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June 15, 2021

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. L No. 17

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

SPEAKER (Bennett):

Are

the House Leaders ready?

Admit strangers.

Order, please!

I would like to take a moment to comment on the tone of

debate in the Chamber. On April 1, 2020, the House adopted a Harassment-Free

Workplace Policy governing our interactions outside this Chamber.

In a report accompanying the policy, the Committee

states the following: “The House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador is

committed to a safe and respectful work environment for Members and employees

that is free from harassment, bullying and violence. It is everyone's

responsibility to foster a healthy work environment; to promote a culture of

civility; to demonstrate respect; and to recognize every person's right to be

protected and supported.”

While the policy does not apply to interactions within

this Chamber, given parliamentary privileges and the related freedoms of speech

that Members enjoy, I see no reason why the principles accepted by the House and

adopted in policy should not apply to debate here as well. I draw Members'

attention to the fact that language and tone used in debate matter. That is, I

see no reason why principles of respect and civility should not apply to debate

in this Chamber.

I ask all hon. Members to examine the language they use

in the House and to ensure that it is tempered, appropriate and respectful.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

SPEAKER:

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

Placentia West - Bellevue, Burin -Grand Bank, St. George's - Humber, Mount Pearl

North and Exploits.

The hon. the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I sit in this hon. House today to recognize 17-year-old

Sara Thorne of Chance Cove, a resident of my beautiful District of Placentia

West - Bellevue who loves the sport of auto racing. Sara has been a regular on

the track in Avondale since 2019 and is truly a rising star in her sport in this

province.

This was evident this past weekend when Sara made

history on the track as she captured the checkered flag to become the first

female to win the sportsman main event during the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts

Weekly Series.

Sara is a trailblazer for young women and girls looking

to get into the sport of auto racing and the sport in general.

She's a great example of those individuals who want to

follow their dreams and become champions. Through her determination and hard

work, Sara is a force behind the wheel and feared by all who compete against her

on the racetrack in this province.

I invite all hon. Members to join me in congratulating

Sara and her team on this prestigious victory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burin - Grand Bank.

PIKE:

Mr.

Speaker, 3L Training & Employment board, an organization located in St.

Lawrence, has a mandate to provide training and work experience to individuals

who may experience challenges in the workplace. Clients are paired with a worker

who assists them in the skilled development of tasks required for the workforce.

They are matched with local contractors, grocery store owners and the museum

where they currently run a business.

The Town of St. Lawrence and the board made up of

volunteers from St. Lawrence, Little St. Lawrence and Lawn have made significant

investments in providing the necessary equipment and space for them to operate a

jewelry making business. The clients who participate in this program use local

fluorspar for their craft and the end result is truly amazing. People from all

over come to purchase this locally crafted product. While visiting, they have

the opportunity to observe the clients at work or craft their own piece.

The people of the three communities are so proud of

this organization and their contribution to our community. It is a great example

of what happens in rural Newfoundland and Labrador when people take care of

their own and show the true character and kindness of rural living.

If you are visiting this very beautiful, historic area

of the province located in the great District of Burin - Grand Bank drop by and

meet the folks at 3L.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. George's - Humber.

REID:

Mr.

Speaker, today, I would like to recognize Rachael Moores, a 16-year-old student

in Pasadena who recently was honoured nationally for helping other students

improve their financial knowledge.

She recently entered a competition sponsored by the

Canadian Foundation for Economic Education and the CIBC. In this competition,

high school students from across Canada were challenged to use their creativity,

skills and passion to create new tools and resources to help young Canadians

improve their financial knowledge and capabilities.

Rachael excelled by creating a website called School

Makes Cents to teach fellow students everything they needed to know about the

cost of post-secondary education.

Rachael gives tips on how to budget, stores that

provide discounts, different types of savings and outlined different ways

students can pay for post-secondary education such as through scholarships,

grants and working or through co-operative education.

Racheal passed the first round of judging and was one

of the 10 finalist who made it to the second round of this national competition.

In the next round, she won the second place prize of $5,000.

I ask all Members to join me in congratulating Rachael

Moores of Pasadena on her accomplishment.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

STOYLES:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this House in remembrance of constituents and

friends who have left their mark on all of us all.

Mr. Jim Greenland, who served as chair of the Frosty

Festival and community volunteer; Mr. Gerry Taylor, a huge contributor to Mount

Pearl minor hockey and a member of the NL Hockey Hall of Fame; Mr. Neil Windsor

who served the District of Mount Pearl as MHA for over 20 years; Mr. Jim

Thistle, he is remembered for his devotion and love of his family and his

community service; Ms. Carole Burke, a lifetime resident of Mount Pearl and an

employee with the City of Mount Pearl; Margaret Pike, whose family was her sole

existence; Cyril Colford, a neighbour, friend and lifetime volunteer; also, Dr.

Val Conway; and Mr. George Murphy who will be in our thoughts forever.

Mr. Speaker, all these people surely have made their m ark:

we will remember them all.

I ask all Members of this House to remember them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Exploits.

FORSEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on June 11 and 12, I had the opportunity

to attend the 100th anniversary of the St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Bishop's

Falls. Friday evening was the unveiling of its centennial banner and on

Saturday, a prayer walk through the town, ending with a barbecue.

We all know the restrictions that have been placed on

public buildings, including churches, during COVID; however, with the dedication

of its congregation and leadership of Rev. Jeff Blackwood, St. Andrew's Church

has weathered the storm.

St. Andrew's Church has provided hundreds of community

services this past century, including baptisms, weddings, funerals, youth

programs, but most of all, a place to worship. Built in 1921 with its

magnificent architecture, the bell still rings for Sunday service.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members of this House of

Assembly to join me in congratulating the congregation of St. Andrew's Anglican

Church on their 100th anniversary and wish them many more years of service.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development.

ABBOTT:

Mr. Speaker, while many of us do not even think twice about how we are going to

get to a doctor's appointment, go to the grocery store or travel to work every

day, there are many people throughout Newfoundland and Labrador who struggle to

get around because of age, mobility, geography or income.

The value of ensuring seniors, persons with

disabilities and individuals with low income to access services and participate

in their communities cannot be overstated.

To help reduce transportation barriers, the Department

of Children, Seniors and Social Development offers the Newfoundland and Labrador

Community Transportation Program, with an investment of $300,000 in

Budget 2021 . This program can

significantly improve an individual's independence and their health, as well as

help them become a more active member in their community.

It is available to municipalities, not-for-profit

organizations and Indigenous governments and communities to develop, implement

and evaluate a community-based transportation project that is as inclusive and

as accessible as possible. Many valuable projects have been implemented by

community partners with support from this program. I am pleased that seven

projects located throughout the province were supported last year, one of which

was Connections for Seniors Handy Ride Program.

Just last week, Mr. Speaker, I opened the call for

applications for the Newfoundland and Labrador Community Transportation Program,

with the deadline to apply being September 30. Successful applicants can receive

up to $100,000 for alternate transportation services for individuals who

experience barriers to accessible, affordable and inclusive transportation.

I encourage any community or group interested in the

program to reach out to my department by calling 1-888-494-2266 or visiting our

website.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement.

Mr. Speaker, I give credit to the minister for

implementing a Community Transportation Program for seniors, persons with

disabilities and low-income individuals, and especially the fact that he

recognized the many struggles faced by many people in our province. We recognize

the fact many of these individuals need this kind of support and we're pleased

to see he recognized the fact an allowance for transportation is a small step

towards poverty reduction.

We believe in a strategy for the inclusion of seniors,

persons with disabilities and low-income individuals in collaboration with

non-profit and community organizations. It's important to remove barriers and

help achieve the full inclusion of all citizens of this province.

I would hope the program will benefit the seniors,

low-income individuals and persons with disabilities in every community of this

province. Whether you reside on the Coast of Labrador, the beautiful District of

Placentia West - Bellevue or the City of St. John's, there should be no barriers

in availing of the program.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. The Third Party applauds the launch of this new program, as we

believe that people can't be independent or truly free if they don't have access

to equitable and accessible forms of transportation. Certainly, for many people

in my district, this will be helpful.

However, we also recognize that more work must be done.

Many people in this province continue to struggle to find adequate means of

transportation due to age, mobility and low income. For instance, the loss of

DRL means we now lack any intercity transit that is affordable and reliable.

That's why we're calling on this government today to go further, map out an

achievable plan to make accessible and affordable transportation a standard

throughout the province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I'm pleased today to recognize Public Service Week –

dedicated to recognizing the outstanding public service employees who work hard

every day for all of us. We celebrate their tremendous contributions and

commitment to our province.

Each day, public service employees are on the front

lines, working hard to ensure our communities are safe, our families healthy,

our children educated. They work to build our communities and our economy. The

important programs and services they offer positively affect families,

individuals and businesses throughout our province every day.

The theme of this week, Proudly Serving Newfoundland

and Labrador, speaks to the pride and commitment we see each day from the

province's valued public service employees as they work to improve Newfoundland

and Labrador and provide needed services and information, making it a better

place to live and to work.

In response to the pandemic, they have risen to every

challenge, rallying to find new and innovative ways to serve and to care. The

pandemic has demanded perseverance and resourcefulness – the Newfoundland and

Labrador public service has met that challenge and has once again demonstrated

its excellence.

Mr. Speaker, their efforts and dedication are

appreciated and their important contributions noticed every single day. I ask

all members to join me in recognizing Public Service Week and the valuable

contributions of those that serve.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

WAKEHAM:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of her

statement. On behalf of the Official Opposition, I join with the minister in

recognizing this week as Public Service Week.

I also wish to extend our appreciation to the

hard-working members of the public service who give their efforts and talents to

make this province a better place for all residents. From social workers, to

policy analysts, to snowplow operators, to ferry captains, the public service

has many professions within it. Each profession and each department works

together to serve our province.

This past 18 months has been a challenge for the public

service as many workers were forced to work from home, to find new ways of

accomplishing their tasks and stretched to make sure all essential services were

delivered. The public service demonstrated their true abilities and rose above

this challenge. For this, I thank them.

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I didn't take this

opportunity to give a special thank you to all those who work in the public

service in my district. Many thanks for the work you do.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Labrador West.

BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for an advance cop of her

statement. The Third Party caucus would like to extend our appreciation to the

public service workers of this province for the massive part they play in

keeping our society running.

Their dedication to their work has especially been

exemplary since the start of the pandemic. We cannot thank them or the essential

workers of this province enough for the service they have provided. I urge the

government to keep in mind the public service's value in the coming years as

they roll out their different plans for the public sector.

A minimum wage and adequate labour laws need to be in

place to protect all workers of this province. We owe the residents of this

province better than the treatment we have given the cleaners in this building,

who saw their wages cut and benefits stripped away as a result of privatization

in the Wells administration. So, please, keep them in mind.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Are

there any further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As we sit here in the House the future of the Terra

Nova Project gets dimmer as the clock ticks down to the deadline.

I ask the Premier: What actions have you taken in the

last 24 hours to encourage a deal among the partners?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for that question.

Of course, the Minister of Industry, Energy and

Technology has been working diligently, long throughout the evening. We actually

had a call with Noia last night to see how they could be of assistance. We're,

again, pressuring the operators, the companies, the multi-billion dollar

profitable oil companies to come to an agreement amongst themselves, Mr.

Speaker.

Once again, we feel like we have a healthy, good offer

on the table and we're looking forward to seeing what Suncor, as the operating

partner, has to say and hopefully they can come to a resolution, Mr. Speaker.

But this is a private sector issue and it needs a private sector solution.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the last 24 hours has the Premier personally spoken

to the Terra Nova partners to express the importance of getting a deal, and has

be convened a meeting?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the question.

We've certainly been in close contact with the

partners, the many different partners, and the Minister of Industry, Energy and

Technology has been spearheading that. I have the utmost faith in his ability to

execute, as all of the team here on this side of the floor, Mr. Speaker. I am

very encouraged with how he has led this file, I couldn't be more proud to stand

with him on this file and I have every confidence in his ability to continue to

advance this file, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As we get close to the deadline there are families out

there who are worried about whether or not this file gets done.

Is the deadline for the deal still today? Has the

Premier asked for an extension if a deal cannot be reached?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you again for the question.

As we've said before, this is not our deadline; this is

a deadline amongst partners. We are not a partner in this project. This is a

deadline that they have implemented. We hope they extend the deadline. We hope

that they are able – as I'm sure the Members opposite do – to come to a

resolution that allows for the partners to execute on the significant value that

is our there in that resource, Mr. Speaker, so that we can have the returns to

the people of this province.

This is not our deadline, Mr. Speaker. This is the

deadline of multi-billion dollar profitable oil companies.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, when defending the Trudeau government for

refusing to take an equity stake, the Premier said: They have no obligation to

do so.

Why doesn't the Premier believe the federal government

has an obligation to help get industries and jobs growing in Newfoundland and

Labrador?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What was meant by that response was they have no

obligation to help multinational, multi-billion dollar profitable oil companies.

Mr. Speaker, they do have an obligation and they've

honoured the obligation in incredible ways for the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador. They've given the assurance that they will be there in the future for

the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, including on rate mitigation, Mr.

Speaker, and other important files as we face incredible economic challenges

moving forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Unfortunately, we didn't hear that from federal

Minister O'Regan yesterday when he spoke to the gathering about saving the jobs

of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

BRAZIL:

Yesterday, the Premier said he was considering selling off the province's equity

in oil and gas sector as recommended by the Moya Greene report. But the minister

seems to disagree saying: Equity in and of itself can be a good thing.

I ask the Premier, can you please clarify: Is your

government for or against equity stakes in the offshore?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the question from the Member opposite.

It's a good question, but I'll remind him not to put words in my mouth and

confuse what was said between the Premier and myself.

The fact is that you can save both things. The fact is

(a): we can consider equity. We have equity projects right now. That's certainly

something we can consider. At the same time, you can obviously consider looking

at the evaluation of the assets that we have: Does it make sense for us, as a

government, to divest of them? I think it would not be prudent to consider both

options.

Right now, there are absolutely no decisions that have

been made. We've been obviously considering equity as it relates to the Terra

Nova. We've made a decision on that. We do know that there have been

conversations in the Greene report. These are all things that we will keep in

mind as we move forward with the history of this industry and others.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Just so I'm clear: The minister does agree that equity shares are still on the

table for future offshore development.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

guess what I could say to be clear to the Member opposite is that when it comes

to making deals happen, we will always consider anything that will make a

project happen, to bring work to this province. But as we've said before we will

not take a bad deal, we will not participate in giveaways and we will not do

everything at all cost if it's to the detriment to the future of the province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We repeat our request from yesterday: Can the people of

the province see the two sets of analyses from the Energy Department and OilCo

of whether or not to take an equity stake?

Mr. Speaker, let the people see the facts.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would say two things in response to that question.

The first one would be: all in due time. Right now, this negotiation is still

ongoing. We have conveyed our position that there will be no equity. The

partners are still looking at it. We've encouraged them. We've talked to them.

We're trying to convince them that there is a solution for them to participate

in. Part of that is the $500 million that we have put forward.

Again, I do know that the people are interested in

this, but I will point out that there's a significant portion of this province

that's actually looking at us and questioning why we would even consider equity

in this province. They are questioning why we would even consider putting $500

million in. There are people on both sides of it.

Again, where we come in is: What is in the best

interest of this province?

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will share that time is running out for families and

workers who work on the Terra Nova and looking to have some livelihood in the

future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

BRAZIL:

Yesterday, the minister said the government is ready to step up with help for

workers in Terra Nova if Terra Nova closes.

When you weigh the costs of the equity investment

against what we stand to lose in terms of employment, supply purchases,

multiplier spinoffs, royalties, revenues, bailout cash and the chill effect of

our industry, where does the balance really lie? Do you have a thorough analysis

to table for taxpayers to see?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, I don't need a reminder about time is

running out here. I've been living with this since the first day I got in the

job. I realize what we are facing here and I realize what the families of this

province are facing. I certainly don't need a reminder on that.

As it relates to the jobs, I can tell you that is one

of the biggest driving factors in even considering any of this was what does it

relate to in the indirect spinoffs that come from this, not just the jobs, but

what comes out of this. All that has been considered; all that plays a role in

the negotiation.

We have made our position clear to the companies. We

feel that this could be a beneficial deal for them with the money we have on the

table. We feel that the jobs should stay here, but we also believe that these

multinational profitable companies – one of which made over a quarter of a

billion dollars just in the first quarter – we feel that there's more that they

can do.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We hope that the benefactors are the workers of the

Terra Nova Project and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

BRAZIL:

Over the weekend, The Globe and Mail

published a report confirming two federal Liberals staffers were granted

exemptions to come to Newfoundland and Labrador during the provincial election

campaign. They are confirmed to have campaigned for the provincial Liberals.

I ask the Premier: When did you become aware of these

two staffers arriving in the province to campaign for you?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The first I was made aware of it was actually in

The Globe and Mail article.

What individual staff members do – that don't work for

me or this government – is none of my business, Mr. Speaker. Frankly, they were

here, as I understand it, working for Minister O'Regan and, on a weekend,

volunteered on an election campaign. The headline might as well read: Staffers

go for a run on the weekend, Mr. Speaker.

I didn't have any knowledge of it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of a campaign, your federal

counterpart sends two of their staff down here who go out and knock on doors for

you and you're not aware of it?

We also heard they were making phone calls and knocking

on doors.

I ask the Premier: Do you believe knocking on doors

during an election campaign is an essential service?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER A. FUREY:

The

election was run under the Public Health guidelines, Mr. Speaker. I assume all

parties within the House followed those guidelines. Making phone calls is

certainly a COVID-friendly event.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

These election workers were allowed in Newfoundland and

Labrador to get the Liberals elected, simple as that.

I ask the Premier: What do you say to families who had

to miss funerals of loved ones? Is your election campaign more important than

these loved ones' needs?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

don't know how to answer that question. I didn't look at their application to

come in the province, nor should I. Frankly, that would be wrong. If that was

the case, then that deserves the question, but I have no insight into who gets

exempt to come in nor should I, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The federal Liberals won't do their part to help get

Terra Nova back operating, but they're quick to help the Premier and their

Liberal friends get elected.

I ask the Premier: Do you believe that your election

campaign was more important than the countless weddings that were either

postponed or held without loved ones able to be present?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Once again, I would hope that everybody in this House

followed the COVID guidelines for the election, which were published in the fall

of 2020, Mr. Speaker. Again, I can't comment because I don't have any insight or

knowledge or (inaudible) on who gets exempt or who doesn't, nor should I; that

is a Public Health decision and should remain a Public Health decision above

politics.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the Premier: Why should the families of

rotational workers spend weeks and sometimes months apart while workers on your

election campaign are allowed entry into the province for non-essential

purposes?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I mean the answer is the same: I don't have any insight

into who gets into the province; it's a Public Health decision, Mr. Speaker. I'm

assuming that the Member opposite has full knowledge that he had no help from

his federal cousins during the last election campaign. I would hope that is

true.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

would guarantee you, Mr. Speaker, if my federal cousins wanted to come to

Newfoundland and Labrador in the middle of a pandemic with the outbreak that's

in their provinces, I would not be endorsing them to come here. I guarantee you

that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

BRAZIL:

ask the Premier: Which Members of your caucus did these staffers campaign for?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can't answer that either, Mr. Speaker, because I

wasn't campaigning with them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have been told that the federal minister posted

photos online of two campaign workers on behalf of the Minister of Justice

campaigning.

I ask the Minister of Justice: When did you learn that

these non-essential election workers from the Mainland were knocking on doors on

your behalf?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

HOGAN:

Thank you for the question and thank you for looking at my campaign photos

online.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

HOGAN:

had a great campaign. We had awesome volunteers, every single one of them.

During the whole campaign, whether it was knocking on doors, making phone calls

or doing work from their own houses, I can assure you that they all worked as

hard as they could and followed all health protocols that were required by the

chief Health officer in this province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

I see the Members discard and laugh at the fact – about what we face during a

pandemic and their disregard for the health of Newfoundland and Labrador, it's

concerning here.

