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June 10, 2019

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLIX No. 1

Members

met in the Assembly Chamber on the afternoon of June 10, 2019 for the Election

of a Speaker.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

All rise.

Madam

Clerk, Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor has arrived.

CLERK (Barnes):

Admit Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

It is the wish of Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor that all present be seated.

CLERK:

Members of the House of Assembly:

proclamation has been issued by Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, under the

Great Seal of the Province, which reads as follows:

TO:

Sandra Barnes, Clerk of the House of Assembly and Elizabeth Murphy, Clerk

Assistant of the House of Assembly

GREETING;

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS

a General Election of the Members of the General Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador was held on May 16, 2019;

AND

WHEREAS the Office of the Speaker of

the House of Assembly is vacant and it is expedient to call together the 49th

General Assembly for the Members of the House of Assembly to proceed to their

choice of Speaker;

NOW

THEREFORE I, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador, do authorize and direct you, the said Sandra Barnes and Elizabeth

Murphy, or either of you, to signify to the Members of the said House of

Assembly to assemble for the dispatch of business on Monday, June 10, 2019 at

1:30 o'clock in the afternoon, and that it is my pleasure that they should

proceed to choose some person to be their Speaker and to present such person for

my approbation.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

All rise.

(Sergeant-At-Arms escorts their Honours from the Chamber.)

CLERK:

Please be seated.

At the close of nominations for the Office of the Speaker at 4:30, Friday, June

7, 2019, one candidate put his name forward.

Accordingly, further to suborder 4(4) of the Standing Orders, I declare Mr.

Perry Trimer, Member for the District of Lake Melville, elected as Speaker for

the 49th General Assembly.

(Applause.)

(The

hon. the Premier and the hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition lead Mr.

Trimper to the Speaker's Chair.)

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Well, it's still

a great view. I said that the last time I had the honour of standing in this

place and representing you all as your Speaker.

I would

like to thank all of the colleagues, and also I would like to, as the

Lieutenant-Governor did this morning, congratulate each and every one of you.

While I have the honour of sitting in this Chair, I'm an MHA just like the rest

of you, so congratulations to everyone in this House.

I was

thinking, and in the spirit of recycling and issues that are going on at the

national, provincial and even municipal level, it's good for myself to be

thinking I could be used for a second time. So I appreciate that opportunity

here today.

I would

like to start with a couple of thank-yous. Of course, to my wife, Caroline –

she's up in Labrador. I appreciate and love her very much, she's a great

supporter and I think we all know and realize how important family and friends

are to what we do in this political adventure.

I also

need to thank and I need to single out the District of Lake Melville and thank

them for their support in allowing me to represent them again for this 49th

General Assembly. Also, and I think on behalf of us all, we need to thank and

express our appreciation to all the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I had

an interesting thing just happen to me this morning, and I'd like to share with

you. It's not a place for props, but I was just handed this card from the Clerk

Assistant here, and it's about Sir Thomas More. She gave this me to for perhaps

some inspiration, but also just some thought about the history of the job of the

Speaker. And we all know quite a bit about Sir Thomas More, but it's interesting

that in 1523 he became Speaker of the House of Commons. He proposed at that time

free speech and he defended the liberty of the House of Commons.

It was

interesting that some – what was it – 12 years later he was tried and executed.

However, I take some solace in the fact that about 400 years later he was

canonized by the Pope, so maybe there's some opportunity to be thanked for your

role as the Speaker in the future.

I do

believe, and for those who've watched me sit in this Chair and in this position

over the last two years, that I believe each of you has the right to be heard

and be listened to be listened to, and I work very hard on that. So, I will give

you all my assurance that I will do my best to ensure that continues to happen.

Again,

in the spirit of props, which are not allowed in this House but I will take one

little exception, if I may today only, but I was at the Labrador Cup recently,

and for those who follow soccer, the officials came up to me, knowing my

interest in becoming the Speaker and continuing as the Speaker, and they said:

Here's an official yellow card that you could use at some point in the House.

They also gave me a red card for two violations, but that's the last time you'll

see those in this House.

I guess

a final thanks and appreciation to the entire staff of the House of Assembly.

They're the folks that you see before us, but there are many more that are in

Broadcast that are recording Hansard

that helped us all get through that very unique and very interesting swearing-in

ceremony this morning. We have a tremendous crew. They're all available to each

and every one of you and I advise you each to reach out to them with any

questions, particularly, the new Members.

