PDF Version

November 21, 2016

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 45

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Osborne):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

I would

like to welcome today to our Speaker's gallery three Royal Newfoundland

Constabulary officers who are the subject of a Ministerial Statement today. They

are Constable Stephanie Pelley, Constable Charley Torres and Constable Julie

Cunningham.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

We also have in the public

gallery today representatives from the Association of Early Childhood Educators

of Newfoundland and Labrador who are the subject of a Ministerial Statement, and

they are Helen Sinclair, Joanne Morris and Mojca Bas.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Also in the public gallery

today is Barb Howlett, who is the subject of a Member's Statement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today for Members' Statements

we have the Members for the District of Ferryland, the District of Mount Pearl

North, the District of Torngat Mountains, the District of Mount Pearl

Southlands, the District of Labrador West and the District of St. John's East

Quidi Vidi.

The hon.

the Member for the District of Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise to recognize a constituent of mine from the District of

Ferryland, Kenny Williams. In his 32-year hockey career he played a very

important part to the overall success of hockey across Newfoundland and

Labrador.

His

hockey life started at Maggotty Cove Pond in Bay Bulls and later played as a

junior hockey player in the Southern Shore Junior League. He's currently manager

of the Southern Shore Arena since 1987.

He was

elected a founding president of the Southern Shore Minor Hockey Association,

where he remains a volunteer. He has been Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador

provincial coordinator for 24 years. He was instrumental in reviving senior

female hockey at the provincial level and brought the first team in many years

to Prince Edward Island to compete nationally. He held a director's position on

the provincial female hockey committee for several years.

Kenny

was inducted into Newfoundland and Labrador Hall of Fame during Hockey

Newfoundland and Labrador's awards ceremony in June of 2015. Kenny also was

presented the Avalon East Hockey Ambassador Award in the Builder's Category in

October at the Jack Byrne Arena.

Mr.

Speaker, I would ask all my colleagues of this House to join me in honouring

Kenny Williams and the contributions he has made to hockey on the Southern Shore

and certainly throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to recognize Mr. Reginald White on his recent

achievement in being named a Senior of Distinction what a great honour.

The

Seniors of Distinction Awards program was designed to identify and celebrate the

contributions, achievements and diversity of older persons throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador. It's very important to recognize our seniors who

dedicate so much time to helping their community and fellow citizens.

Reg's

lifetime of volunteerism and community service is a testament to his true

character. Reg has been named Mount Pearl Citizen of the Year and was inducted

into the Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame. I hope that Reg continues his efforts

with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and other volunteer initiatives.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating Reg White

and this year's recipients of the Seniors of Distinction Awards: Gerald Andrews

of Carbonear, Alice Blundon of Carbonear, Russ Murphy of Marystown and David Rex

of Stephenville.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for the

District of Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to pay tribute to Mr. Ronald James Andersen Jimmy as

we call him. Jimmy was awarded the Medal of Bravery for saving the lives of two

snowmobilers who went through the ice near Nain Bay, Nunatsiavut, in May of

Jimmy

saw the snowmobilers go through the ice and with great presence of mind he

immediately went into action. Using a komatik that was attached to his

snowmobile, he managed to maneuver himself close to the hole where the people

fell through. He grabbed the first person by her jacket and pulled her to

safety, and with use the rope, he provided aid to the second person as well and

pulled them both from the frigid waters of Nain Bay.

Governor

General David Johnston presented Mr. Andersen with the Medal of Bravery in a

special ceremony in Ottawa on October 28. Jimmy took action that saved two lives

and reaffirmed our values of sharing and caring for others, even when there is

risk to one's own self.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in offering congratulations and

thanks to Jimmy Andersen, a proud son of Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for the

District of Mount Pearl Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, it's my

privilege to stand in this hon. House to recognize an individual who has given a

lifetime of service to her community. Barb Howlett has served the community for

the past 60-plus years in various capacities. If you were to open Webster's

dictionary and look up volunteer, you'd see a picture of Barb.

Whether

it be at St. Paul's Parish, the Goulds Lioness Club, Goulds Elementary School

Council, Goulds library board, Scouts Canada, Goulds Minor Hockey, St. Kevin's

Parish elementary and high school, the Twin Brooks Condominium Board or the

Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, Barb has been giving 100

per cent of her time and talents.

She was

also elected and served a term on the Goulds town council prior to its

amalgamation with the City of St. John's. She's probably best known for her

involvement with Girl Guides of Canada where she has held multiple positions and

was recently recognized for an amazing 60 years of service. In addition to this

honour, she was also awarded this year's City of St. John's Senior of the Year

Award.

Mr.

Speaker, I would ask all Members of this hon. House to join me in congratulating

Barb Howlett on her many accomplishments and thank her for her unwavering

commitment to the community.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Labrador West.

MR. LETTO:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to pay tribute to a true Canadian hero, Constable

Curtis Barrett from Labrador City, who was recently awarded the Star of Courage

by Governor General Johnston in Ottawa.

All

Members will remember the story. On October 22, 2014, members of the House of

Commons Security Services and the RCMP were instrumental in stopping an armed

man who had stormed the Centre Block of the Parliament Building. At the time of

this incident, Constable Curtis Barrett and the members of his tactical squad

averted an even bigger tragedy.

As it

was described at the awards ceremony, Constable Barrett walked directly toward

the gunman while firing his weapon. These collective actions brought the

incident to an end in less than three minutes and avoided further tragedy.

Constable Barrett's dedication to duty, his willingness to put himself in harm's

way and his determination to stop further tragedy in our Nation's capital is

more than worthy of this recognition. Constable Barrett displayed, through his

actions, the values of our people.

I ask

all hon. Members to join me in congratulating Constable Barrett on his award and

to thank him for his service above and beyond the call of duty.

Thank

you, 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.

I am

delighted to stand today and congratulate my constituent Dr. Robert Sweeny, this

year's winner of the Governor General's History Award for Scholarly Research.

This

award, also known as the Sir John A. Macdonald Prize, is awarded annually by the

Canadian Historical Association to the work it judges to have made the most

significant contribution to an understanding of the Canadian past.

The book

that won Robert the Governor General's award is called Why Did We Choose to

Industrialize? Montreal, 1819-1849 .

He takes a new approach to history and, in this book, argues that history

is shaped by the choices people make. Michel Duquet, executive director of the

Canadian Historical Association, says the book is a deep reflection on the

profession of historian and the meaning of Canadian History.

Governor

General David Johnston will present Robert Sweeney with his award at Rideau Hall

in Ottawa this Thursday evening, November 24. His colleagues at Memorial

University are understandably very proud of this major achievement. Several

leading researchers will come together Thursday night to discuss the relevance

for their own disciplines of Robert's new historical approach.

I ask

all hon. Members to join me in congratulating Robert Sweeney for this major

academic achievement.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in

this hon. House to recognize National Child Day, which took place yesterday,

November 20.

The

Members of this House of Assembly are wearing blue ribbons to recognize National

Child Day, which has been celebrated across Canada since 1993 to commemorate the

adoption of two documents focused on children's rights: the United Nations

Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Convention on the

Rights of the Child.

Mr.

Speaker, this past weekend, I attended the 24th annual conference of

the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Newfoundland and Labrador,

AECENL, held in Manuels. More than 150 early childhood educators from across the

province participated in early learning and child-care professional development

opportunities, ending the conference on National Child Day with celebration of

children's rights.

Yesterday, I participated in the National Early Learning and Child Care

Framework panel discussion hosted by AECENL as part of the conference. It was a

wonderful opportunity to share government's perspective on the framework's

potential for early childhood educators, children and families in Newfoundland

and Labrador. Conference participants also had the opportunity to discuss the

possibilities that the national framework might afford our province, and their

feedback will help to inform our work on this initiative as it continues.

Our

government is committed to enhancing access to exceptional and affordable early

learning and child care opportunities during these important early years of

development.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask parents, educators, child care providers and community members to

continue to respect the rights of children, to ensure that each child has access

to the endless opportunities around them, and to recognize children as important

members of our community.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for the advance copy of his statement. It gives me great pleasure

to rise in this House and recognize November 20 as National Child Day. National

Child Day holds major significance for not just children but also includes

parents, teachers, nurses, social workers and all those who play a role in a

child's life.

Our

country made a commitment to ensure that all children are treated with dignity

and respect. This commitment includes the opportunity for children to have a

voice, to be protected from harm, to be provided with their basic needs, and

every opportunity to reach their full potential.

In this

province, initiatives such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy and inclusive

education models, both implemented by the former administration, has enhanced

the quality of life of our children. Given the lack of leadership shown by the

present administration in areas such as education, I hope they will recognize

the importance of providing children with the opportunity to reach their full

potential.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I too

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. I note that preschool

children with disabilities have internationally recognized rights to inclusive

early childhood education. We need more resources in this province to make full

inclusion a reality.

Also,

rights don't start when a child is four or five years old. I remind the minister

that government ignored those rights when it chose not to increase the child

care parent subsidy this year.

Mr.

Speaker, we need a comprehensive public child care program.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice, Public Safety and the Attorney General.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, it's a pleasure

to recognize the accomplishments of three officers of the Royal Newfoundland

Constabulary today in this hon. House.

October 9, during the International Association of Women Policing Conference,

hosted in Barcelona, Spain, RNC Constable Stephanie Pelley was the recipient of

the Medal of Valour award. This prestigious award is bestowed upon a female

police or peace officer who performs

an act of bravery or heroism at the risk of

her own personal safety or in the face of great danger.