So, Mr. Premier, let me spell it out for you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

BRAZIL:

What's so concerning about this story is the disregard for the travel ban put in

place on March 18, 2020. I cannot understand how knocking doors on an election

campaign could've been deemed to be essential work, when I'm sure the Liberals

were well staffed with provincial volunteers during the election campaign.

I ask the Premier: What exemption did the election

workers apply for that allowed them to enter our province?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have the utmost faith in Dr. Fitzgerald and her team

to make those decisions, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER A. FUREY:

suggest that there was political interference is just wrong, Mr. Speaker. Dr.

Fitzgerald and her team are independent, as per the legislation, and they make

the decisions. They look at the applications and they make the decisions. I've

nothing further to say on that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier rolled the dice and gambled with the

public's health, calling an election in the middle of the winter in the middle

of a pandemic when COVID-19 cases were rising, for two months prior, across the

country. He gambled and lost. Now we see the Liberal Party disregarding Public

Health orders that have –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

BRAZIL:

protected this province from the worst of COVID-19.

I ask the Premier: Why did you put your party before

the public health of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

I've suggested many times, Mr. Speaker, and answered this question over and over

again, there had to be a COVID-19 election given the legislation that was put in

place by the Progressive Conservatives.

I actually think, Mr. Speaker, that's good legislation,

that when there is a change there should be an election. So there had to be a

COVID-19 election. The numbers were low; they were the lowest in the country. We

looked at the modelling –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER A. FUREY:

you save the stochastic event that occurred, then there was no way to predict

what actually happened, Mr. Speaker. Dr. Rahman was on to say that there was no

way to predict that massive outbreak; Dr. Fitzgerald has said the same.

All numbers looked like that it would've been fine. The

baseline was lower than anywhere else in the country. Again, Mr. Speaker, there

had to be a COVID-19 election and, subsequently, there was one.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier is well aware, from a lot of dialogue in

this House, of public – a PMR that was offered in this House and open dialogue

around not having the necessity to do that no matter what it took. He called a

premature election at a time that it would have been advantageous to him and him

alone.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

BRAZIL:

Last week, we learned from the Minister of Education that he had no idea about

the president's contract at MUN.

Today, I would like to ask the Premier: Is he aware

that the clerk of Executive Council, who he personally recruited and appointed,

is collecting a six-figure pension and $186,000 salary from the same government

job he retired from?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The current clerk is a tremendous, lifelong civil

servant, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER A. FUREY:

will say this: He's getting paid less than when he was clerk for the Member

opposite. I think we're getting a good value for our dollar, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Nobody is questioning the clerk's ability, but the

Premier is accurate here; he is getting paid less. From $202,000 a year to

$186,000 a year, while –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Mr.

Speaker, I will reiterate the Premier is correct; the clerk is very competent.

The issue has become he is getting less now at $186,000, versus his $202,000

when he retired last year or a couple of years, from which he still gets a

six-figure income.

The question here: Is he eligible for a second pension

doing the same job that he retired from?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Member opposite knows, there's currently no

legislation surrounding double-dipping. But I'm happy to have a fulsome debate

on double-dipping in the future, Mr. Speaker, as it is an important question for

this House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If the Minister of Education believes that tax

preparation and personal training are not acceptable benefits for the president

of the university to foot the bill, will the Premier table the contract of the

clerk of the Executive Council for this House?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

PARROTT:

look forward to seeing that report, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in a recent

article in JWN Energy, it says

that if the Terra Nova FPSO is decommissioned, taxpayers of this province will

be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties to the partners.

How much money will the province have to pay and when?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm happy to get back to questions that are actually

important and serious to the people of this province, so I appreciate the

question from the Member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PARSONS:

The

reality is that there is a royalty credit or carry back, which has to go back to

the partners if this project doesn't proceed. That would be in the range,

roughly, of about $150 million. The amount is due regardless. It has to go back

anyway.

What I would say is that I don't have a timeline on

that. Right now, our attention and focus have absolutely been on trying to get

the deal to go ahead. He is correct that there is a royalty credit or carry

back.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

PARROTT:

Absolutely shocked to hear that the minister doesn't think that people being

able to attend loved ones' funerals – and I missed my father's funeral, Minister

– isn't important or is laughable.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

PARROTT:

did, absolutely.

The reason the minister cannot give an answer is

because he does not have an up-to-date commission or cost and analysis from the

partners.

I ask the Premier: Why haven't you factored the cost

into this decision?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, the Member opposite likes to play politics, and

I send my condolences.

The reality is you cannot use the questions that he is

asking here about two people coming down to this province and, basically, saying

that Dr. Janice Fitzgerald –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

PARSONS:

Keep going. Keep going. You want me to answer the question?

We're talking about election staffers coming down;

we're talking about elections during pandemic time, and that's what we're coming

back on. Why don't we put the questions back on where you've been going all

week, which is Terra Nova, which is important?

If you have more questions to ask on Terra Nova, I'll

certainly take them. Please ask them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

PARROTT:

Clearly, the last question was on the Terra Nova and the minister failed to

answer it again.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PARROTT:

ask the Premier: Why haven't you factored the decommissioning cost, the indirect

cost, into your decision for not backing Terra Nova?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, we have looked at decommissioning costs, and

there's a significant cost that's associated with decommissioning. The cost can

change depending on when it happens and how it happens.

The big thing that we've put across here is that we do

not want to take on that liability when we're coming in at the end of the field.

All the other companies, this has already been budgeted in to their projections.

This is something that they accounted for at the beginning, and now when we have

15 per cent left and we're going to be asked to take a percentage of

decommissioning costs, a cost that we do not know and cannot control, that's

something we weren't ready to take the risk for.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Terra Nova.

PARROTT:

remind the minister that the Terra Nova came in in 2019, two years ago almost.

I'm shocked that we don't know what the cost would be to this date.

The Premier has said the oil is still in the ground.

Oil in the ground is only good if it results in jobs and a revenue stream for

the province.

How will this oil be used if the Terra Nova does not

proceed? Is there a plan for a possible subsea tie-back?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Member opposite is shocked. Every question that he

asks he is shocked. The reality is that we don't know everything, okay. I don't

know if that's news to anybody, but certain things are unknown at this time. We

would not be able to know them. We can have projections, we can have estimates,

but we wouldn't be able to know them, nor would we have control.

Now, the reality is that there is an asset, there is

oil still under that. We have no plans for a subsea tie-back. That's a comment

that I've heard in the past. That's not our plan, that's not something that we

would engage in.

What I will say is our attention solely to date has

been trying to find a way to put half a billion dollars into jobs and into this

project and asking, pleading with the partners to come together and find a way

forward so that oil is taken out for the benefit of this province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

O'DRISCOLL:

Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm not shocked we never got an answer.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

O'DRISCOLL:

Last week, when I asked about the sad case of a rogue investment advisor who

defrauded six elderly clients out of their life savings, the minister was vague

and deferred to future improvements of the

Securities Act .

Mr. Speaker, this is not going to help these seniors.

If the industry regulator has been pleading with

government for years to bring in stronger regulations, what is the minister

waiting for?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

STOODLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think financial security of our seniors is extremely

important. It's incredibly unfortunate that someone defrauded these seniors. I

can't comment on a specific situation, Mr. Speaker, but I do know that the

current regulations do catch any specific examples that we're talking about.

If you look on the Order Paper you can see the

Securities Act , where we are bringing

in changes to strengthen the legislation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's high time that we get this stuff done. You wonder

why the public is so poisoned with everybody. It's just so long to get

legislation done. Let's get on it and get it done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

O'DRISCOLL:

Mr.

Speaker, this sounds like the same thing we heard on the ATV legislation. The

industry regulator organization of Canada has complained for years that their

power in NL is all bark and no financial bite. Government has been aware of this

problem since at least 2019. Now, six elderly residents have lost their life

savings.

When, finally, is the minister going to act?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

STOODLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Member asks a very important question about ATV

safety and off-road vehicle safety, which is incredibly important to our

government. I'm very sorry to the families and loved ones of those who've lost

their lives and have been injured in an accident this year, Mr. Speaker, and any

time.

We have done a comprehensive review of the legislation.

We're recently in the final consultation stages. It's very complex legislation.

We had to make sure all the right parties were consulted. I look forward to

bringing legislation to the floor of the House, Mr. Speaker, as is in my mandate

letter.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I look forward to that legislation.

As the province transitions to welcome visitors, many

residents are still exceptionally frustrated with long delays to access services

from Motor Registration. My office continues to hear from residents who are

waiting a month or longer for an appointment.

Mr. Speaker: When is the minister going to open up her

department for normal counter service?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

STOODLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know Motor Registration Division is a very important

service to the residents of the province and one that we take very seriously. In

the last two seasons we've had to completely change how we deliver service to

the residents of this province, Mr. Speaker. If you look across our province, in

seven out of 11 offices you can get an appointment that same week, and in some

of the other offices it is longer.

I thank the public for their patience. We're working

with new technologies, focusing on user experience and resident experience to

deliver more value for taxpayers. I take this responsibility very seriously and

we are hoping to improve the experience for residents of the province.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, the Minister of Industry, Energy and

Technology stated that, contrary to the beliefs of the NDP, we are not prepared

to give up today on the workers that are involved in the oil and gas sector.

Will the minister clarify how asking for a just and

orderly transition plan to avoid the sudden and unmanageable shock, such as what

we're seeing with the Terra Nova FPSO, is giving up on oil and gas workers and

the communities who depend on them?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

thank the Member for the question.

I apologize because sometimes I do get confused,

because there's a leader that appears outside and actually criticized us for

putting $500 million into this to try to keep jobs here;

whereas the Member

inside asked questions about trying to transition. There is a confusion here. I

don't know which speech I should listen to. There is someone outside who speaks

for the NDP and went all over us about trying to put money into this, to try to

keep it alive and, hence, to try to save jobs.

Again, I apologize to the speaker for the confusion;

maybe somebody can help me out.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

DINN:

Mr.

