Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 6 May 2015 (47th General Assembly, 4th Session, Vol. XLVII No. 10)
2015-05-06
Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
PDF Version
May
6, 2015
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS
Vol. XLVII No. 10
The
House met at 2:00 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Verge):
Order, please!
Admit
strangers.
I am
pleased to welcome to the public gallery today His Worship, Mayor Dwight
Lethbridge and his wife Lindsay of Cartwright.
Welcome
to the House of Assembly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
I am also pleased to welcome
to Speaker's gallery a young man, a Grade 10 student from Prince of Wales
Collegiate, Mr. Sam Hoddinott, who is shadowing the Minister of Environment and
Conservation.
Welcome
to the House of Assembly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
I would also like to welcome
the Member for St. John's East and the Minister of Health and Community Services
to the Speaker's fan club.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Both members participated in
the Shave for the Brave; thank you very much for doing that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
Statements by
Members
MR. SPEAKER:
We will hear members'
statements today from the members representing the Districts of Humber East,
Exploits, Port de Grave, Conception Bay South, Labrador West, and Bay of
Islands.
The hon.
the Member for the District of Humber East.
MR. FLYNN:
Mr. Speaker, I rise to
recognize the late John commonly known as Jack McCarthy, who passed away
April 28 in his home town of Corner Brook.
Born in 1921, Jack was a long-time member of the Lions Club, one of the
founding members of the Westmount Club, a pretty decent bridge player and a
member of the Corner Brook Bridge Club.
Throughout his adult life, Jack was best known for his involvement in provincial
and federal politics, which goes back to the days of Newfoundland and Labrador's
entry into Confederation. Over the
years, he attended delegated conventions both at the federal and provincial
levels. Jack was well known to Prime
Ministers and Premiers alike.
Jack
possessed keen organizational and fundraising skills, which were put to good use
for those organizations in which he served.
His involvement was such that he was often referred to as Senator Jack.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask all members to join me in paying tribute to a wonderful
individual who made a valuable contribution, not only to his community but to
the political process of our Province and country.
Rest in
peace, Jack McCarthy.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
District of Exploits.
MR. FORSEY:
Mr. Speaker, clean water is a
necessity of life, and Victor Keats of Phillips Head in the District of Exploits
is making sure families have a good and safe supply.
Victor assumed the duty of ensuring the chlorination plant was operating
properly about seven years ago when his son, who was doing this work previously,
became too busy with other responsibilities to continue to do so.
Victor knew it was a big task, but realized someone needed to do it.
Victor
said, There are more checks during the summer, but they are easier than winter
when the road to the plant is snowed under.
During the winter he has to drag the five-gallon bottles of chlorine
about 300 metres through the snow.
Mr.
Speaker, at the March Clean and Safe Drinking Water Workshop in Gander, the
Department of Environment and Conservation presented Victor with the Volunteer
Operator of the Year Award. The
Operator of the Year Awards are presented annually to one operator and one
volunteer operator.
I ask
all members of this House to join me in congratulating Victor Keats on receiving
this volunteer award and for his dedication to supply clean and safe drinking
water in his community.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for the
District of Port de Grave.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. LITTLEJOHN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise
today in this House to pay tribute to those who lost their lives during the
longest continuous battle of World War II, the Battle of the Atlantic.
On Sunday, District 2 of the Royal Canadian Legion gathered in Brigus to
commemorate this event.
The day
began with a large parade of legionnaires from across the district.
Army and sea cadet corps and other invited guests to the war memorial for
a special wreath laying ceremony.
The service continued at the wharf with some moving moments.
The roll call of those ships lost at sea during the battle and the towing
of the wreath out of Brigus harbour moved everyone.
Mr.
Speaker, Winston Churchill once said the only thing that ever really frightened
me during the war was the U-boat peril.
A striking comment when you realize that over 30,000 Merchant Navy men
lost their lives and around 3,000 ships were sunk during this horrid battle.
To provide some balance, the German navy lost some 783 U-boats and 28,000
sailors' lives.
I ask
all members to join me today in remembering these lives lost.
Lest we Forget.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay South.
MR. HILLIER:
Mr. Speaker, on May 2 it was
my pleasure to attend the 143 session of the Grand Orange Lodge of Newfoundland
and Labrador. This event was hosted
by the Star of Bethlehem Loyal Orange Lodge in Foxtrap as part of its 100th
anniversary celebrations.
It was
in the spring of 1914 that the men of Foxtrap decided they wanted their own
lodge. They started cutting logs
that spring and on January 15, 1915, held their first meeting in their new
building. These were men with names
like Batten, Butler, Fagan, Delaney and others, names, which to this day, are
woven into the social fabric of our community.
During
its hundred years the lodge has not only served as headquarters for its members
but also as funeral home, church, and social centre for the people of Foxtrap.
The members of the lodge have been leaders in their church and in the
community in general.
After a
hundred years, we are still proud to follow the Star of Bethlehem Band, on July
1 and November 11, as it leads the parade to our Monument of Honour.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating the Star of
Bethlehem LOL on its 100th anniversary.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Labrador West.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MCGRATH:
Mr. Speaker, Kyle Andrews
poses with the birch bow he made, similar to what many Newfoundland and Labrador
hunters might have used many years ago.
Grade 8
students from Menihek High in Labrador West and EG Lambert in Churchill Falls
showcased the history and culture of our great Province at the Annual Heritage
Fair on April 21.
Based on
this year's theme In Their Footsteps students, friends, and family took a step
back in time while more than 110 students participated in this year's fair.
Students
write an essay, create a product, build a display board, and are interviewed by
judges to determine the score. The
overall winner this year was Ms Maggie Drover.
One of
the main purposes of the Heritage Fair is to give students the opportunity to
explore their own family history as well as our Province's unique and rich
cultural heritage.
Kyle
Andrews also whetted the appetite of visitors with smoked fish as part of his
project. Kyle said, Cod fishing,
every Newfoundlander had to do it to survive.
All the animals that were killed, every part was used, even the bones.
I ask
all hon. members to join me in congratulating all the participants of the
Heritage Fair.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Bay
of Islands.
MR. JOYCE:
Mr. Speaker, I rise in this
hon. House today to recognize two athletes from my district, Bay of Islands.
February, Thomas Park of Irishtown-Summerside and Ashley Higgins of Curling
represented the Province's speed skating team at the Canada Winter Games held in
Prince George, BC.
Thomas,
a Level I honours student at Templeton Academy, has been a member of the Humber
Valley Speed Skating Club for eight years and has competed in Atlantic Canada on
many occasions.
Ashley
began speed skating with the club five years ago as part of the physical
activity component of the Duke of Edinburgh program.
It takes
hard work, dedication, and commitment to compete at such a high calibre level
and the experience they both took away from the Games will only serve to enhance
their skating abilities while the overall experience of the Games will remain
cherished memories.
Under
the guidance of their coaches, Sharon Karn and Melissa O'Brien, Thomas and
Ashley achieved personal bests at the Games and they were very proud to
represent our Province. As one of
their coaches quoted, pain is temporary, pride is forever.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask all members to join me in congratulating Thomas and Ashley in
representing our Province and making us all proud.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Statements by Ministers.
Statements by
Ministers
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Service Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. CRUMMELL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I rise in this hon. House to recognize May 4 to10 as Safe Kids Week.
This is a national campaign that takes place annually to raise awareness
about preventable childhood injuries.
Each year, Parachute Canada, a national charity, co-ordinates Safe Kids
Week activities with safety-focused advocacy groups throughout the country.
I am pleased to note that this morning I joined Len LeRiche from Safety
Services NL and students at St. Matthew's school for an official proclamation.
As the
theme this year is Cycling and Road Safety, Mr. LeRiche and I took the
opportunity to talk about the new bicycle helmet law that our government brought
into force on April 1 of this year.
We reminded students that bike helmets are now mandatory on all public roadways
in the Province. Students were also
shown how to check if a helmet fits properly, which is important, because a
properly fitted bicycle helmet can decrease the risk of serious head injury by
as much as 85 per cent. In addition,
students learned about the importance of checking their bicycle to ensure it is
in good working order, knowing the rules of the road, being familiar with the
route being travelled, and wearing reflective clothing.
Mr.
Speaker, preventable injuries have a significant impact on children throughout
the country every year, which is why our government is committed to protecting
children and families through education and enforcement initiatives.
We support Parachute Canada's message, Safe Cycling. Safe Roads. Save
Kids Lives. Requiring everyone to
wear bike helmets is a great example of how we are doing just that.
Another example is our ongoing collaboration with the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, and advocacy groups like
Safety Services NL, the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association, and the
Newfoundland and Labrador Brain Injury Association, all of which provided
valuable feedback that informed our new helmet legislation.
Mr.
Speaker, as the school year is winding down and the summer season is set to
begin very soon, I encourage children and parents throughout the Province to
reflect on Safe Kids Week, and think about what they must do to cycle safely
this year. I also encourage everyone
to respect the new bike helmet law, and to find out more about it by visiting
the Service NL website.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Mount
Pearl South.
MR. LANE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister for an advance copy of his statement.
We, too, here in the Official Opposition would like to recognize May 4 to
10 as Safe Kids Week, and we certainly thank Safety Services NL and all the
other stakeholders who are involved in promoting safety for not just our
children but everybody in our communities.
Mr.
Speaker, the minister talked about the bicycle helmet legislation and it was
actually the Official Opposition and particularly the Member for Burgeo La
Poile who had been pushing for this for quite some time.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. LANE:
We are glad that the
government finally saw the wisdom and enacted this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, there are certainly lots of other legislation that we have
brought forward, and we hope that government will listen and start enacting some
more of our legislation to the benefit of the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East.
MR. MURPHY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I, too,
thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement here today.
This would be the first Safe Kids Week that we finally have mandatory
bike helmets, thanks to the hard work of groups like Parachute Canada, Safety
Services NL, and many others. We
have had the highest rate of bicycle-related hospitalizations among children in
the country of 49.2 per 100,000 nearly double the Canadian rate of
twenty-five.
Non-motorized scooters, skates, and skateboards are not included in this
legislation. We hope the government
is going to look at that in the future, Mr. Speaker.
I urge government to follow the advice of Safe Kids and other
organizations and include foot-powered scooters and riding toys in the helmet
legislation. So we will hear about
more of that in the future.
Thank
you.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I am pleased to rise in this hon. House today to recognize today as
Municipal Awareness Day in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Municipal Awareness Day is a time to recognize and thank the many local
government leaders throughout our Province for their efforts in providing
important programs and services.
Mr.
Speaker, during the MNL Symposium which took place last week in Gander, the
provincial government, together with Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador
and the Professional Municipal Administrators, proclaimed May 6 as Municipal
Awareness Day.