During

the fall of 2015, Constable Pelley and her partner, RNC Constable Charley

Torres, were first on the scene upon receiving a call from a young woman's

family that she was stranded on a cliff in Flatrock. Constable Pelley jumped

into the water before returning to shore to dispose of her heavy equipment. She

then returned to the water, joined by Constable Torres, and they were able to

pull the young woman safely to shore. The officers used their bodies to pin the

woman to a rock until help arrived from the Torbay Fire Department.

This act

of bravery was also recognized last month at the Atlantic Women in Law

Enforcement training conference in Halifax when both Constables Pelley and

Torres were awarded the conference's Medal of Valour.

Also at

the Atlantic conference, Mr. Speaker, RNC officer Julie Cunningham received the

Leadership Award for demonstrating superior leadership qualities in the areas of

problem solving and organization and for being a positive role model as a senior

coach officer.

behalf of all hon. Members and all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,

congratulations to Constables Pelley, Torres and Cunningham and thank you for

your dedicated service to our province each day.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, every day police officers have an impact

on people, on families and communities. It's especially significant when one's

peers acknowledge their work, their efforts and their actions.

These

three officers are certainly worthy of the peer recognition they've received

from their own peers and also from the minister in the House of Assembly today.

I thank the minister for bringing this to the House and also addressing it to

the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, I thank the three officers for the work they've done. I thank them for

the work they've done and exhibited through these experiences and these examples

as provided by the minister. We share with the minister and all of us in the

House of Assembly in congratulating all three officers, but also thanking you

for your service to our people.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for the

District of St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I join the people of the

province in thanking Constables Pelley and Torres for their bravery and quick

thinking and Constable Cunningham for her leadership and commitment to her

community.

These

officers provide incredible examples for young people, especially for young

women and girls that not only can they excel as police officers, their presence

in their roles are greatly needed in our communities.

Bravo to

you! Thank you for your commitment, your passion and your compassion.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

federal government announced today their commitment to phase out coal-fired

generated electricity by 2030. Mr. Speaker, this decision is significant for

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

I ask

the Premier: Will you demand a commitment from Quebec to ensure that

Newfoundland and Labrador is given fair transmission access through Quebec, that

same access that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have been denied for 40 years?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would

say that based on the work of the prior administration that access was denied by

the work that they have done. Mr. Speaker, as you know, back in July of this

year we met in the Yukon and part of the Agreement on Internal Trade factors

into the free flow of electricity.

That

agreement has not been finalized yet, but we all recognize that the free flow of

electricity through jurisdictions like Quebec and across jurisdictional borders

is important for all of us.

Mr.

Speaker, what is important is that we continue a working relationship with all

our provinces, which could include Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and others, to

make sure that the flow of electricity, no different than the railway would have

been many, many years ago, is important to all Canadians and is important to

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Premier likes to talk about the past administration. Well, we've been denied

access since 1969, Mr. Speaker 1969, an incredible long time.

I ask

the Premier: Why would you not commit to confirming transmission before you

start courting Quebec on other deals? Transmission is the key to export; it's

the key to the success of the Churchill River.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Transmission, of course, until we get to the point where you can actually find

some creative way to deliver electricity wirelessly we're not there yet, but

transmission is extremely important, Mr. Speaker. What's important too is we

continue to put in place good working relationships, whether it's through

Atlantic Canada or through Quebec or whatever the jurisdictions would be.

So, Mr.

Speaker, we look forward to working with the federal government, we look forward

to working with all provincial governments to make sure that if we have wealth

or we have the opportunities to develop the Lower Churchill that, indeed, there

is a mechanism to get that to markets.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

You're

right, Premier; partnership is key. There's much speculation that this

announcement was coming and it's good for Newfoundland and Labrador as I

mentioned, it is good for Newfoundland and Labrador that the federal government

has now made this; 2030 is not far away.

But

having speculated this was coming, I'll ask the Premier: Have you had any

discussions with the premier of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick about Newfoundland

and Labrador supplying more renewable power to help meet their needs as the

coal-fired is phased out?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm sure

the former premier would recognize since it's part of the Canadian Energy

Strategy, which he was a signature on as part of the co-chair of this, what

happens with transmission is extremely important. It's a strategy that we

continue to work with.

In early

December of this year, hopefully around December 9, there will be a meeting on

climate change. It will occur in Ottawa. And, of course, electricity and hydro

power will be a significant part of that, as well wind power, solar power and

beyond.

So no

matter where we go with the energy assets that we have in our province, it's

important that we have access to markets. I think anyone that would have

followed any of the comments coming out of Nova Scotia, comments that I would

have made last week, Nova Scotia is certainly someone who is interested in

working with our province to develop resources that we have in Newfoundland and

Labrador. But it will only be when it's right for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I was

part of the strategy and was pleased to be part of the strategy, but a strategy

is not a commitment.

Now,

last week, Premier, you refused to commit to bringing a deal to the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador first.

So I ask

the Premier: Do you commit to keeping the people of Newfoundland and Labrador

informed about your discussions with Quebec, or should Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians just tune in to Quebec media to find out and get updates?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

it's a far cry from that question from where the former premier was last week

when he was saying he was more interested in closing the doors and abruptly

leaving meetings. This was a strategy that he's saying today that he endorsed,

because he was a part of forming that agreement, yet last week he was distancing

himself from the very thing that he was part of, I say, Mr. Speaker.

This

really goes to why there've been so many failed attempts, I would say, because

of the attitude of the people like the former premier when it comes to working

with our provincial colleagues, Mr. Speaker.

We will

do what's right for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, just like we did in 2012

when the person that's sitting next to him today, the minister, said that in

2012 at sanctioning of Muskrat that they were willing to put the sale of surplus

energy into reducing ratepayers of our province. Mr. Speaker, that is completely

false; he did not agree to that then. It was only because of pressure of us when

we were in Opposition at the time. We have made a commitment (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

District of Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the CEO of Nalcor said recently regarding topsoil removal at Muskrat

Falls, and I quote there's no evidence to suggest that it would [actually]

improve the methylmercury situation. He said it could even, quote, make it

worse.

I ask

the Minister of Environment: Given your background, do you agree with Mr.

Marshall's comments?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

There

can be nothing more important than the human health of the constituents of Lake

Melville. So what we have committed to do was to look at every issue around

human health and if more mitigation measures are needed we look forward to the

recommendations coming from an independent experts' advisory committee. I will

take that advice and we will follow it.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I remind

the minister, it's all of Labrador, not just Lake Melville.

I ask

the Minister of Environment: Are you satisfied the full clearing is not required

at the Muskrat Falls site?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER:

I'm not sure I heard the

question, but I believe it's on the same line, Mr. Speaker.

The fact

of the matter is that this is a very complicated topic. I've indicated that for

the last 12 months. I'm very pleased to say that through discussions the

Premier, Minister of Natural Resources and myself had with the indigenous

leaders of Labrador, we've agreed to a table of experts that will provide advice

to us. I look forward to receiving that recommendation.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In June,

the Minister of Environment accepted Nalcor's methylmercury plan. In September,

the minister's position changed and he supported additional clearing.

I ask

the minister: Why did you change your position?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

In fact,

it's not a changing of opinion, but what it is, is a changing of a project that,

my goodness, if you look back 10 years and the shift in direction that we've had

to move a multi-billion dollar project that is over budget, that has not

listened to so many concerns from the people, not just of Lake Melville but of

Labrador in general, it has taken an amazing effect to move it. But I'm very

pleased to say of the progress we have been making as a government; we're going

to continue to make that progress. We will listen to those concerns and we will

act, if we need to.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd like

to go back to it again. In June, the Minister of Environment accepted Nalcor's

methylmercury plan. In September, the minister's position changed, as we all

know, and he supported additional clearing.

I ask

the minister: Why did you change your position?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER:

Mr. Speaker, it's very

important to point out that there are sort of two different activities happening

here.

In June,

my decision regarded the Human Health Risk Assessment Plan, which essentially is

a document which instructs how Nalcor will ensure that any negative effects of

the Muskrat Falls Project will not accrue to the human health of the people of

Lake Melville and Labrador in general.

What's

been happening since are further issues around the environment. I'm looking

forward to those discussions and deliberations as we convene. In the last few

weeks, we have been working very closely with the three indigenous leaders. I'm

looking forward to hearing their input and making great progress.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask

the Minister of Environment: What impact, if any, will the additional clearing

of trees have with respect to methylmercury?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER:

Mr. Speaker, on the 4th of

August, I was very pleased to convene a workshop that finally involved the three

indigenous leaders and a variety of experts from some seven provincial and

federal departments. We started the discussion around this very topic of soil

removal, whether it was necessary, how it could be done, what are the

implications and so on.

It's not

as straightforward as putting your shovel in the ground and removing the soil.

There are a lot of implications in terms of the stability of the watershed, how

you would do it, what you would do with the soil and so on. There is going to

need to be a table of experts. I'm very pleased to say we've convened that table

and I'm looking forward to that advice.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Conception Bay

South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask

the Minister of Environment: How much will the additional removal of trees cost

ratepayers?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Environment

and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER:

Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased

to say that I take my job very seriously. As the minister of environment and

conservation, my role as a regulator is to ensure that the human health and the

environment of this province are protected.

So when

I make a decision as regards to additional mitigation measures, such as my

recent ordering of Nalcor's full clearing concept, price does not enter into

that type of conclusion. I consider the effects on the environment and what can

be done about it. And if it's needed, we will do it.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Conception Bay

South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the minister: Can you provide details of the agreement reached on

the methylmercury concerns between indigenous leaders and the Premier?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Environment

and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER:

If I can recall, Mr. Speaker,

there was a press conference immediately after that agreement at some 2 or 3 in

the morning. There's since been a communiqu as to the key elements of that

agreement.

continue to enjoy close collaboration and co-operation and will continue to

report to anyone who's interested what's happening.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for the District

of Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

federal government is currently exploring a tag system for the recreational cod

fishery.

