and jobs for people. We have significant projects that are

underway at Labrador West, and these projects will hopefully help mitigate some

of the impacts that we are feeling because of the downturn in this sector.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the government again gave the unions in

this Province an ultimatum when it comes to their contracts, either they sign

before December 31 or they risk losing the offer that is on the table.

Mr. Speaker, nurses are one of the groups that this government is backing

into the corner to try and sign a collective agreement, but, Mr. Speaker, the

minister knows and the government knows, the real issue around nurses in this

Province is the shortage of nurses in our health care sector.

I ask you, minister: How are you going to deal with that problem?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury

Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We indicated yesterday in the fiscal update, that although we have a surplus

this year of $1.27 billion which we are very proud of that there is not

unlimited cash and that we have to be concerned about the economic downturn and

the global crisis that exists. However, to characterize a 21.5 per cent offer as

being backed into a corner, I would suggest does not do justice to anyone, to

the Leader of the Opposition.

What we have offered here is an extremely generous package. Let me say to the

Opposition Leader, is that right now the nurses are looking for 24 per cent over

two years. That is, I would suggest, an offer that simply cannot be met in these

economic times, and that if the issues are work, overtime, and inability to

obtain time off, issues like that, once we get beyond the wage increases then we

can deal with those issues, but at this point we are not even there.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Maybe the Minister of Health would like to tell me now - the Minister of

Finance has no problem talking tough with the unions, but maybe he would like to

tell me - how he is going to get tough and address the shortage of nurses in

this Province.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just want to put in perspective my colleague's comments. This is not

talking tough. Fundamentally, this is a collective bargaining process where my

colleague laid out for the nurses' union, and other unions in the Province,

certain realities we are facing in our economy, talking about the benefits of

the wage package we have on the table.

If you compare the offer being made by my colleague on behalf of government

to the nurses' union and others, compare that to any other jurisdiction across

this country, I say, Mr. Speaker, there is not another single jurisdiction who

has gone through the collective bargaining process in recent years that can

boast that kind of an offer in a collective bargaining process. So, Mr. Speaker,

this is not talking tough at all.

Now, very specifically to the question at hand, the issue around recruitment,

I think, Mr. Speaker, if you look at some of the announcements that we made last

year, some of the announcements made last year, I think, reflect our government's

commitment to want to put in place financial incentives to help attract nurses

into Newfoundland and Labrador. I can speak to one very good example -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. minister to conclude his answer.

MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Eastern Health very recently was able to repatriate ten former

Newfoundlanders who wanted to come back home because they feel it is an

attractive place to live.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister's non-action is little comfort for the individuals who are

having their surgeries cancelled in this Province every single week because

there is not a nurse available. In one such case, a gentleman whom I know

contacted your office; his surgery was cancelled because there was no nurse to

go in the ICU. He was told by your office that the minister did not realize the

health care sector had gotten this bad. You saw the e-mails.

How could you, Minister, actually say that to families and individuals in

this Province knowing full well that we are short well over 1,000 nurses in this

Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: One of the problems, Mr. Speaker, in the member opposite

standing in this House and repeating comments that were attributed to someone

else, you always run the risk of being inaccurate. Once more today we are

hearing an example of where the member opposite stands and speaks with some

authority, as if she fully understood.

She asked my colleague earlier if her phone was tapped. Obviously, someone is

tapping my phone because she is now citing exactly what I have said.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. WISEMAN: Fundamentally, Mr. Speaker, I would never, ever, say that I

do not appreciate the concerns that individuals would have when they have their

surgeries cancelled. Unfortunately, in the recent past we have had that happen

in a number of our health facilities around the Province which have been

experiencing some difficulties with some scheduling.

Mr. Speaker, fundamentally, one of the things that we are trying to do as a

Province, in addition to the wage package that has been offered by my colleague

on behalf of the government for nurses, trying to work with the nurses' union

and work with the ARNN to look at quality of work life issues; because we, too,

want to make sure that we have an ample supply of capable, competent nurses in

the Province.

I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that today we have more nurses in this Province

than we ever had in our history.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Government has yet to release the numbers of vacancies in the nursing

profession in this Province for the last two quarters. Six months ago we were

being told that there were 1,017 vacancies of nurses across Newfoundland and

Labrador.

I ask you, Minister: Why are you not releasing the statistics for the last

two quarters, and will you give us an update in the House of Assembly today of

what the vacancy rate is?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, there has been a number floating around - the

member opposite just said it then - you pick a number of 1,000. One of the

difficulties you have when you start quoting statistics - because whenever you

produce a statistical report it is important to read what comes before it and it

is important to read what follows it, because that is the explanation. That is

what takes the stats and the facts and puts them in some kind of context.

So, before the member opposite stands and talks about 1,000 vacancies, and

quotes a report, it is important to understand the context in which that figure

was printed, understand the explanation that is associated with it, and

differentiate between what is casual, what is temporary, what is permanent, what

is full-time, because all that explanation was there, but obviously you failed

to read that. These are the important points, Mr. Speaker, because to do

otherwise, which is what the member opposite is doing today, is creating a sense

of fear in the people of Newfoundland and Labrador that the health services in

this Province are somewhat inadequate compared to other jurisdictions. I say,

Mr. Speaker, (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister can sugar-coat this how he wants, it does not make any

difference. The reality is, the vacancies are there and we will wait, Minister,

for you to table in the House the vacancy rate for the last two quarters for

nurses in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, back in the spring we raised an issue with the shortage of

diabetic nurses in the Province, that there were a number of people, adults, who

were on insulin pumps that could not be serviced within the Province because of

the shortage and the vacancies not being filled. The minister said he would

delay it out to September, then he would address the problem.

I ask you, minister: Why has it not been addressed, and why are those

vacancies still there?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, one of the challenges we are facing in this

Province, the demands on our health system have increased significantly and it

is adding each and every year we get increased demands, because the

population of this Province is ageing. We have some of the highest rates of

chronic illness in this Province. So, some of these challenges, Mr. Speaker, put

immense pressure on our workforce.

So when you look at a system, since we formed government in 2003, up until

last year I think it was, our nursing workforce has increased by close to 3 per

cent. That is a far cry from talking about a decline in the nursing population.

We had the highest number we have ever had in our history. Since we formed

government there has been a growth of close to 3 per cent from 2003 to 2007, but

at the same time, we have increasing demands for more nurses, because our

population is ageing, our population is not as healthy as other jurisdictions.

So we have continued pressures for increased growth in that workforce. We are

trying, too, through a collective bargaining process, through some of the

quality work life initiatives, to make sure that we are well-equipped for the

future and nurses find this an attractive place in which to live and work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister has still not given me any answer as to why the critical

staffing positions for diabetic nurses in this Province have not been filled,

and why they are still rationing insulin pumps to adults in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, the issue of insulin pumps this is a real

good example. I am glad she raised it, because it gives me an opportunity one

more time to stand in this House and talk about a great initiative this

government undertook a couple of years ago.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: A couple of years ago, Mr. Speaker, this government decided

to provide insulin pumps and their supplies to children. People under the age of

eighteen would get them free today. It did not cost a lot of money but we have

heard story after story, we have received letters and e-mails from parents and

families. In fact, I was told a story this past summer about a bunch of kids who

had a camp, kids with diabetes were at a camp, and the counsellors at that camp

were making a comparison between the level of activity of the children this year

with their pumps, versus what it was two or three years ago. In fact, the story

was so powerful we could not help but be moved by it, and anyone who would

listen to the story could not help but be moved by it, because it speaks to our

interests in improving the quality of lives of people with diabetes and other

chronic illnesses in this Province.