Speaker, I'm shocked and pleased at that response.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

DINN:

The

Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology said yesterday during Question

Period that we will be launching a renewable energy plan, hopefully, sometime

during 2021, and that's good to hear; however, we are almost halfway through

Will the minister provide details about how this plan

is being or will be developed, who will have input into developing it and when

we can expect to see a draft plan? Basically, what is the timeline?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Hopefully, nothing that I say to the Member this time

will be shocking, but I do hope to be able to try to please you with the answer

that I give.

The reality is, as I said yesterday, I can't put a

timeline on it, except to say that it is coming in 2021. Obviously, we will be

speaking to, not just people within the department but our contacts all over the

province, whether it be with Noia, whether it be with NEIA or whether it be with

any of the stakeholders that are out there and have expertise in this.

We will want to draw from a wide range of experts on

this so they will help formulate the basis for our plan going forward; one that

we will obviously be very happy to table and to show everybody in the province

when it is ready in 2021.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology:

Will other groups, such as those concerned about the environment, play a role in

developing a plan as well?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the question from the Member opposite.

As it relates to putting out a renewable energy plan,

we will consult with experts in the renewable energy field. But I will say that

as a plan like that comes forward, one group that we will consult with would be

the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and multiple other departments

will lead into this, whether it is the Minister Responsible for Labrador

Affairs. There are a lot of people that play into this, the proper and best use

of our resources in the renewable field.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands.

JOYCE:

Mr.

Speaker, the government has stated in the budget that the 911 services will be

brought into the core government. I agree with the decision and completed a lot

of work on this file. Many workers at 911 are experiencing anxiety, with

possible job losses in their future.

What assurances can you give, Minister, to these

employees that their jobs are safe in the very near future when you bring it

into core government?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

HOGAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Member opposite for his support of the

position to bring NL911 into core services of government. We will be working

with everyone at NL911 to ensure that all processes are streamlined for the

benefit of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and we can save as much money as

possible. Certainly, when we do that, we'll be talking about where they can

position themselves in terms of jobs in the future, whether it be in this core

government.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands.

JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are a lot of concerns, a lot of anxiety, with the

workers, naturally. That is obvious and you can see the concerns.

I ask the minister: Can you get someone from your

department or someone from Treasury Board to meet with the union so they can

start consultation, so their workers can start on the ground and know if their

jobs are safe and what they can do themselves to relieve the anxiety?

SPEAKER:

The

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

COADY:

Thank you very much.

This is an important question and I thank the Member

opposite for the question.

We will be working with employees, with unions on this

transformation. As the Member opposite noted, this was outlined in the Budget

Speech but now, as we move towards implementation, we will be working with

individuals. We'll be working with the departments that are coming within core

government. We'll be working with the unions to make sure it is a seamless

process and maximizing the opportunities, not just for the employees but also

for the people of the province to make sure they get the best level of service

as well.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands, for a quick question.

JOYCE:

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Can you confirm or give a timeline when your officials

may be able to reach out to the union to discuss the concerns that the workers

have at 911?

SPEAKER:

The

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

COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy again to answer this question. As we move

forward now from budget into implementation, we're putting in a process to make

sure that where they move within core government, how the transition will occur

will take place as seamlessly and as quickly as possible. We will be working

with the employees to make this as functional and as quick as possible.

Mr. Speaker, within the next number of months, we'll be

certainly making sure that this is done effectively and efficiently as possible.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The background to this petition is as follows:

The Witless Bay Line is a significant piece of road

infrastructure;

WHEREAS many residents commute outside the Southern

Avalon region on a daily basis for work and pleasure. The region has an expanded

commercial, residential and tourism sector increasing the volume of traffic on

this highway each day;

THEREFORE we petition the House of Assembly as follows:

To upgrade this important piece of road infrastructure to enhance the ease of

coming to and from the Trans-Canada Highway.

Mr. Speaker, this is probably the second or third time

I've put this petition forward since we came back. It's a very important piece

of infrastructure in our area. It's a road that's used extensively for truckers

coming back and forth across the Island for crab fishing. There's a tourism

section that's going to start now in July, hopefully – that's probably already

started in some areas – with boat tours, Colony of Avalon, Mistaken Point. So

many numerous tourist attractions along the way. It's a shortcut, too. Instead

of going out around St. John's, it cuts a half hour, 45 minutes off people's

drives when they are coming in for this tourism.

The condition of the road is deplorable in the

midsection. I mean, they've done good work last year. They done four kilometres

and the other end of Witless Bay Line has been done for three or four

kilometres; but the midsection now, seven or eight kilometres, it is something

that is desperately needed to be looked at, and hopefully we can get to do it.

I spoke also to some people that have motor homes that

are driving across. If you're towing a trailer or driving a motor home, you know

how bad it is when you hit these rough sections of highway. Not on the

Trans-Canada, but on these side roads. It's important that you'd look at these

pieces of road infrastructure. People are losing tires and rims and just

delaying their trip. It can happen anywhere, but that

section of the road it's

happened a lot.

Also, I spoke to – as I've spoke before on this –

motorcycle owners that see me and say don't forget to question or put in about

the motorcycle drivers as well, because it's an obstacle to go drive in there.

Hopefully, the department can have a look at it and upgrade that infrastructure.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Bonavista.

PARDY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

George's Brook-Milton became incorporated on May 18,

2018, after conducting its feasibility study and received their municipal

planning area in 2020, for which a huge

section – over half of the available

land – has since been designated for agricultural purposes. The town, nor the

residents were ever made aware of this designation until 2020;

Therefore, we petition the hon. House of Assembly as

follows: We, the undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to rezone this agricultural development

area, removing a development burden for the Town of George's Brook-Milton and

the many households who unknowingly currently reside within this area.

If I may speak to the petition, briefly. I was part of

the group that brought in the unincorporated area in 2018. We had no knowledge

of the agricultural development zone coming into where current property owners

are, Mr. Speaker. We always had it in mind where the agricultural development

zone ended, and we were quite aware of that – many of the seniors in the

community.

But I think it was decision of this government in

2018-19 to increase the agricultural development areas, which again I have no

problem with. But they brought it right down into a community of landowners that

now they find that the homes that they've lived in for years are now in an

agricultural development zone.

So the purpose would be to increase our land and

increase our self-sufficiency in food services. It is not to go on to personal

land properties and restrict development into communities, when we do have so

much in the Lethbridge agricultural zone. So we have lots there.

It seems like it was arbitrarily done. Arbitrarily done

because we have homeowners now who find themselves on agricultural land, which

they were not apprised of when they purchased the land decades and decades ago.

I would ask if the minister could come visit to have a

look at this and see how it encroaches upon the community. We are big advocates

of agricultural development and having zones in our province, but not taking in

the households in the area of George's-Brook-Milton.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Lake Melville.

TRIMPER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I have an interesting petition here today. I believe

it's directed at the Department of Education – and, in fact, it is – but there

are implications for many departments and probably many MHAs in this House of

Assembly.

Budget 2021

stated that government will be taking the appropriate steps to integrate the

Education. With this move to enhance investments in education, there will be

opportunities to address inequities for the attraction of qualified teachers to

all parts of the province and to all recognized education systems.

Certain schools are finding recruitment and retention

further challenged as years of service for hiring purposes – i.e. seniority – is

not recognized between private and public institutions,

whereas years of service

regarding pay scales is recognized.

Private schools, including the Mamu Tshishkutamashutau

Innu Education, for example, find that teachers are reluctant to apply, despite

offers of competitive compensation. An additional equity challenge is that

teachers of private schools or schools systems are not members of the

Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association, the NLTA.

Therefore, we the undersigned, call upon the House of

Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to recognize years

of service from recognized public and private schools when determining seniority

in the province. Furthermore, impediments should be removed so that the NLTA

could represent teachers from both private schools and school systems, thereby

supporting government's efficiency objectives.

Mr. Speaker, it's interesting, this independent role. I

thank those who are bringing these interesting problems to my attention. My

office is very busy and we're discovering many things. I am hearing the priority

of government is around reconciliation. I'm fully supportive of it and so on,

But we are constantly finding little stumbling blocks, little hurdles that exist

in legislation, in policy that are keeping things back.

I go to the example of the Innu education system, but

it applies also to other private schools that some of you, my colleagues in this

room, would have in their own districts. In that as we try to attract and retain

teachers, there is a reluctance to go into that system because any seniority

they will have developed with that experience will not be recognized, should

they return to the other.

So when I look at and having attended graduation

ceremonies in Sheshatshiu over the last several years – which used to be zero,

and now in the range of 20 – and the good progress they're making, only to

encounter these kind of hurdles, I would ask the Minister of Education and

government to take a look at this and see what we can do, especially with the

changes being made in the department.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Labrador West.

BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I once again bring a petition to the House in increased

support for Labrador West seniors. This one has 283 signatures on it. Every one

I bring is well over the 200 mark; the first one I brought was over the 400

mark. So these are people who are concerned about themselves or their moms or

their dads.

The reason for the petition is: The need of senior

accessible housing and home care services in Labrador West is still increasing.

Lifelong residents of the region are facing the possibility to need to leave

their home in order to afford to live and receive adequate care.

Additional housing options, including assisted living

care facilities like throughout the rest of the province for seniors, have

become a requirement for Labrador West. The requirement is not currently being

met.

WHEREAS the seniors in our province are entitled to

peace and comfort in their homes, where they have spent their life contributing

to the prosperity and growth of the community; and

WHEREAS the means of the increasing number of senior

residents in Labrador West to happily age in place are not currently available

in the region;

WHEREUPON we, the undersigned, your petitioners, call

upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

to allow seniors in Labrador West to age in place and provide affordable housing

options for seniors and assisted living care facilities for those requiring

additional care.

Like I said, there are 283 signatures here. These

individuals are themselves seniors or have seniors in their lives that are

living in the region. These are people that want to keep the seniors in the

community, keep seniors in Labrador West and provide the care and services that

they require.

They helped build the community; it's their community

just as much as anybody else's. Some of these seniors that are needing this

service actually came to Lab West as very young people, or some were almost born

there themselves. So we're getting to a place in our community where these

people are going to need these services.

We're a young, vibrant community, but we have seniors

who want to stay. It's just going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. This is a

problem that is new to the region, but it's not going to go away. It's something

that needs to be addressed, something that needs to be looked at. I ask all the

ministers that would be involved in this to have a look at seniors in Labrador

West, the care that they're going to receive, the care they need and try to put

the supports in place to build a seniors' system around there.