I ask

the minister: Does he support this tag system?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Fisheries,

Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the federal government is currently undergoing a consultation process

throughout the province with regard to the structure of a future recreational

fishery. One of the things that we stated and we put out there very early in the

mandate and it's actually in my mandate letter from the Premier was to

ensure that, as a province, we supported the recreational fishery and growing

more of a tourism fishery as well.

One of

the most important things that Members opposite and the people have to realize

that as we move forward towards a ground fishery of the future, our cod will

need to be MSC certified. One of the tricks and one of the ways to get MSC

certification will certainly be we need to measure the amount of fish being

harvested in this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Cape St.

Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Yes, Mr. Speaker, thank you.

attended the consultations that were recently held and DFO stated that up to 30

or 50 tags will be reasonable.

Do you

think that's a reasonable number of tags for fishers to have?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Fisheries,

Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER:

Again, Mr. Speaker, thank

you.

I thank

the hon. Member for the question. It's not for me to decide how DFO structures

their fishery of the future. People in this province have an opportunity now to

go out into the consultations, have their say. Again, I will reiterate that as a

province it is important as we move forward to the cod fishery or the ground

fishery of the future that our seafood obtains marine stewardship certification.

One of the important things with that is knowing how much fish is harvested.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask

the minister: Do you believe that it's reasonable for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians to be paying for those tags?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again,

to the hon. Member, that's decisions that DFO will make in their consultation

with the people of this province. It is not unusual for people in our province

and other jurisdictions in the country to pay for permits to harvest, to cut

wood, to do other things.

Mr.

Speaker, if there's a fee involved in maintaining a certification system, that

helps our harvesters. We have to think back to our fishery. Our fishery provides

17,000 jobs in this province, $1.2 billion-a-year industry. The most important

thing is that our seafood is seen on the world stage as being MSC certified.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, we all agree how

important the fishery is to our province but what I'm asking the minister this

is a recreational fishery where people put food on their tables and give fish to

their neighbours.

I'm

asking you: Do you think it's reasonable that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

be the only province in Canada that would have to pay to catch a codfish?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, one thing I have done in my conversations with the federal minister of

fisheries, as recently as two weeks ago today, is I raised with the minister

that any system that comes into Newfoundland and Labrador with regard to

harvesting of groundfish on a recreational food-fish basis, that that system

should include all of Atlantic Canada.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you for the answer, Mr.

Minister.

Also,

when I mentioned the 30 or 50 tags, last year there were 46 days that were

available for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to go on the water. That amounted

to approximately 230 fish that they could catch.

So are

you agreeing with the 50 tags that DFO says they are going to give to people

this year and reduce it from 230 to 50?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, what's important to me, as the Minister of Fisheries in this province,

is that as we move forward into a fishery of the future and the transition

that's going to bring in the next two to three years, it's going to be two or

three difficult years as we transition from shellfish to groundfish for our

harvesters in this province.

We need

to make sure that as we do that, make that transition, that we can get the best

value for our commercially harvested fish in this province when it goes to

market, and that's the challenge that we face.

With

regard to the number of fish a family needs to harvest or to have for

consumption, well, Mr. Speaker, that's something again that's left to the

federal minister of Fisheries to decide.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Cape St.

Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At the

consultations it was said that only 1 per cent of the Total Allowable Catch in

the cod fishery was the recreational fishery.

What I'm

asking the minister: Are you saying that it's okay for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians to be cut from 230 to 50 fish when it's only 1 per cent of the

Total Allowable Catch?

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians not only catch fish for themselves, they catch

fish for their neighbours, they catch fish for seniors and they catch fish for

people in their communities, so I don't think it should be reduced. Do you think

it should be reduced?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Fisheries,

Forestry and Agrifoods.

MR. CROCKER:

I thank the Member for the

question.

I'd like

to ask the Member if he can please show me the information because we have no

system of gauging how much fish is harvested. He's telling me it's 1 per cent

that's harvested, so I would like for the Member to forward that information. If

he has that information, I'd like for him to forward it to DFO because DFO

clearly told me back 12 months ago that they have no idea how much fish is being

harvested in the recreational food fishery, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Conception Bay

East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, school board

elections are tomorrow.

I ask

the minister: What efforts have you made to inform, engage and encourage people

to get out and vote?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Education

and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd like

to take this opportunity thanks to the Member for the question to thank all

of the candidates who have come forward for the election. I think we have 62

people who have put their names forward.

I'd also

like to thank staff in the Department of Education, the Department of Justice

and at the two school boards for all of their hard work over the past eight

months as we've worked towards tomorrow, which is election day for these school

trustees.

We have

done a lot of promotion over the past few months. We have had tens of thousands

of visits on the website schoolboardelectionsnl.ca. We distributed materials to

all the schools. They found their way to school councils, to Municipalities

Newfoundland and Labrador and I'll continue if I get a second chance, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Conception

Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

I think the minister

should also thank the NLTA because they did a phenomenal job in trying to get

the message out there and encouraging people here to vote.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL:

I've received numerous

calls from individuals who are confused about the zones they were in, where they

I ask

the minister: Are you satisfied you've done everything that you could to promote

school board elections and engage people in the voting process?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Education

and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, I

am satisfied that we've done everything that we can. We've had a very robust

Transcontinental newspapers. We've had materials that children will take home to

their parents. We've had a variety of other activities. We've distributed the

message through the public service email system. The Synervoice voice system

that parents get messages from school is going to be used to inform parents

either today and tomorrow, one or the other.

So we've

done a whole bunch of different activities. I've done a variety of media

interviews about this over the past three years, as have Members of the

Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Conception Bay

East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, with the calls

and the emails I've gotten, there's still a lot of confusion out there. So

obviously somebody fell down on the job.

I ask

the Minister of Education: Did the former Liberal candidate you hired to oversee

the school board elections go through the Independent Appointments Commission?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I've

recognized the hon. the Member for Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, again I ask to

the minister: Did the former Liberal candidate you hired to oversee the school

board elections go through the Independent Appointments Commission?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Education and

Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

No.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Fortune

Bay Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Did the

collapsing the once stand-alone Department of CYFS?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Not at all, Mr. Speaker.

We have

put two very good teams together. Child protection is a critical and challenging

area of service delivery and the two teams together are doing a great job.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Fortune Bay

Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

The Child and Youth Advocate,

Carol Chafe, in an interview this weekend said that she was pleased with the

progress being made by the former administration. Little to nothing has been

done by the current government over the last 12 months.

I ask

the minister: Can she tell us what's been done with mandatory reporting

legislation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Mr.

Speaker, I, myself, met with the Child and Youth Advocate just last month and my

team is meeting next month. The department's involved with the critical incident

reporting, reporting of deaths and critical incidents are working

independently on their own issues and their own statements.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Fortune Bay

Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Last year, Mr. Speaker, that

legislation was just about ready to bring into government. It was nearly a year

now

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

Member for Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you so much, Mr.

Speaker.

It was

tabled in our last days of government, so why have you been delaying it for over

a year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure how

they knew it was going to be their last days in government and I'm not sure why

they didn't put it through; however, we are working to put it through and we

will deliver on our promise.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

We certainly didn't know that

would happen; that's how history turned out. If we were there, it would have

been done by now, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. PERRY:

I ask the minister of child,

youth and family services: With respect to children that are in the care of the

Newfoundland government, what measures has her government put in place to ensure

these children are receiving the proper vaccinations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Mr. Speaker, there is a

universal vaccination program for, I think, somewhere between 11 and 14

conditions which rolls out and is available to every child in the province free

of charge.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Mr. Speaker, it doesn't give

me a comfort level that they're looking after the children in their care.

When

will all the children in the care of government receive their vaccinations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Mr. Speaker, thank you for

the question.

If the

Member opposite has any evidence that they are not receiving them, I would be

delighted to hear it.

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.

The

Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development has said that school board

elections are important and people should get out and vote. I've been inundated

be totally frustrated in their attempts to find their zone, their candidates and

where to vote tomorrow.

I ask

aware of the poor job they were doing of informing the public about school board

elections?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Democratic governance of our schools by community members is crucial to public

education and we're pleased to return to that model after it was basically

abolished by the previous administration.

I admire

our public servants and the job they've done. I think they've done a very good

job. The Member was on the radio last week and called their work a mess. I don't

consider their work a mess. They've been working very hard for the past eight

months to get everything in place for the election tomorrow. I'm confident that

everything that could be done has been done. I commend them on their work.

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.

I hope

the minister has been listening to what people in the know are saying because

that website is a mess.

Mr.

Speaker, the Schools Act states that

the Minister of Education is responsible for the manner in which elections of

school board trustees are carried out. So I ask the minister: What direction did

conducted to ensure a good voter turnout?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

There are actually two school

boards electing trustees tomorrow. There's also the Conseil scolaire francophone

election tomorrow.

I don't

understand some of the Member's points. Again, I heard her on the radio the

weekend saying that we should have had this election concurrently with the

provincial election. The provincial election is three years away; yet, in the

summer, the Member was saying we weren't moving fast enough to have the

election. So there are a lot of contradictions in what the Third Party has

demanded of government for this election.

We've

done everything that we can. We've worked with all of our partners on the

ground. We've provided the significant resources for this election, and I'm

hopeful that we'll have a decent turnout and an increased participation

tomorrow.

Thank

you, 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.