So thank you very much for the question, because it gives me an opportunity

to repeat one more time a great initiative of this government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is unbelievable how this minister avoids questions.

Let me tell you this, minister, forty-four of those children that you put on

insulin pumps are now not being serviced in this Province, because when they

reach the age of eighteen there are no services in Newfoundland and Labrador for

them to access because the system is to capacity and there are no nurses that

work there.

So let me ask you this, minister: While you are putting them on the pumps,

when are you going to provide the service for them after they turn age eighteen

so that they do not have to come off the pump at that stage?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, I ask the member opposite not to get so

excited, because it is one thing to stand in House and ask me a question and

I will give you an answer. I have answered every single question you have ever

given me, but, Mr. Speaker, to stand in this House and to say that there are

absolutely no benefits out there, or no services provided to children with

diabetes after the age of eighteen. Now, Mr. Speaker, if they are going to stand

in this House and ask a question, that is fair game, but if they are going to

stand in this House and fear monger and make statements like there are no

services out there, nothing could be further from the truth.

What you are saying, Mr. Speaker, is that throughout Newfoundland and

Labrador today, that if you are eighteen or nineteen or twenty years old, and

you have diabetes, there is no service available to you, and nothing could be

further from the truth, Mr. Speaker. All you need to do is canvass eighteen,

nineteen, twenty year olds with diabetes. I tell you, Mr. Speaker, we have

family physicians, we have nurse practitioners, we have specialists throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador, diabetic educators who are providing great services

to diabetics.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, my next question is for the Minister of Natural Resources.

Several months ago we were told that there was a report of financial

irregularities with regard to the Chicken Marketing Board, and as a result of

it, your office asked for a forensic audit to be completed.

I ask, was that audit ever completed, and if so, who did it and what were the

findings of it?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy

Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will have to check on the status of that report. There was some reporting

made that there may have been some irregularities. We went back and looked at

all the audited reports. There was nothing reported there, Mr. Speaker, nothing

that we could see. We looked for a firm to do a forensic audit and we could not

engage anybody to do that because on the face that the chicken board had already

been audited and nothing had been found. We were looking within government to

see if we had the capacity in there to do a forensic audit, just to ensure, Mr.

Speaker, that there was nothing untoward going on. Nothing has been reported to

me up to this point on any findings of any wrongdoing or any inaccuracies or

anything in terms of the auditing process, but I will check further, Mr.

Speaker, and report back to the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On October 28, 2008, government announced a pilot project for twenty-four

hour snow clearing in the Province. While I admit, Mr. Speaker, it is a step in

the right direction, there are many areas still left out of this program.

I ask the minister: What criteria was used to determine what areas would get

twenty-four hour snow clearing service?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in the budgetary process last year the Department of

Transportation and Works was allocated $1.7 million to proceed with a pilot

project on twenty-four hour snow clearing in the Province. As part of that

process, the department was asked to identify regions of the Province where that

$1.7 million would be spent. The department evaluated traffic flows, traffic

volumes and what have you throughout the Province, as well as snowfall and ice

accumulation data through our road weather information systems and what have

you.

As a result of that analysis, Mr. Speaker, the pieces of road that we have

already indicated were identified as being the priorities for the pilot project.

We understood that traffic flows from major airports within the Province were

important, and the major trunk roads. We do acknowledge that there are some

parts of the Province where if we had more money after the pilot project was

completed that we might like to go into, but $1.7 million gets you a certain

amount of snow clearing and we made our decision on where that is based on the

information that I have provided, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for his answer, but I am

sure we have heard in the media, the area from Port aux Basques to Stephenville,

which we all know is a very high travelled area taking the flow of transport

trucks and other vehicles on the ferry service. Most of those people like to

travel, get their business and their products all the way through to St. John's.

We have had many calls from mayors, town councils, development associations

saying that they were not consulted.

I ask the minister: What stakeholders were consulted before government

announced this pilot project?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The public have made a fair number of comments over the years about the need

for, in their view, twenty-four hour snow clearing in certain parts of the

Province. Certainly, Mr. Speaker, I think it is fair to say that just about

everybody in the Province would like to see twenty-four hour snow clearing.

However, we have a budget and we have a pilot project that we are proceeding

with. We have looked at traffic flows, but more importantly we had to look at

where snow falls and where roads are most troublesome. On the basis of that, Mr.

Speaker, we have identified the areas where we will proceed with the pilot

project.

As for the area from Port aux Basques through to Stephenville, Mr. Speaker,

we understand that is part of the Trans-Canada and it is a high traffic area,

however, if you look at that area compared to the piece of road from Deer Lake

to Rocky Harbour through Gros Morne National Park, where there is a fairly high

volume of traffic as well, the snow fall accumulation in that area far exceeds

what you would see in the Port aux Basques to Stephenville area. We have

identified the snow belts from Stephenville through to Deer lake and as well on

the Isthmus.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. minister to conclude his answer.

MR. TAYLOR: Yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

We have identified those areas. It has been based on traffic volumes and snow

fall accumulation. That is the basis for the decisions we made. When we have a

chance to look at this and reflect on it, maybe we will make changes in the

future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know recently the joint councils, the CBN Joint Councils Association and

the Joint Mayors Association of the Trinity Bay side of Trinity-Bay de Verde,

have major concerns. We were very pleased to know that the Trans-Canada will be

opened all the way through from I think it is Logy Bay Road through to

Clarenville.

The concerns that they have are not only getting to the hospital in Carbonear

or to St. John's. We have 50,000 or 60,000 people in that area with the

Trans-Canada open, but they can't get to them. I think they are going to try

to arrange a meeting with the minister.

My next question is: There have been concerns brought to our attention, that

the pilot project and I may be corrected on this is only from Monday to

Friday. I ask the minister: Does this program include weekends? If not, why not?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I understand the member and the concern from the people in

Conception Bay North. I understand the representation that is coming from the

Southwest Coast and representation from my own district where they are looking

to be included as part of the pilot project.

Mr. Speaker, a pilot project is just that; it is $1.7 million. If you take a

kilometre of road off on one end, you can put it on, on the other end, but at

the end of the day we have $1.7 million to work with. We have done it based on

the evaluation that we did, as I say, previously.

Mr. Speaker, again, as for the nights, if you want to put it that way, we

will be operating twenty-four-hour snow clearing. The member is correct, it is a

five-day-a-week program and that is when the volume of the traffic again is

focused. We can add it to seven days a week, if people want us to, but you have

to understand that something has to give. We either have to limit the period of

time over a seasonality perspective - we have to limit that time - or we have to

reduce the amount of road that we are going to clear.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. BUTLER: Just a quick question, Mr. Speaker, I know my time is running

out.

I will just ask the minister: What would the estimated additional cost be to

include weekends or even if it went as a full provincial pilot project?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I cannot give the member a very accurate number on that. The one that I can

give you is that in estimates from the department over the course of the past

number of years, if we were to do this Province-wide, our estimate has been, the

best estimate that we have available, is that this would cost $15 million.

I think, personally, that people would rather see us spend $15 million in

good snow clearing equipment, to put the equipment on the road at the time of

the day when the vast majority of people are travelling, and put it into salt

and sand, put it into road repairs, so that the vast majority of the travelling

public have access to a good highway system when it is needed for them as

opposed to and what is being lost here in a lot of this debate is that there

is a toll-free number available at any time, day or night, whether our snowplow

equipment is on the road or not, if it is in the middle of a snow storm or

otherwise. If people need access to a snowplow, to get them to a hospital, there

is a number they can call and our equipment will be dispatched immediately.