We don't have one. We're not as lucky or as fortunate,

even as my colleague for Lake Melville, who has a seniors' complex there. They

have the supports and wraparound services for seniors there. We don't have it in

Lab West, but we're a comparable size as that community. We do need it, we don't

have it and we really need people to pay attention and look at the seniors of

Labrador West and how they're disadvantaged at this time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development for a response.

ABBOTT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the Member's petition around seniors and seniors'

housing in Labrador West, that's something that we're certainly cognizant,

through the work with the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation and

certainly through my department. We will be addressing many of those issues

through our Housing and Homelessness Plan and working also with the federal

government to find funding opportunities to meet that demand, which is not only

prevalent in Lab West; it is true, really, through many communities throughout

the province.

I appreciate the Member bringing the issue forward.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Actually, before I get into my petition, I'd say:

Congratulations, Minister. That was a good answer and very much respect for the

House. Thank you.

The background of this petition is as follows:

WHEREAS there are no significant current operations at

the Bull Arm Fabrication site, it is a world-class facility with potential to

rejuvenate the local economy. The area has been troubled with the lack of local

employment in today's economy. I find this one to be more poignant than ever

now, with the work that we're looking to get done on the FPSO, on the Terra

Nova. I would expect that there would be a longer term tenant. I think that's

what we're really looking for here, because this is an asset of the province and

to benefit the province. A long-term tenant for this site would attract gainful

business opportunities; and

WHEREAS the continued idling of this site is not in the

best interests of the province;

THEREFORE, we, the residents of the area near Bull Arm

Fabrication site, petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows:

We, the undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to

urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to expedite the process to get

the Bull Arm Fabrication site back in operation. We request that this process

include a vision for a long-term viable plan that is beneficial to all residents

of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, just looking at the signatures on this one

– I've obviously been presenting this since I came to the House – these ones go

back to October 24, 2019, and they're signed by people in Chapel Arm. It does

affect people of a vast area. It's a very world-class facility.

The reason why I'm presenting this today is because I

understand there are some people that are interested in taking over the Bull Arm

Fabrication site. I just want to make sure, I guess, that the minister is

working on this file as well because we'd like to see – I know that the North

Sea Group would certainly be interested in sitting down and discussing long-term

tenancy of the Bull Arm Fabrication site.

Hopefully, we can get somewhere in the vicinity of a

25-year deal instead of a five-year deal. I'm not saying that DF Barnes is not

doing a good job out there or anything like that. They're a very reputable

company, but I don't think we invested in the Bull Arm Fabrication site to

become kind of the moratorium of our oil and gas industry.

I'd rather it be up and running and we can rejuvenate

it and get it going; now is the time. Like I heard recently, the best time to

plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Orders of the Day

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I call from the Order Paper, Motion 9.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move, seconded by the Minister of Municipal and

Provincial Affairs, that notwithstanding Standing Order 63, this House shall not

proceed to Private Members' Day on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, but shall instead

meet at 2 p.m. on that day for routine proceedings and to conduct government

business, and that if not adjourned earlier, the Speaker shall adjourn the House

at midnight.

SPEAKER:

it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I call from the Order Paper, Motion 10.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move, pursuant to Standing Order 11(1), that this

House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 17, 2021.

SPEAKER:

it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I call from the Order Paper, Motion 1.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, it's always a pleasure to speak in this House

and to represent the fine people of Topsail - Paradise. One of the quotes that I

tried to live by, as much as I can, is: Integrity is doing the right thing when

nobody is watching. I try to live by that, but I am a little taken back by some

of the remarks in the House of Assembly, just yesterday, made by the Premier.

I know we all make mistakes, I know nobody is perfect

but you have to recognize you've made a mistake and you have to take

responsibility for that. The key word is to recognize that mistake. Not wait for

someone to advise you, not wait for someone to coach you on how to respond. You

don't need coaching or advisement to say you're sorry and apologize.

There has been a trend here. We know recently the

Premier made disparaging remarks about a news reporter, we know the Premier,

essentially, told Memorial University to grow up and, of course, just recently,

the Premier questioning our Leader of the Opposition's intelligence. That's only

a couple of examples. If I stood up in this House and I called someone stupid,

dense, brainless or an idiot, everyone in this House would be on their feet on a

point of order. It doesn't matter the words you use, it's the intent. You

shouldn't have to ask yourself if you thought the other person was offended: you

need to ask yourself if your comments were offensive.

Now, I said it earlier, we all make mistakes. I've

noted, the Clerk actually said to me when I was first elected: Welcome to the

fishbowl. Everyone is looking at you swimming around, nowhere to hide unless

there is a plant in the middle of the bowl but you can't hide long. We are under

tremendous scrutiny. So I hope all Members, the Premier included, takes this as

a learning moment because we all need to do better.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

DINN:

When so many people, children especially, are bullied and harassed on a daily

basis for any array of issues – we only need to see the pride flags being tore

down recently – we have to do better as community leaders, as Party leaders and

as Premier. We all have to do better as people.

Now, today in the House of Assembly, we all know, and

we see it everyday, some Members are more easily agitated than others. We need

to be empathetic because none of us are aware of what the other 39 Members are

going through; how their day started, what they're dealing with at home. We all

need to realize that. We all need to take responsibility for what we say.

I'm thinking of December now, I think it was December

4, there was an

article came out in The

Telegram and it was in response to a

couple of Liberal MHAs at the time had arranged some fundraising events in the

middle of COVID. They took some backlash on that.

I look at the Premier, the Premier was actually quoted

in The Telegram – and I'll see if I can get it here – as saying: “As leaders, we need

to not just meet standards, we need to exceed them and live by example.” Well,

Mr. Premier, you have to start living by your own words. I'm hoping they'll take

this as a learning moment. You have to start practicing what you preach because

as a leader you affect, not just this House of Assembly, you affect everyone

that listens to you, everyone that looks up to you.

I think, too, when we come in this House – Pink Shirt

Day; anti-bullying. This is children now telling us this. Children have a grasp

on bullying and harassment. It's not just one day, it's every day. Every day

should be anti-bullying day. The motto was: Bullying Stops Here. That applies

right here. We should not be dealing with insults and barbs in this House of

Assembly.

Now, yes, we get into heated discussions and you throw

out a witty quip. There's a little difference, but I think we all know when you

cross the line.

I commend the Speaker. I firmly believe we elected the

right – although there were some fine candidates for Speaker of the House, some

real fine candidates – I do say I think we have the right person in the Chair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

DINN:

do appreciate your opening comments today. I certainly trust that you'll

continue to do your best to run this House in a cordial and polite manner as

best you can. Thank you for that. It's not an easy job.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

DINN:

I'd

be remiss, of course, if I didn't speak a bit about the Terra Nova Project. I

think we all know what that means to our province. I can't even imagine the

stress and anxiety that the workers, their families and that are under. We can

always talk that there's hope and there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but

that certainly doesn't help them currently. I can appreciate that. We all speak

with passion on that.

I don't think anybody in this House, on this side as

well – nobody is suggesting that we bail out the large oil companies or we

carelessly throw money at a project with no return on investment. What we are

asking is that in the words of this government that have said many times, that

we leave no stone unturned when we look at this.

I think it was the Member for Grand Falls-Windsor who

mentioned the difference between a risky undertaking and risks. Something that's

risky is something that's full of the possibility of danger, failure or loss.

Risk is the potential exposure to danger. There is a difference. I understand

the Members opposite spoke to this as risks. They did not come out and say this

is risky. I stand to be corrected if they did.

With any investment, there is risk. There is a

balancing process. You're weighing pros and cons. You may do a SWOT analysis.

You may look at return on investment. You would look at opportunity cost. I

don't have any confidence or level of confidence that a complete and full

analysis has been done.

I think we asked questions today, but we certainly

asked questions yesterday, and government could not tell us the benefits this

province would receive through HST, personal income tax and spinoff jobs. They

could not tell us what would be lost in that respect. They could not tell us the

value of the indirect benefits to the province from the Terra Nova Project

extension. Government could not tell us the cost to assist workers who lose

their jobs if the Terra Nova Project should shut down.

These are not issues that are covered by a

non-disclosure agreement; this is the work of government. This analysis should

be done. This analysis should be on the tip of the tongue. And I agree, we were

not elected to look after the big oil companies. We were elected to look after

the people here in this province. We were elected to do the best we can for

them. I think we really need to look at the cost of this project not going ahead

and what it does in terms of supports we may have to come up with and the like.

I have no reason, right now, to distrust the comments

of the responsible minister that they're doing everything. But it is harder to

believe when we cannot get answers to analysis that should be done. I would hope

that government will complete a full analysis, not just of the oil but what the

effect will be on our province, our workers and their health and where they're

going to be and if they're going to stay here. It probably should already be

done. I'd be happy if I hear that it is already done but, again, I don't have

confidence in terms of the answers we have been getting. This is analysis that

certainly can be completed outside of the non-disclosure agreements.

I would note the government mentioned to us that there

is only a marginal return potential. Outside of the marginal return, I think

when you look deeper in terms of keeping people employed, keeping families here,

that marginal return becomes a little larger. I think we need to have a greater

look at that. I know here we are at the final day; hopefully, there will be more

negotiations ongoing. I hope so. There are a lot of people in this industry

involved with this Terra Nova Project that are anxiously awaiting some positive

news, so hopefully that will occur.

I do want to talk about the budget; that is the motion

we're speaking to. We're going to be asked to vote on this. People ask: Are you

going to vote on the budget? They'll say: What are you voting on? We'll say: The

budget. And they'll say: Oh, that's good. But when I really look deeper, I say:

Well, what are we really voting on? This budget is like you're sat down to a

meal and they lay it on a placemat and it looks all good, but you don't know

what the meal is and you don't know what's being served. A lovely placemat, but

you don't know what's being served.

