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May 15, 2018

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 19

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

As I've

indicated to this hon. House, a few weeks ago I told you our ratings are up, and

as evidenced by our full gallery of visitors.

I'm very

pleased today to welcome to the public gallery students from grades 10 to 12

from MSB Regional Academy in Middle Arm. They are accompanied by their teachers,

Stephen Boone and Chantelle Bowers and bus driver, Charlie Bursey.

A great

welcome to you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I'd also like to welcome a

very special group as well to my left, also in the public gallery, from Mary

Queen of Peace School in St. John's. They're here with their Principal, Kimberly

Leonard.

Both

groups will be mentioned in Members' statements this afternoon.

Welcome

to you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I'd also like to welcome Ms.

Heidi Applin, who's a fourth year archeology student at Memorial University,

who's from Happy Valley-Goose Bay down here escaping winter.

Welcome

to you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today, for Members'

statements we will hear statements by the hon. Members for the Districts of

Conception Bay East - Bell Island,

Placentia West - Bellevue, Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune, Virginia Waters -

Pleasantville, and Baie Verte - Green Bay.

The hon. the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell

Island.

MR.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand to recognize a group of volunteers in my

district who have excelled as champions for addressing the issue of mental

health and addictions. I speak of Heal Bell Island, which is comprised of

concerned citizens who have as their major objective, better awareness of mental

health and addictions issues on the Island, but also to help foster the

development of services that address the issues and give those dealing with

mental health and addictions an avenue to get control of their lives and become

more productive in our society.

I had the pleasure to attend the first annual Mental

Health and Addictions fair hosted by the organization and held at St. Michael's

High School this past weekend.

Some 25 presenters from all sectors of our society set up booths to

outline the services and supports they offer to assist those facing challenges.

Information was distributed by the Canadian Mental Health Association, Al-Anon,

Eastern Health, Planned Parenthood, Choices for Youth, Thrive St. John's, Spirit

Horse stables, Turnings, RCMP, Unity in our Community, Let's Talk Cannabis,

private businesses and many other organizations. This was a great example of how

a volunteer community group can coordinate and facilitate connections between

those who need services and those who can provide those services.

While

many worked to make this information fair a reality, I have to single out lead

coordinating volunteer Susan Boone who did a remarkable job to make this a

reality.

I ask

all Members to join me in thanking Susan and all those who made the first annual

Mental Health and Addictions fair a great success. Good luck in the future.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Placentia

West - Bellevue.

MR. BROWNE:

Mr. Speaker, the gift of

music is a treasure to behold and does wonders for the soul. Nowhere would you

hear better the voices and instruments of talented musical performers than at

St. Gabriel's Hall in Marystown last week at the eighth annual South Coast Music

Festival.

Hundreds

of entries, dozens of categories ranging from classical piano to musical

theatre, renditions of scores of the Broadway musical

Come From Away to the traditional favourites such as “Saltwater

Joys.” As Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, our cultural and musical heritage is

distinct, which is why events such as this are so important, particularly for

young people.

commend all participants, volunteers, organizers, spectators and well-wishers

but, particularly, wish to congratulate and thank Patsy Green, the local music

teacher whose vision and perseverance led to the creation of this musical

institution on the Burin Peninsula.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join with me in thanking Ms. Green for her

contributions and congratulating all those involved in creating, sharing and

cultivating this gift of music through the South Coast Music Festival. It is

truly a gift to behold.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for the

District of Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to deliver accolades to Mr. Reginald Farrell, our

newest inductee into the St. Alban's Community Park Pathway of Heroes. Born and

living in St. Alban's since 1923, he is a pillar of the community and very dear

to all his family, friends and neighbours.

Reg's

long career with the town council has made him an integral part of our

community's history, fixing the town roads, hooking up water and sewer and

garbage collection. He also operated Farrell's Sawmill and was very well known

all along our South Coast for his travels on

The Maude Foote , his schooner named

after his mother, delivering products such as lumber and fish casks during World

War II.

Residents have tremendous respect and admiration for this strength and vitality,

and are proud to recognize his distinct contributions to the town's growth and

the great quality of life we all enjoy. His labours and volunteerism are at the

core of our strong roots, and we celebrate his distinct honour of being the

town's very first fire chief who took possession of our very first fire truck,

and he was also our very first ambulance driver.

I ask

all Members of this House to join me in recognizing Mr. Reginald Farrell, our

hero and friend, for his commitment to our people and community life.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Virginia Waters - Pleasantville.

MR. B. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to bring attention to a wonderful partnership between Young

Adult Cancer Canada, which was founded by Mr. Geoff Eaton, and Mary Queen of

Peace Elementary school.

For the

past five years, YACC has brought Shave for the Brave to the students of MQP.

Shave for the Brave has been Young Adult Cancer Canada's longest annual

fundraiser and, for the past 13 years, this fundraiser have provided funds to

support digital, local and national programs to help young adults live with,

through and beyond cancer.

The

funds raised go towards supporting great programs like the Survivor Conference,

Retreat Yourself and Localife. These programs give young adults the tools,

resources and life-long connections to help them overcome cancer-related

challenges they may face such as chronic fatigue, fertility issues, returning to

school or work and facing the end of their lives when they are just getting

started.

For

every cancer at every stage, YACC has the backs of these young adults, but only

because those who support Shave for the Brave have theirs.

Since

getting involved, MQP raised over $97,000 and shaved 254 heads – some of the

heads are up here. This year alone, they raised over $22,000 and shaved 48

heads.

Congratulations to the students and Geoff Eaton for their dedication to raise

awareness around Young Adult Cancer.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Baie

Verte - Green Bay.

MR. WARR:

Mr. Speaker, I rise to

acknowledge a successful fire, food and music festival that takes place on the

Baie Verte Peninsula. The Gathering, hosted by well-known comedian Shaun

Majumder takes place this year August 23-25 in Burlington.

The

Gathering is part of a larger, not-for-profit social enterprise known as 'ome.

The purpose is to rewrite the rural story by creating a sustainable micro

economy through tourism by building small businesses and reinvesting in the

communities of Burlington, Middle Arm and Smith's Harbour.

The

annual festival includes comedy shows, chef hikes, shed crawls and traditional

Jiggs' dinner. The first phase for accommodations started out with prospector

tents, and now 'ome sweet 'ome is one of the most unique accommodations on the

Island of Newfoundland. Logs for the tent frames are locally cut and processed

at a family-owned, decades-old sawmill in Middle Arm. Local carpenters construct

the tent frames using traditional hand tools and one can choose a single or

double occupancy.

I'm

sure, Mr. Speaker, that the students of MSB Regional Academy, who are visiting

the House of Assembly today, join me in welcoming all my colleagues here at The

Gathering 2018.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this

hon. House to highlight the field work being undertaken by the Geological Survey

this summer.

total, researchers will conduct nine field projects; two in Labrador and seven

on the Island portion of the province. Field programs will focus on bedrock and

surficial geology mapping, and mineral deposit studies of base and precious and

industrial minerals.

Budget 2018

invests $4.5 million in the Geological Survey which regularly releases research

on the geology and mineral resources of the province used by prospectors, junior

mining companies and investors for exploration activity.

The

province's Geological Survey is the foundation for mineral exploration and

mining development in Newfoundland and Labrador and helps strengthen the

province's economic foundation as committed to in

The Way Forward .

Information from the Geological Survey tends to provide a catalyst for claim

staking with 40,000 claims staked in 2016 and 2017. This is approximately the

total number for the previous four-year period combined. Staked claims generally

coincide geographically with public data released by the Geological Survey.

Mr.

Speaker, field work, and the subsequent analysis and

interpretation of results

that occurs over the fall and winter, leads to the development of new

publication which contributes to the geoscience knowledgebase. Geological data

encourages investment by reducing the risk for private sector initiatives.

Mineral exploration, with the potential for discovery and mine development, is a

significant economic driver, especially in rural parts of the province.

We wish

our researchers from the Geological Survey much success in their field work this

summer and look forward to seeing the results of their efforts and the

continuing development of the mining industry.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to thank the minister for the advance copy of her statement. We, too, are

pleased to recognize the start of Geological Survey summer research program

again this year. We all acknowledge the tremendous opportunity that exists in

the province with regard to our natural resources.

The

mining industry plays a leading role, contributing significantly to our

province's economy. Certainly, the information and scientific data gathered

through these surveys are invaluable. This field work and analysis has the

potential to lead to significant finds.

Discoveries across Newfoundland and Labrador have significantly transformed

parts of our province, bringing prosperity and employment, in many cases, to

rural areas. Government must remain committed to supporting such valuable

research and exploration.

behalf of the Official Opposition, I would like to wish all those participating

in the research program a safe and successful summer in the field.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister. We also wish the workers on the Geological Survey every success

because their success benefits us all.

Providing reliable geological data to the mining industries is one of the most

important industry subsidies this province provides. The data gathered saves

companies thousands and possibly millions in field work and analysis, and opens

possibilities.

Publicly

funded data allows government to better manage our resources and then allows

mining companies to better identify and then exploit our mineral resources,

which generates employment in rural areas and royalties back to the province.

I wish

them a good summer.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

May 7 to 13 was Mental Health

Week. This year's theme was #GetLoud about what mental health really is. We

joined schools, businesses, community groups, organizations, municipal

governments and people in communities throughout our province to get loud.

Mr.

Speaker, to start the week, Newfoundland and Labrador became the first province

in Canada to launch the MindWell-U 30 Day Mindfulness Challenge province wide.

The challenge is an online program specializing in mindfulness training

bridgethegapp.ca .

This

training, which has been offered successfully through Memorial University's

Student Wellness and Counselling Centre since 2016, is an evidence-based program

clinically proven to benefit mental and physical health. Mindfulness training

has been shown to maintain wellness, reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression and

chronic pain, and assists in the treatment of problematic substance use.

This is

the latest service added to the province's suite of online mental health and

addictions supports which includes Strongest Families, Bridge the gApp,

BreathingRoom and Therapy Assistance Online.

Mr.