Now, we

do have a lot of work to do, so I will say let's get started.

So,

with that, I will thank you all very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Leader of the Official Opposition, that the Member for St.

George's - Humber be appointed the Deputy Speaker for the 49th General Assembly.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that the

Member for St. George's - Humber be nominated as Deputy Speaker.

All

those in favour of the motion, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.

The

motion is carried.

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Leader of the Official Opposition, that the Member for the

District of Mount Pearl - Southlands be appointed the Deputy Chair of Committees

for the 49th General Assembly.

MR. SPEAKER:

The motion is that the

Member for Mount Pearl - Southlands be nominated as the Deputy Chair of

Committees.

All

those in favour of this motion, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

The

motion is carried.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

Mr. Speaker, the Justices of the Supreme Court have arrived.

MR. SPEAKER:

Please admit the Justices of the Supreme Court.

Thank you.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

Mr. Speaker, Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor has arrived.

MR. SPEAKER:

Please admit Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

All rise.

(Mr. Speaker leaves the Chair.)

(Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor takes the Chair.)

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

It is the wish of Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor that all present be seated.

PREMIER BALL:

May it please Your Honour,

the House of Assembly, agreeable to Your Honour's command, have proceeded to the

choice of Speaker and have elected Mr. Perry Trimper, who is the Member for the

District of Lake Melville, to that office, and by their direction I present him

for the approbation of Your Honour.

HER HONOUR THE

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR (PC, ONL):

On behalf of Her Majesty, I assure you of my sense of your efficiency and I do

most fully approve and confirm you as Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Your Honour having approved

the choice of this House in constituting me as their Speaker, it now becomes my

duty in the name of the representatives of Her Majesty's loyal subjects, the

people of the province, respectively, to claim of Your Honour their accustomed

rights and privileges, especially that they shall have freedom of speech in

their debates, that they may be free from arrest during their attendance in

Parliament, and that I, as Speaker, may have full access to Your Honour's

presence at all reasonable times and that they have confirmed to them all their

ancient rights and privileges which have been confirmed to them by Your Honour's

predecessors.

HER HONOUR THE

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR (PC, ONL):

Mr. Speaker, I do confirm this House, on behalf of Her Majesty, in the enjoyment

of all of its ancient and undoubted rights and privileges.

Mr. Speaker and Members of

the House of Assembly:

As the

representative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I am pleased to welcome the

newly elected Members of the House of Assembly on the occasion of the opening of

the First Session of the 49th General Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador.

opening this session, we respectfully acknowledge the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador as the ancestral homelands of many diverse populations of

Indigenous people who have contributed to 9,000 years of history including the

Beothuk on the Island of Newfoundland. Today, this province is home to diverse

populations of Indigenous and other people. We also acknowledge with respect the

diverse histories and cultures of the Mi'kmaq, Innu and Inuit.

The

calling to serve the people of Newfoundland and Labrador is a special one, in

which you put yourselves forward for the right to sit in this hon. House to

represent the people of your districts and to carry out the important work of

the province. To serve in hon. House is a privilege earned by few.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians expect that the Members they elected just over

three weeks ago to serve in this House will work together and find common ground

to strengthen the economic and social foundation of the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador.

Just

over three weeks ago, my government received a mandate to rise above, to

collaborate, and to do things differently. My government is clear in its resolve

to fulfill this mandate and committed to co-operate with all colleagues in the

House of Assembly in the spirit of partnership, humility and hard work. All hon.

Members in this House today are united by a common objective: to make

Newfoundland and Labrador a better place to live, to work and to raise a family.

We will work to ensure that youth can see limitless opportunities for their

futures in Newfoundland and Labrador.

government is steadfast in its determination to return to surplus through sound

fiscal management while creating more jobs, enhancing education, developing our

resources in an environmentally sustainable manner, and improving access to

preventive and supportive health care for all people in our society.

Collectively, we will take action to remove barriers for all and to empower

women and girls to thrive and to achieve their full potential, both socially and

economically. These are fundamental areas where every Member of the House of

Assembly can work together.

Newfoundland and Labrador is rich with world-class opportunities. Our vast

natural resources, burgeoning sectors, hard-working people and spirited resolve

to overcome are qualities that have supported the people of this province, from

the Big Land in Labrador to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, throughout our long

and storied existence.