I won't

get at all the misquotes he just did there with regard to me, but I do ask the

minister: What, if any, analysis was done of how the elections could be carried

out to highlight their importance and engage voters in this important democratic

process?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, it's great to

hear these suggestions, although they're rather vague, from the Member the day

before the election. We had a substantive debate here in April, May and June on

the budget. There was no mention of the school board election. No one brought it

up; there were no ideas brought to the table.

brought a lot of ideas to the table for this election. We had, as I said before,

which is often on Facebook and on the Internet, viewing news and so on. We used

all of our partnerships in education to connect with parents and to people. I've

done numerous interviews myself, earned the media, if you will, as have Members

of the Opposition. I'm confident we've done everything that we can, and tomorrow

we'll find out how it's going to go.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, Carol Chafe, the

Child and Youth Advocate, is stepping down after six years of intensive and

courageous work on behalf of the children and youth of our province. Her last

day is December 15, less than a month away.

I ask

the minister, Mr. Speaker: How long has she known the advocate was stepping

down? What has she done to start the process to find a new replacement? How long

will it take the Independent Appointments Commission to find her replacement?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, I found out like

everyone else when Carol was stepping down, through the media release. It will

go through the Independent Appointments Commission.

I would

like to take this opportunity to thank Carol. Her work has been phenomenal and

she is dedicated to her job.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, this is a

crucial role in our province.

I ask

the minister: What is she planning to do to fill the vacant position of Child

and Youth Advocate until a new advocate is found?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, I believe Carol

will stay in the role until December 15, and it will go through the Independent

Appointments Commission.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, December 15 is

just a few weeks away.

What is

she going to do to bridge that gap?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, we knew this

position was up for review and we have already put it up on the website and

advertised for the position.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

it's going to take longer than a few weeks, I dare say.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the minister: What is she going to do to address the crisis

issues the Auditor General raised in his report regarding the documentation and

assessment issues in child protection cases?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, child protection

is a critical and challenging area of service delivery. Every day our social

workers go to work making difficult decisions about the safety and protection of

our children. Our department has put in place a quality committee. We accept all

27 recommendations of the Auditor General. We have met with the School of Social

Work so we can fast track a program on documenting.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre for a very quick question.

MS. ROGERS:

Again, Mr. Speaker, I ask the

minister: Where is the crucial, long-awaited legislation of mandatory reporting

of deaths and critical incidents of children and youth to the Child and Youth

Advocate? When can we see that?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development for a quick response.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, the work is

ongoing, and as I said earlier, each department is working on their individual

proposed reporting protocol.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Presenting Reports by

Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to

section 5(2)(

b) of the Supply Act, 2016

I am tabling one order in council relating to usage of the contingency fund for

the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The

hon. the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This is

a document to answer a question from November 15, 2016, on job creation in the

province and the Ocean Frontier Institute.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further presenting reports by

standing and select committees sorry, tabling of documents? Any further

documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Hydro

Corporation Act, 2007, Bill 48.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

The hon.

the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I wish

to table the following private Member's resolution:

BE IT

RESOLVED that any and all agreements respecting Churchill River hydro power

shall be brought to the House of Assembly for public debate and a Members' vote

prior to ratification.

This is

seconded by my colleague, the Member for Ferryland.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 63(3), the private Member's resolution just

entered by my colleague will be the one that we will debate on Wednesday,

November 23, Private Members' Day.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act Respecting The

Relocation Of Certain Communities In The Province, Bill 47.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Income

Tax Act, 2000 No. 6, Bill 49.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

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 humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

government has once again cut the libraries budget threatening the closure of 54

libraries; and

WHEREAS

libraries are often the backbone of their communities, especially for those with

little access to government services where they offer learning opportunities and

computer access; and

WHEREAS

libraries and librarians are critical in efforts to improve the province's

literacy levels which are among the lowest in Canada; and

WHEREAS

already strapped municipalities are not in a position to take over the operation

and cost of libraries;

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

of Assembly to urge government to keep these libraries open and work on a

long-term plan to strengthen the library system.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, we can all remember last year the absolute outrage that was expressed

province wide about this government's intention to close over half the libraries

in the province. We also heard from writers, from educators across the country

in disbelief that at this day and age libraries were being shut when we have

among the lowest literacy rates in the country.

Mr.

Speaker, the majority of these petitions that I'm presenting here today are from

the residents of Lark Harbour and the surrounding area. The Lark Harbour Public

Library was one of the 54 rural libraries slated to be closed as part of the

purge of our rural public library service that government was forced to back off

of because of the strong public backlash.

A visit

to that library by my colleague this summer revealed a public institution with a

strong level of support in the community. Our leader visited and met with people

and heard what they had to say. One of the patrons who showed up on a

magnificent summer day to discuss the importance of the library to the community

described a public library as one of the pillars of any community.

Tourists

in attendance described the importance to them of the services offered to the

public library from Wi-Fi to Internet access to being a source of information

about the beautiful Bay of Islands area and a beautiful area it is indeed.

The

nearest alternative library is in Corner Brook, about an hour's drive away on a

good day along a narrow, gorgeous, winding road. Children who ride their bikes

to the library, Mr. Speaker, would certainly not ride to Corner Brook if the

government had succeeded in their plan A.

Mr.

Speaker, I am pleased to support this petition from the people of Lark Harbour,

and urge that it be given sufficient funding to continue to provide valuable and

appreciated service to the people of the region.

Mr.

Speaker, the people of the province still have no confidence in this government

to do the right thing, and they urge the government to do the right thing for

their communities.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

petition to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents

humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

many students within our province depend on school busing for transportation to

and from school each day; and

WHEREAS

there've been a number of buses removed from service over the past few weeks for

safety reasons, calling into question the current inspection and enforcement

protocols for school buses in the province; and

WHEREAS

there have been concerns raised by members of the busing industry regarding

government's tendering practices as it relates to the provision of school bus

services in the province; and

WHEREAS

there are many parents throughout our province who have raised both scheduling

policy, the courtesy-seating policy, the new double bus run schedule, as well as

overcrowding on school buses;

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

of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to strike an

all-party committee on school busing to consult with stakeholders and make

recommendations to government for the improvement to the school busing system in

our province.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I stand to present this petition once again, as indicated would be my

intention to continue with this practice. I have numerous petitions signed from

people all over the province who have concerns about school busing, whether it

be the safety issues as indicated here although as I indicated last week, I'm

glad to see there appears to be some movement in strengthening those policies

and regulations, which is great to see.

Certainly the issue of the 1.6 kilometres that's been ongoing, I've been

presenting that petition now for the last three or four years. Not only has

there been no changes, as a matter of fact, what we've seen now is that policy

actually spread to other parts of the province, or at least be enforced in other

parts of the province because apparently is wasn't always being done so.

With

that, Mr. Speaker, brings a whole lot of concerns with safety as it relates to

children having to walk to school. Certainly this time in the year, they could

be walking to school in the dark. They could be walking to school when the

conditions are bad in terms of snow, in terms of having no sidewalks, having no

crosswalks. Even areas that have sidewalks, they may not be cleared, so parents

have real concerns about that. Of course, the new busing schedule, the double

busing schedule, is causing a whole lot of problems for families as well.

So on

behalf of the parents and the students who attend our schools, I present this

once again. I call upon the government to form that all-party committee so we

can hear from all the stakeholders on all the various issues around busing and

hopefully make some recommendations to improve it for the safety of our

children.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

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

the people of Bell Island deserve to have access to services that will assist

them to gain employment; and

WHEREAS

these services have provided proven results to the people of our province; and

WHEREAS

decisions made in the past budget by the current government has removed the

advanced education and skills office from Bell Island;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call up on the

House of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the office of advanced

education and skills on Bell Island.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, seven months have gone past since the closure of the AES office on Bell

Island. We're seeing now evidence that the movement we were making forward

Bell Island one time had the labelling as perhaps the highest per capita

reliance on income support, but over the last decade that has dramatically

changed. It's changed for a number of reasons: investments in infrastructure,

abilities to have access

to job markets, but particularly the work of the AES office around Adult Basic

Education, around job coaching, around networking between employers and

potential employees, about accessing some of the other programs and services

that AES would offer for Income Support clients, for single parents, for older

workers. All very important programs that the nucleus of those who are reliant

on programs and services on Bell Island who wanted to be able to move beyond

those and access a program that would make them employable and make them be

gainfully employed, either in the St. John's area or on Bell Island itself, has

been taken away.

One of

the ironic issues here was while there were only two staff there, they were also

doing because of the use of technology work for clients in other parts of

the province. They were being able to access things online for clients as a

call-in centre. So the physical location, these people didn't get laid off, they

were moved to St. John's.

The

government building is where the office was. It also served as the nucleus for

other application processes, be it Newfoundland and Labrador Housing where there

isn't an office there, be it Service NL. It became the focal point for

government to have its outlet for two employees to provide services for still a

fair, high proportion of Income Support clients to avail of programs and

services that are out there and help coordinate it to get clients off one system

and onto a system that makes them gainfully employed and have a better quality

of life. It opened up opportunities for those who want a better education

through the Adult Basic Education program that's over there that's fully

supported, very successful and continues to this day to turn out very successful

students who go on to post-secondary education.

So I do

ask that the minister talk to his staff, and if he'd like to sit down with me

and we go through the numbers again, to really assess what's happening here.

Because what we're doing, we're forcing people to stay on income support. We're

not giving them the opportunities to be able to move forward and we're not being

able to give them, the department a great department, it has a lot of great

programs an opportunity to have a better clientele use.

Mr.

Speaker, I'll get to speak to this again.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm glad to rise today on a petition.