Speaker, our government's vision for improved mental health care means enhancing

care across every level of need. Tools like this training are helping to provide

early interventions, which can help prevent mental health problems, mental

illness and addictions.

Mr.

Speaker, I am in my second week of the challenge and can testify the training is

both therapeutic and engaging. I encourage each one of my colleagues in this

hon. House and certainly all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to join the 30 Day

Mindfulness Challenge through bridgethegapp.ca

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I also recognize May 7-13 was

Mental Health Week. During that week, Members of this House participated in and

supported a variety of events right across this province. I, myself, had the

pleasure and honour of participating in a mental health and addictions forum on

Bell Island, and I was happy to be joined by my colleague and friend, the Member

for St. John's Centre.

I also

attended a touching event in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's where community members,

municipal leaders and local groups came together to light it up green in memory

of those who had lost their struggle or those living with mental illness. Hats

off to the organizers for a beautiful job.

Mr.

Speaker, coping mechanisms and supports are vital. The MindWell-U 30 is yet

another tool available to help support mental wellness. Congratulations to all

those involved in the launch.

Like the

minister stated, I suggest all Members of this hon. House join the 30 Day

Mindfulness Challenge. We all have role to play in promoting and cultivating

mental health. Let's all get loud about mental health.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister. I am happy to hear that the province is supporting the MindWell-U

30 Day Mindfulness Challenge. It is indeed important to offer opportunities for

people to do mindfulness training as a benefit to mental health and wellness.

Apps and

online resources, however, do not replace the urgent need for mental health and

addictions services in our province. We hear from people all the time who have

still been on wait-lists for up to 15 months for mental health services.

Although we have seen improvements, there is still more to do.

Congratulations to all mental health and addictions advocates province-wide for

a job well done.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Premier, in 2015, stood in front of workers in Labrador and said that the

position of Premier could work out issues causing the IOC strike.

Premier,

have you been successful in getting people back to work? Have you lived up to

your word?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

back in 2015 it was about grievances that we stood up in face of the workers

there, Mr. Speaker, and I have no question and no problem in addressing this

issue today. As a matter of fact, it was just yesterday that I met with

officials from the union with IOC in Labrador, as well as working very closely

with their Member for

Labrador West.

Tomorrow we'll be bringing to this floor of the House

of Assembly a private Member's resolution. I am hoping that all Members of this

House will accept and support the PMR that will be brought onto the floor here

tomorrow.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BRAZIL:

The

Premier also said it was wrong and disrespectful that 150 jobs were being

replaced.

Premier, you've been in office for three years, you've

already admitted that the Premier is able to fix this issue: Why are you leaving

people in Labrador West without jobs?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As everyone in this House would know, the collective

bargaining process is something that is actually even part of their charter that

we have in our country, Mr. Speaker. So we really encourage people, we've done

so with mediation and so on, to stay at the collective bargaining process. Yes,

in times when it takes a Premier and others to step up, just like our Member for

Labrador West has been doing, the union acknowledged that yesterday in that

response.

Mr. Speaker, we'll be bringing a PMR to the floor of

this House of Assembly, something that you as leader of the Opposition did not

do when you were in the government side.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BRAZIL:

Mr.

Speaker, PMRs don't solve all the problems here. The Speaker knows that the

Premier has the ability to solve these issues. The exact words in 2015 were: The

Premier is the one person who can get the company at the table, meet with the

union, get this resolved once and for all.

Premier: Why are you not at the table? Why have you

failed to get this resolved?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the parliamentary secretary for the Department of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

LETTO:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The situation that's going on in Labrador West today is

very stressful, and if the Member wants to refer to the session in 2015, it was

not about this. The problems that were talked about in 2015 with 150 jobs have

been resolved. They were put back to work, Mr. Speaker.

What we're into today – today marks the beginning of

the eighth week of the labour dispute. I have been working with both the union

president and the IOC president since day one. The way to solve this, Mr.

Speaker, is to get people back to the table, back talking, and that's exactly

what myself and the Premier is working on today.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do agree with the Member for Labrador West, that we

need to get people back at the table. Nothing is being resolved right

now.

I ask

the Premier: You have the ability to get the union and the company to sit at the

table and resolve this issue, will you take the leadership role and do that?

MR. SPEAKER:

The parliamentary secretary

for the ministry of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LETTO:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Let me

remind the Member again, we have been working since day one to get these two

groups back to the table. Let me also remind the Member, it's not the Premier or

me who get those people back to the table. It's the two parties that must agree

to go back to the table, and that's what we're working on.

We're

encouraging them; I'm talking to the president of IOC on a daily basis, as well

as the president of the union. They're getting close to getting back to the

table, I will say, but it's their issues that have to be resolved, and to get

them resolved we need to get the two parties back to the table and talking.

That's their prerogative and that's what they're being encouraged to do.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do

respect the hon. Member's commitment to try and resolve this, but the reality is

here – and I have to quote again: The Premier is the one person who can get the

companies at the table, meet with the unions, get this resolved once and for

all.

Will the

Premier take the lead?

You said

it in 2015. In 2018, please take the lead and resolve this.

MR. SPEAKER:

The parliamentary secretary

for Natural Resources.

MR. LETTO:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will

say it again, Mr. Speaker, and the Premier referred to it, we met with the union

president last night and some of the officials from the union executive. They

know where we stand. We know where they stand. We have a good understanding of

what the issues are, but as the union president agreed with us last night, and

he recognized the fact that we are working to get both sides back to the table.

He will tell you that.

The fact

of the matter is – and he recognizes that – that in order for this to get

resolved we need both parties sitting at the table, talking about the issues and

meeting a resolution that's acceptable to both sides.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The CEO

and co-founder of Sequence Bio is accusing the Health Research Ethics Authority

of acting unlawfully and unethically when it comes to research applications.

Will the

minister immediately get engaged and launch an investigation into these serious

accusations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

As I

said to the media yesterday, we received a package of allegations, if you like,

complaints, around the process of the Health Research Ethics Board. My

responsibility is to look into that and see if there's any substance to those

complaints.

If the

process is working, then I have no role to play. If the process is not working,

Mr. Speaker, I will be delighted to look into what options exist to make that

better.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL: Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

Obviously, it's evident it's not working.

I say to the minister, your department has a representative

on the Health Research Ethics Authority and, like it or not, you are indeed the

minister who is ultimately responsible for it.

How long will you stand idly by while the authority runs

important research and millions of potential funding dollars out of this

province?

MR. SPEAKER: The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to point out I'm supporting, in my own way, an

arm's-length body which was set up by the previous government to deal with a

problem they had to deal with back prior to 2011. I am supporting the process

they put in place. If there is a problem with that process, I would like to find

out what that is and see what remedies are available.

At the end of the day, my staff and I will make that

determination. We received that package as of yesterday and are currently

looking into it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The

leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I say to

the minister, this is bigger than just one company. These alleged issues of the

authority are denying patients access to leading clinical trials and treatment

for their particular illnesses.

Will the

minister take action on behalf of the countless Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

who could benefit from these groundbreaking treatments?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I think

I'd like to correct some factual inaccuracies in that statement and firstly open

by saying that my aim as minister is to protect the interests and enhance the

well-being of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The issues around clinical

trials, those particularly pertaining to childhood cancers, those are resolved.

Those are approved. Children in this province will have access to the latest and

greatest groundbreaking research.

This is

about a genetics project on human DNA and I have committed to look at seeing

whether the process is flawed. If it isn't, I will stand back. If it is, we will

look at our options, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, we know we're six months-plus into this review process that

normally takes 30 days in any other jurisdiction which has an impact on the

quality of health care that people should have access to, particularly when it

comes to around particular research. From what I understand, this is not an

isolated case.

Has the

minister heard of any additional complaints regarding the Health Research Ethics

Authority?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Again, just to put this in

context, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman opposite is right in that it isn't an

isolated complaint. It's endemic to every Health Research Ethics Authority

across the country. There are always tensions between researchers who want to

move ahead and regulators who are charged with safeguarding the public

interests.

As I

have said, if there is a problem with this process, we will examine that and

determine whether or not that is the case. If there is, we will act to see what

our options are. If there is no problem – to be honest, the gentleman opposite

misleads when he talks about the timelines.

The

process was that they have to be assessed within 30 days, commenced within 30

days, not decided on within 30 days, Mr. Speaker. There's a degree of

liberalness with that statement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

As I had mentioned, in other

jurisdictions it can be completed within 30 days, but here, for some reason, it

gets dragged out. There were over 100 respondents to a survey recently conducted

by the Health Research Ethics Authority.

Can the

minister share any of the data collected from that survey? Were there any

complaints similar to those from Sequence Bio?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Health and

Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

understanding is the Health Research Ethics Authority has taken these comments

seriously and has instituted a review. I assume the survey to which the Member

opposite alludes is something that they have done.

Again,

being an arm's-length body and established that way by the government in the

day, the gentleman opposite – being an arm's length body, I don't have any

insights into that. I can make inquiries of the HREA, but currently I have no

knowledge of the nature of that survey.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

While you may not have any

knowledge of the survey, you did receive a letter from a former employee more

than two months ago outlining some of the major concerns with the ethics board

itself.

Yesterday we learned that the government cancelled a contract with Burry's

Shipyard. The local MHA says the department had options to work with the

shipyard to resolve this issue and have the work completed in Clarenville;

however, the minister says they had no choice but to move the work to the St.

John's Dockyard.

Why the

difference in opinion?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank

the hon. Member for the question. Mr. Speaker, I work with all the MHAs in our

caucus and in this House when it comes to issues in their districts.

Mr.

Speaker, we found ourselves in a timeline issue here with the dockyard. On

advice from senior staff – and independent advice I may add – we had to make the

decision that we made to remove the vessel at this point in time.

Mr.

Speaker, it's important to us to make sure that all of our vessels are available

for our provincial service. The timelines here put us in a situation where we

had no choice at this time but to move the vessel.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

local MHA said the marine railway could have been back in service in a week or

two and the yard was prepared to complete the refit over a period of nine to 12

weeks.