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, I will make it very quick, I do not have very

much time left.

Yesterday, the Finance Minister produced a glowing financial picture from the

government and then he tarnished the announcement by issuing an ultimatum to

workers.

Mr. Speaker, this government is trying to lay the burden of a possible

deficit on the backs of its workers. If the government is willing to keep its

offer to the unions on the table, as has been said by the Premier and the

minister, they must have confidence in being able to meet that offer.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Why did this government throw down an

ultimatum when it obviously makes no difference to your offer whether or not

there is a deficit?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, we put out this offer in good faith as a

genuine payback to our public sector employees who took zero and zero in times

of hardships and then three and three after that. We figured we would come back

very generously on the front end to give them 8 per cent to allow them to catch

up for what they have lost in the past, and then gave them above-average

increases over the next three years.

We did it in good faith. That offer still stands. We are not putting that

offer back on the table. That offer compounds to 21.5 per cent over four years,

compared to 6.8 per cent being offered by the federal government over three

years.

We figure it is a very, very good offer. We are doing absolutely everything

we can to hold that offer. We would love to hold that offer. We want to hold

that offer. We will hold that offer if we can afford it. We even went so far

during the economic update to say that we will guarantee the 8 per cent, because

they have certainly earned that, and in this particular year when we have a

generous surplus we have the money to pay it and we are certainly going to try

and deliver on it.

We are trying to do everything we can, and to be saying we are threatening,

we are basically being held to ransom now. Nurses, for example, are now trying

to basically say there are not going to be enough nurses around, and everything

else.

We offered to meet with nurses. We have met with them on three occasions. The

former minister, the current minister and myself, met with nurses.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: We met with nurses individually, to hear their

concerns. We asked to meet this summer, they would not meet with us, and they

came back with 24 per cent over two years, and another twenty-six monetary

offers.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the Premier to conclude his answer.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: You cannot even sit down to the table with them.

We are doing everything we can to give as much as we can to our public sector

(inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, it was very clear to me yesterday, unless I am

not hearing correctly, that letters were sent to the unions and they were told,

if you do not settle by, or if you do not sit down with us, or whatever it is

the government wants them to do, by December 31, the offer was off the table.

I am saying: Why are you saying that the offer is off the table? Why don't

you stick with that offer, no matter when they settle?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister of Canada is saying the

worst is yet to come. The President-Elect of the United States is saying the

worst is yet to come. We are not in control of the world economic situation.

Fortunately, as a Province, we are in a very, very good position, and we are

trying and we are fighting valiantly to sustain that position.

We are out meeting with people in Grand Falls. A big company like Abitibi is

under huge (inaudible). The stock price is at sixty cents. As a result, we have

a closure in Grand Falls. We see IOCC cutting back. Rio Tinto are cutting back

because their company is in trouble, there is some possible takeover by BHP

Billiton, so there are all kinds of outside economic factors that are completely

outside our control.

Fortunately, two years ago, we decided to be masters of our own destiny, and

we are doing our damned to make sure that we are, I can tell you that much right

now.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time for questions and answers has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair would like to welcome a couple of visitors to our

gallery today: His Worship, Mayor Button, from the Town of Port aux Basques,

accompanied by the Town Manager, Mr. Keeping.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair would like table the Annual Report of the House of

Assembly Management Commission for the year 2007-2008.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

Private Members' Day

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, Motion 6 from the Order Paper, the motion put

forward by the hon. Member for Burgeo & LaPoile.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Burgeo &

LaPoile. The hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate an opportunity to introduce this private member's motion

today.

First of all, I am sure my colleagues opposite were disappointed that the

hon. Member for Port de Grave did not get to raise his petition today which,

of course, he has done every day the House has been open but, as indicated,

he was out of time. He will be back tomorrow, I am sure, with his petition

again.

Mr. Speaker, the motion put forward today deals with the issue and the

suggestion that the House of Assembly should urge government to establish an

all-party committee or All-Party Summit on the Economy. It is not talking about

the establishment of a committee of anything, but that there would be a summit

held in this Province that would deal with the issues and address the issue of

the economy. That is where I would like to address my comments, of course, in

support of that particular motion.

The purpose, of course, is outlined there, who would be included. As opposed

to being a political venture, it is deliberately geared and worded such that it

would not be political, other than having members of every political stripe in

the Province involved as observers, listeners, and hopefully contributors.

The main focus, of course, is to involve union leadership, to involve

business leaders in the community, to involve municipal leaders in the Province

and, as it says, members of this House who would also be involved.

Now, some people might say we do not need to have a summit on the economy. We

might not need it. Now, this does not in any way detract from what this

government is doing, not at all. We had a case here yesterday where the Minister

of Finance gave his update and it is very pleasing for the people of this

Province, of course, to see that we are going to be in a pretty good situation

financially in the Province when it comes to money in the coffers this year. I

think we are looking at a surplus, as has been indicated by the minister, to the

tune of about $1.3 billion dollars, and that is based on deflated oil prices,

even, compared to what we thought. We had hoped, of course, to have it based

upon $87, even based upon that and given the fact that oil has gone from $147

down to, I believe, trading at about $44 or $45 today, we are still going to

come in with $1.3 billion. That is great! Nobody is going to be adverse to

having that good news, of course, and it is going to allow government to do what

it said it would do in terms of public sector raises. It is going to allow

government to continue with the programs that they wanted to do and services,

and it is going to allow government to put, I believe, some-$800 million, it was

suggested, down on the provincial debt at the end of the year. Nobody is

knocking, nor should they knock, I believe, the fact that the government is

going to do that with that money.

Of course, we heard about the infrastructure program, and there is no doubt,

nobody is criticizing the fact that this government, in the last three or four

years, has a particular designed infrastructure program that is going to put

quite some substantial dollars into our economy. It is going to create jobs.

About $4 billion, I do believe, over a six-year span was anticipated that is

going to go into infrastructure. That is good! Nobody is knocking that, nor

should they, and we are not knocking it.

The main purpose of this motion is not to detract from what has been done and

what is ongoing but merely to try to find out: Is there anything else that could

be done? Now, that is not to say government does not have its advisors, they do.

We asked a question last week in Question Period: Would the Premier consider

having such a summit? He said: No, I have my own council. He is entitled to his

opinion, obviously, like anyone else. He said: No, I do not need it. I have

myself and I have my Cabinet. No problem with that, but we would submit that

is not everybody and it is not necessarily the full scope that should be looked

at. What is the problem with having as many people as you would like, or could

get, involved in giving you advice? At the end of the day, you get to keep your

own council. That is why you are the government. That is why you would have the

Cabinet and the Premier.

We do, and we had yesterday, the Premier said we met with business leaders in

the Province. No question. In fact, they have a Business Advisory Council. I

believe it comes under the Department of Business that the Business Advisory

Board is structured under. They meet with the minister quarterly and they meet

with the Premier annually, according to their annual report, or more if and when

needed.

Now, that is a specifically designed advisory board, but obviously everybody

needs to react when certain circumstances occur based upon what the

circumstances might be. We did not know, nobody knew, for example, when you

created the board, and I am sure the Minister of Business and the Premier did

not know in January, 2008 that we were going to have the economic circumstances

that came upon us starting in August of this year. Nobody anticipated that. It

was not anticipated here. It was not anticipated nationally or internationally,

but the fact is, the world is unravelling when it comes to economic

circumstances, folks. It is not only here. In fact, we are probably and

certainly, based upon the financial information yesterday. We are probably one

of the better situated jurisdictions, certainly in this country and in the world

when it comes to the situation we find ourselves in. At the end of the day, if

everything comes to be and in 2009, certainly by 2010 all the economists are

predicting we are going to come out of this again and things are going to

improve. Great! Not a problem.