Municipal governments throughout the Province are holding awareness events in
their communities today in recognition of Municipal Awareness Day.
As well, many councillors and staff will visit schools to speak with
students about the opportunities associated with involvement in municipal
government.
encourage individuals throughout the Province, especially our youth, to become
more involved and take a greater leadership role in their towns and communities.
Mr.
Speaker, out government has demonstrated its commitment and support for
municipalities as part of our investments through Budget 2015; we announced a
new Community Sustainability Partnership will invest an additional $46 million
over the next three years in the communities throughout Newfoundland and
Labrador.
The new
initiatives will support all regions of the Province, especially rural
communities, as they enhance social and economic activities and initiatives to
support, maintain, and grow their communities.
Mr.
Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in recognizing councillors and staff
of municipalities throughout our Province for their devotion and efforts in
serving the residents of our great Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Bay
of Islands.
MR. JOYCE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister for the advance copy of his statement.
We, too, as the Official Opposition would also like to recognize all the
volunteers in the Province and all the municipal councillors.
I have
always said that one of the hardest jobs as an elected politician is at the
municipal level, because you are dealing with people on a daily basis.
A lot of these individuals give up a lot of their weekends, give up a lot
of their time. A lot of issues that
are raised throughout the districts are personal to them, they know the people
personally, and they make a great contribution to our Province.
Mr.
Speaker, all throughout Newfoundland and Labrador these individuals keep our
towns prosperous, they keep our towns very safe, and they do the best they can.
To the
minister, I think we all should support all the towns through whatever way we
can, and the Official Opposition will support you in whatever we can.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East.
MR. MURPHY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister for the advance copy of his statement here today.
This is
a great time for municipal government to bestow the virtues of community
service, particularly. We totally
endorse going to schools to educate our youth about municipal government.
We think that is a great initiative.
I also encourage the youth of our Province to get involved.
As we know, government wanted to pass legislation to get youth more
involved. I thank the City of St.
John's as well for the work they are doing.
Mr.
Speaker, serving on councils can sometimes be a thankless task.
We are often tireless volunteers.
We do not know how many times we have heard that, but we want to thank
them for their service as well.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Seniors, Wellness and Social Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. JACKMAN:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to
note my involvement in an event last week that was a highlight of my tenure as
Minister of Seniors, Wellness and Social Development.
I had the pleasure of participating in the unveiling of two accessible
taxicabs, made possible through a $50,000 investment from the Accessible Taxi
Pilot Project and through a partnership with industry, the City of St. John's,
and non-profit organizations.
The
provision of accessible taxi services has been a long-time coming for people in
our community with disabilities who require a mobility device, such as a
wheelchair or scooter, for transportation.
There were several individuals at the event who spoke to the profound
impact this will have on their lives.
Mr.
Speaker, an accessible taxi service gets at the very heart of what inclusion is
all about. It means a person who
uses a mobility device can call a cab at a moment's notice, just like everyone
else. It means they can have
spontaneous social outings or family get-togethers, without always having to
plan far in advance. It is something
that many of us take for granted, Mr. Speaker, and we sometimes forget that
there are still barriers that prevent all people in our community from having
the choice.
As we
monitor and evaluate this accessible taxi pilot program, we are also looking to
expand the program, Mr. Speaker, with a particular interest in finding a partner
or partners in more rural areas of the Province.
In fact,
Budget 2015 includes another $50,000 to assist in this effort.
This pilot is part of a broader Accessible Vehicle Program, initiated in
2012 with the introduction of Access. Inclusion. Equal. A Provincial Strategy
for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities.
Mr. Speaker, this program has helped more than fifty people throughout
this Province purchase a personal accessible vehicle or retrofit an existing
vehicle in the past few years.
Budget 2015 allocates a further $350,000 for this initiative, so we can expect
to see other people, and their families, benefit in the year ahead.
In the
coming weeks, I expect to be in a position to announce an action plan that will
continue our efforts to make inclusion for all a way of life in Newfoundland and
Labrador just a way of thinking and being.
Inclusive communities are stronger communities, and I want to applaud
Albert Newell of Newfound Taxi, the City of St. John's, the Coalition of Persons
with Disabilities, and all organizations and individuals who work every day to
promote and support inclusive practices in our communities.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Conception Bay South.
MR. HILLIER:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank
the minister for an advance copy of his statement.
We also
want to applaud Albert Newell of Newfound Taxi, the City of St. John's, and the
Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, for partnering with government on this
great initiative. Providing
accessible transportation for persons with disabilities is a good investment in
our people and in our communities.
We look
forward to the day when such a service is available in all regions of our
Province and inclusion is a way of life in all communities in Newfoundland and
Labrador. We also look forward to
the inclusion action plan the minister is referring to that we will see soon.
We just hope that this will be released sooner rather than later, and not
continuously delayed like the wellness plan and the Poverty Reduction Strategy
he has been promising for some time.
Inclusion is now an accepted way of life, and the more we can do to promote
inclusion is welcome news.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East.
MR. MURPHY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would
like to thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement.
I have
to say, Mr. Speaker, I was there at the event.
It was pleasing to see government on such a positive initiative as this.
I have to congratulate the minister on the initiative that he footed and
launched that day.
Mr.
Speaker, small victories like this one, they are pretty big for some people.
As one person told me there, who was going to be using this service, he
said it's a long way to inclusion but now we can get there in a jiffy.
It is true, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MURPHY:
Mr. Speaker, just to sum up,
because we have been watching this service and getting a gauge of exactly how
this service is working out. Mr.
Speaker, just yesterday one of these taxis was used twenty-two times.
So we know this is going to be a success.
Just to let the minister know that we are looking at this, and thanks
again. It a great project, and
thanks again to all involved, particularly the City of St. John's and COD-NL.
Thank
you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Oral Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Last
fall the Premier promised to introduce a first-time homebuyer program.
This commitment was also in the minister's mandate letter, but raising
HST makes it even more difficult for that first-time homebuyer.
I ask
the Premier: Why did you put this commitment in the mandate letter when knowing
that raising the HST would only make it more difficult of those first-time
buyers?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I can
tell you that we are very proud to be working on a program, developing a
program, to help first-time homebuyers because we know that many Newfoundlanders
and Labradorians who pay high prices for rent and rental accommodations cannot
afford sometimes to save the down payment necessary to purchase their first
home.
We look
forward to announcing a program in the not-to-distant future that we will make
available to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
Many of them are young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians looking to
purchase their first home.
That is
the kind of problems we try to solve over here on this side of the House, Mr.
Speaker. We try to work with people.
We try to work with partners.
We try to work with business. We
work with not-for-profits, Mr. Speaker, to make programs and services and
opportunities better for the people of our Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Well,
the commitment the Premier mentioned should have been if he is planning on
doing something, I would anticipate that would have been in this year's Budget.
Increasing HST will make it more difficult.
This
time he cannot hide behind rising oil prices, because on December 8 when a
mandate letter was written to the minister, on that day oil was trading at $67.
Today it is around $69. So
the Premier had to know the state of the Province's finances when he wrote that
mandate letter.
I ask
the Premier: Why did you break this commitment to the first-time homebuyers in
Newfoundland and Labrador?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I
said, we are committed to first-time homebuyers.
We are committed to all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians because that is
the responsibility that we have here.
When we make decisions, we have to make balanced choices, and sometimes
it is challenging to make those choices.
Changing taxes and changing tax frames is a hard thing to do, Mr.
Speaker. It is difficult for us, but
we have challenges that we face. We
know that.
We know
members opposite said they are going to reverse the HST, Mr. Speaker.
They are going to raise the debt, raise the deficit for a longer period
of time. There will be a higher
deficit for a longer period of time.
When the
Member for Virginia Waters was on the record, Mr. Speaker, she has not yet
decided what part of government she is going to eliminate to save money for the
people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
We know they have varying views over there, but we are dedicated to the people
of the Province and we are dedicated to the public servants.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the
Official Opposition.
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I like
the Premier's optimistic view of our Province, because he had two
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. BALL:
What he said in this year's
Budget, there were two ideas. One,
let's increase taxes, let's increase fines, and let's borrow more.
That was the Premier's; he only had tunnel vision I say, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BALL:
Two ideas, that is all he
had. I have more confidence in the
people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
I ask
the Premier, since he has already announced a new program, he says he is working
on it: When? What year will that be?
Is that second year, third year, or is that also five years out?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER DAVIS:
Mr. Speaker, I can tell you,
we are working on this program and there is a lot of work done on it.
The minister has been heavily engaged in it.
We are looking forward to finalizing and announcing that in the
not-too-distant future, as well as other announcements we are going to make that
I am sure the members opposite will be in favour of.
Maybe
the member opposite can clarify if he is in favour of supporting people who are
trying to purchase their home. Maybe
the member opposite can talk about if he is in favour of partnering with private
business and not-for-profits in the delivery of programs and services because we
know from yesterday that they are not in favour of that, Mr. Speaker.
We do not know what they are going to do to clear up the backlogs in
hallways and hospital emergency rooms.
We know that they are going to eliminate public servants, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
PREMIER DAVIS:
It is hard to track down what
they stand for but we are starting to figure it out.
They are going to crash the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador.
They are going to throw public servants on the streets and they are going
to put backlogs in hospitals. That
is what they are going to do.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon.
the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
appreciate the Premier for his question, and I will answer that now.
I have confidence in people in Newfoundland and Labrador.
I have confidence in our front line workers, many of them who are working
very hard in our hospitals, in our long-term care sites right now.
I have confidence that they can do the job.
That is the reason why we will stand by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
I do believe in partnerships, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BALL:
We have confidence, but just
borrowing and raising debt in our Province is not the only two options.
Budget 2015 predicts that the population will shrink, unemployment will
grow, real disposable income will decrease and retail sales will decline.
That is the economy of this government, I say.
The
Premier's Budget spoke about eight long-term principles, yet nothing concrete in
these principles include diversifying our economy and creating new jobs in the
Province.
I ask
the Premier: Why is diversifying the economy and creating new jobs not part of
your eight long-term principles?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER DAVIS:
Mr. Speaker, we have done
great work in diversifying the economy.
Just look at the new technologies and new businesses that operate in our
Province, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
PREMIER DAVIS:
There are more business
opportunities for young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in technical skills.
Those with skilled trades, there is more opportunity for them in our
Province today than there ever has been in the history of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER DAVIS:
Mr. Speaker, the member
opposite, when he started his
preamble, he said he is going to answer my
question.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
PREMIER DAVIS:
I never asked him a question
today because sometimes it is hard to get a straight answer from the crowd
opposite, Mr. Speaker. It is hard to
get a straight answer from them.