Does the

minister disagree with this assertion?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Mr. Speaker, as I said in my

previous answer, on advice of senior officials in the department and some

independent advice, we found that right now the timelines as they were presented

to us didn't fit our scheduling for what we need to do for our ferry system

throughout this entire province.

It's

kind of rich, Mr. Speaker, to see the Members opposite defend shipbuilding in

this province when they were the ones that took jobs that could have been in

Marystown and shipped them to Romania. Mr. Speaker, it's kind of rich.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

I wish the minister would

stick to the reality of – we have a shipyard that's in trouble now and a region

that may be economically impacted. We also have the South Coast that will not

have a reliable ferry service for a period of time.

After

hearing that government cancelled the contract, the local MHA suggested that

this could result in closure for them. The closure of this shipyard would be a

huge blow to Clarenville and the entire region, along with approximately 150

employees.

Is the

minister concerned that this action and lack of willingness to resolve this

issue may lead to local businesses closing its doors and 150 people being put

out of work?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The rich

questions continue, because he wasn't so concerned when he took jobs that could

have been in Marystown and put them in Romania.

Mr.

Speaker, we always take jobs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians as very

important to us. The reality is here we need all of our boats into our system.

The challenge that we face here is one of a timeline. Senior officials came to

the department and said, look, we can't meet these timelines. We went out; I

asked for an independent assessment of this, Mr. Speaker. We received that

independent opinion and we were left with the decision that we made.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. BRAZIL:

So it is offside with the MHA

who's trying to promote their district, fair enough.

I do

have to clarify something, too. Nobody more than me would have loved for Kiewit

to have bid on the ferries in Newfoundland and Labrador. They didn't bid. You

can't award a contract to a company that doesn't bid to actually provide that

service.

Can the

minister explain why it took three months to make a decision without

consultation on this shipyard in Clarenville?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Mr. Speaker, again, the

information opposite is so, so incorrect. It's not even – hardly worth

entertaining.

Mr.

Speaker, we actually went to the shipyard on three occasions and asked for

timelines. On occasion number one we went back. On occasion number two, when the

timeline came in I asked for an independent assessment, which we received. That

independent assessment informed us and we went back to the shipyard and asked

for a third timeline. The same thing again, Mr. Speaker, my senior officials

told me the timelines weren't doable. So again I asked for an independent

assessment of that timeline, which we received and which informed our decision.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind

all Members I will not tolerate interruption of the identified MHA.

The hon.

the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, foremost, I would like to thank the minister and the Premier for taking

heed to my questions and announcing both the PAAP and the CAP programs two weeks

ago.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LESTER:

But, can the minister explain

the reason for delaying the announcement of both programs and holding back

implementation from farmers and industry?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, a $37 million federal-provincial agricultural agreement is now in

force, in action, and applications are available to farmers, both existing and

incumbent farmers but new farmers. We have provincial government programs that

are available. The applications are available.

As well,

the benefits of those programs will be out in the field quickly. I am confident

that part of the rigor and the enthusiasm to the Member's question is that he

knows of farmers that would be very, very anxious to get access to those

programs, and I think they may be very close to him.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

I'd just like to remind the

minister that photo ops, nor media releases will do anything to increase this

province's food sustainability.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LESTER:

This year's announcements

were actually – PAAP was two months later than normal and the CAP program, which

was similar to the Growing Forward program, is already a month into its

inception. This wasn't sprung upon us. We knew this two years ago.

I ask

the minister: Can the minister assure that there will be a continued rate of

acceptance and approval over the summer despite staffing challenges, which

include summer holidays?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BRYNE:

Mr. Speaker, if you were to use the past as the benchmark for normal, what you'd

have to acknowledge is that what is normal for this Member is a reduction in the

number of farms in Newfoundland and Labrador and Labrador in the previous 15

years by 25 per cent. That's their normal.

Our new

normal is that we want to expand that agricultural production by doubling it. We

want to expand agricultural jobs by doubling them, but we also want to establish

the basis for those farms to grow. That is why we have identified 62,000

hectares of agricultural land of interest, Mr. Speaker.

We are

growing agriculture; they are growing rhetoric.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

While I can understand that

the minister may not quite grasp the tight time frames for farmers and the

associated growing season, which we must operate in, I would like to point out

that in the past two years we've seen a reduction of almost 12.5 per cent of

agricultural producers. That is a trend that we are really concerned with.

Mr.

Speaker, how many producers are going to receive product, plants or seed, from

the Wooddale nursery this year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

What a fantastic opportunity the hon. Member now has afforded me to highlight

that Wooddale – the former forestry centre, the research centre of excellence –

now will continue on with forestry activity, as so important to our province,

but now has a new mandate, a new strengthened mandate for research and

innovation on agriculture.

Now, Mr.

Speaker, colleagues, that didn't exist before under that administration. They

didn't have a centre of excellence in Central Newfoundland to support our

agricultural industry. By the will, by the strength and the power and the

support of this government, we now have the Wooddale centre of innovation for

forestry and agriculture that didn't exist before and will produce results like

you've never seen them before.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

I would like to suggest to

the minister that one of the commodities we may look at growing would be

popcorn. That way, we could all have it here in the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. LESTER:

Was there industry

consultation as it pertains to production levels, varieties and crops? If so,

can you table the results of this consultation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, do you know what? There was lots of consultation about growing

agriculture. I think one of the consultation sessions happened in September

2017. I think the hon. Member might know when those consultations in Mount Pearl

occurred. Another consultation occurred post that.

engaged not only the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture, but

the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture was the

co-chair of our sector council that prepared the agricultural work plan.

We had

literally dozens and dozens and dozens of plans of key priorities and objectives

that we are meeting. One of those was the Wooddale centre for forestry and

agriculture innovation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

Again, I appreciate that detail, but I still don't see the answer to my

question.

Can you

table the work plan and the consultations that were done with industry in regard

to the activities at Wooddale?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, we have done extensive work on the consultations but, as well, we

unveiled this at Wooddale. The agricultural sector plan was produced and made

available to the entire industry with literally dozens of participants in our

agricultural industry. I think the hon. Member might have been invited or might

have been there, I'm not sure.

The

contribution that he could have made would have been there, if it was made, but

what we can inform the House is that there is a significant plan where we're now

growing seedlings for sale to farmers, using the greenhouse infrastructure of

Wooddale, so that farmers in Newfoundland and Labrador, who are the experts in

root crops, can avail of those seedlings to be able to produce crops in their

own ground.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Mount Pearl

North.

MR. LESTER:

I would like to ask the

minister: Does he actually know if those crops are applicable to grow in

Newfoundland? I still haven't heard if you're willing to table those

consultations.

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Fisheries and

Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, maybe the hon.

Member and I can get a team of researchers together. We can investigate whether

or not carrots, potatoes, onions and cabbage are applicable for the climate of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

suspect, Mr. Speaker, that those vegetables, those root crops, those seedlings

that we have in Wooddale, that are currently already on order from farmers in

Newfoundland and Labrador will be very, very applicable to the climate and

growing conditions of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

I still didn't get an answer

to my question whether he will table them or not.

Moving

on, what is the government's plan to deal with the possible reoccurrence of the

spruce budworm in this province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Fisheries and

Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

That's a nice switch, Mr.

Speaker, because it affords me the opportunity to provide information to this

House of the incredible efforts that our government is making to prepare for

spruce budworm. Did you know in this past federal budget the federal Finance

minister, on behalf of the minister of Natural Resources, put in place a federal

program to be able to assist provinces on this occurrence?

Sprue

budworm regrettably is a natural cycle. It is moving east. There are occurrences

now in Quebec, in New Brunswick and in Nova Scotia. We have to take precautions;

we have to be prepared for this. It has not infested Newfoundland or Labrador at

this point in time, which is an important part of the province that the Member

failed to mention in his last question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BYRNE:

But we are on the ready, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Mount Pearl

North.

MR. LESTER:

As the minister confirmed,

outbreaks of the budworm tend to be cyclical every 30 to 40 years, which means

we're likely due for an outbreak. He mentioned funds available in the federal

budget.

Are any

of those funds earmarked for prevention in Newfoundland or control?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Fisheries and

Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, that's why we

engage our federal government, the federal government that has provided these

funds. These, of course, were just earmarked or noted in the recent federal

budget. What I can report to the Member and to this House is that unlike the

previous administration, which acted in a philosophy or a policy of splendid

isolationism, our government is engaging the federal government to ensure that

those funds, those programs are made available to the forest industry of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North for a very quick question, please.

MR. LESTER:

The minister has spoken of

speaking with the federal government. Does that include speaking to Parks

Canada?

Back 30

years ago, there was a big issue with the outbreak within Terra Nova Park.

Will the

control include chemical sprays, biologicals, and has there been any

consultations done with communities that may be affected?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources, a quick response, please.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, thank you for

the question.

The hon.

Member points out, will the federal government be acting on its own federal

lands in parks lands, in particular, for a problem that has not yet occurred. I

appreciate the fact that he is a solution in search of the problem.

We are

acting on the circumstances as they evolve. We'll apply the best prescription,

the best remedy to the situation that exists as it exists. We plan for all

inevitabilities, but we will work for a solution to a known problem.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Government's April 1 minimum wage increase of 15 cents – that's right, 15 cents

an hour – does nothing to lift full-time minimum wage earners above the poverty

line. Research has shown a higher minimum wage does not mean job losses and it

does mean more money going into the local economy. British Columbia, Alberta and

Ontario have all committed to a minimum wage of $15. Economists are clearly

showing that an increase in minimum wage is good for the economy.

I ask

the Premier: Will he bring in legislation lifting the minimum wage to $15 by

2021?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, this past year

we engaged in consultation across the entire province about the minimum wage and

indexing the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index or some indicator of

economic activity within the province. That consultation was attended, was

participated in by literally dozens and dozens of individuals.

I held a

consultation in a former role that I had here in St. John's. I did not see the

hon. Member there at that particular point in time, but I'm sure her thoughts

and opinions were brought forward through that consultation.