The question is, have we considered all the options that we might have as a

Province now, so that we do handle it the best way that we possibly can? It

looks like we are going to have some bucks if you needed to do something,

without ever going into a deficit situation like other governments are going to

have to consider. The federal government is going to have to consider deficit

financing, apparently, to spend its way out of this recessionary time. We look

like, as a Province, we are not even going to have to do that. If the government

decided they needed to, they had the choice of not putting the money down on the

debt and to use the money for, if they decided, for example, an increased

infrastructure package. They had the money there to do that.

All we are suggesting is, what is wrong with having as much advice as you can

get? That is the purpose for the suggestion. It does not take a lot of time. It

is not an issue about who controls. It is about having as many heads as you can

possibly have involved to see what suggestions are out there. A lot of people do

not feel that they can approach governments unless they are asked and invited,

and that is all that is being suggested is: Why not invite people? It does not

have to be an expensive proposition. It can be low key. You can ask the business

leaders. You can ask the municipal leaders to come in and have whatever, a

two-day, three-day session and see what ideas are out there.

Now, with respect to the Business Advisory Board and I say, by the way, a

lot of people in this Province that I know of, anybody who knows of the

existence of the advisory board has nothing but respect for the persons who sit

on it. We have some of the best business brains in this Province involved in

that board, without question, but if you look at them, you talk about

sectorially, they are not all represented on the Business Advisory Board. You

just need to go through their resume. That is not to say because you have a

business that is in one sector, you do not know something about other sectors as

well, but why would you not include somebody who would be from the other

sectors?

For example, I do not know if there is anybody on the Business Advisory Board

who specifically has or is involved in the fishing industry. I do not think so.

I do not think there is anybody on the Business Advisory Board that is involved

in the forest industry. I do not think there is anybody who sits on the Business

Advisory Board who is involved in the mining industry. I do not think there is

anybody on the Business Advisory Board who is specifically involved as one of

the processors or producers of our offshore industry. That is not to say that

the Premier should not, and he should utilize the Business Advisory Committee to

his best advantage, but what I am saying is that that committee has a specific

mandate.

There is nothing wrong, I would suggest, with asking people, business leaders

from other sectors to get involved, the manufacturing sector in particular. What

is wrong, for example, with the - I know we had John Steele on the board, but

there are people around, even his own father, like Harry Steele, for example,

who have a multitude, years and years of experience that they could offer. What

about Mr. Penney, for example, who has so many diverse businesses in this

Province and elsewhere? What is wrong with asking him if he would be able to be

consulted even? That is all we are suggesting here. To close the door and say

that we are not even prepared to take the time for a twenty-four or forty-eight

hour period to invite these people in to see if they have any ideas that they

can contribute to us, I think is short sighted. It is not to say that you are

not doing well financially.

The question is: Is there anything out there that we possibly might miss? Let's

not take a chance on possibly missing it because even though we might be rosy

financially, there is no doubt that there are a lot of issues going on in this

Province that are not so rosy. For example, we can ask if we want the 1,400

workers out in Grand Falls-Windsor and surrounding area do they feel

comfortable?

We can read a statement showing that there is going to be a surplus of $1.3

billion but we still have a problem, particularly in rural Newfoundland, that

there is going to be a lot of people in this Province who are going to be out of

work in the next two years. One is Grand Falls-Windsor. I mean here we have a

case where we had an industry that started 100 years ago. It existed through

Commission government. It existed through the 1930s, the depression. It existed

through two World Wars. It existed through the inflationary times of the 1970s.

It existed through the recession that we had in the 1980s and yet, it could not

exist past this Administration. So we have major, major issues. Major issues, I

say.

Now, for example, people will ask again: Is enough being done?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, the minute you even suggest to the

government that maybe they should look at something else or maybe there was a

little shortfall somewhere, they get defensive, because they do not want to

listen obviously, and that is what this motion is all about.

I quote, for example, from the Minister of Natural Resources in this very

House, during this session when asked about the Grand Falls-Windsor mill, she

said: Don't worry, we have a committee struck. We have a task force, she said,

on page 2341 of the December 4 Hansard. She said: We have a task force struck

and it has been on the ground for three months.

Now, that is suggestive that you have been doing something, folks. Yet, we

have the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development in the paper today,

who had a meeting yesterday in Grand Falls-Windsor, say: We are starting the

process. We are going to get involved. We are going to start the process.

Now that seems to be a little bit inconsistent from a minister who says we

have been on the run and on the ball for three months, to another minister

saying: Oh, yeah, we are going to get around to this now.

We are out here today, December 9 or December 8 - for our first meetings.

There are some inconsistencies there, folks. There are some inconsistencies

there.

These people are not prepared to consult. These people are not prepared to

consult with anybody. I understand one of the suggestions yesterday was: Well,

maybe we can put the displaced Grand Falls-Windsor workers to work on the

transmission line for the Lower Churchill.

That is one of the suggestions, apparently, that came out of the governmental

group. Now, that is only hearsay and I hope that it is not correct. I certainly

hope that is not the hare-brained scheme that the government is trying to sell

to the people of Central. Because if we are going to try to bring a program in

and put them to work on the transmission line there are all kinds of questions

about that one. What transmission line? Where will it be built? Where is it

going to go? Is it even on the drawing board yet?

Let's see something a little bit concrete before you start tooting your

horn yet as to what you have achieved and what you are going to do for the

people of Grand Falls-Windsor. It is not only Grand Falls-Windsor, by the way;

there are a lot of communities in Central Newfoundland that are impacted by

this, and it is not only mill workers.

For example, I understand that there might be some negotiated assistance for

the mill workers who have a collective agreement, in terms of severance. Is

there going to be any severance for the loggers? Was that included? Is that

going to be done? I understand that their collective agreement does not provide

for any severance for them. Has government taken that issue into consideration

and tried to fight for severance for the loggers who are impacted by this? I

understand it is in the hundreds in terms of direct employment but it is in the

thousands in terms of indirect, the loggers and so on. It is a case again of:

Can we ask anybody else out there if they know something other than ourselves?

We had an indication here again today from the minister, in terms of IOC,

there are going to be impacts and shutdowns up there. What consultation has gone

on between the government and the people of IOC, again, in terms of preparation?

What are the impacts of it going to be? What do we do to offset this negativity

for our workers and for our economy and our communities?

We get the minister saying she is going to get a phone call this afternoon.

News flash, folks: this has been on the go for some time now, and the minister

is going to get around to a telephone conversation today to figure it out

and this is a group who thinks, no, no, we do not need to consult with anybody.

We do not need to consult with anybody. We have all the answers over here. We

have all the answers over here. Yet, every single calamity that we see in this

Province gets dealt with on a reactionary basis - reactionary.

It is like Wabush. Have there been any consultations between the government

and Wabush Mines concerning their situation? We know there was not much on the

IOC situation. Have there been any talks by the Minister of Labrador Affairs

with the people of Vale Inco as to what is happening up in Voisey's Bay?

We know what the minister thinks about the officials of Voisey's Bay. He

expressed that here the other night when he got up and spoke. That sounds like a

great way to have a positive, productive relationship.

MR. SPEAKER (T. Osborne): Order, please!

I remind the hon. member that his time for speaking has expired.

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury

Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the global economy is in crisis.

Yesterday the Bank of Canada, which had previously sugar-coated the issue of

recession somewhat, indicated that Canada was now entering a recession. If the

hon. member opposite wants to talk about news flashes, where has the Bank of

Canada been for the last few months? If we want to talk about news flashes,

where is the technical recession that Prime Minister Harper talked about?