There are some good pieces in the budget, but there's

not enough analysis to tell us what is on the plate. I mean, at a bare minimum

you would ask to see the menu. I don't know if we've seen the menu. But, I mean,

to vote on this budget without truly knowing the full analysis behind it, the

full data and the full information, from my point of view, I don't think it's

what the residents of Topsail - Paradise would want me to do in terms of blindly

voting on something we don't have the full details on. Like I said, there are a

number of issues or pieces in this budget that are good, there are a number of

things that are continued on, but there's also a lot of analysis that is absent

and that's something that we really need to have in front of us to make a proper

decision.

I go back to the comments on Terra Nova, you know,

talking risk, talking risky. This is no different. In fact, this is probably

more important as the budget for the whole province. We don't have all of the

background information to vote on this, and so I don't even know what he risks

are because we don't have that information. How are we going to create more

efficient operations? What is going to be done in departments like Health? Don't

know. How much money is going to be saved? What's going to be done here and

there? Not truly outlined there. That's information we need because we all

realize the financial position we are in and we all realize that some big

decisions have to be made, but we also realize that they have to be informed

decisions. To vote on this budget without being fully informed, in my mind,

would not be proper.

We are doing a budget here and we're waiting on some

key reports to come in. I guess the real scare we've gotten is from the

Premier's Moya Greene report and that report certainly puts the scare in all of

us with some of the comments and some of the suggestions, but again, lacking on

detail.

As I've said before, I've had some presentation from

Dr. Parfrey and Sister Elizabeth Davis on the Health Accord Newfoundland and

Labrador and I'm encouraged by that. The reason I'm encouraged by that is

because these individuals certainly come across as having a handle on what

they've been asked to do. They certainly seem to have a plan forward. They

certainly seem to be looking towards decisions, programs and services that are

fully documented and supported by data, facts and analysis. The only unfortunate

thing for that is we're not seeing that until December. I look forward to that.

But with this current budget, I do not have the same

level of confidence. It's not that I don't disagree that we need to make some

difficult decisions and that, but it's because I don't know what they're based

on. The detail is not there. There are some parts of it, again, that I certainly

applaud. There are parts there that make sense but, overall, some of the larger

decisions, how are you going to do this, how are you going to move along, some

of that is not there. It's not in the notes.

I look at the budgets over the years for this

government. All governments do it, but I just look at the current government.

When they put out their budget document, there's always a little motto or a

little saying on the cover; there's a title. In 2016, it was

Restoring Fiscal Confidence and

Accountability . T hat was

2016. Not quite sure we have fiscal confidence – not quite sure.

In 2017, it was

Realizing Our Potential . That's five

years ago now: Realizing Our Potential .

I'm not sure that's happened. In 2018, we're starting to get some nice titles:

Building for Our Future . I can

honestly say I haven't seen any huge steps in building our future. We can go

back to Muskrat Falls and talk about that. I wasn't involved in it when it came

in but, of course, the current government now have six years to look after

mitigation and they've talked to this, how it affects our future generations. I

haven't seen anything happen there.

So we're building

our future and we move into 2019 and we're

Working towards a brighter future . Again, haven't seen the future; now we're

building to a brighter future.

In 2020, it was

Today. Tomorrow. Together. Again, you talk about

The Way Forward ; you talk about this. I'm not seeing any huge

accomplishments there. In fact, I'm told – and certainly, if someone can tell me

otherwise – that the family that was on the cover of that document,

Today. Tomorrow. Together. , an

immigrant family, and they were praised for being active, I'm told they're no

longer in the province. Now, I stand to be corrected on that, but that's what

I'm told. So Today. Tomorrow. Together. ,

we certainly have to start looking at making some real, real change.

Speaking of change, here we are in 2021 and the budget

is Change starts here . After five

years of realizing our future, building our future, building a brighter future,

restoring fiscal confidence, after five years

Change starts here . We're finally to a place where maybe something's

going to start. But again, my doubts, because this particular budget I do not

see the full details that would lead me to believe that change will definitely

start here. I don't see it. Right from this point on, I'm not prepared to vote

on something I don't have the full details on.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Lake Melville.

TRIMPER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It's always a pleasure to speak to some aspect of the

budget, whether it be a money bill, loan, supply. It's a good opportunity to

talk about a variety of things that are going on.

What I thought I would do is summarize the experience

that was the last couple of weeks in Estimates. What I've done is go through

each of the departments that I participated in. In fact, as I mentioned in the

House yesterday, I did miss just the one. I missed the Department of Finance,

but I caught the others. Certainly, it's an excellent way to learn a lot about

how government works, what the minister and their staff are thinking, and it's a

great way to – from my perspective – to explore different policies, how they are

affecting the district I represent in Lake Melville or broader Labrador, or of

course right across the province.

So what I'd like to do is just run through some of the

items. I'm not going to go through them in detail, because there were a lot of

Estimates sessions and I know I only have less than 20 minutes. I'm just going

to sketch on some of them and then comment as I go. Let's start at the beginning

in terms of the book and the budget Estimates.

Digital Government and Service NL: Some of the items

that I brought up when we were going through them that apply to a relatively

small percentage of our population, but it's very much an appreciative one, and

that's the francophone-speaking people of this province.

It was curious, Mr. Speaker, when I was asking the

department – at one time I really enjoyed being the minister responsible for

Francophone Affairs, and the federal government's support, some $350,000, has

not changed to this province in a long, long time. I can remember 2015, '16,

'17, lobbying the then federal minister responsible for the need to look at the

formula, to look at the situation and recognize Newfoundland and Labrador is

doing a lot with a very small and very capable and dedicated crew, but there's

been no increased support for years and years.

It's amazing what they have been able to do, but we

really need to somehow convince the federal government that if they're serious

about fulfilling Charter obligations across this country, all jurisdictions, no

matter how big or small, need to be treated equitably.

Another item that's very important for Labrador, and I

would suspect other rural parts of this province, and that's around electrical

inspections. We often have work sites – and we have a very short construction

season – where if you don't have a Red Seal-endorsed electrical inspector, you

need to have one flown in. I explored with the minister the idea of, perhaps,

engaging a private sector company where somebody would be certified to take a

look at those building sites. It's actually holding up construction. I can look

across Labrador and give you many examples of where things are held up just

because we're not thinking of more clever ways to provide these inspections.

One that's near and dear to my heart, and certainly

broader across the province, and that is on taxi insurance. It was good to see

the various steps that the department is making to reduce rates and pressures on

taxi drivers and owners who need to get those vehicles insured to make sure that

our roads are safe. A lot of good moves there, so I thank them for that.

One lingering issue in Happy Valley-Goose Bay is – and

while it's commendable that some 98 per cent of online registrations and I think

some other features around Motor Vehicle Registration are now done online, there

are still a lot of people that need support. I feel that we need to make sure

those phone lines are available and that people are able to help those who would

prefer just to deal in person or at least have somebody on the other end of a

line instead of a prompt on an online app or something like that.

In the Treasury Board meetings, just one little item,

I've raised it several times, but I am still curious as to whether or not our

province can take advantage of this spike in building materials, particularly

around wood, whether or not we, as a Crown, could be making more as we sell our

wood products, the stumpage; the stumpage royalties. I see opportunities to do

it. Again, I point out Alberta which has just recently done this. They more than

doubled their stumpage rate. It's represented millions and millions of dollars

to the coffers of their Treasury. Guess what? It does not affect the end

retailer because it's frankly the processors that are able to charge a very high

fee right now for their products and the raw materials. We're basically –

relatively speaking – giving them away.

In terms of Public Procurement: It's an interesting

aspect, I think, for many of us to think about. It's one I do believe government

is sensitive of. I was once responsible for that department as well. It's

packaging and bundling the opportunities for tenders, for bidding, and making

sure that where there are local service opportunities and where they can be

bundled appropriately that that is, in fact, done. There's nothing worse than

seeing capability being developed in Labrador or another rural part of this

province, only to see an opportunity show up on the doorstep, yet that local

capacity is frankly just left out of the bidding process all together. They have

to run around and try to figure out who is going to win this contract and then

try to make sure that we, as a government, and they, as a successful bidder,

think to engage local staff and local services. Boy, we continue to struggle

with this one.

I don't know, I look to the Impact Benefit Agreements

that Indigenous organization, for example, has established. Voisey's Bay is a

prime example of what was frankly a very successful negotiation. You look at

that project now, it's been operating for well over 20 years. I remember being

in the room when both signatories to the province and the company agreed with

their membership to support the project, and the celebration. The fact that that

deal was done right. It has continued to prove very successful. I think we have

a lot of things to learn there.

Under Transportation and Infrastructure: I will

continue to speak about Route 520. I can appreciate the pressure that the

minister is under; however, we did have this road identified as a priority two

years ago and with the fact that the budget remains the same, the highway is

continuing to get worse. I can only hope that this gets addressed immediately

and we can start getting some work done. I know there is some recent tender

calls for some bridge work, and we're not going to turn that away. The bridges

certainly also need to be tended too, but I can tell you what's really bad is

the asphalt and the rollercoaster of a ride that is between Sheshatshiu and

Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

I also want to continue to speak about the fact that we

have some 1,800 kilometres of Trans-Labrador Highway and we really don't have

any emergency or other convenience services between those communities. Some of

those gaps are as great as 400 kilometres. I challenge anyone, when they get in

their vehicles at the end of the week and they leave here, just to think about

that. You would set sail for Gander or points further west and if you needed to

stop for a washroom, for gas, for any communications knowing that it would not

be there for you: that's why I will continue to speak about this.

I am pleased, and I want to mention his name again, the

ADM in Marine Services, John Baker. There are a lot of great staff out there,

John is just a guy that I happen to work a lot with. He's a guy who listens and

is very available to so many of the issues that I have to deal with. The moves

around the Black Tickle ferry, and I just know each spring I will get the same

kinds of calls from people who used to live in Black Tickle, they want to make

this annual pilgrimage home and knowing that the ferry will be running this year

– I think it goes on the 25th of June, which is the time that is actually

convenient for returning residents to go back and set up for the summer, it will

actually work very well for them. I thank the department for that accommodation.