What we

know and what we can be assured of, in Newfoundland and Labrador we will have a

growing minimum wage that will be indexed to an economic indicator and that

people of Newfoundland and Labrador, including our minimum wage earners, will

see increased minimum wage (inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, indexing an

already too low minimum wage to CPI, we will never, never catch up to the

poverty rates.

Mr.

Speaker, clearly government doesn't listen to the people of the province,

invoking a 15 cent increase in minimum wage when most called for $15. There are

13,000 minimum wage earners in this province, two-thirds of whom are women

working full-time and half of these older than 25 years of age.

I ask

the Premier: How can he justify not helping the lowest paid people in the

province when it makes good economic sense?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, this government

has enacted minimum wage legislation standards which will reflect an increase in

that minimum wage standard over the course of time. We have also, as a

government, and the Finance Minister – our Finance Minister can speak even

stronger and better to this. But we've provided additional supports to

low-income families, to those that are requiring assistance through our child

benefits.

MS. DEMPSTER:

$280 million.

MR. BYRNE:

We are adding $280 million.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Under the Poverty Reduction Initiative.

MR. BYRNE:

I should let – do you know

what? The next question, I should just simply let the Minister of Children,

Seniors and Social Development be able to speak because she knows this file

better than anyone. We have added additional benefits for families in need, and

they're receiving that benefit as we speak, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Over a

year ago, in response to our private Member's motion, government voted to start

the process to enact pay equity legislation. To date, we have seen nothing from

this government other than a refusal to answer directly questions in the House

on this matter. This is an issue long overdue for fixing.

I ask

the Premier: Why won't he direct the minister responsible to bring pay equity

legislation to this House?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister Responsible

for the Status of Women.

MS. COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

This is

a very important issue for the women of this province, and we were pleased to

support the pay equity private Member's resolution when it came forward. There

is an intergovernmental working committee working on this very issue, Mr.

Speaker. They've met recently. They will again meet in the month of May, and

we're continuing to work on this very serious issue.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Women in

this province make 69 cents for every dollar a man makes. This is completely

unacceptable and must be corrected. It isn't a women's rights issue, it's a

human rights issue, and women and others have been waiting too long for this be

taken care of.

I ask

the Premier: What does he have to say besides we're studying it, to the

thousands of working women in this province who have been waiting for a year for

him to deal with his commitment to fix this unfair wage gap?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There

are several departments within government who have come together, who have

looked at the issue of equity in the province, not only within government but in

general. I can say that as a government we value equity within government.

Many of

our key roles, our management positions within government are held by women. In

fact, there are more women in executive and management positions in government

than there are men.

It is an

issue that is important. It's an issue that we are focused on and it's an issue

that we're working on.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Time for Oral Questions has

ended.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Notices

of Motion.

Answers

to Questions for which Notice had been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I'm once

again very happy to stand and support a petition on universal public child care

and after school care program. These are the reasons for this petition:

Our

licensed child care system is a patchwork of private for-profit centres,

non-profit community-based centres and family daycare, plus a small number of

education- and workplace-based centres.

It is

nowhere near meeting the child care needs in our province. Affordable licensed

child care is often in short supply in rural parts of the province. Even in St.

John's there are long wait lists for quality child care programs.

Child

care programs have both social and financial benefits for society. Investing in

child care creates jobs: $1 million invested in child care would create 40 jobs,

more than in any other sector.

gender-based analysis of the provincial budget would have indicated the need for

a public child care program, as a key way to close the wage gap between women

and men in this province.

Therefore, the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly as follows:

We, the

undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to take immediate steps to put in place a plan for a

gradual transition to a universal, regulated and publicly funded and fully

accessible child care and after school care program.

Mr.

Speaker, other provinces have had the situation that we have here in

Newfoundland and Labrador –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. MICHAEL:

– when it comes to child care

and they have taken steps to ensure that they have child care programs.

One

province that's probably a good parallel for us is Prince Edward Island; smaller

than us, smaller population, smaller budget, not the resources that we have here

in Newfoundland and Labrador. They, too, had a similar patchwork quilt of child

care in that province. They decided they needed a complete child care program,

funded and regulated by government. They started a transition into the program

that they now have. Those who were for-profit daycare centres, for example,

actually opted to join the government's program.

We have

a model to follow. I urge this government to do that.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

Route 60 is the main highway that runs through the Town of Conception Bay South

and is a vital artery to the provincial road network; and

WHEREAS

Route 60 is one of the most heavily travelled roads in the province; and

WHEREAS

Route 60 has been deteriorating and requires major upgrades;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House

of Assembly to urge government to allocate funds to upgrade Route 60.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this is a long list of petitions I've presented on this particular

issue on Route 60. It's probably one of the more important issues that are

brought to me on a daily basis by residents of my district and the town.

As I

said, it's the fifth busiest road in the province. The road is in dire need of a

lot of repairs. I continue to bring this up and I have dialogue with the

minister on this as well. The hope is to get some repairs – instead of

patchwork, some more permanent repairs done to this road.

As we

speak today this road is still a provincial highway, it is part of the

provincial road network and until something changes, it's the responsibility of

the province to make this road be maintained and have it in a condition where

people can safely drive over it, not run the risk of blowouts, tires, rims, you

name it. The road is very challenging. There's a lot of patchwork done in the

last several months, hot patch as opposed to cold patch. There are improvements.

The bottom line is the road does need more permanent repairs.

It's an

issue that I'll continue to lobby on. It's an issue that I still have more

petitions to present actually. There's one thing I promised, I speak to people

and I assure them that I will continue to fight the fight. It's what I'm doing

here today. I'll continue at it and hopefully my persistence will pay off down

the road, Mr. Speaker, hopefully this coming construction season.

Once

again, I do urge government to address Route 60 and get some more permanent

repairs done.

Thank

you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

opioid addiction is a very serious problem affecting many individuals and

families in our province and the Bell Island area is no exception; and

WHEREAS

the effects of these problems have implications that negatively impact many

people, old and young; and

WHEREAS

supports and treatment programs have been proven to break the cycle of

addictions and have helped many into recovery;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House

of Assembly to urge government to establish a Suboxone-methadone treatment plan

for Bell Island, which would include a drug addictions counsellor at the

hospital and a drug awareness program in the local schools.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I've had the opportunity to present this on a number of occasions and

we're making slow baby steps towards getting all players to buy into this:

Eastern Health, the department, some of the officials and some of the

professionals there, as we look at how we best address that.

I had an

opportunity this past weekend, and I spoke earlier about it, to attend a mental

health and addictions information fair on Bell Island, and got an opportunity to

discuss, particularly, with a number of professionals and agencies that provide

addiction services, and identified things that I had seen, things I understood

and things that were relayed to me by residents. Those who are dealing with

addictions issues, people who've tried to support those with addictions and

those who now have the fear that their loved ones may be actually on the cusp of

becoming addicted to a particular opioid as part of a process.

The

common ground from all of the professionals were we have to have services that

are readily available in a geographic proximity so that when the supports and

when the individuals have the mechanism around them, be it their family

supports, be it at that time they want to take stake of their life, they want to

get control again, they don't want to be going through the hardships they are

and having the impact on their family and loved ones, and not being able to be

as productive as they'd like to in society, we need to have them available.

To have

people who have to leave early in the morning, get in a line up, be ostracized

and stigmatized because people know they're going over for opioid treatment,

knowing that they have to access other government funding to do it, go in a

specific taxi or route of transportation that stigmatizes who they are. Then be

away from any supports and take hours to travel from one area to another area to

get some of the basic stuff and then have to come back, relying on a ferry

service and not knowing if it's reliable, knowing they have to get back and have

the supports that are necessary.

So from

an economy of scale, from the moral fibre that we have to be able to do the

right thing, we need to have programs and services available.

Mr.

Speaker, I'll get a chance to speak to this again and hopefully we'll be able to

rectify this.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

I call Orders of the Day, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day, Sir.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, from the Order

Paper, I would call Order 4, third reading of Bill 11.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I moved,

seconded by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, that Bill

11,

An Act To Amend The Financial Administration Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the said bill be now read a third time.

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

motion is carried.

CLERK (Barnes):

A bill,

An Act To Amend The Financial Administration Act. (Bill 11)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill is now read a third

time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order

Paper.

motion, a bill, “An Act To Amend The Financial Administration Act,” read a third

time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 11)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I would move, seconded by the Minister for Service NL, for leave to

introduce a bill entitled,

An Act Respecting Tenancies Of Residential Premises,

Bill 15, and I further move that the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. the Minister of Service NL shall have leave to introduce a bill

entitled,

An Act Respecting Tenancies Of Residential Premises, Bill 15, and that

the said bill be now read a first time.

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

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Service NL to introduce a bill, “An Act Respecting

Tenancies Of Residential Premises,” carried. (Bill 15)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act Respecting Tenancies Of Residential Premises. (Bill 15)

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 15 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Motion 4. I move pursuant to Standing

Order 11(1) that the House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, May 15.

MR. SPEAKER:

It's been moved and seconded

that the House extend beyond the 5:30 deadline.

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

This

motion is carried.

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I note

your enthusiasm for that motion.

MR. SPEAKER:

Looking forward to supper.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I call from the

Order Paper, Order 10, second reading of Bill 14.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Member for Torngat, that Bill 14,

An Act Respecting Children,

Youth And Families, be read a second time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 14 entitled

An Act Respecting Children, Youth And Families be now read a

second time.

Motion,

second reading of a bill, “An Act Respecting Children, Youth and Families.”

(Bill 14)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister for

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is an

honour and a privilege indeed today to speak to Bill 14,

An Act Respecting

Children, Youth and Families.

Mr.

Speaker, this has been a long time coming. When I look back over the last six,

eight, nine months in my department and I think about the monumental amount of

work that staff have put in to this bill and lots of late nights, it is a

substantive bill and I'll take the next – I probably won't use the full hour,

but I'm going to take some time to run through some of the high points of what I

think is a fantastic bill.

Mr.

Speaker, this is progressive legislation that we are debating today, one which

will have great benefits for children, youth and their families in this

province. It is my hope that, as we debate this legislation, all Members will

support it and acknowledge that at the heart of this bill it is child and youth

centred, with a very real and tangible focus on families.