He has
already said he is going to drive the deficit up.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
PREMIER DAVIS:
He said he is going to have a
higher deficit for a longer period of time and we also know they are going to
cut public service. So we are
getting a good idea of what they actually stand for over there, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon.
the Member for Virginia Waters.
MS C. BENNETT:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, this government has turned their back on the population reality, and
they have for years. Despite $25
billion in oil money and over $600 million in labour market development money
from the federal government, our Province is in the seventeenth straight month
of year-over-year job losses.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MS C. BENNETT:
People must have jobs to stay
and live in Newfoundland and Labrador.
I ask
the Premier: Why isn't your Budget focused on creating jobs and increasing our
working population?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER DAVIS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The
member opposite is quite aware that when you have economies and you have peaks
and valleys in economies and I remind the members opposite, back in 2008 when
there was a downturn in the economy, not only in Newfoundland and Labrador but
throughout Canada and the world, we were the fastest province to come out of
that downturn in economy the fastest province in the country.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER DAVIS:
We are facing a similar
challenge today, Mr. Speaker. We
have made choices to balance the circumstances that we face today, to lessen the
impact on our economy, to lessen the impact on public servants, to lessen the
impact on families, on our young people, on people who are working, and on our
seniors in this Province. I can tell
you, we are going to continue to do good work for all Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians, no matter where they live, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Virginia Waters.
MS C. BENNETT:
Mr. Speaker, maybe the
Premier could stop looking back at the past and look at the future.
The
Throne Speech indicated government will ensure a sustainable, dynamic, and
diversified economy for generations, but in the last two years over 10,000 jobs
disappeared from our Province and government is predicting another 12,000 job
losses by 2018.
I ask
the Premier: How can you possibly claim to be diversifying the economy when
22,000 jobs have disappeared in what government promised would be the most
lucrative years in our history?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
PREMIER DAVIS:
Mr. Speaker, Newfoundlanders
and Labradorians, we are a very resourceful lot.
I know people around the Province we always pride ourselves on the
efforts that we make for our own people and for the people in our communities
throughout our Province. We have
weathered some really difficult times.
Mr.
Speaker, the member opposite said do not look at the past.
Well, I think it is important for people to look at the past sometimes.
Sometimes it is very important to look at the past because in order to
look at the past, you have to find a better way to the future.
If the member opposite is not willing to look at the past, how is she
ever going to find a way forward, Mr. Speaker, and find out what is the best way
forward?
She is
on record as saying she is not sure what part of government she is going to
eliminate. She is not talking about
reducing jobs or attrition plans; she is talking about eliminating government.
That is dangerous, Mr. Speaker, coming from the members opposite.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Virginia Waters.
MS C. BENNETT:
Mr. Speaker, people will only
be here, stay here, live here, and choose here if they have the right job for
their skills and if they can make a living for their family; and to do that, we
must have jobs.
Premier,
I ask you again: Why are not addressing the numbers?
They do not lie; 22,000 job losses define your results.
So why are you not focused on creating jobs in Budget 2015?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon.
the Minister of Finance.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. WISEMAN:
Thank you.
Mr.
Speaker, if we are going to attract people to Newfoundland and Labrador to take
advantage of the opportunities that we have here well into the future, we have
had a tremendous and the member is talking about our history.
If you think about the last ten years, look at the prosperity we have
enjoyed during that period of time.
We have confidence in our future, Mr. Speaker.
So, if
we are going to make sure that we have the skills and the talent that we need to
support that growth in our economy and to drive that economic activity, we are
going to need to make strategic investments in a wide variety of sectors, in
addition to economic diversification, social programs, transportation
infrastructure, education infrastructure, all a part of a balanced approach like
we have taken with this Budget, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's North.
MR. KIRBY:
Mr. Speaker, we have
confidence in this Province. We just
do not have confidence in that minister's mathematics.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. KIRBY:
Mr. Speaker, this Province's
Schools Act states that school districts must adopt a constitution no later than
six months after the new board is appointed.
Believe it or not, it has been over two years since government created
not been met.
I ask
the Minister of Education: How much longer do you plan to ignore the Schools
Act?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. GRANTER:
Mr. Speaker, the Newfoundland
government, to the minister. The
minister has that in his possession.
He will review that and have it under his consideration for a time for the
elections in the future.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon.
the Member for St. John's North.
MR. KIRBY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Basically, what he has just said is that the Minister of Education is in the
little or no input from the public.
I ask
the minister: Will you now allow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to have a bit
zones for the election of trustees?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. GRANTER:
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of
Education, as I just said, is in possession of that constitution.
He will consult with the school board, and a final date for the school
board elections will be determined in consultation with the school board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
Barbe.
MR. J. BENNETT:
Mr. Speaker, in December of
2014 our leader introduced a private member's resolution calling for legislation
mandating the deaths and critical incidents of children receiving government
services be reported to the Child and Youth Advocate.
All members, including the minister, voted for this resolution but still
the government fails to follow the unanimous will of this House.
I ask
the minister: When will he stop paying lip service to child protection in our
Province and bring in this vital legislation?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Child, Youth and Family Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. S. COLLINS:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I have
been very clear in this House on our thoughts on this side of the House, and
certainly the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services has been very
forthright with the Advocate. We
have been providing those notifications of deaths.
With
regard to critical incidents, I am happy to report to the House of Assembly that
all departments, the ones that are involved in this, four other departments,
including CYFS, have provided their input to the Advocate as to what a critical
incident is in their department. We
are waiting for feedback from the Advocate, and that is exactly how it should be
done, with her input.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
Barbe.
MR. J. BENNETT:
Mr. Speaker, the minister
forgot the part about mandatory legislation.
Another
recommendation of the Child and Youth Advocate, that this government fails to
follow, is that every child be seen during every home visit made by CYFS
workers. In a case in our courts now
against a foster father for sexually assaulting a foster child for several
years, according to today's newspaper report, the abuse went unreported since
the child was thirteen.
I ask
the minister: Why won't he protect the most vulnerable, by following the
Advocate's recommendation that every child be seen during every visit by CYFS
workers?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Child, Youth and Family Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. S. COLLINS:
Mr. Speaker, I have said on
numerous occasions there are certain things in this House we can play politics
with. Personally, I feel that CYFS
is not one of those, but that is fine if the gentleman wants to go there.
I have
said we have had a great collaborative working relationship with the Advocate.
We have been back and forth on the two outstanding recommendations of the
ninety-nine that have come forward from her.
MR. J. BENNETT:
(Inaudible).
MR. S. COLLINS:
If I could finish, please.
We have
been very open to be able to deal with her.
We have now sent forward our two takes on those recommendations and,
hopefully, provided her with options.
Hopefully, we can find some middle ground.
I have
told him before, we are in the process of doing that.
I cannot force her hand. I
want to make sure whatever we arrive at, it is a decision that we are
comfortable with at the department, but also, and more importantly, that the
Advocate is comfortable with as well.
I think we are going to arrive there very soon.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's South.
MR. OSBORNE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We have
all heard the Minister of Transportation boast about how great the roads are in
this Province. The people of
Nipper's Harbour who protested are not convinced.
Conche has roads full of craters.
For years we have heard stories from Placentia and the Cape Shore about
how bad their roads are. From
Charlottetown to Port Hope Simpson there is no topping left to grade.
The list goes on and on.
I ask
the minister: Do you expect the people of Rose Blanche who canoed in one of
their potholes two years ago and are still waiting to have it fixed, do you
expect them to believe that the roads are in great shape?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We have
1,700 dedicated employees who work in my department, who everyday go out and
want to ensure that our roads are safe.
We spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year to ensure that our roads
and our bridges are safe.
We do
have, particularly at this time of the year when we are coming off our winter
season, we are going into our spring season, a lot of our gravel roads are at
their worst, but I can reassure you our crews are very diligently working.
They are out on every road, including Conche road and in Nipper's
Harbour, to ensure that people have safe roads.
Every one of our roads are assessed.
We would
like to be able to get to all of them immediately, but there is a process in
place. We will have all of our
equipment out there, all of our summer maintenance people, doing the work they
need to do to ensure our roads are safe for the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's South.
MR. OSBORNE:
They need the materials to do
that, I say.
Mr.
Speaker, your government has been in power for twelve years in the wealthiest
decade we have experienced. Every
time you say how great the roads are, we get calls from people who disagree.
The people of Port aux Basques and Burgeo are not convinced, nor the
people from Bristol's Hope, Connors Valley, Freshwater or Riverhead calls from
all of those areas the people from Cow Head, Rocky Harbour, New World Island,
or Hampton.
I ask
the minister: Do you expect the people of York Harbour and Lark Harbour who have
been waiting two years to have the road to their towns repaired from storm
damage, do you expect them to believe that you are still doing a good job?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This
Administration, in the last decade, has spent billions of dollars in road
improvements and in ensuring safety for people here.
Mr. Speaker, this year's, Budget 2015-2016, has no decrease in our road
investment.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
We want to ensure we get the
best return on our investment. We
also have our 1,700 dedicated staff who will be out there to ensure that the
roads get repaired as quickly as possible 600 pieces of equipment that will be
out there. Unfortunately, some roads
will take a little bit longer to get to.
Sometimes somebody is at the beginning of that maintenance, some are in
the middle, and some are at the end.
All of
our roads will be brought to a point where they are safe for people to travel
on. We do ask for their patience, we
do understand, and we sympathize with the situation.
Our staff are out there to ensure the same roads that they travel on are
safe for them, their children, and their grandparents.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. Member for Carbonear
Harbour Grace.
MR. SLADE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, severe ice conditions are again delaying the start of fishing season in
some areas of the Province, including the West Coast, Northeast, and Labrador.
I understand no directive has been issued to Service Canada regarding EI
extension or other benefits for harvesters and plant workers, despite a written
request from our Province.
I ask
the minister: Has he or the Premier spoke to the federal minister to ensure our
harvesters and plant workers are financially supported until they get back on
the water?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. GRANTER:
Mr. Speaker, in a
conversation I had with the federal Minister of Fisheries a while back, I raised
the issue of the severe ice conditions that are on the Coast of Newfoundland
this particular year, as it has been and as we have seen in previous years.
I have
raised the issue with the federal minister.
I also sent letters to the minister responsible for employment for the
federal government, requesting that a program be put in place.
I have directed officials again this morning, since we did not get a
response from the federal minister, that we send another letter off this
afternoon.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Carbonear Harbour Grace.
MR. SLADE:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, workers at the Fortune plant have publicly stated that OCI is not
living up to agreements signed with the government in December 2012.
Over a month ago the minister agreed to table information on whether OCI
has met or is meeting its obligations under this agreement.