Our

province will advance even further when Members of this hon. House set aside

partisan politics with a solid resolve to work together for the good of our

constituents, for the good of our province. The people of Newfoundland and

Labrador deserve no less.

government sees hope, progress and opportunity, and looks forward to working

together with all hon. Members to expand and further grow sustainable and

meaningful opportunities for every single person in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker and Members of

the House of Assembly:

Estimates of expenditure will be laid before you in due course and you will be

asked to grant supply to Her Majesty.

invoke God's blessing upon you as you commence the work of the First Session of

the 49th General Assembly.

May

Divine Providence guide you in your deliberation.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

All rise.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Please

be seated.

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I ask leave to

introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Revenue Administration Act, Bill

MR. SPEAKER:

Is there leave for the hon.

the minister to introduce the said bill?

AN HON. MEMBER:

Leave.

MR. SPEAKER:

Leave is granted.

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you.

Mr.

Speaker, I moved, seconded by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury

Board, that Bill 1,

An Act To Amend The Revenue Administration Act, be now read

a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

Is it the pleasure of the

House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

The

motion is carried.

CLERK (Murphy):

An Act To Amend The Revenue

Administration Act. (Bill 1)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read

a first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 1 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor has been pleased to make a speech to the

Members in this General Assembly. We shall take a few moments to distribute the

speech to the Members of this House.

(The Pages distribute the Speech to all Members.)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LOVELESS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

gives me great pleasure today to rise in this hon. House to move that a Select

Committee be appointed to draft an Address in Reply to the Speech from the

Throne.

To be

given the opportunity to speak in this House of Assembly is truly a humbling

experience. I'm here today because the people of Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune have

entrusted me to be their representative in government.

To my

constituents, I sincerely say thank you for giving me the privilege of being

able to serve. I will not let you down. To my colleagues in caucus and

colleagues who sit across the aisle, I thank you for choosing to serve and

congratulate you on your election to this House of Assembly.

We were

sent here by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to give them good

government. That is our mandate and we will achieve it with the spirit of

co-operation, and as the Lieutenant-Governor stated earlier, with a spirit of

collaboration – and I would like to thank Her Honour for her words.

This

province is a storied province of history, a history filled with adversity, but

always countered with resilience. For when we band together with a common goal,

we have shown that we can achieve peace and prosperity.

Mr.

Speaker, I look forward to working with all Members of this hon. House. Together

we can work to inspire hope for this province and make it a better place for our

kids to live.

conclusion, I now move that a Select Committee be appointed to draft an Address

in Reply to the Speech from the Throne.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Looking

for a seconder to the motion.

The

hon. the Member for Mount Scio.

MS. STOODLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

gives me great pleasure to rise in this hon. House on behalf of the constituents

of Mount Scio and second the motion that a Select Committee be appointed to

draft an Address in Reply to this year's Speech from the Throne.

I thank

the people of Mount Scio for this honour and privilege. I know that my

constituents have high expectations and I will do my utmost to represent them

with steadfast determination.

While

there are fewer women in the House of Assembly than in the last session, I want

to assure women in this province that they will be represented.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm looking forward to being a part of a government that is able to

work together and do things differently. We need collaboration and to drive

innovation. We need environmentally sustainable resources and we need to create

more jobs. With historical demographics against us, we must increase our

immigration and make Newfoundland and Labrador a desirable and realistic place

for our neighbours, families and friends to call home.

I ask

that my colleagues in this hon. House consider our shared goals as we begin this

new session of the House of Assembly, let us debate our ideas and respect our

differences.

Mr.

Speaker, once again, it's a great honour to second the motion that a Select

Committee be appointed to draft an Address in Reply in response to the Speech

from the Throne.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

Mr. Speaker, welcome back to

a different House of Assembly from the one we left in April, one with an

adjusted mandate.

I would

thank Her Honour and, in particular, for her invocation of divine providence to

guide us in our deliberations. I think I can also speak for the government side

in saying that I never refuse the intercession of divine providence.

I thank

the mover and seconder, guests and viewers in the public. I would also

congratulate the Chair on being selected, and as well the Premier, the Third

Party Leader and all Members elected.