Unlike

its predecessor, it is culturally responsive. As an indigenous woman, I can tell

you that I am pretty excited today about some of the changes that are coming and

what this bill is bringing in, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to start first with providing a bit of history. This province proclaimed the

Children and Youth Care and Protection Act

in 2011. This act promoted the safety and well-being of children and youth

in need of protection. Mr. Speaker, that act has served us well. What we're

doing today is building upon some of the groundwork that was laid in that first

act in 2011.

But, Mr.

Speaker, the government of the day recognized that child welfare practices and

legislation are always evolving. That is why a statutory review process was

built into the legislation where we would see a review undertaken every five

years. This process started in June 2016 and consultations were carried out over

a six-month period.

Mr.

Speaker, we had a tremendous response during the consultation process. More than

30 organizations participated, either in-person or virtual dialogue sessions,

focus groups, written submissions. We also heard from many indigenous

organizations and governments in this province. We received more than 170

surveys from children, youth and families, as well as from our own staff who use

this legislation on the ground out in their workplace each and every day.

I told

you we'd been at this a long time and a lot of work have gone into it. Our

intent, when we started, was to amend the

Children and Youth Care and Protection Act ;

however, as we continued through the process of reviewing all the

recommendations from the consultation process, conducting a jurisdictional scan

of child and youth protection legislation across the country and reviewing child

welfare literature, it quickly became clear to us that significant changes would

be required to the act. As a result, Mr. Speaker, it was determined that the

best course of action would be to introduce new legislation to incorporate all

the changes that were deemed necessary.

This is

not to say, as I said in my opening, that the

Children and Youth Care and Protection Act

is not a good piece of legislation. It is and it has served us well. But to

reflect where we need to be today in child protection, as recommended through

the consultation process, we needed to develop new legislation.

Mr.

Speaker, the staff in my department, Children, Seniors and Social Development,

have worked very hard in developing this legislation in consultation with

Legislative Counsel. They have taken all the information and have developed what

I believe, what we have before us in this House today, is a new progressive

piece of legislation which will serve our province very well. Although it will

replace the Children and Youth Care and

Protection Act , I would rather, Mr. Speaker, like to think that the new

Children, Youth and Families Act build

upon the principles.

Our

focus remains on protecting children and youth and supporting their families. We

understand fully the responsibility that lies with our staff when it comes to

child protection. Over the course of the last 10 months, as minister in this

social department, I have seen how hard our front-line social workers, zone

managers and other management work. They are passionate and dedicated to the

safety and well-being of children and youth. Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker, while

this department deals with very challenging and difficult situations, there are

many rewards.

Mr.

Speaker, I've gone out and about to maybe close to a dozen offices, I've been on

a couple of First Nation reserves, I have been on the North Coast with my

colleague, the Member for Torngat, out around Central, the West Coast. It's when

you get out in those offices that you hear a different perspective than you do

in here in the boardroom while those senior executive staff does a fantastic

job, but there's no substitute for on-the-ground experience.

I have

just learned so much. I've seen the passion. They work hard. It's challenging.

Mr. Speaker, time won't permit me today to share some of the really powerful,

positive stories that happen in this social department, but I will share,

quickly, one that speaks to the dedication of some of the social workers we have

on our team, and it speaks to the rapport that our social workers build with

their clients.

That was

of a young man who was on our protection list, working with a social worker. He

didn't have a date for his graduation. And what did the social worker do, Mr.

Speaker? He invited her as his date to the grad. She obliged, she bought him a

corsage and she went. That's the kind of people that we have working out in the

field, in the trenches, doing challenging work in our department, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

So many wonderful stories

that make it all worthwhile.

Every

day we are continuing to build a child protection system that is responsive to

the priority needs of our children, youth and families; we are continuing to

make significant progress in creating a culture of accountability, excellence

and consistency across all programs in all regions. Today, beginning debate on

the new Children, Youth and Families Act ,

Mr. Speaker, as I said in my opening, is a monumental step in this process. The

new act will be the cornerstone now from which all decisions are made.

The

proposed bill will improve information sharing; enhance the focus on maintaining

children and youth in their family home; expand permanency options for children

and youth in foster care; identify and support youth in need of protection; and

strengthen service delivery to indigenous children, youth and their families;

and develop a licensing regime for out-of-home placements.

So I'm

going to take you through briefly, Mr. Speaker, each of these six points that I

mentioned covered here in this new bill today. Information sharing: The new act

enhances what information can be shared in order to protect the safety and

well-being of children and youth. During our consultations, we received a lot of

feedback about existing barriers that prevent effective information sharing

between departmental staff and others who are involved in the lives of children

and youth.

It is

critical that all relevant information is available to protect the safety and

well-being of children. It is important to note, Mr. Speaker, that we value the

relationships we have with the families that we work with. So we seek consent,

whenever possible, before disclosing that information.

New

provisions will allow a director or a manager to share information for the

purposes of case planning and integrated service delivery and when it is in the

best interest of the child as opposed to only when it is necessary to ensure the

safety, health or well-being of a child. This will provide clarity on when to

disclose information as the act outline the best interest principles.

Essentially, this provision provides clarity that a director or manager can

disclose information when it is in the best interest of the child. The current

act did not provide an

interpretation on necessary which could have limited case

planning. For example, Mr. Speaker, a social worker may want to share

information about a child that is not necessary to ensure the child's safety but

it is in the child's best interest to share the information as it could help us

access additional services for that child.

This

provision also allows us to formally share information for a criminal court

proceeding, an investigation by the chief medical examiner and the child and

youth advocate. I want to be clear here, Mr. Speaker, that to date we have been

fully co-operative with the advocate whenever the office needed information as

it has carried out investigations or reviews. This just enshrines our practice,

what we're doing here today, Mr. Speaker, in our legislation.

The

advocate, as you would know and Members here in the House would know, is

independent of this House and carries out very valuable work, and anytime she

brings forward recommendations we embrace those. Anything we can do to improve

the lives and the safety of children and youth is something that we take very

serious, Mr. Speaker.

As well,

the right to information and information sharing

section allows for a social

worker to obtain relevant information about the parent if it is required to

determine if a child is in need of protection or remains in need of protection.

This has a direct impact on a child's safety and well-being.

practice today, social workers are already obtaining information about a parent

under the current Children and Youth Care

and Protection Act . The new act

once again clarifies and confirms that this information can be obtained under

the Children, Youth and Families Act

if it is required so that we can determine if a child is in need of protection

or remains in need of protection.

clarifying and confirming – sometimes, Mr. Speaker, we have things in

an act

that are a little open to

interpretation. What we've done is try to provide some

clarity around that important piece. This provision will better equip staff with

the tools they need when working with families and partners to develop the best

plan for the protection of children.

Mr.

Speaker, the third bullet of the six: Preserving the family unit. We would

always want children to remain at home with their families whenever it is safely

possible. When a child or youth is in need of protection, social workers work

with families so that children and youth can remain living in the home where it

is determined safe to do so.

In fact,

Mr. Speaker, sometimes we spend a lot of time talking about the number of

children and youth that are in care, but most of the children and youth who have

interactions with the department remain in their family home. Approximately 80

per cent that we work with remain in their family home. Sometimes we don't talk

about the value around that piece and the important work that staff does.

The new

Children, Youth and Families Act

clearly highlights the value of family, as evidenced by the addition of the word

“families” in the title. My department not only works with children and youth,

we also work with families. We place tremendous value, Mr. Speaker, on keeping

families together. This act enshrines this and puts an emphasis, I believe,

clearly on the direction of where we want to go in the future.

Promoting the safety and well-being of children and youth means ensuring there

are the appropriate supports in place to preserve families. Yes, the children

and youth in these families need protective intervention but, Mr. Speaker, we

all need to challenge ourselves to provide better services to the family unit as

a whole, to reduce risk and to make home a safer place for the child.

These

are some of the conversations that happen in my boardroom every single day. We

have many, many staff and social workers working hard every day to ensure that

children and youth in need of protection are kept safe, but to never be

comfortable, Mr. Speaker, with the status quo.

Often

I've said in here – and the Minister of Health sometimes says I fashionably use

quotes. Another one I like is that the biggest room in any house is the room for

improvement. I like that. Every day, all of us, because of the important work we

do, need to challenge ourselves to provide better services. The answer is not

always placing a child or youth into foster care or some other alternate living

arrangement.

As I

noted, Mr. Speaker, just a couple of moments ago, 80 per cent of children and

youth who have interaction with our department remain in their family home. Many

of these families need support and services. By providing services like

counselling, behaviour management, parenting programs, we can provide the

supports needed to help children, youth and their families.

In 2017,

my department first started providing Triple P, Positive Parenting Program. Mr.

Speaker, this is a program that is considered one of the most effective parent

programs worldwide. Tripe P is an evidence-based education and support program

for parents that have been – the program has been extensively evaluated. It has

demonstrated effectiveness for families with complex needs and those who are at

risk of child maltreatment.

It is

available in most Canadian jurisdictions, Mr. Speaker. We've had 200-plus peer

reviewed research articles on this Tripe P parenting program. Everything that I

have learned since I've been at the department is that we are getting very, very

positive feedback.

I think

this Triple P parenting program is a good example of government using evidence

based and then implementing something that there's been research done and we've

seen the results and now we are using it, rolling it out here at home in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Although

we've only had this program in place for about a year, the feedback from parents

and social workers has been overwhelmingly positive. We are finding that by

providing these supports to reduce risk, we are enhancing safety of children and

maintaining children in the family home wherever that is possible.

A lot of

families need support from time to time and by placing a greater focus on

providing the resources necessary, we can help those families so that in many

cases they are no longer on the child protection system. That's a success story,

Mr. Speaker. That is a success story for everyone involved, but especially the

children.

Sometimes for various reasons, parents struggle, not that maybe they love their

child or children any less, but they struggle and they need that little bit of

extra support with parenting. So that's what Triple P parenting is helping us

do, Mr. Speaker.

department is also exploring services for vulnerable families not in need of

protection. I want to be clear here. Currently, our child protection program

focuses on tertiary services. That is helping the children, youth and families

that are in need of a protective intervention; however, as we carried out our

consultations into the Children and Youth

Care and Protection Act , secondary prevention services came up time and time

again as a way to help vulnerable families before there was an issue with child

and youth maltreatment.