I ask
the minister: When can we expect he will keep his word and table these
documents?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. GRANTER:
I am quite pleased, Mr.
Speaker, to table those documents this afternoon here in the House.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. GRANTER:
Mr. Speaker, the situation in
Fortune, with OCI, the harvesters and the company down there, since I have
become the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture I have met with the workers
sorry, I met with union representatives just a couple of weeks ago.
I met this week with OCI officials.
It is a
concern for all of us. OCI tells me
that they have two ships at sea right now and once there is enough fish on board
they will be processing in the Fortune plant.
It looks like they will be starting to process fish in the Fortune plant
late May, early June.
Thank
you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
George's Stephenville East.
MR. REID:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The
Marine Institute's SERT Centre on the West Coast provides specialized safety and
emergency response training for industry, aircraft rescue, firefighting, and the
fishery.
I ask
the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills: Can he assure the people of the
Province that the centre will not be negatively impacted by the cuts in funding
announced in this year's Budget?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Advanced Education and Skills.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. JACKMAN:
Mr. Speaker, the College of
the North Atlantic is a wonderful institution, a recognized institution across
the country. Right now the College
of the North Atlantic is taking a look at their entire operations.
It is too early to say yet where that will lead us, but it is very
important the College of the North Atlantic continue to look at the programs
that they have in place, their operations, and they will bring forward
suggestions and then we will take a look at what they bring forward.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon.
the Member for St. George's Stephenville East.
MR. REID:
Mr. Speaker, it is a little
disheartening when the minister does not even realize that the centre is with
the Marine Institute, not with the College of the North Atlantic.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. REID:
It is under Memorial
University which was cut in this Budget, Mr. Speaker.
The cost
of training for firefighting for small volunteer fire departments is a big issue
with the government. I ask the
Minister of Advanced Education and Skills: Will he work with the minister
responsible for emergency services to see if they can explore partnerships that
can be worked out to help this centre survive, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Advanced Education and Skills.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. JACKMAN:
Yes, Mr. Speaker, my
apologies; I do know it is with the Marine Institute.
Mr.
Speaker, we are, as a government and as are institutions, always willing to look
across departments and see how we can improve upon efficiencies to programs.
We will do no different in this particular case.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.
MS DEMPSTER:
Thank you.
Mr.
Speaker, the Transportation Minister has admitted that the high cost of the
proposals for the Labrador marine service contract was a major factor in
cancelling the RFP. Yet, he is
prepared to develop a new RFP that will meet the needs of the people.
I ask
the minister: Since cost was a major concern in the cancelled RFP, what will you
eliminate in the new RFP to make it more affordable?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What I
will be doing, and what my department will be doing, is engaging the people of
Labrador. Outlining exactly where we
are from an operational point of view.
Engaging them to say what is the service they would like.
What would be a service that would provide what they need?
What would be sustainable and affordable?
Those are the realities that we are going to discuss here.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. BRAZIL:
We are going to do that by
engaging them, developing a partnership, using the expertise that we have in our
department and using the experiences of the users.
The proponents will also be engaged.
We have stakeholder hearings being done.
I have reassessed and will be re-establishing the transportation
committee for Labrador. Through that
process, Mr. Speaker, we will find a partnership that is affordable and
obtainable for the people of this Province.
We will go to market this fall to ensure that the people of Labrador get
the proper transportation link.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Last
year the Department of Transportation and Works paid Partnerships BC $35,000 to
assess the development of public private partnership capacity within the
department.
I ask
the Premier: How many other departments are getting this assessment for P3s?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
Mr. Speaker, presently there
is one contract that we have engaged in with Partnerships BC through the PC
process, and that was to get a better understanding and advice and an open
concept here of exactly the asset; another one of the tools we would have to
deliver infrastructure in this Province, Mr. Speaker, to ensure we get the best
return on the taxpayers' investment.
What we have developed is a partnership with an entity here that has national
and international accreditation for partnerships in the private public sector,
Mr. Speaker. It is a great value for
$35,000 investment.
My staff
in TW are now getting oriented and very knowledgeable about the PC process, and
I want to clarify at the end of the day
AN HON. MEMBER:
P3.
MR. BRAZIL:
P3; sorry, Mr. Speaker, P3.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
As another asset that we have
in developing infrastructure in this Province.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon.
the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
departments having this done? If so,
how much is it costing? I am asking
that of the Premier, not of one individual minister.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
Mr. Speaker, I would have
hoped that the Leader of the Third Party would be supporting a partnership
between the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors to ensure that we better
service the people by finding a better way to deliver services to the people of
this Province.
We are
assessing right through this process what is another one of the key assets that
we could have to deliver services to the people here.
If it is with the not-for-profit sector and developing a partnership, if
it is with the private sector, if it is with developing a collaborative approach
on all three there.
We want
to ensure that the return on our investments meets the needs of the people here.
It is a simple process, another tool for us to be able to deliver
services to the people in this Province.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East.
MR. MURPHY:
Well, Mr. Speaker, he has the
PC part right.
The
Ontario Auditor General recently released a very disturbing report noting that
public safety was seriously jeopardize d by P3 contracts for highway maintenance.
So I ask
the Premier: Is he unaware of this shocking report on the dangers of P3 and
highway maintenance? Perhaps the
minister can get up again and tell us.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That
does not apply to this Administration, Mr. Speaker.
We have, as I mentioned earlier, 1,700 very capable staff who ensure that
our roads are safe at any given time.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
We also work with contractors
to ensure when there are valued times that we do not have enough equipment in a
certain area, or there is an extreme weather condition, we bring in people out
there who are very qualified. These
are the same people who build our buildings here, clear other parts of the roads
here, do other parts of our infrastructure.
So, what we have are 1,700 diligent, capable individuals, and we do
partner with contractors out there who sustain the employment in this Province.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East.
MR. MURPHY:
Well, Mr. Speaker, I am not
the one who said that everything was on the table.
Mr.
Speaker: Is the Premier aware that the Ontario Provincial Police reported
highways were left covered in ice and snow for days at a time, in the same AG
report, that contractors often ignored the request for sand and salt resulting
in many collisions, deaths, and injuries?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon.
the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I cannot
speak for what goes on in Ontario. I
can speak for what goes on in Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
I do know, Mr. Speaker, that
our roads are made safe because of the staff we have here, because of the
partnerships that we develop with private contractors.
These are the same people who travel, their kids travel to hockey and
figure skating. They are the same
people that their school buses travel on.
They keep them safe for the people in this Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
John's East has time for a quick question.
MR. MURPHY:
Mr. Speaker, I ask the
Premier: Has this government received any unsolicited proposals for road repair
or maintenance by an outside agency of any kind?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Transportation and Works has time for a quick reply.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BRAZIL:
Mr. Speaker, not to my
knowledge. That is not necessary
right now because we have very diligent staff to do that, but we always look at
the most efficient ways to ensure safety on our highways.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The time
for Question Period has expired.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.
Tabling
of Documents.
Tabling of
Documents
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Finance and President Board.
MR. WISEMAN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Pursuant
section 26(5)(
a) of the Financial Administration Act, I am tabling one
Order-in-Council relating to funding pre-commitments for the 2016-2017 through
to the 2017-2018 fiscal years.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further tabling of documents?
The hon.
the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
MR. GRANTER:
Mr. Speaker, in response to a
question from the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace, I table this document.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further tabling of documents?
The hon.
the Government House Leader.
MR. KING:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am
pleased today to table a report.
Some time ago my critic in the Opposition asked about tabling a list of
companies and individuals who had secured loans and financing from the
provincial government. They
requested a calculation of the numbers of loans, the dollar amounts, and that
which have been written off by the Business Investment Corporation.
I am pleased today to table that document in its entirety here for the
Clerk.
MR. SPEAKER:
Further tabling of documents?
I hereby
table the report of the Auditor General entitled, 2014 Update on Prior Years'
Report Recommendations.
Notices
of Motion.
Answers
to Question for Which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for St.
George's Stephenville East.
MR. REID:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I have a
petition related to health care in the St. George's area and the Bay St. George
area in general.
The
petition reads: To the hon. House of Assembly in the Province of Newfoundland
and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly
sheweth:
WHEREAS
there is not a permanent doctor in the Town of St. George's; and
WHEREAS
this absence of a permanent doctor is seriously compromising the health care of
people in the town and surrounding areas causing them undue hardship; and
WHEREAS
the absence of a doctor or nurse practitioner in the area leaves seniors and
others without a consistency and quality of care, which is necessary for their
continued good health;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
I ask
members for their co-operation.
MR. REID:
and call upon the House of
Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to take action
which will result in a permanent doctor or other arrangements to improve health
care service in St. George's and surrounding area.
Mr.
Speaker, this is a continuing petition.
I presented similar petitions a number of times.
In this case, it is from the people in St. George's.
It is signed by a number of people in St. George's.
The
situation in St. George's is that they are a fairly big town and they do not
have a doctor. In the recent past
they have had as many as two doctors in the community, but more recently they
have had one doctor in the community.
Now, for the last six months, they have not had a doctor in their
community.
It is
causing a lot of problems. People
are not getting their tests back in a timely manner.
People are having trouble getting in to see a doctor.
People with small children have called me and said they are unable to get
in to see a doctor when they need to.
People have called me about their elderly parents to tell me that they
have not been able to get appointments for them in their community.
They have had to travel long distances in bad weather just to get to see
a doctor, just to get a prescription refilled, just to get some tests done, Mr.
Speaker.
So, it
is a serious problem. To call it a
crisis is not a stretch, Mr. Speaker.
I think it is a reasonable thing to call it a crisis.
I think this situation has gone on long enough in both Jeffrey's the
clinic in Jeffrey's has not had a doctor for approximately a year-and-a-half
now. It is causing a lot of
problems, causing serious problems.
I need
to emphasize that these are not new positions that I am asking for.
These are positions that have been budgeted in last year's Budget, in
this year's Budget. The positions
just have not been filled. It is a
persistent problem that arises in these areas that I think government, whoever
is in government, has to look at solutions to these types of problems.
If people do not have access to primary care, then it is a serious
problem for them and it is a serious problem for the Province.
Thank
you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
The hon.
the Member for St. John's East has about forty-five seconds to present his
petition.
MR. MURPHY:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
course, other times I have stood on my feet talking about this petition:
WHEREAS
Tordon 101 contains the chemicals 2,4-D and Picloram; and
WHEREAS
the chemical Picloram is a known cancer-causing carcinogen it goes on, Mr.
Speaker.
As in
duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr.
Speaker, at Estimates last night, just to make this pretty quick, we heard that
government is no longer using Tordon 101 along the sides of our highways.