Let me

offer an especially warm welcome to new Members of the House. Let me single out

the new Members of our own caucus sworn in hours ago and ready to hit the ground

running: Members for Stephenville - Port au Port, Terra Nova, Placentia West -

Bellevue, Torngat Mountains, Exploits, Ferryland, Harbour Main, Bonavista and

Grand Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

Our

caucus has doubled in size and doubled in determination. We represent a broad

swathe of the province, urban and rural, north to south, east to west, Labrador

and the Island. When we speak, we will be speaking for people throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador, including Indigenous people and we will be heard.

This is

a new day for Newfoundland and Labrador. The people have given voice to

dissatisfaction with the status quo, collectively they have created an

unprecedented situation in the province. For four years, the government spoke

about democratic reform with little action. So the people, in their collective

wisdom, have imposed democratic reform in their own way. It can no longer be

business as usual in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly.

Collectively, we have an obligation to work together to advance the business of

the province and to achieve good government. Collaboration will only work if we

put aside the tendency of the last General Assembly to refuse to answer

questions or to give serious consideration to constructive recommendations to do

things differently. That's why our first private Member's motion will be about

reforming Question Period to require that ministers provide real answers when

questioned. Democratic reform to advance the accountability of the ministry is

critical to the effective functioning of this new House of Assembly, so let's

have a Question Period in which ministers give real answers.

In the

spirit of collaboration, if the government shows flexibility in its legislative

agenda, we will show flexibility in ours; but, let's get one thing clear from

the start, collaboration does not mean compromising on core values and core

agendas mandated by voters. It does not mean anything goes, and here's the

reason.

Newfoundland and Labrador right now, the status quo is not working for people.

Our province is not growing as it should in opportunities, jobs and population.

We're losing jobs, losing business, losing people, losing entire communities,

losing investment, losing opportunity, losing out on transfer payments and

losing ground while others gain and grow. That's not political rhetoric; it's

fact.

The

Official Opposition ran on jobs and hope, and we all heard about the lack of

jobs and hope during the election campaign. Last Friday, we learned that Canada

is enjoying the strongest job growth since 1976, and robust wage growth, too,

while this province stagnates. People told all of us they want something done

about this.

The

government has an obligation to adjust course so people get the jobs and hope

they're demanding and not just reassurances that we can see the corner, even if

we can't turn it. This term of government must not merely be an interregnum

where nothing ambitious is attempted. It is imperative that we be bold in

stopping the slippage in our economy and the shrinkage of our population.

Even

the McKinsey report is clear that opportunities that should have been seized

were not being seized in ocean technology and aviation. Even the government's

own independent tax advisory committee was clear that taxes, like the levy, need

to be eliminated because they are regressive and doing more harm than good. So

bold course adjustments are necessary. Let's all agree on that and work together

to get our province growing.

I call

on government ministers to fight the tendency to say that everything is fine, to

fight the inclination to hide information, avoid answering questions and refuse

to bend or change course when circumstances and the people call for it. This

time things must be different. So let's try a different approach.

In the

last year, we worked together to develop a new policy to address harassment and

bullying. Our intent was to improve the way Members get along and the House

functions. In the spirit of those reforms, let's make an extra special effort to

change the way we deal with one another and try harder to get along, even as we

do our duty of holding one another to account.

The

electorate of the province has just installed a new emergency brake in this

House of Assembly, to use an analogy. The people, in their collective wisdom,

have orchestrated the composition of this House in such a way that the

government does not have authority to do anything it pleases. A new check and

balance has been put in place that we have not had before. This new emergency

brake is not an easy one to pull. It would take a great deal of co-operation to

get that brake lever pulled, and I have already stated, on behalf of our caucus,

that we do not intend to seek opportunities to bring down this government.

People want this House to work in their interest and we intend to do our part to

ensure that it does.

But if

the government fails to act properly on the issues that really matter to people,

if it fails to pursue a proper strategy for growth, if it fails to make life

more affordable for people, or to govern honestly, or to fuel the growth of jobs

and hope, or to fight for our fair share, then the people of the province now

have the option to call on their elected Members to act across party lines and

pull that lever. It's not a threat; it's an accountability mechanism. It's the

people's way of imposing discipline on this House and on this government.

They're telling us to get the job done or they'll demand a do-over that will

affect all of us.