Another

quote for you, Mr. Speaker, but I think about them all the time. They come to me

as I'm reading my notes. As my grandmother would say: An ounce of prevention is

worth a pound of cure. So if you can get in there and you can help that

vulnerable family, look at what you're going to save, not in terms of monetary

but what you're going to save for that child, prevent that child from being

taken from the home, which is always a last resort, and prevent those parents

from having to go through that terrible experience.

There

are opportunities to provide services to vulnerable families before they ever

enter into a Protective Intervention Program, thereby reducing even further the

number of children that are in our care.

For

instance, Mr. Speaker, in Towards Recovery: A Vision for a Renewed Mental Health

and Addictions System, one of the major areas for improvement is around early

intervention, including parenting skills and child development. There is a

working group my department sits on, which is addressing supports for new and

young families. There are also a tremendous number of parenting and program

services available across the province, like healthy baby clubs, educational and

support programs and Family Resource Centres, which do amazing fantastic work.

There's

a Family Resource Centre in my community where I grew up. We have a road

connection now, but in complete isolation in a very small community dotted along

the Southeast Coast of Labrador. We didn't have a lot, but I'll tell you that

the family resource program, I took both my children to that program and it

provides a service for birth to 12 and it was absolutely fantastic.

Sometimes young individuals may have children and they may not have really

received the parenting skills themselves. There is no manual that really comes

with being a parent. Sometimes we learn as we go. So you just need that little

bit of extra support and guidance, and that's what some of these programs are

doing. We want to build on that. We want to have more programs so we can get in

there early. We can prevent children from coming into care and the ones that do,

we can start working with them as early as possible to reunite them back at

home.

Mr.

Speaker, it is important to note that although the act acknowledges the role

that families have in the care and upbringing of children and youth, our acts

did vastly remain child and youth centred. If we are in situations where there

is a conflict between the safety, health and well-being of a child or youth and

the family unit, then the child or youth's safety, health and well-being will

always prevail. That is and always will be our primary focus.

The

fourth bullet, Mr. Speaker, is around permanency planning, where we plan on

going with permanency planning. Child protection is a critical and challenging

area of service delivery. Every day, child protection social workers in our

province work to assess the safety of children and make decisions, sometimes

difficult decisions, Mr. Speaker, often difficult decisions, to ensure their

protection. Most times it is safe to provide important services for children

while they remain at home but there are other times when, for the safety of the

child, that is not possible.

This

legislation expands and supports permanency efforts where the child or youth

lives with a relative or another person significant to them as opposed to

remaining in foster care. This means they have a chance to grow up with a

continued connection to their family. It is very, very important stuff we're

talking about here today, Mr. Speaker, about our children and youth.

All of

us I think will agree our children are our most prized possession in life. So we

have a responsibility for those that are vulnerable, as a government and as a

department, to ensure those that are in care or are on a protective intervention

list are getting the best service and that we can do everything we can to set

them on the right course for later in life when they become young adults and

branch out on their own. This will also allow for those relatives or others

close to the child or youth to obtain permanent custody of the child or youth

much more quickly than before.

Essentially, as an example, if the permanency plan for a child or youth is to

remain with a grandparent, the court may decide, based on a social worker's

recommendation, to transfer permanent custody to the grandparent without having

to wait for all the temporary custody orders to expire. I think sometimes, Mr.

Speaker, the way it was before this was taking maybe up to two years. You had to

have two temporary court orders, another custody order. Now, after six months, a

social worker may be able to recommend to a judge.

I'd be

remiss, Mr. Speaker, if I didn't mention here – and some of my colleagues,

especially those in Labrador will get this – we have large, large families, so

it was not uncommon for a child to grow up with grandma or with auntie.

Actually, myself, my own story, my grandmother had seven boys and two girls and

pretty much everyone else who went through. Doctors and dentists, they all came

to the house as well. Then I became the 10th child. At four years old, I went to

live with my grandparents in a home of 12. They were both seniors when they

actually took me in. I think I turned out okay, Mr. Speaker. I had a wonderful

upbringing by my grandmother. The values they instilled in me were tremendous.

Many

times we have children that grandma is caring for. She may not want to go

through all of the court process of adopting for various reasons, but she would

be willing to accept taking custody of the child and raising them. So that's

what we're talking about here today, Mr. Speaker. Sometimes I just share things

to put it into a little bit of context.

This is

also a really positive option in situations where either a child or youth or the

family or kin caring for them do not want to pursue adoption. Mr. Speaker, some

families prefer to have legal custody. This is another option to achieve

permanency for the child or youth. I believe the Member for Torngat will attest

we often see this as an option that indigenous families would prefer in those

large families. Rather than have a child leave the community, the child, if they

can't remain safely at home with mom and dad, will go to live with a kin.

Mr.

Speaker, I did mention that some of our children and youth in care have adoption

as their identified permanency plan. What that means is some of the children

that come into our care, they're never going home. Once they're assessed we

know. It's sad, it's heavy but it is reality in the world that we live in. For

those children that we know won't be going home to their families anymore, we

have to put a permanency plan in place.

Although

the adoption process has not changed with this new act, I am very pleased to

share with this House that in Budget 2018

we have committed $395,000 over the next two years to expedite children through

the adoption process, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

We have many children – too

many children that we know won't be going home. Social workers, there are so

many different competing priorities, demands on their time; they just sometimes

don't get to do those profiles and go through the adoption process. So we will

be focusing some extra resources there and it is our hope and intent that more

children will be adopted and will be placed into loving homes.

Mr.

Speaker, I talked about earlier, when I got up, about some of the challenges in

this department but also that there are rewards and success stories. Since we're

talking about adoptions, I also would be remiss if I didn't share a story that

happened, early days, when I was in the department. We had these two siblings –

16 and 17 I believe – and they had been in our care for a long, long time. Then

one morning, when we were about to start a meeting, one of my staff said: Guess

what? A family came forward and chose to adopt those two. Not easy to take on

two teenagers that hadn't had a home.

I'll

tell you, Mr. Speaker, that was a good day in our department, and we certainly

celebrated. I think about that young person, the elder that was just about to

age out of the system and what it must feel like to age out and not have a home

connection. Things that so many of our own children take for granted.

Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, I think that we are too good to them, if there is such a

thing as being too good to your children. Times have changed. Back in my day

when you grew up, you had your little chores and things to do and now we do a

lot of our children, but not every child has that. Not every child has the

loving home. So we applaud those people and I think there's a special place for

them that reach out and open their homes and their hearts and adopt. I certainly

appreciate them, as I know many of our staff and all of us here in the House do.

We want

to ensure we match children who are eligible for adoption with loving and

supportive families. By adding those dedicated resources, the $395,000 over two

years, we will hopefully allow more children eligible for adoption to be adopted

much more quickly. Right now, we know the wait time is too long.

Now I'm

going to talk about something that is also really near and dear to my heart, and

that is the youth services piece of this bill. I spent 23 years as a career and

employment counsellor before coming into public life, so most of my adult life

was working with young people. I definitely have a spot for young people,

tremendous respect and I am endeared to them.

Mr.

Speaker, when I was appointed Minister Children, Seniors and Social Development,

one of the actions the Premier directed me to carry out was to deliver a youth

services program that meets the needs of vulnerable youth in our province. In

fact, it was written right in my mandate letter.

I am

pleased to say the new Children, Youth and

Families Act delivers on this commitment. We have made changes which allow a

youth under a youth services agreement to receive services up to their 21st

birthday, regardless of whether or not they were in care on their 16th birthday.

During

consultations, we heard repeatedly that the youth services program was too

restrictive. We heard it prevented youth from receiving important services they

needed because of age and eligibility restrictions. So what do we do, Mr.

Speaker? We fixed that.

The

legislation is now more open for youth so they can avail of important services

that we offer. It also allows for greater protection for youth, as the duty to

report maltreatment now includes youth age 16 and 17. It is our intent that with

these changes to the program we can help youth transition more successfully into

adulthood and give them the tools they need to be active, productive members of

our society.

Sometimes it's hard to measure the tangible results with the types of things

that we are talking about today, but if you can provide the supports to youth at

that vulnerable time in their life where they're somewhere between adolescence

and a young adult, there can be tremendous savings realized in other areas.

They're not ending up at Her Majesty's Penitentiary and they're not ending up on

income support and things like that. That is the intent and spirit of this bill,

Mr. Speaker, providing the extra services as you are a little older that we will

see fruitful outcomes from that.

The last

piece is around indigenous children and youth. That is a significant part of

this bill, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in the press conference

or since I was speaking here today, but my staff have made numerous trips to

Labrador, in particular, during the consultation process so that they could sit

with the indigenous governments and organizations.

Some of

these communities – it's no secret – are dealing with really complex issues. We

know right across the country there is an overrepresentation of indigenous

children and youth in care. I travelled to Ottawa in January where myself and my

colleagues across the provinces and territories spent a couple of days

discussing that very topic with federal Minister Philpott.

I was

thinking about this a lot the last few days, and even thinking about my own

experience of growing up where I did so far from this Legislature and from where

bills and laws are made around the province. I think a lot of times decisions

were made here with not as much understanding of reality on the ground as maybe

could have been.

I also

read something somewhere that the closer decisions are made to the people most

impacted by them, the stronger the likelihood of them to succeed. I think

there's a lot of truth in that. Mr. Speaker, I'm really pleased with the level

of consultation that was carried with the indigenous governments and

organizations as we prepared for this bill.

The

overrepresentation of indigenous children and youth in care is a serious

concern, Mr. Speaker. Not just for me as the minister in this department and I

would venture to say not even just for my colleagues on this side of the House,

but all Members in this House of Assembly. We are working hard to address this

issue, including our commitment to work co-operatively with both the inquiry

into the treatment of Innu children in care and the Child and Youth Advocate's

review of child protection services in Inuit communities.