I think the minister confirmed that.
They are using a less dangerous chemical now called Garlon.
We still have concerns about the mixture of Tordon 101 and Sylgard on the
right-of-way to Muskrat Falls.
We will
still keep pursuing this issue, but right now we consider this to be a partial
victory on the part of the people looking after their health.
Thank
you very much.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
Orders of the Day
Private Members'
Day
MR. SPEAKER:
It now being 3:00 p.m.,
Private Members' Day, I go to the Member for Humber Valley to begin debate on
his private member's motion.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is a
pleasure for me today to stand in this House and speak to the motion:
BE IT
RESOLVED the House of Assembly urge government to cancel the intended increase
to the HST. That is seconded by the
Member for Virginia Waters. I look
forward to the debate today from government members, as well as those on this
side of the House, the Official Opposition.
The
reason why we are actually urging for government to cancel this intended
increase in HST the increase in HST was in last week's Budget.
As regular procedure in the House of Assembly, the Budget debate is
occurring within the House of Assembly.
So what we are asking now is that this House reverse this intended
increase in HST.
The
reason for this, of course, we feel it will have a dramatic, negative impact on
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. It will take discretionary spending out of the
pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians; therefore, the unintended purpose
here would be that it would hurt the economy.
Mr.
Speaker, first of all, a little bit of history about HST, indeed what it is.
HST is the Harmonized Sales Tax.
It is a combination of the Goods and Services Tax, the GST, and the
provincial portion which is the PST.
Back in the late 1990s, in 1996 and 1997, there was a discussion that included
three of the four Atlantic Provinces, that being New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and
Newfoundland and Labrador, where they put in place a blended tax rate.
That became known as the HST.
This is
collected usually at point of sales as people in Newfoundland and Labrador, in
this case, make purchases in many of the retail outlets or for service providers
in the Province. It is a consumer
tax. When you purchase something, it
is a consumption tax.
Any time
you take money from the pockets of the consumer, what it does is it leaves less
money there, obviously. Therefore,
it reduces the amount that they have the ability to spend.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. BALL:
Mr. Speaker, when you look at
the economy in Newfoundland and Labrador, we know that all the economic
indicators are going in the wrong direction.
This is something we have been speaking about now for quite some time;
but when you have a negative impact on the economy, when you take money out of
the economy, there is also a multiplier effect.
What
happens if you take a dollar, a loonie, out of the system, we know that comes
with extra negative impacts on the economy.
Sometimes that multiplier effect could be 20 per cent, sometimes 30 per
cent, but what we do know is that there is a cost to the economy.
So when
you look at Newfoundland and Labrador economy right now we know, as I said, that
the GDP, the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador, is already shrinking.
So to put another negative indicator, increase the HST in our Province
right now, we believe will have a harmful impact on the economy in Newfoundland
and Labrador.
Currently, we are at 8 per cent. It
is a 13 per cent total; HST is 13 per cent; 5 per cent of that is GST, the
federal portion; 8 per cent of the 13 per cent makes up the Provincial Sales
Tax. As I said, this is collected at
the point of service.
What
this government is proposing is that in January 2016 this rate would not be at
13 per cent anymore; indeed what it would do is go to 15 per cent.
Where does 15 per cent stack up in Canada right now?
Well in fact, Mr. Speaker, 15 per cent in January 2016 would make
Newfoundland and Labrador the highest HST in the country, not just in Atlantic
Canada but in the country.
There
are five provinces right now that use the HST for the collection of taxes.
This tax is submitted to the federal government and then, of course, the
provincial portion is reversed back to the Province.
Right now, that would put us at the highest rate.
Nova Scotia is currently at 15 per cent; New Brunswick, at 14 per cent;
and PEI has now adopted the HST as well New Brunswick is at 13 per cent, I
say, Mr. Speaker, but we know that this would put us at the highest rate right
now in the country.
That is
important because when people make a decision where they want to live in
Newfoundland and Labrador, we have lots to offer people, not people just to come
and visit, even though we feel that this would have a negative impact on the
tourism industry in Newfoundland and Labrador as well because obviously it is a
little harder for people who are travelling into the Province and now add that
extra cost to the tourists who want to visit Newfoundland and Labrador, we see
that having a negative impact as well.
Here we
go, what this tax does is it takes money out of the pockets, it reduces the
discretional spending or discretional spending being the money that people
have already paid taxes on, so this is another tax.
You have already paid your income tax and you have already paid your
share of the EI premiums and so on so, so the discretionary spending, or what
most people refer to as the money, is what they clear from their pay checks.
After the taxes are paid this is the money that we have available to us
to pay for the things that we need, the basic things that we need for day-to-day
living in the Province. This
increase in HST reduces the spending power of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
Mr.
Speaker, there are a lot of people who have spoken out about the HST since this
was announced by the Minister of Finance and, of course the Premier, Premier
Davis, back last Thursday. What we
have here is a Budget already with a series of negative economic indicators, I
say, Mr. Speaker. We now added this
extra cost, taking more money out of the economy.
The
position of increasing the HST, as an example, the Retail Council of Canada has
spoken out about this. They have
issued a release saying that they see this as having a negative impact.
These are people who are directly involved with retailers in the country
and they see this and say that this will have a negative impact on Newfoundland
and Labrador.
I say,
Mr. Speaker, a lot of members opposite would say this has to do with the falling
price of oil, but keep in mind that this is a government that was projecting
over half a billion dollar deficit before oil was dropping.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. BALL:
Now, in this year's deficit
it was $1.1 billion, so we cannot blame this strictly on the falling price of
oil. We cannot blame this strictly
on currency, Mr. Speaker. We cannot
blame this strictly on the amount of oil that is being produced.
This is just simply about a government that has not planned for where we
are today; this is simply about a government that has not managed for the
situation that we are into today.
Mr.
Speaker, there are other people out there, other groups, other community groups
that are speaking out about this increase in HST, not only the Retail Council of
Canada but we have had car dealers all across this Province.
They see this increase in HST saying that this will have a negative
impact on new car sales, on used car sales in this Province, I say, Mr. Speaker
a negative impact. We all know
that these are key economic indicators that we see in our Province.
Mr.
Speaker, also we have had home construction.
We have had people in the news speaking out this week on the impact that
they see on new home construction, making it more difficult.
I spoke about this today in Question Period when I questioned the Premier
about how difficult this would be, this increase in HST would be in helping our
young families in our Province get into that first home.
The
Premier came back and said: Well, we are working on a solution for that.
Quite frankly, the solutions on those sorts of things should have been in
this year's Budget if indeed they are working on that.
People have a right to know, people deserve to know what those options
are, but it is not in this year's Budget.
So I would expect and predict that this is another one of those promises,
another one of those commitments they were making that will be four years out,
five years out. Who knows how far it
is out, but what we know today is that the increase in HST will have a negative
impact on home construction in our Province.
Another
group that spoke out this week will be about the underground economy, I say, Mr.
Speaker. We all know there is only
so much money that people have to spend.
So anytime you increase prices, what happens is people will look for
other options where they can actually save that money.
The
underground economy has been in the media a bit, too, this week.
We know reports are saying it is about $180 million.
This increase in HST will even make that grow because people only have so
much money to spend. What happens
there is anytime you start driving the economy further underground then you
expose the purchasers. You expose
the people of our Province to, sometimes poor workmanship, warranty issues,
liability issues, about people who are doing the work on their property, Mr.
Speaker.
We have
had the St. John's Board of Trade, the Corner Brook Board of Trade, we have had
many municipalities in our Province speak out about this.
Of course, this is Municipal Awareness Day.
On one hand, what we saw last Wednesday was an announcement about a
partnership with municipalities and then on the very next day we saw the
increase in the HST. That would take
a significant portion of the announcement that they saw on Wednesday taken back.
Mr.
Speaker, a few days ago we had the Minister of Finance kind of accuse me of
making a comment about I referred to some Budget documents about the economy
in Japan. Now Japan is the fourth
largest economy in the world. What
we see, Mr. Speaker, is that when the Budget comes out, when the minister and
government announces its Budget, it puts out a series of documents, a lot of
information in those documents.
One of
the pages, it is the book on The Economy 2015.
What it does is it gives an overview on some of the global economies, and
we had mentioned about Japan. I had
mentioned this in some media reports.
It is the fourth largest economy in the world.
It has some of the same when you look at the demographics in Japan, the
population is aging and a weak private sector growth.
This is coming from the Budget documents from this government.
This is
what was interesting, I say, Mr. Speaker.
In April 2014, Japan raised its sales tax from 5% to 8% in an effort to
reduce its deficit; however, private consumption fell dramatically as a result.
Now, Mr.
Speaker, that is not members of the Official Opposition; that is not me, as the
Official Opposition. These are this
government's own Budget documents.
What
happened in Japan? In April 2104, it
went from 5 per cent to 8 per cent.
What they said happened is that consumption fell dramatically.
Why would we expect it to be any different when you make tax increases in
a Province like Newfoundland and Labrador?
We would expect no different because that is what happens.
When you increase sales tax, you reduce the purchasing power.
That is what happens.
Consumption falls, therefore it further hurts the economy.
Now, I
have not mentioned in my speaking notes yet about the indicators that we see in
our own Province, Mr. Speaker, and they are many.
We know the GDP for the next five years will continue to fall.
We know that household income will be flat.
We know that disposable income in our Province right now, essentially,
will be flat.
We also
know the cost of living, the consumer price index in our Province, will continue
to rise, which also impacts discretionary spending.
The amount of money that people have in their pockets to actually spend,
that will go up. The consumer price
index will continue to go up. We are
going to see housing starts in our Province continually fall over the next five
years. Our labour force, that
continues to fall.
Mr.
Speaker, there is no doubt, if you want to have a strong economy people must
have the ability, they must have purchasing power.
When we take money away, one thing for sure that will happen is that
consumer confidence will also fall.
That is a huge impact on any economy.
Consumers must feel empowered.
They must feel they have confidence in the place where they live.
Taking money away by increasing HST will reduce consumer confidence, I
say, Mr. Speaker. That will have a
negative impact on Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr.
Speaker, the two solutions we seen today from this government: one is to
increase borrowing, to increase taxation, to increase fees for the things that
people use in our Province. We see
this as having a negative impact on our Province.
That is the reason why we are actually urging this government to reverse
this decision to increase HST in our Province.
Mr.
Speaker, I will get another opportunity to speak in a few minutes.
Thank
you very much for this opportunity.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of
Finance and President of Treasury Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. WISEMAN:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I said
last week on Budget Day that this was a Budget about choices, this was a Budget
about balance and having to make some choices to ensure that we have a stable
and predictable future. One of the
things when you start talking about making choices and balance, there are only a
couple of options to deal with the circumstance that we find ourselves in now.