We, in

our caucus, will be guided by the people. We encourage people to continually let

us know how we're doing, how the government is doing and what they would like

done differently. It's not just the 40 of us who must collaborate, we must, in

turn, collaborate with the people we were elected to serve. We will do our duty,

as the Official Opposition, to offer criticism as we must and constructive

alternatives wherever they may be needed. It's the government's duty to listen.

I have

written to the Premier and copied the Finance Minister with some proposals to

adjust this year's budget – the one that was brought down in April but never

debated or passed. I believe the budget can be improved. I encourage the

government to think carefully about what we propose. If these suggestions cannot

be reflected in tomorrow's budget because of tight timelines, then perhaps they

may be incorporated in other ways through individual pieces of legislation later

in the sitting, or through supplementary supply measures or in future budgets.

Please don't just dismiss what we say just because it was we who said it.

Consider these options carefully and seriously, just as you'd consider

suggestions from around the Cabinet table.

Let me

close by saying we have a golden opportunity now to raise the bar on how we

work. A few days ago, long-time Liberal advisor Simon Lono passed away. He was a

passionate supporter of the Newfoundland and Labrador Youth Parliament, and a

teacher and mentor for young debaters. He loved vigorous debates, but he also

believed in focusing on the issues and not on the person. The young people he

mentored were of many political stripes, but they learned to address the issues

passionately while continuing to get along with each other.

Sometimes raising the bar in how we work will even mean saying I'm sorry. In a

world that's badly divided by mean-spiritedness and intolerance, let's resolve

to be better than that and make Newfoundlanders and Labradorians proud of those

they have elected to work on their behalf.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. COFFIN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is

quite an honour and a tremendous privilege, as well as an incredible

responsibility. We are at a moment where we are able to craft a new style of

government, a new way of doing business in our province, and I look forward to

the opportunity to do that over the next four years.

Certainly, we are facing tumultuous times. Our province is on the cusp of

significant development, of significant concerns, and a significant change in

our social and demographic landscape. Certainly, we are looking at first power

coming from Muskrat Falls. That, in itself, will have some significant impacts

to our finances, as well as to the affordability of the people who are in our

province. At the same time, we have some significant concerns about the issues

of methylmercury, as well as the sustainability of the North Spur. These things

could potentially come to fruition and cause us some significant debate in the

House of Assembly.

addition, in the next number of years, we are going to see substantial movements

on climate change. The climate change that we are seeing is going to become more

and more prevalent in our province, and we are going to be expected to address

the devastating effects of a hundred-year storms which will now be happening in

10-year cycles. We will need to shore up our infrastructure. We are going to

need to prepare for natural disasters. These things will cause significant

debate in the House of Assembly.

We are

also seeing labour negotiations on the cusp, and those things we can expect will

have a significant impact on our finances, as well as the way in which we

address our brothers and sisters in labour, as well as how we negotiate and

compensate our brothers and sisters in labour.

We are

also seeing the social and economic conditions of the province changing

substantially. We are facing demographic change. With demographic change and our

aging population, we are going to see more and more individuals on fixed incomes

who are going to see affordability of every-day cost of living going up. We need

to address that quite clearly and head-on, especially in light of the increases

in our electrical bills that'll come as a result of Muskrat Falls.

We do,

however, have an historic opportunity to craft a new style of government. We

have the opportunity to manifest a new form of democracy. We do have a

tremendous opportunity to collaborate, to engage in collegial consultation and

to have true collaboration in our province.

I do

look forward to working with both government and the Opposition to find areas in

which our platforms overlap. We are all concerned with the quality of living for

individuals in Newfoundland and Labrador, and that is why we are here. We all

represent different ideals and perspectives, and the people who elected us

expect us to be able to stand up in the House of Assembly and show them exactly

how we are going to be able to represent their best wishes and their needs and

their quality of life.

would like to go forth into this new session of the House of Assembly with a

clear eye on fiscal prudence and a very, very heavy weighting on our social

responsibility and social equality. These are absolutely vital. In the House of

Assembly, as new representatives here, we would like to manifest a new way and

new style of doing business.

would like to see additional protection for our natural resources. The Province

of Newfoundland and Labrador has done very well as we have used our natural

resources to generate tremendous wealth and prosperity in our province. We would

like to see how they can bring additional prosperity to us in our province, but

at the same time we need to put a very high price on the protection of our

natural resources. And this must be done in all forms of our natural resources:

the offshore oil industry, the mining industry, our fisheries and all of other

natural resources.