Another study that is very near and dear to my heart, I

have a lot of experience around it, there are two: the Nain Airstrip. If you've

ever had to land in an aircraft in Nain, it is something that will get your

attention: even on the calmest of days. Thank goodness we have very experienced

and capable pilots that fly along our coast for us because I can tell you, it is

not for the faint of heart. If you have a strong wind and a predominant wind

coming out of the west and you're swinging in there and you have to turn your

nose in one direction and then at the last minute suddenly turn to hit that

runway. We are just very fortunate that we haven't had a serious incident. We

really need to address that. So I make that plug for there.

Also, if you look at the map you wouldn't believe it,

but I know the route very well, from North West River to Postville it actually

is a very straightforward route along that direction, and I've flown it many

times. While I'm glad to see progress being made on the feasibility study – and

I remember my colleague from Torngat Mountains was asking: Is this a

pre-feasibility or a feasibility study? I'm not sure we got a good answer. The

fact of the matter is let this be the study from which tenders can be called to

start that work.

Under Justice and Public Safety: It's good to see the

progress going on at the Labrador Correctional Centre. There are substantial

millions of dollars being allocated for the expansion. It's also really

important that in addition to providing, now, accommodations for – women who

need to be incarcerated traditionally have been going to Clarenville. Now, with

the completion of this work, they will be able to, at least, stay in Labrador

where their family supports will be there for them and other cultural supports.

It is that very point, on the cultural supports, that

is so important and I've been witness to some of these special sessions where

people give of their time to go down and provide that cultural – it's almost a

therapy when you've been able to witness, whether it be cleaning a partridge or

a ptarmigan, making snowshoes or just talking about life on the land and the

healing, therapeutic aspects that can come from that. It's very important for

people who are struggling to find a way in life.

Sentencing circles was another point that I spoke

about. I think the minister will be interested to, hopefully, see and experience

others that will be lobbying for these kinds of opportunities. I feel that they

could really help, especially – it's not going to help overnight, but over the

long term it will be really important.

With Environment and Climate Change: Another one of my

favourite departments and one that I know very well, both politically and in my

previous professional life. We talked a lot about the rationale for the

flood-risk mapping. Why did we spend $1 million completing such a comprehensive

study, such a state-of-the-art study if we are not going to really work with its

conclusions and work with what it's telling us? I challenge the department to

please consider ways to sit down with the residents and explain exactly what the

findings mean, what it means for their livelihood and what it means for their

property. I believe we need to carry on the dialogue.

Just a few weeks ago, again, as the water started to

rise and suddenly the panic hit. We've got a huge river; we've got the

province's largest river flowing, unfortunately, into an estuary situation where

we've got a very fragile village in the lower parts of what we call the valley,

Happy Valley-Goose Bay, where the shoreline is being eroded away. We need to get

in there. I'm willing to work with the minister and his department and we'll see

what we can do to address that.

Contaminated sites were another aspect. I just want to

make a plug for – so much of the debate yesterday morning, Mr. Speaker, for

Terra Nova was around the transition. My colleague for St. John's Centre spoke

about the importance of getting that transition plan right. Well, there's a

really interesting initiative that The Harris Centre has set up – I worked with

them very closely last year when that was going on – climate change, economy and

society. There are eight sessions that are being held with a variety of

stakeholders.

The interesting part about this is that you have both

industrial proponents, you have oil and gas people and you have people with an

environmental background, and they're collectively addressing key points such

as: How does a jurisdiction, which produces 5.6 per cent of the oil in this

country – how do we transfer now successfully with all of these amazing reserves

we have offshore. How do we transfer to a situation where we can recognize the

climate is changing dramatically? Moving to net zero in 2050? Well you know

what, we need to start moving to net zero like yesterday. Anyway, a lot of these

questions are being tackled. I would encourage the department to continue to

support them and perhaps, most importantly, to pay attention to the conclusions

coming out of those discussions.

With Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture, I spoke about

the stumpage rates and enforcement officers, and making sure we have them

deployed at the right places at the right time. The hunting that's going on of

caribou, south of where I live, south of the Churchill River, Mishta-shipu by

folks from Quebec, is becoming – not is becoming, it has become – a very serious

problem. So much of the caribou and those small little herds – I used to fly

them back in the 1980s and '90s; things like the Dominion Lake herd and the St.

Augustin herd – they don't even

exist anymore.

I'm very concerned

that any woodland caribou that are left down there, if there are in fact any

leftover in the Birchy Lake area – I was thinking they're basically gone.

Perhaps there are a few animals but given the resources that are being deployed

to find them, and make a stand politically between our provinces, we really need

to fix this out. My recommendation there to the minister is to re-establish the

Labrador Woodland Caribou Recovery Team. It's filled with bright minds from both

Quebec, Labrador and the federal government, as well as other stakeholders. I

feel that that could provide him with a lot of clean and clear direction as to

how to move forward. It's a tough, tangly situation but the discussion has to go

on in the boardroom, not out in the field with loaded rifles.

I'm very pleased to see the movement on the

Animal Health and Protection Act , that

the entire act is being reviewed. My CA is a senior person with the SPCA in

Labrador. I get to see upfront, close and personal the challenges that the SPCA

and other organizations have around animal abuse and the need to take care of

our four-legged friends. I'm glad for that review.

With Municipal and Provincial Affairs, we had good

discussion. I think the challenge that we have as a government, and folks in

this House of Assembly really, is how do we and what do we and where do 46,000

residents of our province who are living in unincorporated districts – how do we

properly provide services to them and how do they, in fairness, provide their

own financial support for those services.

Under Immigration, Population Growth and Skills, I am

curious still to understand the demise of Welcome NL. I saw it as a great

initiative. It disappeared, frankly, about two years ago. It's meant to help

those new Canadians find employers and readily settle into this province and,

better yet, stay.

Also, I'm frustrated with so much of the provincial

certification programs, engineering, medical care and so on, where we have – I

get off that plane, sometimes on a Sunday night, and I probably have an engineer

from North Africa or Eastern Europe who's driving a taxi because that's the only

service that we will recognize them being capable of, despite years of training.

Some of them have even served as professors that I've met. I've met a pile of

them. I have their names. They're very frustrated. I really feel we need to find

a better system. There has to be mentoring that can happen to get these people

in the workforce.

Under Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation, again, I

want to just compliment the department for pulling off – and I look at this

House of Assembly. Under the pandemic, so much of things that were planned over

the last 16 months or so where you've heard the common refrain of: delayed by

the pandemic, delayed by the pandemic. Well, guess what? That Caribou monument,

the final one in Gallipoli, was not delayed by the pandemic. A dedicated

international team, multi-organizational, all threw their efforts at that. It

was done and it's a beautiful job. I just can't wait to see a delegation from

this province go and join our Turkish friends with an unveiling.

I also want to put a quick plug in for Expedition 51º.

and Destination Labrador looking at joint branding around tourism and getting

our link together as we reach into Eastern Canada. Really important.

CSSD: A really big challenge is the number of vacancies

under our social worker caseload. It is really high in Labrador. The department

informed me that we have 71 vacancies right now for social workers. We really

need to get that figured out.

Under Education, early childhood educators: The big

issue right now – and I've raised it as a petition – we need in-person training.

We have spaces; we just spent a lot of money as a government to put up Pumpkin

House and helped other facilities get in place. We don't have people to run

them. I'm trying to get an estimate. It is somewhere between 100 and 200

families with their children, waiting to get into a regulated daycare facility.

We really have to get that figured out.

Health and Community Services: I didn't mean to save it

for last but, obviously, it's the number one challenge for any of our MHAs. I

thank everybody. I thank all the team for all that they're doing.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SPEAKER (Warr):

Thank you.

The hon. the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

DWYER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great honour to speak today on the main

motion of the budget on behalf of the constituents of Placentia West - Bellevue

that I'm so proud to be in this House to represent in this 50th General

Assembly.

The budget really affects us all. Having a big district

like I have, it really affects us in many different ways. One of the things I

would like to touch on is how industrial my district is. If we can get some of

the industry back up and running to full capacity, I think we'd be well on our

way to very much a growth economy.

I just did a petition on Bull Arm; there is Vale in

Long Harbour. We have the refinery and the state-of-the-art fish plant there in

Arnold's Cove with major investment. We have Grieg down in Marystown; we have

the Cow Head facility in Marystown. None of these are really up to capacity.

Mr. Speaker, these entities and these industrial

facilities were in trouble long before COVID. So it's not really something we

can blame on COVID, but it is something that we need to come together and make

sure that we can utilize our assets to the benefit of our province, as opposed

to selling off our assets just to keep the lights on.

At the end of the day, somebody can offer me $10,000

for my $5,000 car, but I still have to get home. So the $10,000 is really not

much good to me at that point if I still need something to drive. Yes, I can go

out and buy another car, but in the meantime why not utilize the one to the best

of my ability and get the most out of it that I already have.

We do have great infrastructure, but the biggest asset

that we have in our province is our workers. Our workers leave this province en

masse all the time to go and be rotational workers and stuff like that. They're

the best of the best in these companies that are hiring them throughout the

world. So if we can get up and running with our industry, then obviously these

are people that would love to come back and not be rotational workers. I don't

think they'd have a problem being a rotational worker from, let's say,

Terrenceville going to Bull Arm or somebody from Chance Cove working in the

refinery.

So like I said, it affects us all. It's something that

we have to focus on because, right now, really what we need is to improve the

provincial coffers to afford these budgets. We're just north of $8.5 billion on

a budget that, for a lot of people, it's hard to wrap their head around that

kind of numbers. I think it's incumbent on us all to find these efficiencies, as

was determined through our Estimates for CSSD. Because when you have the most

vulnerable people in the province that need services, then we need to have these

wraparound services and tertiary services that they can avail of at a moment's

notice. Because that's the way things come up. It's not like we can plan for

something that is acute two months out.

So like I said, it's good to see the new programs. The

minister actually talked about the new transportation program for low-income

families, seniors and people living with disabilities. It's a very good hand up

for these people, because now they're able to avail of some of the programming

that's in their area and be part of probably their 50-plus club or be able to go

out and do some seniors' yoga on the soccer field or whatever.