We have
had a significant drop in revenue from our oil royalties, and that is something
we have no control over. So we just
need to manage our way through it until we see a rebound, and we believe that
rebound is coming. We believe our
economy will turn around and we will start seeing some measurable growth in late
2018 into 2019, but how do we get ourselves from where we are today, over the
course of that five-year period and out to 2021 when we return to surplus.
There
are a couple of things we need to consider, Mr. Speaker.
The member opposite identified a couple of things that you could do.
You could borrow money. You
could increase revenue through taxation or increase fees, or you could run huge
deficits much larger than we are proposing.
So we have a balance here. We
are proposing a balance that will see us run a deficit yes, much larger than
we have experienced in the past and we are going to be borrowing dollars that
are higher than amounts we have borrowed in the past, and we are going to be
increasing some of our revenue stream, while at the same time taking a very
strategic approach in reducing our expenditures.
Let's
look at the issue at hand here today, which is the HST that the member opposite
is suggesting that we should eliminate.
Last week when he was talking about eliminating the HST he was talking
about here is what you have to understand he said.
That he was prepared to run a larger deficit and borrow more money so not
to have to increase the HST to come up with the other couple of hundred million
dollars that this will generate. I
say, Mr. Speaker, you cannot stand in the House today and talk about how
borrowing is problematic and at the same time last week say that he would borrow
and run larger deficits to offset any revenue loss as a result of the HST.
Mr.
Speaker, if you think about options again, if you want to generate revenue and
you say, okay, well HST is an option.
Let's say you went with his theory and said: let's not increase HST at
all. Let's look someplace else where
we can find an equivalent. Let's
reduce our expenditures.
Let's
look at what that might mean, Mr. Speaker.
As a government, we might turn around and say tomorrow that we are going
to reduce our expenditures on infrastructure.
We are going to pull a couple hundred million dollars a year out of our
infrastructure plan so as to come up with an offsetting dollar amount, or we
could say that we are going to, as the Member for Virginia Waters would do, run
out and cut massive people from the public service.
We might do that as well as an option, if we listen to the Member for
Virginia Waters.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. WISEMAN:
Let's look at what those
options mean. What the Leader of the
Opposition is concerned about is the impact on our economy.
We measure our economy, Mr. Speaker, through a measurement called the
Gross Domestic Product. We look at
what is the size of our economy.
When you
consider for a moment and you can ask any economist to validate this
calculation if you took a $200 million revenue stream from HST, or you took a
reduction in compensation cost that government has, or you took a reduction in
our infrastructure spending, or if you cut your expenditures in your supply
chain, we would pull back a couple of hundred million of goods and services that
we buy from companies in this Province.
Take
either one of those four options three of them, pulling money back, reducing
expenditures in one of three categories, or the fourth option to increase HST by
2 per cent. Guess what, Mr. Speaker?
Do that calculation, have an economist do it for you, and what they will
tell you is that the HST increase of 2 per cent has the least amount of impact
on your economy.
Mr.
Speaker, no one stood in this House I did not stand here last week and I am
not standing here today telling you that the choices we make do not have
consequences. Every single decision
that we make in this House has an impact, has a consequence.
That is what governance is about.
Governance is about making decisions.
Sometimes they are tough decisions, but they are about making choices.
We had a
choice. We needed to have a $200
million dollar amount in our bottom line, and we had a couple of options.
We chose the one that had the least impact on our economy.
No one said it is not going to have some.
I did not say that; I would never say it.
What we chose, though, was to choose an option that would have the least
amount of impact.
When we
started talking about impact I am glad the member opposite gave us a bit of a
history lesson when he talked about how it evolved, what we were one time
because it was not all that long ago for those of us who are old enough to
remember we were paying close to 20 per cent, when you tacked on what the
federal government were charging and layer on what the Province was charging
back in the early 1990s. If you fast
forward of those times starting in 1991 and the change in 1997, the reductions
that occurred in 2006 and in 2008, when those things happened, look at what
impact it had on the economy.
Because
in 2006 when the federal government said we are going to take 1 per cent off our
GST, we did not see a massive growth in our economy at that time.
So, when the tax came off, we did not see a huge spike in consumer
spending. We did not see a huge
growth in our economy, nor in 2008 when the federal government again pulled off
another percentage. That is what got
us to where we are now. We were at
15 per cent one time. It was only
back in 2006 when the federal government reduced their GST portion by a per
cent, and again in 2008 when they reduced it by another 1 per cent.
Prior to that, we were paying 15 per cent.
Neither
one of those changes, either in 2006 or 2008, we did not see massive amounts of
money flowing into the economy as a result of that.
Yes, I will acknowledge that when you go back and look at the economic
indicators during that period we were experiencing some economic growth during
that time. One of the contributing
factors may have been the HST; however, we did not see a huge spike in economic
activity driven by that reduction, nor do we expect this time, Mr. Speaker, as a
result of introducing the 2 per cent, to see a massive decline in economic
activity as a result of it.
I just
want to go back to something I said a moment ago.
In looking at the options we had available, having a 2 per cent increase
was the one that had the least economic impact, the one that had the least
impact on the economy, the one that had the least impact on the amount of money
in circulation in the economy, Mr. Speaker.
So,
fundamentally, when we start giving consideration to what HST is and I am glad
the member opposite again raised this notion about how competitive we are.
I want to quote him exactly, but I am paraphrasing now.
I believe he said when people look at where they want to live and do they
want to live here, this is going to be a disincentive.
I say, Mr. Speaker, if taxation becomes one of the issues that people
consider when they decide to move to Newfoundland and Labrador or if they decide
to leave Newfoundland and Labrador consumption tax becomes one part of that.
Yes, I acknowledge, but the other thing, their income tax becomes a part
of that as well. This Budget still
puts us in a position where we have the lowest income tax in Atlantic Canada.
Mr.
Speaker, the other thing that people give consideration to is a marginal tax
rate. So if you are going to leave
Newfoundland and Labrador and go to a more favourable tax regime, on a marginal
tax basis, the only two provinces that you can go to get better than what you
are going to get in Newfoundland is in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
So it limits your choice.
AN HON. MEMBER:
That will not last very long.
MR. WISEMAN:
I am not sure what is going
to happen in Alberta after yesterday, either, Mr. Speaker.
That could change tomorrow.
Fundamentally today, if that is what is going to drive people out of
Newfoundland and Labrador is the amount of tax that they are paying, in Atlantic
Canada, there is nowhere else to go when it comes to income tax.
If you are looking at nation, on a marginal tax basis, there is only two
other places you can go. The HST,
Mr. Speaker, now is the only one that is left over.
They are not going to Nova Scotia because they are the same as what we
are proposing and if you look at the other provinces around the country we are
only off by a couple per cent.
Just
think about it, Mr. Speaker, let's say you are making $70,000 or $80,000 a year
and you are going to leave Newfoundland and Labrador because HST is 2 per cent
greater than it might be in Ontario when, in fact, if you look at your income
and what you might spend on HST, it probably only represents 3 per cent or 4 per
cent of your income anyway.
If you
consider for a moment the other aspect of this huge issue for us in terms of
consumer spending, those individuals on the higher end of the salary scale, they
are paying a much smaller percentage of their income towards HST in any event.
What we have done, which is the other critical part of this discussion,
we have made a huge investment here as well into those individuals on the lower
income spectrum. We have made a
change, Mr. Speaker.
Prior to
the Budget last week, those individuals who had a $15,000 a year income
threshold had an ability to apply for a credit.
So with the filing of their income tax return, they would be eligible for
a credit. That credit was only $40.
We have done a couple of things and in the course of processing those
claims, there was roughly 58,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who were
eligible for that credit.
What we
have done, Mr. Speaker, because we acknowledge as we have done with our
low-income tax credit, as we have done with our home heat rebate program, as we
have done with our home repair program and the list goes on, we have put in
place programs to ensure that we protect those individuals who are at the lower
income levels.
Again,
we did it here. We said if we are
going to increase the HST by 2 per cent, we know that will have a greater impact
on someone who is making $20,000 or $25,000 or $30,000 a year than it would have
on someone who is making $150,000 or $200,000 a year.
What we have done is we have taken that $15,000 a year threshold and we
have increased it to $30,000 $30,000 a year now is the new income threshold.
addition to that, Mr. Speaker, we said that $40 will not cut it.
That $40 will not keep those individuals in the same position they would
have been in prior to the 2 per cent, so we increased that $40 to $300,
recognizing that sometimes there are families involved.
So, there might be an individual who is the principal wage earner, might
be filing a tax return and there may be another partner with them and we have
now added a $60 credit to that second adult in that family.
Mr.
Speaker, what we have done here is taken a balanced approach.
We have considered a couple of things:
one, what would have been the options?
How else could we have made decisions to get us an equivalent dollar
amount? As I said, we could have cut
salaries, we could have cut services, we could have cut expenditures, and we
could have cut our infrastructure program.
All of those would have had a more negative impact than the HST increase
of 2 per cent. That was one choice.
The
second thing we had to consider, Mr. Speaker, is what impact will this have on
low-income people? We acknowledge
that it was going to have an impact on low-income people, but we can fix it.
We can fix it by creating a credit, increasing the credit we already had
in place and by increasing eligibility.
So, instead of having 58,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians eligible to
apply for it, we now have 126,000, I think it is.
Just a little over 126,000 people will become eligible for that credit.
Mr.
Speaker, as I go back to my opening comment and my time is running out this
decision, like other decisions in this Budget, this was about choices that we
had to make. What choices and what
options did we have? This was about
a balance, and how might we take a balanced approach to make sure we hit the
targets that we have established for ourselves.
We could
have said we are going to borrow more money.
We could have done that. Like
the Leader of the Opposition said, he would borrow more money.
You have to keep in mind, Mr. Speaker, what you borrow you have to pay
back. When you are borrowing money
you have to be very sensitive to the people who lend it to you and what kind of
considerations they may want to have.
Obviously, they are concerned when governments start to borrow.
They have to recognize that there has to be outer limits because it
affects your rating, it affects your ability to service that debt.
So, we
said we do not want our debt servicing to go beyond 13 per cent.
We are not prepared to borrow enough to get a debt servicing cost beyond
that point. We said there is a cap
on what we are prepared to borrow.
Every time something comes to this House and we table a document such as this,
our Budget, and say we want to increase HST for these reasons, and here are the
choices and here is the balance, and all of a sudden you get a public outcry.
You cannot run into this House and say well, that is not very popular.
We have an election coming, so we are going to change all of that.
That is not what this is about, Mr. Speaker.
When this government had opportunities to reduce taxes and fees we did.