The reality, Mr. Speaker, is that we are in very volatile times economically

and it is very difficult to know where these times are going; however, that

should not take away from the significant statement that was made yesterday in

terms of the surplus, and the $1.27 billion. Nor should it take away, Mr.

Speaker, from how we are going to deal with that surplus. We are going to deal

with that surplus for the benefit of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Opposition today raised a number of issues about the problems that we are

encountering here in our Province. Well, news flash, it is hitting us too. Rio

Tinto issued a news release. Apparently, Mr. Speaker, they are cutting 14,000

jobs worldwide, 12.5 per cent of its workforce. Rio Tinto is the world's

second-largest aluminum processor.

Mr. Speaker, what we are trying to do, as a government, is what we have been

doing for the last four or five years, since 2003, what my predecessor and his

predecessor did, keep us on a steady economic course. We were left a mess by the

Liberals, Mr. Speaker. We were left a debt that was at $11.5 billion. There was

a current deficit of almost $1 billion.

What we have managed to do, Mr. Speaker, as a government, is deliver, we

hope, unless oil goes away to nothing, our fourth consecutive surplus. What we

have managed to do, Mr. Speaker, is reduce that debt, or we will have reduced it

by March 31, to $9.2 billion. We will get that debt hopefully, Mr. Speaker, into

the $8 billion, under $9 billion, potentially before this year is out.

How have we gotten there, Mr. Speaker, because lets not forget what we hear

today? All I hear from the other side I heard it today from the Leader of

the Opposition and I heard it from the Opposition House Leader is what we

are not doing. That is the problem with the negative approach. Let's look at

what we are doing, and what we are doing is doing things right. Mr. Speaker,

that is not me just saying that. We are talking to economists both on a local

and a national level and we are talking to business leaders. What is being

suggested to battle recession we have been doing for a number of years. We have,

Mr. Speaker, reduced debt, as I have just indicated, we have created employment

and continue to create employment, we have reduced taxes, and we are maintaining

an aggressive infrastructure policy. Now, we have done all that, Mr. Speaker,

while maintaining social programs that are significant to the quality of life

that is offered in this Province.

Mr. Speaker, last year I am looking at 2007-2008 numbers now we

contributed, and I can't find my numbers but by memory I think it was $2.3

billion into health, almost 37 per cent of our expenditures, and $1.3 billion

into education, 20 per cent of our total revenues. Mr. Speaker, out of a $6.35

billion budget, 56.7 per cent went into health and education. Now, that is not a

government that is not addressing the issues. We are reducing debt, we are

creating employment, but we are concerned and we are contributing to our health

and social programs and our education programs. We have, as outlined by my

colleague today, the Minister of HRLE, contributed $100 million to a poverty

reduction program. So, we are addressing the issues.

What has come upon us, Mr. Speaker, is something that no one predicted.

However, in our Economic Outlook, 2008, there were suggestions that the US

economy was in severe trouble and potentially heading for recession. When it

hit, Mr. Speaker, it hit big. Now it is starting to hit us in this Province, but

we are told and we believe that we are in as good a situation as anyone in this

country to deal with the problems. What I was told, Mr. Speaker, approximately a

month ago by several economists of the major banks, was that we, along with

Saskatchewan, are not in recession at this point. Again, recession can be a

somewhat technical term, Mr. Speaker, I think in two quarters of negative

growth.

Let us look at what we are doing. Let us look at what is happening in the

United States, Mr. Speaker. We have, in the United States, 1 million jobs lost

in September, October and November; a million jobs. In Ontario alone, Mr.

Speaker, in the month of November, 66,000 jobs were lost. Now, that is not to

diminish the seriousness of what is happening in our Province. We are acutely

aware of the difficulties that are faced in Grand Falls-Windsor, in Wabush and

other parts of this Province.

Mr. Speaker, the government, including the minister for Grand Falls-Windsor,

was there yesterday. The Minister for ITRD was there. The Minister of Natural

Resources is obviously on top of everything. If we have a company that is not

investing in its facilities and is looking for an excuse to get out, which

according to the letter I read in the Telegram yesterday from the

president of the local union is what Abitibi Bowater wanted to do, then how can

we change that? If we have a situation where a company as big as Rio Tinto

decides that they are going to make world-wide cuts and that affects us, Mr.

Speaker, we have to try to roll with that. We have to see what is going to

happen with the economy.

When we have oil prices, Mr. Speaker, that go from $147 at one point to $38,

again we have to be very cautious where so much of our revenues are based, 37

per cent in 2007-2008, on oil and mining royalties. Mr. Speaker, $1.7 billion

was contributed to the 2008 coffers through oil royalties.

What can we do other than monitor the situation, Mr. Speaker, and consult

with experts? Now, that is the key that the Opposition House Leader seemed to

miss. If the Opposition House Leader - and I come back, Mr. Speaker, to the

Private Member's bill. The Private Member's bill suggests that there be an

all-party committee, I think he suggested: "that the House of Assembly

urges the Government to establish an All Party Summit on the Economy chaired by

the Premier to bring together union leaders"

Well, union leaders, Mr. Speaker, we are dealing with them as we speak. We

have, as we stated on numerous occasions, an extremely generous, the most

generous, wage package in this country on the table right now. Business leaders,

we are meeting with them. Municipal leaders -yesterday, Mr. Speaker, in relation

to our fall update the Mayor of Labrador City, Mr. Graham Letto, indicated that

he thought the fall update was very positive. We had the President of the St.

John's Board of Trade singing praises about the fall update. We have Bradley

George of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses - all saying that

this is what the Province should be doing. Yet, what do we hear from across the

way? The same thing that we have heard now, Mr. Speaker, since we have been

here; negatively.

Do you know the problem, Mr. Speaker? They just cannot accept that they

screwed this Province up so bad and we are putting it back on track, because

that is what happened here.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: "to promote dialogue towards a shared vision ":

well, we do not share the Liberals' vision because we do not know what that

is. We have a vision and that vision is being followed.

"and to develop a plan to address the economic challenges facing our

Province": We have a plan. We have had a plan since 2003. We are

implementing that plan and we will continue to implement that plan. We do not

need the Opposition House Leader to share his vision for a plan because we do

not know what plan he has.

"to address the economic challenges facing our Province.": To

bring together members of this House I thought last week, and please correct

me if I am wrong, that the Official Opposition could no longer sit on the

Management Commission because they do not have time. Was I wrong on that, I say

to the Minister of Transportation?

MR. TAYLOR: They couldn't make it.

MR. KENNEDY: They could not make it because they are too busy. Yet, all of a

sudden they are going to provide us with their expertise.

I say to the Opposition House Leader: What expertise do you have here? If you

want to send us a resume we will consider you putting on a committee, but until

then, Sir, we do not see any expertise. In fact, what we see is an individual

who was there when this Province was almost bankrupt. That is the reality of the

situation, Mr. Speaker.

Is that the advice we want, how to go back to an $11.5 billion

MR. T. MARSHALL: Bankrupt the Province.

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, to bankrupt the Province. Thank you. Those are great

words there from a former minister.

So what we have done, Mr. Speaker, is we are putting this Province on track

to deal with what is a global economic crisis. What we are doing, Mr. Speaker,

is what the people of this Province elected us to do. There is no excuse for

what we are doing. It is a plan that is well laid out. There is a reason that

are forty-four of us sitting here and over there, and there are three Liberals,

because the people of the Province chose to have us govern, and their confidence

in us, Mr. Speaker, is being returned, with a fourth consecutive surplus, with a

plan.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: So, with all due respect and I really thank the members

opposite for their offer, if you can call it that, to sit on a shared committee.