We also

highlighted the need to make significant changes to our legislation with respect

to indigenous children and youth. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that through direct

consultations with the indigenous organizations and governments, we have

included substantial changes to the new Children, Youth and Families Act which addresses indigenous

involvement in service coordination and planning, information sharing and, very

importantly, inclusion of cultural and community connections in decision making

regarding an indigenous child or youth.

Mr.

Speaker, I want to stress to this House today the significance of this

recognition. The current act does not directly mention our indigenous

governments or organizations at all. This is a first for child protection

legislation in this province. This inclusion is meaningful for indigenous

children, youth and families. These are meaningful changes, Mr. Speaker, which

acknowledge the uniqueness of indigenous cultures and ensure that whatever

decisions are made for indigenous children and youth, they are done with culture

in mind. It also ensures indigenous representatives are aware of protective

intervention hearings and other hearings pertaining to the supervision and

custody of indigenous children and youth.

We have

extensively reviewed legislation from across the country and this new

legislation is now in line with others in Canada. I am very pleased to be able

to say that and to share that with this House. The fact that the current act

made no mention and this act is so focused in that area, Mr. Speaker, I believe

it means we are moving in the right direction. I hope it will show the

indigenous governments and leaders around the province that we've certainly

listened to the feedback and we have incorporated and weaved into the bill,

wherever possible, that feedback.

There

has been much discussion over the last several years about truth and

reconciliation. Our own government, I am proud to say, supports the calls to

action. With this legislation, we will be addressing several action items,

particularly those addressing children in care being placed in culturally

appropriate environments.

I was

just going to take a moment, Mr. Speaker, the four calls to action in the truth

and reconciliation that are woven throughout and we have addressed in this act,

include: Keeping Aboriginal families together where it is safe to do so; affirm

the right of Aboriginal governments to establish and maintain their own child

welfare agencies; require all child welfare agencies and courts to take the

residential school legacy into account when making their decision making;

establish, as an important priority, a requirement that placements of Aboriginal

children into temporary and permanent care be culturally appropriate.

Those

are the four calls to action in the truth and reconciliation related to my

department and that are woven throughout this bill. I'm pleased that I believe

we have addressed all of them, Mr. Speaker.

Another

provision I am especially proud of is this legislation will provide authority to

delegate functions and services to indigenous governments and organizations.

This is something that is happening in other regions of our country and ensures

indigenous agencies deliver some or all of the child welfare services in a

community directly.

Mr.

Speaker, it ensures indigenous agencies deliver some or all of the child welfare

services in a community directly. I know this is something that the Nunatsiavut

Government, the Mushuau Innu Nation, Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation and Miawpukek

First Nation are especially interested in delivering. I look forward to working

with these indigenous governments and organizations to move forward on this

particular provision.

Mr.

Speaker, as an indigenous person, I am proud that I am the Minister of Children,

Seniors and Social Development who is bringing forward these provisions. I

didn't keep it quite all together in a press conference earlier. Like you put so

much work into this, you know some of the challenges, the sad stories. Every day

you wish you could fix all the problems – you can't. I often say to staff, let's

fix one today, let's fix one.

There

are so many sad stories, Mr. Speaker, but there are also very positive stories.

I wish I had the time on the clock to share some of the positive ones about the

tremendous people, about the community partners we work with and do what we can

to help improve the lives of those children and youth.

Mr.

Speaker, here in this particular case, I have been afforded a tremendous

privilege that I will never forget. I got to be this person to bring forward

this particular bill, Bill 14. I truly believe the provisions for indigenous

children and youth are a tremendous step forward for our province. It shows our

commitment to work with indigenous governments and organizations to address

these very serious issues. These provisions are an important step forward in

reconciliation and ensuring indigenous children and youth involved in the child

protection system retain those all-important connections to their families and

communities.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm reminded all the time when I travel back and forth on the weekends

to my district, it's a world away from here. It takes me a whole day to get

there and a whole day to come back. Then you think about children that get taken

from some of these communities and are taken so far away and what they

experience. So I'm very pleased we're going to be able to address and hopefully

minimize some of that, help keep children in their communities and with kin.

Mr.

Speaker, I believe the final point in this bill is around licensing and

regulation. I have spoken in this hon. House about the need for foster parents.

Although we work hard to recruit more foster parents, the reality is there are

too few foster homes to meet the needs of all children and youth in care.

I was

giving this some thought as well, Mr. Speaker. Times have changed today. When

you look back to maybe fostering a decade or two decades ago, maybe you had one

parent that was in the home and it was easier to take in children. Now most

families, you have two people that work outside the home. We have more children

it seems with complex needs in society, and so we're always challenged.

Before I

move on, I do want to just toss a bouquet out there in this province today to

anyone who has ever taken on fostering. I don't think I could do it, Mr.

Speaker. My hat goes off to them and my heart goes out to them. It's very, very

important work they do.

Last

fall, I got to sign a proclamation and declare Foster Families Week. Some of the

stories there, you talk to people who have been fostering for 25 years. Then you

have someone that quietly says over their shoulder: I do it because someone gave

me a chance. I was in foster care, I bounced from home to home and then someone

took me in and kept me until I aged out. It's powerful stuff, Mr. Speaker.

We're

not talking about roads, infrastructure and capital works. I say it all the

time, those things are important. We have lively, spirited debate here in the

House, as it should be, about those things. We all put our name forward and we

want to do our part to make our little corner of the world better, but at the

end of the day it all comes down to relationships. Life is about the places

you've been, the people you met and the memories you made along the way. It's

the relationships with colleagues, with family and with community. Sometimes,

Mr. Speaker, it must be daunting for children to feel they don't have anyone,

they don't have family.

In my

district, Mr. Speaker, I know a family who has been fostering for at least 25

years and here are the kinds of things they do. When the man in that household

was going through a very difficult time medically, some health issues, they

thought we won't foster right now because we're not sure about his health. They

had taken three children in. Three young boys they had taken in as an emergency

placement, but they did not keep them because of the health issues of the

individual.

Once

they were taken out of Labrador in my district, the family didn't know where

they went. They get a call from this boy, the oldest boy. He was not very old,

10 or 12. Somehow he got the phone number and he called this lady. He said:

They're going to separate us. He said: You know you can take us. The end result

of that, Mr. Speaker, they took those three boys. They had them for 10 or 12

years until they all graduated, one by one.

That's

the kind of things that foster families do. I want to welcome those from Foster

Families Associations that are here today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

It's important to mention

that, Mr. Speaker. Most of us, we get so busy in our lives we don't have time to

visit your aunt down the road. Then you have these people who gave so much so

that other children would have a chance at life.

That's a

story that's near and dear to my heart. It was in my district. I know the people

very well. They had these issues and they took these three boys. I remember when

the first one graduated and was going off to the Army; he didn't know what he

was going to do at Christmas. That family said: You will always have a home to

come home to.

Those

are the people, Mr. Speaker, the unsung heroes behind the scenes. They're not

out looking for accolades, but they are to be commended for the work they do,

and I appreciate each of them.

Under

the licensing, because we don't have enough foster homes, this means some

children and youth are placed in least-preferred residential placements such as

group homes. We have looked at what other jurisdictions are doing in this

regard, and we can make provisions which improve upon our current practices.

The new

Children, Youth and Families Act will

contain provisions which licence agencies to recruit, assess, train and approve

foster homes on behalf of the department. It will also licence non-governmental

entities to establish and operate family based and staff residential placements

to provide care to children and youth in foster care. While with the family or

with a kin is the preferred option if the child can't be reunited with their

family, and if not in a family based, last resorts are group homes or individual

living arrangements. We don't want that, Mr. Speaker.

It was

not so long ago, I remember a time in this province when children were living in

hotel rooms. We had a lot of children that were out of province. We had more

than 50 children out of province at one point. We have brought them home, Mr.

Speaker, thanks to the hard work of staff within the department. We have now

probably no more than a dozen children and children are no longer in hotel

rooms.

We are

making strides. We're making progress. This new bill, this new piece of

legislation will allow us to continue to build upon the success that has already

been made.

It's

important to note that the responsibility of the health, safety and well-being

of children and youth in care remains with our department. This provision, the

provision of reaching out to an agency and having them be able to recruit foster

homes – I was asked one of those questions related to that after the press

conference earlier today, but I want to stress, Mr. Speaker, the responsibility

of the health, safety and well-being of children and youth in care will continue

to remain with our department. This provision just helps us to increase the

number of foster homes.

Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, those groups that are closer to the ground, they have

that local knowledge. They might be aware of foster homes or spaces that we may

not have.

As a

matter of fact, I was on a flight with my colleague for Lab West in March maybe,

we were heading up to Cain's Quest. I was sitting next to a brand new baby that

was going to a home. The lady said she had been contacted. I'm not sure if she

was on a list, but someone contacted her and said we need a home. That's the

kind of local knowledge, that's the stuff that will allow us to build more

foster homes which is definitely the preferred option for the child if they

can't be with family or kin, certainly more so than group homes and ILAs and

things of that nature, Mr. Speaker.

We will

also develop regulations which will support this licensing regime and provide

accountability. We have already explored part of this model with a pilot

project. To date, it has shown early signs of success. By enshrining this in

legislation, we can provide more family-based placements to children and youth

which is the preferred option always when a child or youth cannot stay with

their own family.

Mr.

Speaker, these are the major substantive changes proposed for our new child

protection legislation. As we get into the bill, there are other minor

legislative adjustments but I believe, or at least I hope, I have captured the

spirit of the new Children, Youth and

Families Act here today.

This is

a proud moment, Mr. Speaker, for me. It really, really is. In my dining room

there's a big plaque, some of my colleagues here that's been there will have

seen, that says: We do not remember days, we remember moments. This is a proud

moment for me.

The

staff in my department have worked very hard putting this bill together, lots of

late nights. I certainly appreciate the efforts of the staff. They have produced

a truly comprehensive piece of legislation which builds on the principles of the

former legislation to promote the safety and well-being of children and youth

who are in need of protective intervention.