We also

have a very strong will to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Certainly

as we've seen demographic change and a large out-migration in our province, a

lot of the people remaining in our province are very vulnerable and susceptible

to changes in economic conditions, changes in cost of living, and we must do our

utmost to ensure that these individuals are able to stay in our province and

afford a good quality of life in our province.

would like to see that there is a realignment of priorities for the government.

Certainly, our campaign has been on putting people first, making choices that

affect people first. As we make choices about how we want to allocate our

budgets, we would like to see that those choices do reflect the needs and

reflect the importance of putting people first in all of our decisions.

Again,

we would like to ensure that there is additional transparency and accountability

in the House of Assembly, and certainly we intend to introduce measures that

will improve that for individuals, for anyone who might potentially be

researching, as well as to lay a strong foundation for Members who will come

after us and will be expected to carry on government for the people of the

province.

So I do

look forward to working with everyone here in a collaborative and collegial way

to advance what we see are the needs of the people of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is

certainly a privilege for me to once again rise in this House of Assembly and to

thank the first woman Lieutenant-Governor in the history of our province for

delivering the Speech from the Throne today. It's been always a pleasure of

mine, as I'm sure it would be for the Members of this House of Assembly, to work

with Her Honour and His Honour in her early terms and early days, but also we

all look forward to working with Her Honour in this new mandate.

I also

want to congratulate those of you that have been re-elected. To the familiar

faces, you've been re-elected simply because the people that you represented in

the last term identified you and said to you that they have confidence in the

work that you've been able to do. All of us that seek re-election, that is the

ultimate goal for all of us to represent the people that support us.

I also

want to welcome some new faces to this House of Assembly. It's been mentioned

already that we have two new Third Party Members here, some Members of the

Official Opposition that have joined this House of Assembly, but also two new

Members that we have on the government side here today from Fortune Bay - Cape

La Hune and Mount Scio.

I would

say to all Members that are here today that this is not a right, this is a

privilege that has been given to you by the people that supported you on your

election campaign. So, you sit here as a privilege for those that supported you.

The

people that we serve expect us to work together. It's been loud and clear coming

from this re-election and from this election, they expect all of us to work

together to make Newfoundland and Labrador a better place to live, to work and

to raise a family.

We have

great examples in the last session already where we've seen collaboration and

the benefits that it's brought to people in our province. And, of course, one of

the proudest moments that I think we could see of a group of MHAs that will work

together would have been the All-Party Committee on Mental Health and

Addictions. That led to an action plan:

Towards Recovery . This was a new approach to how we deal with mental illness

in our province.

As an

example, that action plan that we put in place has resulted in already a 64 per

cent decrease in wait-lists for people that need that service. We have seen the

ground breaking this year on the replacement of the Waterford Hospital. Mr.

Speaker, I would say that for everybody in this province, to replace a building

dedicated to treating mental health that opened its doors in 1855 is long

overdue. We look forward to seeing the day come when the replacement for the

Waterford Hospital will be done.

Mr.

Speaker, there is a common theme that we've heard from all of this and the

progress that we've been able to make is one of partnerships. We've seen

partnerships within communities – maybe not perfect, but have made progress in

the last 3½ years.

We've

also brought forward in this House of Assembly that has seen support from all

Members, support for many private Members' resolutions, we've worked on many

committees and we've advanced important issues for people in the province.

So we

have already seen and gave some examples of what we can accomplish when we work

together, but we now know that more than ever the people of the province expect

us to collaborate and deliver results, and it is only through real partnership

that we can deliver on those expectations. The people of our province expect us

to restore their province to fiscal balance. If we don't, we run the risk of

letting financial institutions determine the future of our province. Mr.

Speaker, that is not the desire – that is not what I've heard from

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who have challenged us to bring this province

back to fiscal balance.

We can

meet their expectations by following the fiscal plan that has been established,

back in 2016. It was a seven-year plan that we put in place, realizing that

there were many challenges that we've had to deal with along the way. They often

tell us, and we've heard people stand and say that we cannot look in a rear-view

mirror, I would say that, but also I think it's important that we remember the

lessons of the past so that we do not repeat them in the future. I think that's

a fair comment and a lesson that we could learn.