With all due respect, I do not see what they can offer.

Now, I have not heard anything that the Opposition House Leader can offer,

and I hear the Member for Port de Grave chirping in the background but I am not

sure what he can offer, other than a petition every day. So what we have, Mr.

Speaker -

MR. BUTLER: (Inaudible).

MR. KENNEDY: Oh, hear him again, chirping again. The chirper! The

chirper!

So what we have, Mr. Speaker, is an ineffective Opposition, an ineffective

Opposition. We have a Member for Port de Grave who absolutely has no power,

cannot get anything done. So there you go -

MR. BUTLER: How would you know?

MR. KENNEDY: Look at what is being done over there, sir. You tell me.

So, what we have, Mr. Speaker, is a situation where we have a Liberal Leader

who is playing politics every day. That is what she does, fair enough. We have

an Opposition House Leader who sees the negativity in everything, and who else

is over there?

What I say to the Opposition, Mr. Speaker, if they have a vision, if they

have a plan, we are certainly willing to listen to them. We are certainly

willing, but as long as we hear the negativity the Opposition House Leader

started out good today. Mr. Speaker, the plan we have in place is working. It is

the business leaders of this Province and this country who are telling us this.

What else are we doing, Mr. Speaker? We are meeting with the there has

been a finance ministers' meeting. The Premier has been to a First Ministers

meeting, and I went with him, and there is another First Ministers meeting. We

have met with economists, both local and national. There is another finance

ministers' meeting coming up next week, and while there I will meet in Toronto

with some more of the economists. I have spoken to the individuals or one

company who specializes in oil pricing and analysis, and yesterday we met with a

number of business leaders. Now these business leaders were a cross

section of

our society, and what was the message that they gave us? The message was stay

the course; maintain the approach; pay down debt; deal with the situation as it

arises and as it exists but continue to spend on infrastructure as we have been

doing. It is a six-year, $4 million plan that by any standards can only be

described as aggressive.

I really thank the Opposition for this opportunity today. This is a great

motion, a great private member's bill that gives us an opportunity to talk

about the economy, to say to the people of this Province that we recognize the

challenges ahead but we are on top of it. The $1.27 billion surplus that is

projected for this year is not simply by accident. It is as a result of the

prudent fiscal management of my predecessor and the Premier and this government.

It is as a result of a vision, one that is shared by all of us on this side of

the House and the people of this Province because they are the ones who put us

here.

So, Mr. Speaker, I think when the - my only suspicion when the Opposition

House Leader brought in this motion, I do not think he expected that the fall

update would be as good as it is, because obviously, why would he bring in a

motion to talk about the economy when things are as good as they can be? But, we

have to enter the next year with caution because we do not know, having regard

to the volatility of commodity prices and the volatility of the economy, where

it is going.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I am very pleased today to stand and to speak to the motion that was put

before us by the Opposition House Leader: THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that the

House of Assembly urges the Government to establish an All Party Summit on the

Economy chaired by the Premier to bring together union leaders, business

leaders, municipal leaders and members of this House to promote dialogue towards

a shared vision and to develop a plan to address the economic challenges facing

our Province.

Mr. Speaker, I just heard the Minister of Justice say across the way, when he

was talking about things that he has been hearing from this side of the House -

I presume he means from the Opposition side of this side of the House because

there is a whole group of us over on this side of the House. He said, after he

named a couple of members of the Official Opposition, who else is over there?

Well, I am over here, and I would like to speak to this motion that is on the

floor today.

I would like to talk about some of the knowledge I have of the type of

consultation that goes on in other countries around the world when it comes to

how governments run. I do not know every country in the world, but I do know

some of the work that is going on that is so progressive in countries that we

might not even stop and think about as being progressive countries.

One of the ones I am aware of is Brazil. Brazil has a tremendous model where

the government consults with people on the ground everywhere in the country,

where the people of Brazil are considered to have the knowledge and to have the

experience that is useful to government, to know how to work in the communities,

how to make the economy work for everybody in Brazil.

Now, Brazil started from a pretty awful place when they started this process

because you have a tremendous diversity of income in that country, tremendous

diversity of people who have quite a bit and people who have very little, and

you have quite a diversity in the country of urban and rural. It is an amazing

country, but they have been successful in putting together a process that

engages the people of Brazil in the political process on an ongoing basis, not

just at the time of elections.

They have put together a process of education and involvement so that when

people vote, they are voting coming out of their engagement in their communities

and their engagement with government. When government meets, it just does not

meet with groups by each group by themselves, different groups of people at

different times, business leaders by themselves, union leaders by themselves,

community leaders by themselves. They meet with people openly and they meet with

them in a transparent way and an accountable way and ideas are shared from

different sectors of the society. I do not think that when the minister meets

with a group of business people from St. John's or even from the Province in a

room, that you have there a cross-section of our society. You have a

cross-section of business people, but you do not have a cross-section of our

society. What I like about the suggestion that is being put forward by the

Opposition House Leader in his motion is that we are talking about a summit that

would bring together all aspects of society.

I remember Prime Minister Brian Mulroney doing this once; I think it was

1988. He had an economic summit in Ottawa. I was actually at that economic

summit. It was very interesting to spend two days in a room in the same group,

because you stayed in the group that you were assigned to, and a group that

really was a cross-section, a group that did have a community organizer and

social activist like myself sitting with the CEO of a large corporation, sitting

with union leaders, sitting with MPs, and talking together about what was needed

for our economy in Canada.

This is not something to be afraid of. This is not something to run away

from. I do not know why our government is afraid to have all of us sit and talk

together.

Last spring, when we were dealing with the bill that was to put the new act

in place for the Energy Corporation, we did something really good in this House.

We dropped the rules for a few days, the rules of the House, so that we could

all work together and try to thrash out together what the bill should look like,

what the potential act would be. We talked about amendments. We looked at

various amendments; we looked at the possibilities. The CEO and other top people

from the Energy Corporation were off in another room. They were consulted with,

lawyers were consulted with, and we were all working together to try to put that

bill together and to come up with something we could all be satisfied with. I

think, at the end of the day, we all felt we had done a good piece of work. That

was an experience of even in this House, with some outside people, of our

working together and doing a good piece of work.

What is wrong with having that kind of consultation happening, that kind of

discussion happening, on a broader level? I would love to see it built into our

system, as it is in Brazil now. I know that is a dream, and it is a dream I can

work towards, but we could at least do it occasionally. We could at least, as is

suggested here, at a time when we have a crisis on our hands, and a time when we

are going into a recession, that we could take time to bring everybody together

in a summit for a couple of days to have this kind of discussion; because there

is the danger, when we are talking in silos, that we do not really hear what is

being said in between those silos, that the silos are not talking to one

another.

I guess I differ with the Minister of Finance when it comes to his

interpretation of what is going on out there with regard to responses to this

recession that is going on. There is not one position by economists with regard

to what should happen. There is not one position by business people with regard

to what should happen. There is not one position with academics. There are some

varying positions, but the one consistent thing that I am hearing, and I am

hearing it over and over and I am reading reports from everywhere in the

country. I am reading from all of our major newspapers. I am reading from all of

the people who are thinking this through in our country. I do not know where the

minister is coming from, but the one thing I am hearing consistently is that you

do not take care of a recession by toeing the line, that you have to take care

of a recession by sort of feeding the recession, by stimulating the economy.

There is an economics professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, and he

puts it this way. He is frustrated with the whole thing of the fear of having a

deficit budget. He says, and I quote: My God, you can run a deficit in your

budget or a deficit in your economy.