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

the Witless Bay Line is a significant piece of infrastructure; and

WHEREAS

the continuation of the Hebron and Long Harbour projects and the commercial and

residential growth of our region has increased the volume of traffic on the

highway;

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

of Assembly to urge government to provide upgrades to this significant piece of

infrastructure to enhance and improve the flow of traffic to and from the

Trans-Canada Highway.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, off Route 10, the Witless Bay Line, which connects basically the lower

end of the Southern Shore to the Trans-Canada Highway, certainly since its

original construction a number of years ago has been integral in terms of the

flow of traffic, both commercial, residential, back and forth to both regions;

traditionally the fishing industry and the transport of fish back and forth over

this significant piece of infrastructure.

It has a

long history when you look at, going back a number of years, the number of

processing plants around the Southern Shore, bringing fish in to be processed

and bringing it out across whether it was shipped out of Newfoundland and

Labrador. It has been critical in terms of the overall economic activity on the

Southern Shore.

If you

move along in terms of future growth that we've seen along the region; increase

in fabrication, the facility in Bay Bulls, the offshore, C&W Fabrication in Bay

Bulls and a whole bunch of even if we go as far as Cape Broyle, you look at

manufacturing and fabrication facilities there as well. It's integral to the

overall lifeline, if you will, of the commerce and of the people; professionals

coming back and forth to service the region as well. It's extremely important.

Over the

past number of years our administration did a number of pieces of upgrades

there. There's more to do. I think in a roundabout way, it's probably about $3

million been spent and there are a couple of more sections there that need to be

improved to continue the traffic back and forth and to make it safe for all

those that travel it, because a lot of times trucking and others, it's often

done in the nighttime. It is worse in that particular case in terms of making

sure that piece of infrastructure is up to where it needs to be.

I hope

the Minister of Transportation has listened attentively, can hear what's been

said here in regard to this petition. I certainly hope he takes the advice, look

at this and get it in to upgrades for next year's season.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

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

school-age children are walking to school in areas with no sidewalks, no traffic

lights and through areas without crosswalks; and

WHEREAS

this puts the safety of these children at risk;

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

of Assembly to urge government to ensure the safety of all children by removing

the 1.6 kilometre busing policy where safety is a concern and I stress that

point, Mr. Speaker.

As in

duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this 1.6 issue is not a new issue. It's been around for a long time.

The current Minister of Education was very vocal on it when he was in

Opposition, and rightfully so I guess. It affects a lot of districts.

I know

it's a policy shift for government and it will probably cost a lot of money, and

usually that comes down to dollars and cents. But after experiencing it first

hand up in my own District of Conception Bay South I know other Members on

this side and opposite experienced the same problem. I think it's worthwhile for

government to actually have a look at it. Even if they were to take the K to six

age group or elementary schools and have a look at revising and probably

eliminating the policy for that age bracket.

I got

kids that walk on a four-lane highway. They have no other way to get there. It's

fine to say I know someone from the school district office told me this is not

considered a walk zone. Well, if they got no other way to get there, it is a

walk zone. You're limited; there's no public transportation system within CBS.

So they either get there by bus or by their parents or family members. The

family models now, that's not available to everyone.

Demographics have changed in the 40 or 50 years this policy has been in place,

and I do feel it's time to really have a serious look at it. You got two-income

families; every home has two or three vehicles. The traffic volume has

increased. Where these schools were once built on a little two-lane, so-called

little municipal road, now they're four-lane highways, which is evident in my

district, especially up where St. George's Elementary is located. It's right on

the four lanes. It's a very important issue.

Parents

in my district and other districts I spoke to, like some Members opposite as

well, there was a lot of people were very vocal on it. I believe you can take

it in piecemeal. I think that elementary schools, K to six kids, it's worthwhile

having a serious look at visiting the policy for K to six children first. I know

it's a cost, but you can't put a price on safety, Mr. Speaker,

Thank

you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents

humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the people of Fortune Bay Cape La Hune need to have access to adequate health

care; and

WHEREAS

the local clinics in rural areas are the main source of medical assistance for

our people; and

WHEREAS

the government has reduced funding and closed the Hermitage clinics and

downgraded service;

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

of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the services to health care in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I've raised this petition in this House on a number of occasions, and

we will continue to raise this petition in the House until such time that we see

some type of restoration to basic medical care for the people, not just in

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune, Mr. Speaker, but in all rural remote parts of this

Island.

While we

appreciate that changes are required to the efficiency of the health care system

to see where cost savings can be recognized, we don't believe that there's any

room for cuts whatsoever when it comes to front-line health care of our

residents and our citizens.

strongly feel that people of rural Newfoundland and Labrador are equally as

important and equally as valuable as the people of urban centres. Sometimes

those of us living in rural Newfoundland feel like we are considered to be less

important because we're smaller in number and therefore we don't have, I guess,

as much consideration when decisions are being made based upon population

centres. And when it comes to health care, the decisions, we strongly believe,

should be made based upon our ability to save someone's life and ensure that

they are getting optimal health care, Mr. Speaker.

In our

case, in Fortune Bay Cape La Hune I'll speak to that in particular because I

know and understand it well with the decision to close down the health care

clinic, I do believe the health board is not saving a significant amount of

money. It's just a little over $100,000, I think, per year.

But when

you add up the cost of the 800-or-so seniors living in the Hermitage area, plus

all the livyers of McCallum and Gaultois who have to first take a ferry ride to

get to Hermitage and then once they get to Hermitage, find some method of

transportation to Harbour Breton and no taxi services exist, so they have to

rely upon a good neighbour, a good friend or someone to bring them along and

it's often very costly for them out of pocket because they still have to pay for

gas.

There

are people who will able to avail of the Medical Transportation Assistance

Program and charge their expenses back to government. In the long run, we don't

see any cost savings. We do see loss of health care to the people of rural

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you so much.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Orders

of the Day.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I call Order 2,

third reading of Bill 43.

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Environment that Bill 43,

An Act to

Create Safe

Access

Zones Around Facilities and Homes of Doctors and Service Providers Providing or

Facilitating Abortion Services be now read the third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 43 be now read a third time.

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't

normally speak to third reading of many bills, but this is one that I wanted to

take an opportunity today to speak to. We had a significant debate on Thursday

in this House. I considered it a very good debate, a constructive debate.

It's one

of those debates where everybody, I think, was on the same page in terms of the

direction. Like any debate, there can be differences of opinion on the scope and

any number of things, but I think everybody saw that this piece of legislation,

Bill 43, was a positive step forward for this province. What I want to do was to

just take an opportunity to speak about just what I've seen in the last number

of days since that time; just a few things, a few observations.

Firstly,

I'd like to thank those that took the opportunity to write to me on this bill. I

had some people that emailed and let us know very clearly their disapproval of

our position on this. You can't have something where you just get positive or

negative; you're always going to get a mix of both. But I'm pleased to say that

the reaction to this has been very, very positive in terms of the reaction that

I'm receiving.

To hear

from a young lady, she sent me an email I won't say her name; she never gave

me consent to talk about it. But I had to share the gist of the story; someone

who's not from this province who came here and lived in another city, and

actually served in a volunteer capacity as somebody to help guide women from

outside the facility, an escort into the facility. She had to put on the vest

and just talking about the abhorrent things that were being said and

demonstrated towards these people.

Just

hearing about that shows that I'm just happy to see that this government, this

province and the Members of this House who have been unanimous in their support

of this bill, see this as the right place to go. I had a number of emails from

people that talked about they think this is a positive. It's not a debate on the

service itself; it's a debate on the access to the service.

Secondly, I thought it was interesting. Actually, we received a call today from

the Morgentaler Clinic in Quebec. They were very pleased to see our government

moving forward with this and, in fact, would love to see this happen in their

province. This is a conversation they've had. Obviously, it hasn't gotten there.

So I am

always pleased to see in our case, we certainly didn't invent the concept.

We're lucky that British Columbia came forward with this bill and that we've

just had an opportunity to look to what they did. In many cases, we can take

what they did, the success that they had and work from that.

One of

the other things I'd like to mention is the people that brought this idea to us.

You're not allowed, in this House of Assembly, to recognize people that may be

present in this House I'm not going to recognize anybody, but the people that

brought this to our attention, the people that have been fighting this fight,

they know who they are and they should be appreciated for the work that they've

put into this on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. I appreciate

everything that they've done and that they've gone through to make sure this

could happen, and it's without the work of these individuals that this would not

happen.

So we're

very appreciative of the work that these individuals have done on protection of

females, on protection of health providers. We're so happy to see that the work

that they've done that we all here in this House can support this, because it is

in the best interests of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and we're just happy

to facilitate this, to bring this legislation forward.

But like

many pieces of good legislation, it comes from those out there in the province

that are serving particular roles you name it on any piece of legislation.

The ideas come to us, but it's nice to see that it can come to us and that we

can work through the process, because again, you have to take time when it comes

to legislation. But to see it done in what I would consider a very timely

fashion it's been less than one year since that first meeting that we had in

the boardroom of the Minister of Finance and we sat down and had that meeting.

Again, as I said the other day, that's not a topic that I had dealt with many

times.

But

since that day I was convinced of the need of it, and I'm glad to see that my

colleagues have been convinced of the need of it. I'm glad to see that my

friends opposite have been convinced of the need of it, and that's been

evidenced by their support and by their words in this House.

So, Mr.

Speaker, on that note I will sit down. I can say also that actually, I spoke

to the solicitor regulations are right now being drafted as we speak up on the

fourth floor of this building by the Department of Justice and Public Safety

solicitors. They're being drafted so that all individuals who need this

protection will be afforded it.

I'm glad

to speak to this in Third Reading, I thank the Members opposite for their

commentary and I'm very happy to be able to conclude debate on this, and we look

forward to having this in place as soon as possible for this province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, too,

am happy to stand and to speak in Third Reading on Bill 43, and

An Act to Create

Safe Access Zone Around Facilities and Homes of Doctors and Service Providers

Providing or Facilitating Abortion Services. I would like, again, to thank the

fine people in the Department of Justice who have worked so hard on this bill.