The

people of our province, they expect us to deliver jobs. They expect us to

deliver a stronger economy, because it's when we can find a job for somebody,

it's then they become more productive and live more meaningful lives. And we can

meet their expectations by delivering on the action items that we've already

agreed to. The partnerships within the aquaculture industry, within mining,

farming, technology, the oil and gas, forestry, arts and culture, just an

example, also working with the thousands of volunteers that we have sprinkled

throughout every single community.

All of

us have taken the time over the last few weeks to go into communities.

Regardless of what the population was, there are community volunteers that were

leading the associations, in many cases leading economic development and

creating jobs in all those communities, regardless of what the population was.

So it's important for us to recognize the partners that we can have with our

community, with our business leaders, with our cultural and Indigenous leaders.

Mr. Speaker, we've already seen the benefit of those partnerships with nearly

$18 billion of investment coming to our province.

We talk

about jobs, and we've heard comments already today. Mr. Speaker, we've seen now

11 consecutive months where we've seen month over month job growth in

Newfoundland and Labrador. I would challenge anybody to go back in time and look

in the calendar with three megaprojects that have come to completion with

thousands of jobs, let alone the impact that we've seen from Alberta; yet, this

province has seen 11 consecutive months of month over month job growth. So we're

seeing progress. We need to create more employment, we need to be able to make

life more affordable for families in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the way to

do it is give people a job.

Mr.

Speaker, we're also very proud that it's Newfoundland and Labrador that will

lead the country in economic growth in 2019. That would not be something that

someone would've forecasted back in 2016. No one saw that coming, but we're very

proud with the work we've able to do with many partners across this province,

that it is Newfoundland and Labrador that will lead the country in economic

growth next year.

Mr.

Speaker, working together we can continue to build on these gains and see the

benefits that can be extended to every single district, all 40 districts

throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. The people of our province, they expect us

to deliver better services with better outcomes, spend their money wisely. Every

single Member in this House of Assembly today, I'm sure that when you were

campaigning heard that from people.

Mr.

Speaker, they also want us to meet the expectations of following through on the

Education Action Plan that promised

to revolutionize the way children are supported throughout our K to 12 system.

This is a plan that will see some 350 new teaching supports over the next three

years. It talks about inclusion. It talks about student mental health, how we

educate our young people and help them prepare and cope for the future.

talks about mathematics, reading, Indigenous education – and not just to

Indigenous students, but also to students across the province no matter where

they live, no matter where the community is, to share the history, rich history

of Indigenous groups within our province. Multicultural education, early years

education, co-operative education and teacher professional development. These

are just some examples of what we've seen within the Premier's Task Force, the

Education Action Plan . This action

plan came from people in the system itself, parents, students and educators.

Mr.

Speaker, the infrastructure; we are seeing unprecedented infrastructure growth

within our province. Done in a different way in many cases but protecting the

jobs of public sector workers, whether it be long-term care sites in Corner

Brook, in Grand Falls-Windsor, in Gander, Carbonear, and Springdale with Green

Bay Health Care Centre. We're seeing it in Botwood, long-term care. We're seeing

hospitals; the replacement of the Waterford Hospital, but also the new hospital

in Corner Brook. Mr. Speaker, these are all important issues. It creates jobs

but it also gives our public sector workers a better place to go to work every

day but it gives those who need those services better access to this

infrastructure.

We can

also see greater inclusion for people with disabilities. Mr. Speaker, very

important to me as I sit on this side of the House. We have put a major focus on

seeing more women in leadership roles in our province. Mr. Speaker, that tone

must be set from the top. That is the reason why we put a stand-alone department

in the Status of Women. No other province in this country has such a department,

and I can assure you we intend to keep that department, the Status of Women,

viable in this province and we expect all Members of this House of Assembly to

support this department.

Mr.

Speaker, another example is how we put diversity, more women, more diverse

groups included in our work plan so when we do sign benefit agreements, they

sign an agreement so that one of the principles of that you would see more women

in that workforce.

So, Mr.

Speaker, the mandate that we have been given by the people of our province, I

humbly have accepted the tasks and the challenges we've been given. Ironically,

I don't see this as a challenge. I see this as a significant opportunity to

actually deliver to the people of this province exactly what they've asked us to

do. They've asked us to work together, but they also asked us to put political

parties, to put partisan politics aside and let's establish where we need to be.