As I have said in this House, or you can run a deficit in the social fabric

of our community. Where is the best place to have a deficit, in our budget or in

the social fabric of our community?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair is having some difficulty hearing the recognized speaker.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Where do we run a deficit? There are all kinds of opinions out there. We have

various opinions here in our city. Some of the professors at Memorial, our

economics people, are saying the same thing, that we have to put money into the

economy. We have to come up with new jobs. We have to come up with more spending

and infrastructure. We have to put more money in people's hands. That is what

we are being told.

I found it very interesting that the minister talked about Mayor Graham Letto.

I have heard Graham Letto say more than what the minister heard him say, and I

have seen it reported in The Telegram . What I heard Graham Letto say was:

This is fantastic, that we have over $1 billion surplus.

It is fantastic, but Graham Letto did not say put it all down on the debt.

Graham Letto said: Now is the time for us to put more money into the

infrastructure that is needed in this Province in the municipalities.

He went on to say - and I have heard Graham say this at a meeting of the

Municipalities of Newfoundland and Labrador, as others in the House have - he

went on to point out that the municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador need

billions that is with an s at the end billions of dollars to meet their

needs.

Just imagine if the government even took only half of this $1.27 billion and

put it into the municipality infrastructure needs in our Province. Wouldn't

that we wonderful? We would have work happening out in the communities, and I am

willing to bet we would find the workers out in those communities if all the

sudden infrastructural needs were going to be met out in the rural areas of

Newfoundland and Labrador. We would find that we would be sparking the economy

out in rural Newfoundland and Labrador if we started meeting the needs.

What if we did bring everybody together into a room and really hear what the

needs are? We heard Mayor Dennis O'Keefe say the same thing this week. He too

said: it is great, it is wonderful, I am really excited, and now maybe we can

get some infrastructural money both from Ottawa, where he is expecting in

January they will make an announcement of infrastructural money, as well as from

the Province.

It is funny how the minister could hear one part of what Mayor Letto said and

not the other part of what Mayor Letto said. He accuses people on this side of

the House of not telling the whole truth and not telling the whole story and not

hearing. Well, he gave us an example today of his doing exactly the same thing.

So, we cannot cherry pick when somebody says something, we have to get the whole

story of what they are saying. It blows my mind when that kind of thing happens.

The other thing that we need to look at is how we get employment going. You

know, we sit down as MHAs and we meet with department heads and we hear what is

going on. We know that there are positions not filled in government. There is

not a department that doesn't have major numbers of positions not filled, and

there are also departments that need new positions. Why wouldn't government

put a really aggressive plan in place for hiring more graduates out of the

university and out of colleges here in our own Province and get them into the

public service, get them working? Why wouldn't it put much, much more into

getting nurses into this Province to deal with the terrible lack we have of

nurses in this Province? There is so much that can be done.

What is wrong with bringing everybody together and sharing the ideas? What is

wrong with having our local economists talking in the same room with the

business people, the academics talking with the community people, and government

people and Opposition members all sitting in a room together? It is not unheard

of. It is happening around the world. Why does this government think it is such

a strange idea? I know some of my colleagues in the government well, some of

them have been friends for many, many years. I know how some of you think. I

think some of you are probably thinking inside, she is making sense right now.

If it can happen elsewhere, why can it not happen here? What is wrong with this?

If the government in Brazil can make itself do this kind of thing and say, this

is the way to do it, why could we not do it here?

I remember in Nicaragua, after the revolution in Nicaragua, when they had so

little in that country - and they still have so little in that country, because

so many powers-that-be, like the United States of America, tried to keep them

from moving ahead after the revolution. I remember after the revolution, with

their new government, what did they do? They engaged the people in government.

They engaged the people actively in government. They got their ideas; they tried

to see how they could all together work on those ideas. This is not

pie-in-the-sky, this is not a stupid concept, it is called democracy. This is

what democracy is all about.

We wonder why people do not come to the box and vote. It is because they do

not see a place for them in the democratic process. Just dropping a ballot in a

box is not enough. If we were to engage people in the democratic process, number

one in our school system, which some schools do very well, if we were to engage

them at all levels in our democratic process, where people really thought their

voice meant something, that their ideas were being listened to, they might

bother to come to a box on election day and put a ballot in.

I would encourage my colleagues on the opposite side of the House, who think

that this motion is a stupid idea, to actually sit down and think about it and

say, you know what, this makes some sense. Why could we not all vote for this

motion in the House here today? I fear it might not happen but I cannot see what

is so awful about this motion that my colleagues on the government side of the

House would not be able to vote for it. I am certainly going to support the

Official Opposition

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I remind the honourable member that her time for speaking has expired.

MS MICHAEL: Just to clue up, please, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: Does the member have leave?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: By leave.

MS MICHAEL: Two or three sentences, that is all. I will be supporting my

colleagues in the Official Opposition, not because we are both in Opposition in

the House but because I think it is a logical thing to do, as I said. It was

back in 1988. Surely to goodness, if Brian Mulroney did it, it cannot be that

bad an idea, could it?

Anyway, Mr. Speaker, I leave it at that and I am glad to have had time to put

my ideas on the floor.

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

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It is my pleasure to take the next fifteen minutes or so and talk to the

motion that was presented today.

As has been indicated, the THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED

section of the motion

indicates that we are being asked to have an all-party summit on the economy,

chaired by the Premier, to bring together union leaders, business leaders,

municipal leaders, and members of this House to develop a plan to address the

economic challenges facing our Province.

Now, Mr. Speaker, that is being done every day that we as a government are

here sitting on this side of the House. This is not something we need to pull

together. This is something that is being done. It has been indicated already by

some of my colleagues, in numerous Question Periods, and as well here today,

that we have engaged with the people, we have engaged with business, we have

engaged with unions, we have engaged with municipal leaders, and we have engaged

with the opposition. We have done it on the floor of the House of Assembly. We

have done in it the board rooms. We have done it in the back rooms. We have done

it in the community halls. We have done it in the drugstores and the

supermarkets. We are constantly getting feedback from people. Every day that I

go back to my office I have numerous phone messages and e-mail messages.

The opportunity to talk to the people, the opportunity to get together and

hold a summit, is not something I believe we need to do, because we are doing

it, we are doing it every day. The result of the summit, as I understand the

motion, is to develop a plan to address the economic challenges. Well, Mr.

Speaker, it was read here in the House of Assembly yesterday by my colleague,

the Minister of Finance it was called a financial update we have, as a

Province, in our financial update, delivered yesterday, December 9, we have

$1.27 billion of surplus. I would suggest our economic planning is not too bad.

I would suggest that the way we are conducting the business of the Province is

going very well, if we are able to see that kind of result as a result of a

financial update being presented by the Minister of Finance.

Now, what did he talk about? What did the Minister of Finance say that we are

doing? He basically talked about a financial plan, an economic development plan

that we have consistently been doing since the day we were elected. He talked

about maintaining and accelerating infrastructure spending. I am going to come

back to that in a few moments. He talked about creating employment. He talked

about lowering taxes to free up more money for people to be able to spend in our

Province. He talked about reducing our debt to lower our interest costs. I will

come back to that as well. He talked about continuing with our prudent financial

management.

Well, Mr. Speaker, those five points, if I could call them the five pillars

of our economic plan, are the pillars that are being reiterated by the

economists of not only the Province but the country. I have read numerous

articles from leading publications, newspapers, magazines in this country and

outside the country that are talking about doing the five things that we have

done. They are saying that countries need to do this. They are saying that

provinces need to do this. We have already been doing it. We have been doing it

since 2003 when we formed the government. This is not new to us. This is not

something that we need to start doing. This is something that we have begun five

years ago. It is something that we have been consistent with and it is something

that we are going to continue to do.