We've learned from COVID, we just have to make sure

that we give our people a chance to succeed and enjoy their life to the best of

their ability. Again, that comes down to, for our seniors, having help with

their eyes, their ears and their teeth. I think that's incumbent on us all. I

never ever would have imagined that somebody would fall below the threshold,

after retirement, of not having insurance. That kind of bothers me and I think

we could be better. Because like I said before, these are the people that

trail-blazed for us and gave us an opportunity to be here. I think it's

incumbent on us all to certainly have that respect and see what we can do for

our seniors.

One of the biggest issues I really have with the budget

is that it's kind of carried over from last year, which is somewhat

understandable. But to not have any cost-benefit analysis for some of the things

that we're asking about, it's hard to ratify this contract based on the vague

information that was in some of the different sectors. I will note that one of

the initiatives that I've been fighting for since day one in here is the Wi-Fi

and cell service. To see that kind of an initiative now, brings us that much

closer to the 21st century, which we're already 21 years into.

I guess I'm a firm believer that if these big companies

– we talk about these multinational, profitable oil companies then we should

probably talk about these national media companies that are certainly seeing

numbers in the billions as well. They can't just come to our province and go

where the concentration of people are to get the largest stipend. I think it's

an opportunity for government to let them know that if they want to do business

here, then they have to really consider doing business outside the overpass as

well and not just the big centres.

Just from a personal side, we're digitizing government,

everything is coming down to emails and send your form via email or text or

anything like that, but we're not realizing that not everybody in the province

has that opportunity, just for the simple fact that the services are not there,

Mr. Speaker. I think that we are in a day and age where it's kind of second

nature that we would have these kind of entities in place so that we can avail

of them.

Like I said on a personal side, for personal households

is what I mean. We're sending kids home to do their education online. That's

kind of at a disadvantage for some kids, for the simple fact that they don't

have the availability of Wi-Fi and cell coverage. It's pretty difficult for them

to carry on and have the same experience or opportunity. Let's say a kid in

Grade 11 in my district or a kid in Grade 11 in St. John's, probably having two

different experiences based on the Wi-Fi and cell coverage. That's just one

entity of it.

Another side, I guess, that I looked at this from was

the business side of it. When you talk about the business side of Wi-Fi and cell

coverage, then that's second nature to them. It's probably that they're looking

at what the next best thing is for communication. There's nobody coming here and

taking a drive in a car to check out the Bull Arm site and not want to be on

their phone for that hour-and-a-half drive. They're not going down to Bull Arm

and getting on the pay phone to call back to their company to see if it's a good

deal or not. Like I said, from a business perspective, it's incumbent on us all

to get those communication services in place so that some of this redundancy or

bureaucracy doesn't happen between these business-to-business sales.

One of the bigger ones, I guess, from my side of things

for Wi-Fi and cell coverage is really the virtual medical care. It's something

that I can see being very prevalent in our society quite soon. Virtual medical

care, not everybody needs to go to see a doctor physically to get an update or

report or anything like that, so I think with the investment in Wi-Fi and cell

coverage, we're actually going to free up some of our doctors' time and be able

to probably get more people in to see them.

The issue, really, is that we're in a pandemic and

we've cut back some of those services. It would be nice that now that we have a

reopening plan and stuff like that, we can eliminate this epidemic we've created

inside of a pandemic in the fact that people's needs didn't go away with the

pandemic. They still need to get in and get their tests and their X-rays and

their scans and all this kind of stuff. I know we want to protect our front-line

workers, but we have to make sure that we are getting these timely appointments

adhered to and make sure that people are getting the care. We've okayed all this

money for the health care department; let's make sure that we're getting the

proper outcomes. I think with Wi-Fi and cell coverage being prevalent to all,

that will be a lot easier in the very rural parts of our province.

Another big one for me – and I volunteered all of my

life. I have 16 volunteer fire departments in my district and Wi-Fi and cell

coverage would be so much more important to them just knowing who's on the

scene. As we try and regionalize some of our services, it would be no sense that

we won't be able to be in contact with somebody that was out on the highway. The

Trans-Canada

part is spotty in places, but at least there's a great prevalence

of cell coverage.

But, like I mentioned yesterday, I would love to work

on the Burin Peninsula, especially with my colleague from Burin - Grand Bank,

despite our strip or anything like that, because me and the MHA for Burin -

Grand Bank have known each other for a long time and have had a very cordial

relationship. I look forward to working with him on that because a lot of the

people in his district are good friends of mine as well and a lot of people in

my district are quite familiar with the former mayor of St. Lawrence.

Like I said, I want to make sure that we're all working

together to make sure that we can bring these services to the residents of the

province to make life easier, I guess, because we are in a digital age and

there's no sense in talking about these services until we wrap them around

everybody in the province.

The big thing that we talked about this year is tourism

and how the tourism operators have had such a hard go of it, really, because of

COVID and everybody being shut down. But one thing I did notice in the last year

in my district is that our walking trails are becoming some of the highly

sought-after destinations in the province, especially Chance Cove. If anybody

hasn't had a chance to get out to the Chance Cove trail, I would highly

recommend it. I did it a couple of weeks ago, about a month ago, probably,

myself and my assistance, actually. We're probably not in the best of shape for

a young fella and an older fella. In the meantime, we would certainly do it

again. I don't know if we would need to take shortcuts next time.

In the meantime, it was so beautiful and so picturesque

that it really made our day. It was really a good hike for us, for sure. I

commend the people in Chance Cove that are working on the trail. There is some

more money being infused, I believe, soon. The advancements that have been made

on that trail since I became aware of it, I guess, in May 2019, has been pretty

tremendous.

Just talking about Chance Cove for a second, there are

some certainly great challenges when it comes to their roads, but their priority

when I first got in was their water. I do get some compliments, I guess, that

it's nice to turn on the tap and be able to drink the water, but now it's turned

into fixing the roads again. I'm here for you Chance Cove. I'm working on it and

when the minister and I meet, your roads are certainly on the list as well.

The other trails are Otter Rub and the Bordeaux Walking

Trail. There's a new trail, Center Hill in Sunnyside. The Cleary Hiking Trail in

CBC. You can go and probably stay at the Fiddler's Green or you can stay at The

Killick. There are a couple of opportunities; there's the Arnold's Cove Inn as

well. You can get three or four trails done there in those few days, if you want

to stay in the area.

There are lots of beautiful attractions that, like I

said, just get out and explore. Actually, in Arnold's Cove, they have a really

good walk around the town with their app about the homes that were brought in

from the islands, Mr. Speaker. It's quite interesting because as you get to each

destination the app actually tells you the story of that house and the people

from that house and the reasons for coming over and stuff like that. Right in

Southern Harbour, we have Paddy Miller's house, it was the first one brought

across Placentia Bay.

My buddy Dale Ryan, who's an artist originally from

Southern Harbour, did a depiction of Paddy Miller's house coming across the

harbour. I was lucky enough to be able to avail of one of those off my good

friend. Consequently, a lot of his art is in many different parts of the world

that I've sent out to different friends and stuff like that. I commend him on

that. I know he has a new series ready to go. If anybody likes good Newfoundland

artists, check out Mr. Dale Ryan. I think you'll be quite impressed.

Like I said, when you have a large district, not only

is it industrial, but it comes down to having a lot of towns. A lot of these

towns have the same needs, whether it's roads, care for seniors, certainly Wi-Fi

and cell service. While we do have a pretty industrial district, it's incumbent

on us to realize that it's not just industry. It is tourism and it is a lot of

really great spots to shop and stuff in my district.

When you go down to the Marystown area, it's quite

beautiful. Anybody that goes to Marystown, I would recommend you go look at

Marystown from the Marymount. As I'm sure, Mr. Speaker, you've probably seen it

from that perspective, which it really opens up your eyes to the size of

Marystown and the beauty of the longest ice-free harbour in North America.

That's a pretty good moniker to have. Like I said, around that area the people

make it a million times nicer. So anybody that goes down to the Marystown area

or anywhere down the Burin Peninsula, stop off at the Tea Rose there that the

Placentia West Development Association has to offer. They have the EcoMuseum

there. It's a national museum that was acknowledged about a year and a half ago

or probably two years ago now. It's beautiful.

Like I said, there are lots of areas to avail of in my

district. For anybody that's planning a staycation or anything like that, come

stay and have fun because the people in our district are the real resource here.

I'm here to work with every town. I treat everybody the

same, and in saying that I don't take things personally. Anybody can come to me

with anything. I don't judge people and I represent everybody with the same

integrity and respect –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

DWYER:

as I do represent them here in this House and at all their functions.

The last thing I will say is that I hope that the Bull

Arm site will get a long-term proponent soon. Hopefully, the minister will be

talking to the many groups that are interested in taking over this site.

The one thing that I always say, if you can be anything

in this world, be kind. Because you don't know what somebody dealt with

yesterday, you don't know what somebody's dealing with today and you don't know

what's facing them tomorrow. So if we can be anything in this world, please, be

kind.

The last thing I'll leave on is that I want to

acknowledge, again, Pride Month. I think everybody deserves the opportunity to

live their best life. Let's give everybody that opportunity. Let's look out for

our seniors, our people living with disabilities and let's get our industry back

and running so we can get these programs availed of.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Thank you.

The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

WALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's indeed a privilege to be able to speak in this

hon. House today to represent the people of the beautiful District of Cape St.

Francis. I appreciate the opportunity and I appreciate the confidence that they

put in me to have me here and represent them.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take a moment to speak on the

Estimates that we went through last week. As a new Member to this House, it was

certainly an experience to sit in Estimates. I had the privilege of being on the

Social Services Committee. I'd like to first of all thank the MHA for Placentia

- St. Mary's for doing such a great job of chairing those Estimates. I have to

say it was very professional and I'd like to acknowledge that.

Thanks to my colleague from Harbour Main, I was

nominated as Vice-Chair. I very much appreciate the Member for Placentia - St.

Mary's for doing such a great job that I didn't have to step in, Mr. Speaker. I

have to say kudos to her and great job on doing that.

I had the privilege of sitting in on all the Estimates

under Social Services: Justice and Public Safety, Education, Health, CSSD and,

of course, Municipal Affairs. I'd like to thank all the ministers and, of

course, their staff for the planning and preparation that went in to all of

those Estimates. A professional crew, no doubt.

My predecessor Mr. Parsons said: If you want to learn,

listen to the staf