If you
look at it today, Mr. Speaker, we have about $620 million-odd a year that we are
not getting in taxes and fees today that we were back in 2005.
When we were in a position to do so, we reduced taxes and we reduced
fees. When we get in a position
where we have the fiscal capacity, we will do it again, Mr. Speaker.
We will do as we have always done.
When we
have the capacity we will make sure that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are
the principal benefactors of that.
When our fiscal circumstances improve, we will make adjustments again in taxes
and fees so that we can pass on that benefit to Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians, just like we have done in the past.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER (Cross):
The hon. the Member for
Virginia Waters.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS C. BENNETT:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr.
Speaker, I thank the members of the House for their indulgence for the next
fifteen minutes. I know they have
had lots of time to listen to me over the last number of days.
Certainly, I hope my comments today will be as relevant to this
conversation as the comments I have made in the last two days.
Mr.
Speaker, I found it interesting that when the minister stood up and spoke that
he confirmed exactly what the Official Opposition has been saying about this
government. He confirmed that this
government really only had a couple of options to look at.
Those options were tax or borrow.
Well,
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we believe there are a lot more options
than just those two. Quite frankly,
that is one of the reasons why we thought it was important to not only speak as
long as I did on the Budget so far, but continue to have a robust debate about
the decisions this government has made.
Not only the decisions they have made in this Budget, but the decisions
they have made in the past to get us to where we are today.
Mr.
Speaker, there is a simple economic phenomenon that many, many business
operators and people in private business understand, and that is the term
which I am sure the Minister of Finance understands grow market share.
What does that mean, Mr. Speaker?
Fundamentally, what it means is if you have income from a certain revenue
stream, what you want to do is to look at ways of growing that.
When you
look at this government's decisions around fiscal decisions, they made decisions
to spend risky revenue that was related to oil prices and productions in ways
that people of the Province are questioning.
What they did not do is they ignored a part of the revenue stream that is
something that can help create an environment to grow.
That is the base of income tax.
The way you grow the base of income tax and you grow, as some would say,
the market share, is you would increase the number of people who are working
here.
Mr.
Speaker, as I said in Question Period today, we have seen seventeen consecutive
months of job losses in this Province.
Some 10,000 jobs have been lost in our Province.
This government's own economic indicators forecast employment to decline
in the Province from 2015 to 2018 by another 12,000.
Mr. Speaker, therein lies the problem.
This
government is not making decisions based on fact for the economy that we are
faced today. That is why I am proud
to stand here in this House on behalf of the people who have elected me in the
District of Virginia Waters and support this private member's resolution that
has been brought forward by the Leader of the Official Opposition.
The resolution that says,
BE IT RESOLVED the House of Assembly urge
Government to cancel the intended increase to the HST.
Mr.
Speaker, I have to be honest, I am very surprised the minister was so willing to
confirm for us that they only did look at two options.
Another option we have talked about frequently on our side of the House,
and we have asked in Question Periods and we spoke about it in debate, is the
option of reducing waste.
Now, Mr.
Speaker, the Finance Minister can choose to take my words and twist them for his
own political purposes and somehow link the quality work that our public sector
does to my concern for waste elimination in government, and he can do that, but
I am not going to tolerate it. I am
going to stand up for the people of my district.
I am going to stand up for the people who work in government.
I am going to stand up for those people, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS C. BENNETT:
I will not let this government continue to ignore the realities of the economy
they have created.
Mr.
Speaker, we are looking at, by their own forecast, and many, many other
forecasts, a decrease in household income over 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.
At the same time, this government has decided that the best economic
policy as it relates to its tax choices is to introduce a consumption tax to
further put their hands into the pockets of hardworking Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians to make it more difficult for them to weather the decline in their
household income.
Why are
we in this situation? Because this
government refuses to accept accountability for the things it has chosen to do.
The waste they have allowed to happen has been spoken to frequently by
members of the Opposition and will continue to be highlighted throughout the
weeks of debate. Whether it is a
million dollars on a location to store tires without actually deciding how to
get rid of the tires, or it is something as monumental as expropriating
something by accident, those decisions have huge ramifications on government's
financial capacity. I believe the
people of the Province are not going to tolerate any government continuing the
behaviours of this government towards waste, with a total disregard for
taxpayers' money, and, quite frankly, the revenue that comes into this Province
that belongs to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, not to this government.
So why
did we find it ironic that in the government's own Budget documents they
referred to the economy of Japan?
Well, as many economists would know and people who study the characteristics of
healthy economies, there are all kinds of language that is put around different
government economic policy. I am
sure, as I spoke about a couple of days ago, many people in this House have
heard the term Reaganomics. Well,
equally, and probably not as well known, is the term Abenomics, and Abenomics
refers to the economic policy decisions that were made in the country of Japan
when their economy was contracting and they increased a consumption tax at the
same time.
Mr.
Speaker, why is this important right now?
Well, it is really important, because government's own numbers say that
we are going to see in our Province not just a contraction in our economy, we
are going to see a contraction in our workforce.
Now, some would argue that contraction in our workforce is related to
this government's lack of attention and lack of clear action on changing the
population reality that we know to be true in our Province right now.
The fastest aging population also means the fastest aging workforce.
Those
are the things that are going to have serious, serious impacts on our economy.
Now, I have lots of confidence in the future of Newfoundland and Labrador
as long as the right decisions are made about protecting our economy today so
that the people who want to live, the people who choose to live here, can
continue to earn their livelihood, and that we can continue to grow jobs and
allow that to happen in our Province.
Mr.
Speaker, housing starts are forecasted to be down in 2015, 9.6 per cent; in
2016, 9.9 per cent; in 2017, 2.8 per cent; and continues to decline in 2018.
Yet despite the Premier's promise to try to make it easier for new home
buyers and young people to buy their own home and move out of the rental cycle,
he has not even acknowledged that in his own budget document; and we have a
situation where he is going to increase the HST which directly impacts not only
those individuals who are buying those homes, but it also directly impacts those
individuals who are working in the area of home building.
It has a reverberation effect through the economy.
What
this government fails to realize is that every single decision they make
reverberates to our economy and ultimately impacts the lives of the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador, that they were elected to represent, Mr. Speaker.
If we
look at retail sales, the minister celebrated in the Budget document the fact
that he acknowledged that there were indicators in our Province that are not
going in the right way and then he proudly accepted credit for the fact that
retail sales are increasing. Well,
Mr. Speaker, retail sales are scheduled, by his own forecast, to reduce over the
next four years in locked step with household income, in locked step with
household starts, and those are all indicators of the contraction that we are
seeing in our economy that must require governments to act differently.
I do not
believe that government had only a couple of options.
Quite frankly, the fact that if anyone thinks that this Budget is a
comprehensive document to create balance in what needs to happen in addressing
the real challenges we have in our Province, they do not understand Newfoundland
and Labrador, Mr. Speaker. They do
not understand what is going on in our communities.
They certainly do not understand what is going on in our business
community, and they do not understand the realities of the population issues
that we have in our Province.
Do you
know what? It is a sad indictment on
this government that after twelve years and $20 billion of oil royalties, $5.5
billion worth of Atlantic Accord money sorry, $5 billion worth of Atlantic
Accord money and another $5.5 billion worth of debt that they created that we
are still in the situation where job growth and population are almost the same
as when they started.
The
reason our leader stood up so decisively on the HST is that this economic policy
decision this government is making at this critical time in our history has a
really detrimental effect on our economy, and we are not going to stand for it,
Mr. Speaker.
As the
many, many, many people who are standing up and joining us in speaking to their
disapproval of this government's decisions for what they believe is so-called
balance, because of their own admission that they could only come up with two
options there are many, many, many options that this government could take,
that must be taken in a way that respects the risks associated with our economy
and that linkage to jobs and that linkage to population.
Because at the end of the day, no legacy project, no energy plan, no work
that this government has done for last twelve years, quite frankly, is going to
be any more memorable than the legacy of a lost generation of Newfoundlanders
and Labradorians when we continue to have population numbers and demographics
like we have in our Province today.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MS C. BENNETT:
What needs to happen is there
needs to be solid business cases, executing on plans, using accurate financial
facts, and a government that holds itself accountable for delivering outcomes
and getting results.
Mr.
Speaker, an HST increase at this time that, by the way, also showcases their
arrogance towards seniors and people who are living from income to income in our
community by removing the residential energy rebate and increasing the cost of
power in this Province to every single Newfoundlander and Labradorian by 10 per
cent is another reminder of this government's short-sightedness and another
reason why we stood up and said a HST increase is not acceptable.
Mr.
Speaker, I appreciate the attention of the members in the House.
I look forward to continuing to listen to debate.
Thank
you for your attention today. We
cannot risk our economy at this time.
We cannot risk losing more Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and not
giving them an opportunity and not increasing our population here, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for
Labrador West.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am pleased to be able to stand and speak on this
private member's motion today a motion that is asking us to reverse the
decision of increasing the 2 per cent HST.
I am going to focus a little bit on being a former business person in
Newfoundland and Labrador. I
remember in 1991 when I was in business.
I had a couple of businesses open then, and that was when the GST first
came in.
I remember it was an extremely nervous time when that
extra tax was coming on, and the businesses that I was in were certainly a
consumable business. I was in the
food industry and hospitality industry.
So those were some of the places where people would make their cuts
first. We thought it was going to be
all doom and gloom when we saw that extra tax going on there of the 7 per cent
GST, and it had an effect for a very short period, and then we started to reap
the benefits from the extra tax, and people very quickly adjusted.
I think what this government has done, we are going
from we had an HST in there of 15 per cent, and when we saw an opportunity when
things were going well, we reduced that HST and it was reduced by 1 per cent,
and then a year later it was reduced by another percentage to bring us down to
the 13 per cent that we are at now.
Now with the economy the way it is, we feel this government sat back and when
they were doing the deliberations for the Budget: What are some of the best ways
that you can address the deficit that we are facing now?
I certainly do not feel that we have made any mistakes,
and I keep hearing the members from the other side, the Member for Virginia
Waters. As she stated, she spoke at
quite a length on the Budget four hours in the last couple of days, and then
she spoke again today. I heard her
use the word waste quite often on how this government has wasted money.
I have yet to hear the Member for Virginia Waters or anyone else on that
side give examples of the waste. I
guess in talking to my colleagues, in talking to the general public, I am
wondering where the waste is. Is the
waste in some of the hospitals? Is
the waste in the schools? Is the
waste in the education system? Is
the waste in the transportation system?