I would

like to commend the Minister of Justice and Public Safety and the Minister of

Finance and Status of Women for working ever so quickly on this bill. This is

the kind of bill that someone could drag their feet on and, in fact, I think

that they have been very responsive to the reality and to the needs of the

people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Again,

although we are deemed as leaders here in this House of Assembly and by virtue

of being elected by the people in our areas, oftentimes within legislatures we

are not the ones who are the leaders. We are often pushed into doing the right

thing. That it's often advocates sometimes who are on the fringes, sometimes who

are right in the centre of things, who identify and push and lobby and push for

social change.

I, too,

would like to thank those who, throughout the years, have been advocates for

women's right to choose, advocates for women to have control over their own

reproductive rights. I would also like to thank, particularly in the more recent

times, people like the owner of Athena clinic, Ms. Rolanda Ryan, and her

counsel, Ms. Lynn Moore, for really pushing on this issue. Let's hope we

continue as legislators to work collaboratively with those out in the field who

are pushing for social change to make our province the best that it possibly can

be for all people involved.

Again, I

believe in the debate we had last Thursday in the House around this bill. It

points to the need for legislative committees to be able to look at pieces of

legislation, to be able to fine tune them, to look at different possibilities

before they come to this House for debate. The government has made a number of

statements indicating, in fact, they are looking at that possibility and I look

forward to actually seeing that happen. I believe we all have a role in ensuring

that our legislation becomes the best it can be and that it is truly responsive

to the needs of our province.

Also, I

have received a number of phone calls and a number of emails and texts from

people who have thanked me, who have thanked all of us, for the debate on

Thursday and for bringing this legislation forward.

As I

have said a number of times in the debate on Thursday, I was concerned about the

fact that although legislation in BC has withstood Charter challenges and

that's something we shouldn't take lightly. It is legislation that was

introduced 20 years ago, enacted 20 years ago in 1996. At a time when it was

doctors in BC one doctor for sure was shot in his home. Another doctor was

so there were public incidents of violence against doctors. I've heard from

doctors. We know the abortion services, either the direct service or the

facilitation of abortion services, are provided by a team.

believe, ideally, it shouldn't be necessary for those who are involved in

providing these services or the facilitation of these services, our health care

professionals, for instance like nurses, like counsellors; ideally, they should

not have to go to government, to Cabinet and say I am being harassed at my home

because it's already too late when that happens can you please extend this

access, this buffer zone to my home or to my place of work. That's the ideal

situation.

I'm

disappointed we were not able to get to that point. I believe it's necessary.

Doctors have said that to me. The Registered Nurses' Union have said that they

would like to see that happen. So as we go forward, we'll have to see.

The

Minister of Justice and Public Safety said in the debate Thursday night that the

regulations concerning the home of Ms. Rolanda Ryan were being drafted as we

spoke last Thursday night. Now he's indicated again that the regulations are

being drafted. I'm not sure if that meant just in that case or if the minister

was saying in terms of all the workers in the clinics. So it would be good to

get a clarification from the minister on that.

As we go

forward, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Particularly, it is

our hope that those who are protesting, protest in the appropriate places and

certainly not at the clinic. Now we know there's a buffer zone around there,

there's a buffer zone around the homes and offices of doctors. Hopefully, they

will not inappropriately harass or intimidate in any way anyone who works at the

clinic. That is our hope. I am sure the minister will take that very seriously,

if in fact that does happen.

Again, I

would like to say thank you. I would have loved to have seen this bill be a

little more proactive. I also spoke with the Morgentaler Clinic in Quebec last

week. They talked about their struggle to also get this kind of legislation

going forward. For abortion clinics and providers, to have to get injunctions

are very, very expensive and it takes a long time.

I would

like to congratulate and thank the Minister of Justice and Public Safety for

bringing this legislation so quickly to the House. I am going to support this

legislation. My caucus here, we will support the legislation. We will be

monitoring things as they go forward and perhaps, who knows, down the road the

legislation may be amended so it is more proactive in terms of caring for and

protecting the rights of all people who are providing this critical and legal

service to the women and men of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount

Pearl Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I think we had a good debate on this, as has been said. I'm certainly

very supportive of this legislation. I congratulate the minister as well on

bringing it forward. It is being very proactive. I think we should all be proud

of this piece of legislation.

I would

share the comments of my colleague from St. John's Centre in that it would have

been great if we could have included the nurses and other people involved in

that process to get the automatic protection. I do understand where the minister

is coming from, that there is a fear that if we were to change the legislation

in any way then it would make it non-enforceable or if it was challenged we

could lose. It's disappointing that's where we're to in that regard;

nonetheless, it can be covered under the regulations, albeit an incident would

have to actually happen at a nurse's home, for example, before the injunction

could be put in place.

Mr.

Speaker, the reason I actually chose to stand on this is that I did get a call

on Friday afternoon, a couple of concerns were raised. This was raised by people

who would be pro-choice sorry, this would be the people who would be with the

Right to Life Association. We had a very good conversation. Quite frankly, I was

a little surprised. I thought they might be sort of really against this bill.

They really weren't.

The

conversation I had at least, even that group understood because they've been

basically under a court order anyway; an injunction anyway that covered a lot of

this. I suppose one of their thoughts was if we're under this injunction and

it's working, why even bother to put in the legislation? Of course, as I

indicated to them, that's fine because you're under an injunction; what about if

new people got involved or other groups started or other parts of the province?

We need to have something in place to protect everybody.

The only

couple of concerns really that they had, and I'll just throw it out to the

minister and I said to them that perhaps this could be dealt with under the

regulations, and probably it can, but on the 50-metre zone, as an example and

they gave me a specific example, Minister. They were saying that every year, I

think it's around Christmastime, they have some kind of a little prayer vigil or

something at the Health Sciences. Now, it's not

AN HON. MEMBER:

Eastertime.

MR. LANE:

Eastertime, okay, there you

go. My colleague says Easter.

According to them, at least, they are right over on the far west parking lot of

the Health Sciences, so they are nowhere near the entrance, they're not

bothering anybody and they would have no idea of who is going into the Health

Sciences for whatever reason. So, in a sense, they're having a peaceful protest,

a little vigil, they're not bothering a soul and their point was based on the

legislation that's written, they would have to be 50 metres away, not from the

hospital but from the parking lot, or even the far reaches of the parking lot.

In their

mind, that's kind of taking away from their ability to have a peaceful vigil in

that manner. So I just throw it out there for the minister. And I'm bringing it

up because they asked me would I, and I said sure I will so at least it's on

record and we can see.

The

other issue they had was the 160 metres around somebody's home. The one question

they was well, how do I know if a particular I don't know where a doctor or

whatever lives. I don't know where they live so if I'm having a vigil, I'm 160

which is a fairly big distance I might not know where that person lives. I

said well if you were causing a problem, the police would notify you and then

once you know, then it's a different story.

But then

the other point they raised was about if we were down on the court steps, for

example, of the Supreme Court and there are homes within a 160-metre radius of

the court or even here at the Confederation Building, there might be homes

that are within that 160 that could have someone who worked out of that clinic

or is a doctor. Well, does that mean that we can't even have a vigil or protest

at the Confederation Building because somebody technically lives within 160?

I said

to them I'm sure that's not the intent. I'm sure it's not. I'm assuming that

this stuff can be covered under the regulations. They did ask me to bring it

forward. So just for the record and the information of the minister, maybe he

can respond if he wants to, just some assurances that those type of issues, if

they're doing it legitimately, they are not harming anybody, that for those

types of situations there would be some protection giving them the right to have

their vigils as well.

Other

than that, Mr. Speaker, that's basically all I had to say, other than just to

reaffirm the fact that I do think it's great legislation and I support it 100

per cent.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for

time to speak today on this in third reading on Bill 43,

An Act to Create Safe

Access Zones Around Facilities and Homes of Doctors and Service Providers

Providing or Facilitating Abortion Services.

This was

debated on Thursday, the last sitting day of the House last week, at some

length. And I took the time, at that point in time, to thank those who have

participated in it, who have advocated for it, who have provided information and

support, as well as expressed some concerns because there were some concerns

raised last week. Actually, during debate last week in Committee, we actually

had proposed amendments come forward from the Member for St. John's Centre.

Those amendments were turned down.

I have

heard the minister reference the regulations are underway. He's made commentary

that the regulations will deal with much of these concerns. I look forward to

that and appreciate the information from the minister.

I want

to reiterate a comment from last week as well that I made on this during second

reading. The question in the bill is not a discussion or debate about abortion

itself, it's actually about those who want to access a legal service, a service

that can be legally obtained and rightfully obtained in Canada, by providing

them with clear access to that particular service.

I know

quite well and I'm quite sure I can't think of a circumstance where this would

not be a very difficult decision for any person, any woman, to seek out these

services or obtain these services. Of course, we also know, Mr. Speaker, they're

obtained for so many reasons, but under very difficult times, I'm sure, in every

case. In those cases, then, persons should be able to have that free access,

that unobstructed access, access where they won't have to cross a picket line or

go through a protest to obtain that service.

That's

essentially what this bill is about, Mr. Speaker. We support the bill. We

support the merit and intent of the bill. We will support the bill in the House.

But I think it's important to point out there's been some very important and

meaningful discussions.

I go

back to the Member for St. John's Centre again because I know that she's quite

knowledgeable in this topic, in this area, has a tremendous amount of experience

and background. Her comments and her discussions is something we should take

very serious from her own background. We do that, and I'm glad she spoke and

spoke openly and honestly. She spoke in some depth about the bill and to the

bill, and I'm glad she did that because I think she very eloquently described

the importance of it.