It will

have tremendous positive impacts for children, youth and families in our

province who are in need of our programs and services. It's good I'm nearly

finished, Mr. Speaker, because I'm out of water. As I mentioned earlier, this

legislation is child and youth centred, family focused and culturally

responsive. It is my hope indigenous governments and organizations will be

supportive of the new focus – wonderful colleagues I have in the House – which

ensures their direct involvement with respect to children and youth in care.

Mr.

Speaker, this new legislation is extensive. There will be much work to complete

if it receives Royal Assent. For this reason, the legislation will come into

effect 12 months from Royal Assent. This will allow us time to put in place new

policies and procedures, provide training to all our staff and develop the

necessary regulations. I look forward to debate on Bill 14,

An Act Respecting

Children, Youth and Families.

Mr.

Speaker, I'll end with something that I heard the premier of Nunavut say in

January. He said: We measure the success of our community now by the well-being

of our people. I hope, Mr. Speaker, that if we use that here, this act will give

us one gigantic step forward to helping the health and well-being of our

vulnerable families and youth in care. So I hope hon. Members will join me in

supporting this important piece of legislation.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Reid):

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS.

PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's certainly an honour and a privilege to rise in

this hon. House, in my role as critic, to respond to the second reading of Bill

14, the Children, Youth and Families Act .

I concur with the minister that this certainly is a very significant piece of

legislation and it has a lot of components that we feel will be very beneficial

to children and youth of this province.

I'm going to spend some of my time talking a little bit

in second reading about the background on the

Children and Youth Care and Protection Act . The first act was

implemented on June 30, 2011. This act governed the conduct of social workers,

managers and others in the child and youth protection division of Children,

Seniors and Social Development.

The act outlines processes as it relates to child

protection. Included in this legislation is a clause which required a statutory

review in five years, and that review commenced on June 30, 2016. The statutory

review was quite extensive. It included feedback from over 30 organizations,

stakeholders and children, families who received services and youth who received

or have received services. There were 170 surveys undertaken with employees,

including social workers, and a What We

Heard document was posted on April 17, 2018, a few weeks ago.

The bill we have before us today, Bill 14, will repeal

the existing act and replace it with a new act, as the minister explained, An

Act Respecting Children, Youth and Families. This bill has six broad principles,

Mr. Speaker. The first being improving information sharing, and this includes

formal information sharing arrangements with indigenous leaders; two, enhancing

the focus on preserving the family unit; three, expanding permanency options for

children and youth who are in foster care; four, service delivery to indigenous

children and youth; five, identifying and supporting youth in need of

protection; and the sixth broad principle is the implementation of a licensing

regime for out-of-home placements.

With

respect to information sharing, during the consultations the department heard

that there were barriers to sharing information and that although information

sharing could be in the best interests of the child or youth, it could not be

facilitated. This legislation specifies that a director or manager can disclose

information when it is in the best interests of the child or youth for the

purpose of case management planning, integrated service delivery or for criminal

court proceedings. That information can be shared with the Child and Youth

Advocate or the medical examiner, Mr. Speaker.

This

legislation also clarifies that when a social worker can obtain information

about the parent to determine if the child requires protective services – so it

would clarify when the information would be made available to them or

circumstances in which they would be able to acquire it. In policy and practice,

the social worker will ask for consent ahead of using the legislative

provisions.

The act

recognizes that it is ideal to keep children and youth in their homes with their

families; however, the safety of the child is paramount. The act clarifies that

the safety and well-being of children and youth is more important than keeping

them with their families. First and foremost, the safety and well-being of the

child will be paramount in this new legislation, Mr. Speaker.

In terms

of permanency planning, when a youth is removed from their family, planning must

begin and focus on returning the child or youth to their home or placing them in

an alternate family home. The preference is to have more children or youth

reside with a relative or a significant person as opposed to remaining in foster

care. The goal is to achieve permanency in a timelier manner.

One of

the tangible changes in this legislation is that instead of issuing temporary

court orders, if a social worker believes that the permanency solution is found,

then he or she can make a recommendation to the court to award legal custody,

Mr. Speaker. That, again, is another significant piece, I feel, in this

legislation.

As the

minister has already outlined, indigenous children and youth are also a very

huge focus of this new legislation. It includes a definition of indigenous

children and youth and acknowledges the uniqueness of indigenous culture.

The

legislation has new provisions that were not included in the existing

legislation which require that children and youth who are in care have a

cultural connection plan, and this must be filed with the court. It requires

that when considering placements for children and youth in care, that a

connection to their culture and their community must be maintained.

requires a notice of protective intervention hearings and other hearings to be

served to the indigenous representatives. They may be given the ability to be

heard in court. As well, it enhances the sharing of information with indigenous

governments and organizations. This legislation also includes the provision that

the minister can delegate functions and programs to the indigenous governments,

with the approval of Cabinet, for them to carry out directly.

The

youth services program will continue to be voluntary under this program.

Currently, youth can receive services until the age of 21, as long as they are

enrolled in an educational or rehabilitation program; but this legislation is

going to remove that requirement that they be in an education or rehabilitation

program and it will allow the youth to continue to receive services until the

age of 21. They will still have to have individual work plans, which will help

them with their goals and aspirations.

The age

for which mandatory reporting of youth in need of protection is required will

increase from 16 to 17. The option for youth to leave custody before the age of

18 will be removed. That certainly helps. In the past, there has sometimes been

an issue with having children fall through the cracks between the ages of 16 and

18, in particular. So the new act is addressing that as well, Mr. Speaker.

Currently, there are two streams of programming within the department. If a

youth was receiving services on their 16th birthday, they would be entitled to a

different level of programs than a youth who is not receiving services on their

16th birthday.

This was

referred to by departmental officials during our briefing as two streams. The

legislation would remove the two streams, making it a one-program stream. So the

youth will be able to receive services up until the age of 21, regardless of

whether or not they were receiving services at the time of their 16th birthday.

Licensing and regulation is an area of the bill that will probably have the most

questions when we get to Committee of the Whole; although, we still have a

significant number of questions that we will pose during the Committee stage.

This

legislation will set up a legislative framework for the department to implement

a regulatory framework for private agencies to have the ability to licence

foster homes. These private agencies will be able to obtain licences to recruit,

assess, train and approve foster homes. Non-government entities will be licensed

to operate family-based and staff residential placement to provide care to

children and youth in foster care.

We don't

have a lot of the details at this stage, Mr. Speaker, from the bill itself.

Future regulations, we are told, will provide much more of the detail in

relation to this aspect of the bill. What we do know is that there is currently

a pilot project ongoing with a private company called Key Assets. In this pilot,

a child is placed into a family home and Key Assets provide supports around the

family. This is the type of program which the legislation and regulatory regime

will be promoting. Like I said, we do seek some more information and clarity

particularly around that component of this bill.

comparing Bill 14 with the

definitions which currently exist in the

Children and Youth Care and Protection Act ,

most are the same or have some very minor changes to them, but

definitions are

added for indigenous child, indigenous government or organization, indigenous

representative and indigenous youth.

With

respect to the general principles of the bill; in the first act there was

reference to indigenous cultural identity but in – no, indigenous cultural

identity, I'm sure in the first act wasn't there, I'm sorry. The clauses that

have been added are indigenous – I'm trying not to say that word clause, Mr.

Speaker, in second reading – reference to indigenous cultural identity (

f) and

the importance of the preferred environment

section (

h) are added.

It also

defines new and specifies that the safety, health and well-being of a child is

always more important than having the child remain with their family. That's a

major shift in policy, Mr. Speaker, in terms of the legislation itself. I would

think it has always been a practice and a policy, but this certainly enshrines

that first and foremost the needs of the child are what takes precedence. I

think all of these changes that are being brought forward are going to indeed be

beneficial to the children and youth of this province who really need our

support and our care.

In terms

of duty to report; as I said a little while ago, all citizens will have the

responsibility for reporting any concerns or abuse they may witness. That duty

to report was for children up to the age of 16, and this new bill increases that

to the age of 17.

I'm not

sure, Mr. Speaker, prior even to my time in politics, issues like duty to

report, you were aware but you didn't fully understand, I don't think. I think,

Minister, in terms of going forward, one of the things we can do in terms of

increased awareness around this act and how we promote our children is increased

emphasis to the public at large in terms of duty to report. It's certainly

something everyone should know and be aware of what their duty is if they see

anything that causes concern for the well-being of the child.

In terms

of determining the need for protective intervention; this new act expands the

provision to include youth in addition to child, and it allows a social worker

to determine whether or not a youth is in need of protective intervention.

The

order to prohibit conduct has been added to this legislation as well. This

section allows a judge to make interim orders which remain in effect while the

hearing is taking place.

certainly do commend the minister and her staff for quite an extensive,

extensive amount of work that has been done on this significant bill. Like the

minister has said, it will impact on each and every one of our children in this

province, and certainly enhance the lives of those at risk.

There

are many other components as well to this new bill, protective intervention

hearing. This

section will give the judge the ability to permanently transfer

custody to a person, other than the child's parent. This is done with the

consent of the person who will get custody, the child if they are 12 years old

or older, and if the child has been residing with this person for at least six

months, Mr. Speaker.

There's

another

section in the bill that will deal with subsequent orders. In this

piece, as the minister has outlined, the inclusion of notifying indigenous

representatives of the hearing is included here as well. As the minister has

already explained quite well, this is a huge component. The culture of our

indigenous children is something they should always have access to, Mr. Speaker.

I know,

myself, living close to an indigenous community – for example, their justice

circle as a different method, but a cultural method of dealing with issues of

concern they have with respect to the law, Mr. Speaker. It works so very, very

well. The success rate of their programs is absolutely phenomenal. Who knows

best what a child needs other than the ones who love the children the most, and

that would be their families, their extended families and their communities at

large.

Another

quote that's quite common is: “It takes a village to raise a child.” That is

certainly very, very true. We should be making every effort to keep our

indigenous children in close connection with their culture and indigenous

communities where possible. These are all aspects of the bill that we, on this

side of the House with respect to the Opposition Party, are certainly strongly

supportive of. We see these as good changes that are being brought forwa