I feel that this government over the last twelve years
has been fairly diligent in how they have handled the finances of the Province,
and looked at what we were dealing with we had an infrastructure that,
fortunately, over the last seven or eight years we have had some good economics
coming in. We have invested that
back into the Province. We have
invested it back into the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
I am, I guess, a little taken back and I would like an
explanation as to where the waste is because I have not seen it yet and they
have not explained it. They keep
using the word waste and saying what we are wasting, but I have not seen it yet.
I think it is very important too that the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador realize that even in the economic downturn that we are
in right now, and not just in Newfoundland and Labrador, it is a global downturn
that we are in right now, that we are still making major investments.
We are going to be investing $8.1 billion into our Province this year
alone, and we are still very competitive.
As you heard the Minister of Finance state, we are still a very
competitive province when it comes to the Personal Income Tax.
We are still within the three lowest within the country.
The only two that are ahead of us are Alberta and Saskatchewan.
As we all know there was a major turnover in Alberta
last night and it is going to be very interesting to see where that goes.
I go back to when the government changed hands in Ontario and I look at
what happened in the four years in Ontario under an NDP government.
It is going to be very interesting to follow the Alberta government now
to see what happens there in the next while.
I am not sure it is going to take four years, but I will tell you I am
very nervous to see what is going to happen in Alberta under the new regime.
It will be interesting to watch that politically.
I hear people talking about the 2 per cent.
I am sure like every other member in this House of Assembly when you are
in your district you are out talking to people.
I am no different. I have
been talking to many of my constituents and I have heard complaints and fears
about what this extra 2 per cent, the difference it is going to make.
Then I put it rationally, and I keep hearing the arguments on the side of
the big ticket items. I realize
those big ticket items are there and they are necessities for the economy of
Newfoundland and Labrador, but for the average person and we are trying to
have a fair, balanced approach here I will come down to earth, going with if
you are buying $100 worth of consumables that were taxable by the HST it is
going to cost you $13. Now, for the
next little while, it is going to cost you $15.
I know that every penny counts when times are hard, but if you are going
from $13 to $15, that is what we have to look at there.
These are the fears that people are having.
Not everybody is going out and building a new home.
Not everybody is going out and buying a $50,000 car.
I heard a comment over the deliberation
of the Finance critic for the Official Opposition; she made a comment the other
day: If you are buying a $50,000 car or vehicle this government is now forcing
you to pay $7,000 tax on that. What
she did not say is that with the 13 per cent in there, when you were buying the
$50,000 vehicle, you were paying $6,500 anyway.
So there is not as big a difference I am hearing these numbers
C. BENNETT:
Mr.
Speaker, a point of order, please.
MR.
SPEAKER:
The
hon. the Member for Virginia Waters, on a point of order.
C. BENNETT:
Mr.
Speaker, I would ask the member opposite to clarify.
That is not what I said in the debate.
I would like him to show that I did.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR.
SPEAKER:
There is no point of order.
The hon. the Member for Labrador West.
MR.
MCGRATH:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
When comments are being made like this, to me that is a
little bit of fear mongering. You
are using large ticket numbers and you are putting a fear there in the people
that there are these excessive amounts of money that are going to be out there,
but when you put it into reality, the 2 per cent is a transition that we are
using. Our government sat down and
we tried to find the best ways to have as least an impact on the average person
in the Province as possible.
Adding that 2 per cent there one of the other things
we could have done was made major job cuts.
Again, I hear the Opposition pounding away that in this Budget there are
1,400 jobs being reduced. What they
are not saying is that this government has put a five-year plan forward.
Those 1,400 jobs that will be reduced through attrition, is over the five
years, but the message they are trying to send out is that we are going to do
that immediately. That is the
difference here.
Rather than having something like that happen, we felt
that this 2 per cent increase in the HST when times were good, we reduced the
HST. We reduced it from 15 per cent
to 13 per cent. Now times are not so
good and we are going to put that back there, but if you take 1,000 jobs out
immediately and then
things get better, those 1,000 people may not be there.
What we are doing is using that balanced approach to try and keep our
young people, number one, within our workforce and find a balanced way, a fair
way to address the deficit.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. MCGRATH:
That is why I feel this
difference in the 2 per cent on the HST is not going to have as big an impact as
we are hearing from the Opposition.
The
Minister of Finance referred to it a little bit about the difference that it
made. I talked about in 1991 when
the 7 per cent came on. Our economy
did not fall apart then. There was
an impact, yes. Of course, any
increase is going to have an impact, but is it going to be the detriment?
Certainly not.
In 1991,
the growth in Newfoundland and Labrador's real consumer spending, the employment
and the real GDP was 1.3 per cent, 1.1 per cent, and 0.4 per cent respectively.
Newfoundland and Labrador North America economies also experienced a
recession in 1991, independent of the GST charges.
We did not see any big booms here.
In 2008,
the federal portion of the HST, as the member across the way just reminded me,
it was reduced by 1 per cent. We did
not see any major influx. We did not
see any major influxes in the GDP.
It grew by 4.9 per cent, the employment grew by 1.9 per cent, and the GDP was
negative 1.2 per cent. So it did not
have as big an effect as we are hearing this is going to have now.
realize the oil prices have dropped drastically.
I hear from the opposite side that, well, this government knew there was
going to be a drop in oil prices.
Yes, this government did know there was going to be a drop in oil prices but
like nobody else in the global market did you realize it was going to be such a
drastic decrease as what it was. No
one saw it going from $118 a barrel down to $45 a barrel overnight.
That is a decrease that nobody could estimate.
We use the best advisors in the world to get our advice as to how that
decrease is going to be there, nobody predicted that.
As like
in 2008, when you saw that crash in 2008 in the global economy, nobody saw it;
but which province in Canada rebounded the fastest?
Newfoundland and Labrador.
Newfoundland and Labrador rebounded the fastest.
Those
were the things that this government has taken into account when we were putting
this Budget together. Those were the
things that we feel will have the least effect on the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador. We want to see everybody
be able to survive this downturn in the economy.
I also
heard the Leader of the Opposition mention that he would not put in the 2 per
cent, and if he forms government he is going to reverse that 2 per cent
immediately. It is going to be one
of the first things that he would do if he formed government.
So I ask
the question, how would he address it?
Well, he would increase the deficit, he would borrow more money, and he
would take longer to pay it back.
When you hear that, who is paying for that if it is not the taxpayers of
Newfoundland and Labrador? It is
dragged out longer, and we had that for decades.
We had that approach for decades.
Borrow more, drive the deficit up further, and eventually you will have
to pay it off.
What
happens then is your bond ratings disappear.
You lose your bond ratings then.
Once you lose your bond ratings, then the banks stop lending money to
you. Where do you go from there?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
MR. MCGRATH:
So, in that one, that is not
the approach we want to take.
The
other thing we would like to see is we want to take care of the low income.
I think we have addressed that in this Budget.
We have addressed the low income.
What we will do is we are increasing the rebates that will go back to the
low-income people. So they are going
to get $300 per household, and $60 per spouse, $60 for each child also.
The home
rebate is still in place. The home
rebate program is still at a maximum of $250.
For those on the South Coast of Labrador, realizing the difference there,
it is a maximum $500 for those who are eligible for that.
The
seniors; we have taken care of the seniors when it comes to their rebates.
So, I feel that with this 2 per cent increase it is a transition to get
us through a difficult time, and I think it is the right decision.
Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
I recognize the hon the
Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL:
Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
I am
glad to have the opportunity to speak to the private member's motion that we
have here on the floor today,
BE IT RESOLVED the House of Assembly urge
Government to cancel the intended increase to the HST.
remind viewers who may just be tuning in and maybe who do not know what happened
in the Budget last week, because I understand that not everybody gets to follow
us here in the House of Assembly.
People have concerns with their daily lives and making ends meet and surviving,
so they are not always on top of what is happening here in the House.
So, to
remind them that in the Budget last week the government made an announcement
that it would be raising the HST by 2 per cent, going from 13 per cent back up
to 15 per cent of the HST next January.
It turns out that by doing that we are now tied with one other province
as having the highest HST in the country.
Isn't that wonderful? Just
great!
This
government took an easy way out to deal with a problem that they have created.
Not that they have created the downturn with regard to the cost of oil,
but because they have not planned.
Their fiscal planning is not dealing with the fact that we have fluctuating
revenue because we have no control over what happens to the cost of oil.
They
know that they were warned by the Auditor General going back to 2007, by John
Noseworthy who was Auditor General at that time.
He warned the government in his annual report.
That warning was repeated for a number of years after, but in 2007 he
started. At that time he said that
while it was good to have rising oil revenues, they are generated from
non-renewable resources and are very vulnerable to changes in world oil prices
and production levels, factors which are outside government's control.
He went
on to give them advice. Government
has to carefully consider the degree to which it relies on this revenue source
to fund its programs and services.
This
government chose to ignore the warning from the Auditor General that was first
made in 2007, and they did it on two levels, Mr. Speaker.
They ignored it when it came to their planning around spending, and they
ignored it when it came the generation of revenue.
They did nothing to come up revenues coming from other sources, other
than their dependence on oil and our mining industry.
These are the two big things they depend on, both of which are unreliable
in terms of being stable from year to year.
They did
nothing to plan how to have an economy that was diversified, an economy that
would start bringing money in from other sources.
Economic development that is based in our communities, economic
development where we see value-added production based on our natural resources.
They have no planning for that.
Never do they talk about it.
Never do they indicate that they are looking forward when it comes to issues of
that nature.
So they
have done no planning with regard to diversification of the revenue sources for
this Province. They just kept
spending on programs without doing long-term planning.
I am not saying we should not have had the programs that we have.
We need them, but they do not present the spending in a long-term plan
based on having money to sustain us when something happens to the price of oil.
The
other thing, Mr. Speaker, that really disturbs me is the priorities of this
government. They like for us to
think that their priorities are the people.
They said that in two or three or many more different ways in the Budget.
It is one thing to say the words, but it is another thing to show that
the people of the Province really are their priority.
Especially when this government has been hell bent for so many years now
on their main priority, which is building Muskrat Falls, spending billions of
dollars on Muskrat Falls. That is
where their priority is, saying that it is an investment, saying that our
grandchildren are going to see the benefits without having any proof that that
is going to be the case.
So we
have three things here. We have a
government that spends without long-term planning.
We have a government that has not diversified the revenue generation in
this Province. We have a government
who has chosen to put billions of dollars into this massive development, Muskrat
Falls.
They
have created the situation that we are in.
They have created the problem.
What do they come out with in the Budget?
A plan on the backs of the people.
A plan on the backs of low-income and middle-income people.
They keep pretending this is not the case, but it is.
They created the situation.
They now
have a crash going on. They like to
think it is not, but there are economists who are saying yes, we are in a
recession. Let's acknowledge that we
are in this Province, and one that they have not