Let's establish the goals in realizing that we will not get there in one step.

It will take very methodical, strategic steps to get us where we need to be in

the future for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

publicly stated many times, Mr. Speaker, since May 16, that I am ready and I am

willing, and this party is ready and willing, to do the work that the people of

this province have asked us to do. My colleagues, we want to co-operate, we want

to collaborate, and we want to work together to the benefit of the people across

our province.

Now,

Mr. Speaker, the actions will not be in the words that we use but it will be in

the actions that we take. I expect and challenge every single Member of my

party; yet, all Members of this House of Assembly, that we are indeed in an

historic time, but we have an historic opportunity to show the progress that we

can do when we set aside partisan politics.

Mr.

Speaker, it's one that where people matter more than party colours. That means

bettering the lives of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. That means working

together, each and every one of us.

Mr.

Speaker, I say to all my colleagues in this House of Assembly today, we have an

opportunity to make history and we can do that when we work together. So I say,

in conclusion, to all Members, let's make history.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded

that a Select Committee be appointed to draft an Address of Thanks to be

presented to Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, in reply to the gracious Speech

from the Throne with which she has been pleased to open the present session of

this House of Assembly, and that the said Committee comprised of the Member for

Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune, the Member for Mount Scio and the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

All

those in favour of this motion, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

I declare that the motion is carried.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. CROSBIE:

And the Member for Windsor

Lake, to move the following private Member's resolution:

Be it

resolved that the Standing Orders Committee be directed to undertake a scan of

Question Period rules and procedures in various jurisdictions and bring forward

for consideration during the fall sitting of 2019 a recommendation to amend the

Standing Orders of the House respecting Oral Questions to require ministers to

answer questions in a manner which is brief and to the point, and relevant and

responsive to the question.

This is

seconded by the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The

hon. the Opposition House Leader.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

accordance with Standing Order 63, the private Member's resolution read out by

my colleague, the Leader of the Opposition, will be the private Member's

resolution that we will debate on Wednesday.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

notices of motion?

The

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

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give

notice that this House approve in general the budgetary policy of government.

Further, I give notice that I will move that this House resolve itself into a

Committee of the Whole on Supply to consider a resolution for the granting of

Interim Supply to Her Majesty, Bill 2.

Further, I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, An

Act To Authorize The Raising Of Money By Way Of Loan By The Province, Bill 3.

Further, Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will on tomorrow move that the House

resolve itself into a Committee of Whole on Supply to consider a certain

resolution for the granting of Supply to Her Majesty, Bill 4.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

notices of motion?

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give

notice that I will on tomorrow move the following amendment. That Standing Order

74 be amended by adding immediately after Standing Order 74(2) the following:

(3) Not withstanding Standing Order 74(2) where a head of expenditure has been

referred to a Committee established under Standing Order 72, and the time used

in debate of the head of expenditure exceeds three hours, the additional time

shall also be deducted from the time allocated under Standing Order 71.

Further, Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will on tomorrow move the following

motion. That the Committees for Estimates of the House of Assembly for the 49th

General Assembly be constituted as follows: The Government Services Committee

will be comprised of the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave, the Member

for Fogo Island - Cape Freels, the Member for Mount Scio, the Member for

Lewisporte - Twillingate, the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune, the Member

for Conception Bay South, the Member for Ferryland and the Member for St. John's

East - Quidi Vidi.

That

the Social Services Committee be comprised of the Member for Lewisporte -

Twillingate, the Member for St. George's - Humber, the Member for Fortune Bay -

Cape La Hune, the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave, the Member for Mount

Scio, the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island, the Member for Topsail -

Paradise and the Member for St. John's Centre.

And

finally, the Resource Committee be comprised of the Member for St. George's –

Humber, the Member for Mount Scio, the Member for Fogo Island - Cape Freels, the

Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune, the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de

Grave, the Member for Cape St. Francis, the Member for Terra Nova and the Member

for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

notices of motion?

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would

move that the House do now adjourn.

MR. SPEAKER:

It has been moved and

seconded that this House do now adjourn.

Is it

the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

This

House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 1:30 o'clock.

motion, the House at its rising adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, at 1:30

o'clock.