It is

very interesting it's only the second place in Canada to have it. When BC has

had it for 20 years, British Columbia has had essentially the same legislation,

very, very similar legislation that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

took from British Columbia and made some changes to it for it to be applicable

and right for this jurisdiction but essential to British Columbia and I'm not

criticizing them for that. There's nothing wrong with that, Mr. Speaker. There's

no need to recreate the wheel when the wheel already exists and the government

has done that and brought that forward.

But it

is very interesting and I don't know why other jurisdictions haven't done this

or haven't brought this forward or other provinces haven't done that. Maybe if

the minister speaks again in third reading and he has some information on it, he

might be willing to comment on it. But it is very interesting that Newfoundland

did that. It's progressive. It looks after the best interests of women in

challenging and difficult times and I'm glad the government has brought forward

this bill.

We hope

it will be successful. There was some talk last week about legal challenges and

court challenges and so on. I hope that doesn't happen. Even though that's quite

often a process that causes legislation to be changed and creates new

legislation when people challenge legislation or a decision is made under

particular legislation. That's quite often the process.

So I

look forward to seeing what the regulations are from government. I thank the

minister and government for bringing the bill forward and we'll be supporting

it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Is it the pleasure of the

House to adopt the motion?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

CLERK (Ms. Barnes):

A bill,

An Act To Create

Access Safe Zones Around Facilities And Homes Of Doctors And Service Providers

Providing Or Facilitating Abortion Services. (Bill 43)

MR. SPEAKER:

Bill 43 has now been 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 Create Safe Access Zones Around Facilities And Homes

Of Doctors And Service Providers Providing Or Facilitating Abortion Services,

read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill

43)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Natural Resources, for leave to introduce a bill entitled, An

Act To Amend The Independent Appointments Commission Act, Bill 45, and I further

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

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded by

the hon. Government House Leader that he shall have leave to introduce Bill 45

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.'

Carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board to introduce a

bill,

An Act To Amend The Independent Appointments Commission Act, carried.

(Bill 45)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Independent Appointments Commission Act. (Bill 45)

MR. SPEAKER:

Bill 45 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 45 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 move, seconded

by the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador, for leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act Respecting Procurement by Public Bodies, Bill 46, and I

further move that the said bill be now read the first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded by

the hon. the Government House Leader that he shall have leave to introduce Bill

46 and that the said bill shall now be 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.'

Carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Service NL to introduce a bill,

An Act Respecting

Procurement By Public Bodies, carried. (Bill 46)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act Respecting

Procurement By Public Bodies. (Bill 46)

MR. SPEAKER:

Bill 46 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 46 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, Order 3, second

reading of Bill 42.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Member for Lab West, that Bill 42,

An Act to Amend the Highway Traffic

Act, be read a second time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 42 be now read a second time.

Motion,

second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The Highway Traffic Act No. 3. (Bill

42)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you for the opportunity to bring this important piece of legislation to the

House of Assembly. I feel very confident we're going to get consent on this from

all Members of the House because it's very important to everybody in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

The

provincial highway traffic regulations are used for all motor vehicles on the

highways in Newfoundland and Labrador. This is a significant piece of

legislation. The Highway Traffic Act

with 215 provisions, a detailed

schedule and 17 associated sets of regulations

to protect the public in Newfoundland and Labrador. It's important to note that

this act is amended on a regular basis in order to keep up with the changes in

safety codes, vehicle design and other safety improvements.

Mr.

Speaker, if you go back over the years, the

Highway Traffic Act is usually amended

when something arises for the safety of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

It's done on a regular basis by the department and it's done in a way for

protection of our people in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, we're amending the Highway

Traffic Act now in response to changes in the

Criminal Code of Canada and a Supreme Court of Canada decision

involving the Bankruptcy and Insolvency

Act . The proposed amendments would align with the provincial legislation

with the Federal Court of Canada and the recent Supreme Court decision in

Alberta concerning bankruptcy and insolvency.

Mr.

Speaker, under the Criminal Code of Canada

and the Highway Traffic Act there

has been long-standing provisions for the offences of causing death or bodily

harm by drinking and driving. I attended last week the National Day of

Remembrance for Road Crash Victims. We brought this up, what we were proposing.

We were going to do it last Thursday but that got delayed by a very important

piece of legislation.

The

people that were at the ceremony, Mr. Speaker, are very pleased that this is

going to be brought forward. They were aware we were going to bring it forward

and they're in full support of these amendments.

Mr.

Speaker, I'll just read what it is. The specific events of refusing to provide a

breath, urine, saliva or blood samples will result in the maximum sentence of

life imprisonment if the driver caused an accident resulting in death, or a

maximum sentence of 10 years if a driver caused an accident in bodily harm. The

specific offence of driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of over 80

milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood would result in a maximum

sentence of life imprisonment if the driver caused an accident resulting in

death and maximum 10 years imprisonment because of an accident causing bodily

harm.

The

proposed amendments to the Highway Traffic

Act will simply ensure the provincial

Highway Traffic Act is aligned with the

Criminal Code of Canada . Madam Speaker, this hasn't twinned with the

Criminal Code of Canada , so we're

ensuring that it does bring it in line with the

Criminal Code of Canada .

This is

a piece of legislation that we want to ensure can't be challenged. This is a

piece of legislation that we want to ensure if anybody is caught and causing

bodily harm, Madam Speaker, throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, the act is in

line with the Criminal Code of Canada .

As I

said earlier, when you spoke with the group at the National Day of Remembrance

for Road Crash Victims, anything that we can do to ensure safety on our roads,

they're in favour. They're 100 per cent in favour. This is something that's been

on the books for a while. This is a piece of legislation that ensures that

anything that happens due to death because of alcohol or refusal, we will ensure

the courts have the ability to offer the hardest penalties possible.

As we

all know, promoting safety is a big part of any government. Madam Speaker, I do

not stand here and try to profess ownership of safety. I'm sure every Member in

this House of Assembly agrees that safety on our highways is paramount for all

of us.

This is

an amendment we're bringing forth from this government, but I am very confident

that every Member in this House of Assembly will support this because I am very

confident every Member in this House of Assembly wants to ensure safety on our

roads. This is a House of Assembly amendment being made, one of them. I can only

say that when this passes through the House once again, I would say this is

how the House of Assembly or any Parliament should work when a very important

bill comes forward to the House, that we work together.

I know

my critic is well versed on the issue and did a lot of research on the issue. I

just want to thank him for ensuring that he has done his due diligence on this

work. I feel very confident that the Member for Cape St. Francis will also stand

and support this. I know he'll have his own few words, because I know he knows

people very well with the safety on the roads and drinking and driving and the

penalties.

Madam

Speaker, the second piece we're bringing forth as part of this legislation is

the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act .

What that is there was a ruling in Alberta, the high court in Alberta, that when

a person declares bankruptcy all his liabilities would be dissolved. What we

found, and we're taking a proactive approach to this, the court ruled that if he

had some outstanding fines through anything, even in this case for

Highway Traffic Act , through fines,

that would be included in the insolvency.

For a

long time the fines were separate, but because of the ruling in the high court,

in the Supreme Court in Alberta, we feel confident that yes, the legislation,

if anybody challenged it here in this province would win that case. We had it

vetted through Justice, and they feel confident that, yes, if someone challenged

it here it was brought to our attention in the Supreme Court of Canada in

November 2015 because it contradicted and frustrated the real petition process

of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act .

What that is if somebody, for example, in the Supreme Court's eyes are saying

that what's happening is if you need to rehabilitate, you have to ensure that

someone needs to have this part of his penalties taken care of if you want

rehabilitation.

Madam

Speaker, the similarity between our laws and Alberta, if the

Highway Traffic Act were challenged,

it is highly likely that it would be deemed constitutionally imperative and it

would require a driver's licence suspension to be lifted. So in light of this we

are saying that if a person is into an accident and he is being rehabilitated

the fines and the penalties to ensure that he can move on to a path whereby he

or she can find some way to rehabilitate because of the bankruptcy and solvency in light of this, we're proposing the

necessary amendment.

Our

government recognized, after being elected, that the

Highway Traffic Act needed upgrading, bringing it to the

alignment with the Criminal Code of Canada

and the Supreme Court finding regarding bankruptcy and insolvency. What we're

doing is we're just bringing it in line because of that.

It was brought to our attention in some of the briefings

that if you went through bankruptcy with this piece of legislation, can you just

leave the fines alone. In order for that to happen the bankruptcy act itself,

when you have to start taking pieces of the bankruptcy act and it is so

cumbersome and it's so hard to do that was brought to our attention and we

reviewed that also.

It is such a large piece with the bankruptcy that it would

be virtually impossible just to say okay you're bankrupt for everything except

for the fines. What we found it's better to keep it in the bankruptcy act,

protection act, so we wouldn't be able to carve out that piece of it.

Madam Speaker, I'd like to note that anybody who goes

through the bankruptcy protection, they do lose just about everything they have.

They have to pay back a certain amount. If there's an agreement to pay it back

under the bankruptcy act that is included in all their liabilities. I n

some cases if there is some that has to be paid out, they may have to be paid

out on this also.

But just

to inform the hon. Members, we did look at the option of trying to keep it in

but because of the complications of the bankruptcy act it couldn't be done, it

wouldn't be done and they wouldn't just take out pieces of it.

So that

is where it's at, Madam Speaker. I look forward to the questions later. This is

a piece of legislation that we're bringing forth; one, that we noticed there was

a gap in with the Criminal Code of Canada ;

second, we're just trying to take proactive moves because we feel very confident

that under the legislation in Alberta, which is similar to ours, the legislation

that Alberta had was overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada on November 2015,

and we just wanted to ensure that we're moving ahead with the legislation now

and to ensure that the Bankruptcy and

Insolvency Act is in compliance that we feel that we would lose in the

Supreme Court of Canada.