Why are we going to continue to do it? Because we have $1.2 billion surplus.

We have paid down our debt. We have lowered corporate taxes. We have lowered

personal taxes. We have increased infrastructure spending. We have increased

social spending. We have turned this Province around. We have done the kinds of

things we need to do to allow the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador to be

able to weather an economic storm, the kind of economic storm that the world is

now facing.

Now, are we immune from the effects of that storm, Mr. Speaker? Not by a long

shot. But are we in a better position today in 2008 than we were in 2003 to be

able to buttress ourselves against that? We certainly are. That economic storm

will have some impacts on this Province, we would be foolish to think otherwise,

but we are in a position to be able to deal that. We are in the position to be

able to fight that and to be able to support the people of this Province.

Now, some of the commentary based upon the financial update that was given

yesterday, I think it is important that we talk about that. The President of the

Board of Trade for St. John's applauded the message from government. Over 600

businesses in the greater St. John's area, as I understand it, are members of

the St. John's Board of Trade. Their president applauded the message from

government. The five pillars that we have built our economic plan on are

working.

The local representative for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business,

of which I for over twenty years was a member, by the way, Mr. Speaker, when I

had a role in business, small business people, the backbone of our economy

spread throughout the Province, every nook and cranny of the Province, what did

he say? Here is his comment, Mr. Speaker: We were pretty pleased.

That is what the local representative for the CFIB said about the economic

plan of this government.

Now, let's talk about Mayor Graham Letto as was referred to by my hon.

colleague from across the House. She referred to him in some of her comments.

Besides being the mayor of a local municipality, he is also the president of

Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador. What did he say? He said: Clearly,

this government's fiscal plan is working.

That is what he said. That sounds to me like we have the pulse of the

municipalities. That sounds to me like we have the pulse of people who are out

in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. It sounds to me we have the pulse of the

business community. It sounds to me like we have the pulse of what needs to be

done for this Province to continue to succeed and continue to be able to

prosper.

The hon. colleague who introduced the motion indicated that he thought the

main purpose of the motion was to find out if anything else can be done. Well, I

would say if there is anything else that can be done we are certainly open to

hearing about that. There is nothing stopping people from making suggestions to

the government. There is nothing stopping people from making suggestions to any

Member of this House of Assembly.

If you feel there is more that can be done, or something that has not been

tried that you would like to see tried, by all means bring it forward. As I

indicated, it happens every day. When I go back to my office now at 5:00 p.m. I

will have a couple of dozen phone calls and e-mail messages from not only my own

constituents but from people around the Province, from every area of the

Province, every regional zone in this Province, giving me input into how they

feel we are doing and what they feel we should be doing and what they would like

to see us do more of.

I accept that. People have every right to do that. I expect that, in actual

fact. I am glad that I am getting that kind of input because I believe it shows

that people feel I am open enough to make a suggestion to, and hopefully I will

listen to it and respond to it. When the calls stop coming, or the e-mails stop

coming, is when I will be worried.

I am sure that every Member of this House of Assembly, when they go back to

their office, will have similar things to respond to. People can do that, Mr.

Speaker. People can certainly do that to us.

A little while ago, Mr. Speaker, two or three weeks ago, I attended what was

called a Team Canada Atlantic mission, where a group of businesses and

government officials from Atlantic Canada went to the United States - we

actually went to Chicago - to promote the services and the products of Atlantic

Canada, and I was fortunate enough to attend a meeting with the Mayor of

Chicago, a gentleman by the name of Mayor Daly. He would be the young Mayor

Daly, as people down there would refer to him, as his father, the old Mayor

Daly, was mayor for about, I believe, twenty-three years.

The young Mayor Daly will pass his father's record of service as the Mayor

of Chicago in this term of office. He will actually serve more than

twenty-three, twenty-four years, which is the record that his father held. So

those two gentlemen, the father and son, will have almost half a century of

being the Mayors of Chicago. That will tell you the kind of support that they

have received down there. He is at about 70 per cent in the polls, as I

understand it.

Here is what Mayor Daly said, when we asked him about the economy of the

United States and what he felt needed to be done. He said: Invest in

infrastructure. You need to invest in infrastructure. You need to keep your tax

regime low.

I mentioned earlier about the five pillars that my colleague, the Minister of

Finance, mentioned yesterday. Number one: What did he say we were doing, and

were going to continue to do? Maintain and accelerate infrastructure spending.

Just for the purposes of pointing out the number, to give people some sense

of how much money we are talking about, our infrastructure strategy, which is

over a six-year period, Mr. Speaker, is valued at $4 billion. That is b as in

billion. So we are investing, over the next six years, $4 billion dollars in our

infrastructure strategy. Mayor Daly from Chicago, which is the hub of the

Midwest of the United States, the Continental United States, when asked: What do

you think we should be doing? said: Invest in infrastructure.

This past weekend I had the fortune of attending the Council of Atlantic

Premiers' meeting. Premier Graham from New Brunswick brought up the global

crisis that he feels is going to impact Atlantic Canada and is, in fact,

impacting Atlantic Canada. His number one priority was investing in

infrastructure. We are already doing it. His government New Brunswick, now,

a much bigger province than ours is investing $1.2 billion. We are investing

$4 billion, almost four times, or three-and-a-half times as much as New

Brunswick. That is what we are doing in this Province.

Premier Ghiz of Prince Edward Island talked about the same thing, and Premier

MacDonald of Nova Scotia also indicated that infrastructure spending was

important.

Now, what are we doing as well in terms of infrastructure spending? I was

Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment; we invested in our

infrastructure. We invested in housing. We put, if memory serves me correctly,

and I don't know if I have the numbers here in front of me, but when we did

our housing investments we increased our M&I budget by $4 million per year,

over a six-year period, $24 million in total. We started that in June 2007. We

added an extra $4 million a year.

In our Provincial Home Repair Program, over $5 million a year, double the

budget, effectively, we doubled the budget. Why did we do it? We did it to

reduce the wait-list of people who wanted to repair their homes. We did it to

get money out into the communities. Eighty per cent of the PHRP money is

utilized in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. That brought money to rural

Newfoundland and Labrador. It brought money out into the economies of rural

Newfoundland and Labrador so that we could have economic activity, so that we

could have people employed, employed in the areas of fixing up homes.

We did the tax cuts. We have done it on a corporate level; we have done it on

a personal level. The Fraser Institute released a study that ranked Newfoundland

and Labrador fourth among provinces for the best investment climate, placing us

ahead of what they refer to as economic heavyweights Quebec and Ontario. We only

trail the western provinces. Alberta was the best, followed by Saskatchewan,

British Columbia, and then Newfoundland and Labrador. We are the fourth-best

place in the country in terms of our investment climate.

What did the Fraser Institute look at, Mr. Speaker? They had an index that

they compared the provinces on. It identified seven areas as being the most

important for investment climates: Corporate income tax, we are working on that.

Fiscal prudence, we have certainly done a great job with that. Our debt has gone

from almost $12 billion down to under $10 billion. Personal income tax;

transportation infrastructure - on transportation infrastructure alone, Mr.

Speaker, we have gone from having $6 million a year being spent on our roads,

highways and bridges, our transportation infrastructure, to over $70 million a

year, over a tenfold increase, and you can see it when you drive the roads. I

drove back last night from Grand Falls-Windsor, Mr. Speaker; it was a pleasure

to drive the roads, much different than it used to be. Corporate capital tax,

labour mar