Thank

you, Madam Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER (Dempster):

The Speaker

recognizes the hon. Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Madam

Speaker.

I want

to thank the people in the department for the briefing that they gave to us and

thank the minister for the notes on what he's done here today.

This is

very important. It's very important respecting laws and we have to be in line

with laws right across Canada and right across with our federal government and

ensuring that we have the same regulations that are in each part of Canada. Once

it goes to court, there's a precedent set that usually the federal law overrides

provincial law, so it's important that we keep in line with our federal

government.

short, there are two parts to this bill. There's the impaired driving part, the

first part of the bill, which makes changes to the provincial law when it

reflects changes to the federal law when it comes to impaired driving. And in

2008, the federal government created new offences. There were four of them, and

one was having a blood alcohol level over the legal limit causing bodily harm.

That was the new thing that came in. Also, failing or refusing to provide a

sample causing bodily harm. The third one was having a blood alcohol level over

the legal level causing bodily harm. Also, failing or refusing to provide a

sample causing bodily harm.

These

were new parts of the legislation that we didn't have before that was brought so

we're in line now with the federal government. Madam Speaker, when it comes to

impaired driving and, today, we hear too much of it. We hear way too much of

it. I believe I heard this morning that Newfoundland or St. John's area is tied

for the most impaired drivers in all of Canada. Whatever regulations and these

are good regulations that we bring in so the fines we can put in line with the

rest of Canada. If you look at this here, this bill will allow the province to

suspend or cancel driver's licences or driving privileges for these offences for

10 years or life.

Madam

Speaker, I really believe the way to stop people that are impaired driving is to

increase the fines, to make sure you can't tolerate what could happen when an

impaired driver is on the road and we shouldn't tolerate it either. So it's

very important that we have regulations in place that really shows people that

this is a serious offence. There are way too many.

If the

St. John's area is tied with all cities with the most offences, there are other

things we should be doing. Our policing agencies only can do so much. We have a

great police force in the St. John's area, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary,

and they do a fantastic job and they put themselves out every day. They're out

there to protect people on the road.

I think

it was the 24th of May last year they had this big blitz on the go and in one

night they had something like 10 impaired drivers. That's really scary when you

think about it. It's scary to everyone. It's scary to families. To people that

are on the road, we don't know what the other drivers are like.

Any of

these regulations that we bring in with impaired driving increasing fines,

increasing the length of time that people are off the road, and stuff like that.

But it's also very important that we make sure that our police services, like

the RNC, are qualified and have enough people to be able to do their job. So

we're very fortunate, like I said. I have such great respect for friends of mine

that are RNC officers, and I have great respect for the force. I want to make

sure that government doesn't cut anything when it comes to our RNC so that they

can't do their job.

But we,

as the general public, anything that can be done to make sure that impaired

driving is treated like it is it's a criminal offence, you're taking other

people's lives not only your own but taking other people's lives out there.

The

Highway Traffic Act is the act which

we can regulate in here as legislators and make sure the proper legislation is

in place so that when they do go to court that the offences that they get can be

as stiff as what they can be, so that we can't see it still blows me away when

you look at some of the news reports and you see people up for their fourth,

fifth time and stuff like that.

There's

a lot that we should be doing, and maybe more that we can do to make sure that

this doesn't happen, but this is so important and this is a good piece of

legislation. Like I told the minister earlier, I said this is something we need

to do to make sure that anybody that's out there when you talk about death and

you're talking about bodily harm, you're talking about families that are

devastated by this. We see it through MADD Canada and we see it on the news on a

regular basis in the evening when you see people having to go to court with

pictures of their loved ones, showing this is what this has done to my family.

Anything

we can do as legislators to make sure that people are not out on our roads and

people understand and realize that if you get nailed for impaired, these are the

consequences. This is what's going to happen to you. You're going to lose your

licence for an X period of time.

Also,

when it comes to not only it's causing bodily harm, sure it's important, or

causing death, it's so important, but we got to do everything to take what we

can off the road and make sure that we put the proper legislation in place so

our police forces can do their job also.

I'm just

going to speak briefly on the second part of this, it's the bankruptcy. The

minister explained it pretty good there, I got to say. The second part of the

bill changes the act to reflect a Supreme Court judgement against similar

circumstances that happened in Alberta under bankruptcy.

The

issue of the court said there was a conflict between provincial law and federal

law. The federal law allows people to discharge their financial obligations

through bankruptcy. The provincial law allows the provincial government to

suspend a driver's licence until a person fulfills his financial obligation

imposed to them under provincial law. So what we're doing here today, as in the

case in Alberta, the two laws were in conflict with each other. The Supreme

Court overrules the provincial court. So we're just putting our legislation in

line with the federal government.

Mr.

Speaker, we will be supporting this bill. It's an important bill. Like I say to

everyone out there, it's important that we support, especially our law

enforcement officers who are out there on a daily basis, but the general public

has to be so much aware of what a vehicle can do to other families and what it

can do to it's a weapon when it's in people's hands and it's so important that

we have the fines and policies in place so that people who do take other

people's lives not as seriously as they should, be reprimanded and punished for

what they do.

Thank

you very much.

MADAM SPEAKER:

The Speaker recognizes the

hon. Member for Labrador West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LETTO:

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

It's a

pleasure for me to rise today and speak in support of Bill 42, which is a very

important bill I do believe. We certainly, on this side of the House, support

that.

I don't

have a lot to add to what's already been said by the minister and the Member for

Cape St. Francis. It's good to see they are in full compliance with this, but

when you look at what's happening here, these were regulations or changes that

were brought into the Criminal Code of

Canada in 2008. We recognized that when we took government, the

inconsistency that existed between our legislation and the

Criminal Code of Canada and that we had to act very expeditiously to

get this in line so that we can be in tune with the

Criminal Code of Canada .

We can

stand here all day and talk about how terrible it is. The impaired driving and

statistics that were noted by the Member for Cape St. Francis, that we have the

dubious reputation of being some of the worst in Canada. I don't think it's a

reputation we're very proud of, not at all. We're trying very hard to do

everything possible to curb that statistic, which doesn't look very well on us.

Over the

past few months we've met with several organizations. Most importantly, I guess,

was MADD. We're working with that organization to look at how we can put in

legislation to make it harder and more stringent on perpetrators and people who

decide they can drink and drive, which is something we're totally against. So

this is one of the first steps. We recognized this inconsistency was there and

we wanted to act expeditiously.

The

minister noted a couple of things, certainly around the legislation and the

Criminal Code . I don't need to repeat

them, but there are a couple of other statistics that doesn't look very well,

not only as a province but us as a country. When it says the US Centers for

Disease Control issued a report in July that listed Canada as being the worst

among 19 wealthy countries for the percentage of roadway deaths linked to

alcohol impairment. Madam Speaker, that doesn't look very well on us as a

country either, not only as a province. Within that we're the worst in Canada,

so we need to do whatever we can to turn that statistic around.

Specifically, the study found that 34 per cent of motor vehicle deaths in our

country were related to alcohol impairment, which speaks to the need to maintain

strong legislation and the need to make our proposed amendments. Canada is the

worst among 19 wealthy countries. Because 34 per cent of our motor vehicle

accidents in the country are alcohol related, I think it's long overdue. To know

the Criminal Code of Canada recognized

that in 2008 and we're taking steps here today, even though it's eight years

later, I guess it's better late than never. The fact we're doing this today

shows that we're trying to be as proactive as we possibly can since we took over

government.

On that

note, I think I'll take my seat. We can stand here all day and find reasons to

support this legislation. It's a good piece of legislation, and the minister

outlined that very well.

I thank

you for the time. It's encouraging to see the Opposition parties are prepared to

support this legislation. We need to get it enacted as soon as possible to stop

this terrible thing from happening because it's not a proud statistic. It's not

one that we should be proud of and we need to do whatever we can to correct it.

Thank

you, Madam Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Speaker recognizes the

hon. the Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Madam

Speaker.

I'm very

glad to stand today in support of Bill 42, which is

An Act to Amend the Highway

Traffic Act No. 3. As my colleague from Labrador West just indicated for

himself, and I will repeat, I'm not going to go through everything that others

have gone through, but I do want to be on record as to the importance of this

bill and why we will be supporting it.

The

Minister of Municipal Affairs referred to the fact that we always need to be

updating our bills. This bill in particular, dealing with highway traffic, is

one that continually needs to be updated.

One of

the concerns I have is we have some good legislation on the books with regard to

safety and the highways, but we continue to hear of people who flaunt the rules.

When they're arrested we find they're not even driving legally, their cars

aren't registered, et cetera. That very often happens with people who have been

arrested while driving under the influence, people who are impaired. So we

really do have a long ways to go in this province to make our highways safe.

This bill is a step in that direction.

The bill

actually deals with what was a loophole in our

Highway Traffic Act . That loophole had to do with the fact that

drivers who were stopped by authorities for driving under the influence could

actually refuse to have themselves tested when it came to a breath or blood test

to show whether or not they actually had alcohol in their system over the limit

that is allowed in our province. This failure to comply meant that they got away

with driving while under the influence. Even if they had caused bodily harm,

they actually got away with it because the failure to comply was not part of our

act.

Now,

with this bill, that is going to become part of the act and bring it into

compliance with the Criminal Code of

Canada because that was part of the

Criminal Code of Canada . I think the Member for Labrador West pointed out

since 2008 that was brought in. There was a Supreme Court ruling that actually