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May

7, 2015

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 11

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

I am

pleased to welcome to the public gallery today Mr. Rodney Drover, Principal

of Virginia Park Elementary.

I am

also pleased to welcome Mr. Jacob Hill from Gunners Cove who, I believe,

will be the subject of a member's statement in a little while.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will hear

members' statements from the Districts of St. John's North, The Straits

White Bay North, Bonavista South, Port de Grave, Bellevue, and Signal Hill

Quidi Vidi.

The

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today

to recognize students and teachers at Leary's Brook Junior High and Prince

of Wales Collegiate for their participation in the Asper Foundation Human

Rights and Holocaust Studies Program.

This

award-winning national human rights awareness program is designed to promote

tolerance and sensitize students to the consequences of racism through a

specially designed education program.

requires students to complete sessions on the Holocaust, human rights,

discrimination against various groups in Canadian and American history, the

civil rights movement, multiculturalism, global leadership, and individual

responsibility.

The

education sessions for this program have taken place on Sundays, with

students using their free time to take part.

Volunteer work is also a required program component and together this

year's program participants have contributed hundreds of hours of community

service.

The

students and their teachers are currently in Washington DC where they have

visited a number of notable historic sites, including the United States

Holocaust Memorial Museum and a number of important monuments relating to

freedom and democracy.

ask all hon. members to join me in offering congratulations to students and

teachers at Leary's Brook and PWC on completing this important human rights

program.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, Jacob

Hill, Gunners Cove native, has always tried to inspire youth around him in

any way he can with encouragement, involvement and commitment, especially

through sports.

Jacob founded FTP Ball Hockey Tournament in memory of his late father, Jacob

Hill Sr., in the spirit of his father's positive, kind nature that inspired

him to be who he is today. The

event is held every summer at St. Anthony Polar Centre, with funds going to

Team Cle, honouring the memory of Cleon Smith, giving funds to Kids Sport

NL. As you can see, this one

endeavour reaches out to many other partnerships supporting children in our

Province.

The

annual event also impressed Rogers, sponsor of Hockey Night in Canada.

Jacob's story won the contest What Do You Play For? commercial

premiering nationally during the NHL Playoffs.

Now what young hockey player or fan would not want to have that

opportunity, his own piece of a hockey dream.

The

commercial was quite genuine, heartfelt, and summarized where many hockey

dreams begin, the fun of the game, the commitment of all involved, and the

bond it brings.

ask all members to congratulate Jacob Hill on his inspiration at home and

across the country.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Bonavista South.

MR. LITTLE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rise in this hon. House today to recognize the commitment of an organization

in my District of Bonavista South.

The Discovery Shooting Club, in the Town of Elliston, formed the

Great War Living History Committee to honour the regional contribution of

the Bonavista Peninsula during the First World War.

Their goal is to keep our Province's history and memory of the First World

War alive. This summer,

volunteers will be dressed in replica Royal Newfoundland Regiment uniforms

and attending community functions around the Bonavista Peninsula.

They will also be performing

interpretations, free of charge.

Through these activities, the tragedy and sacrifice experienced by

our Province will be made real for a new generation, Lest We Forget.

The

committee is in the process of documenting everyone who served from our

region. This information is

being placed online at nfldww1.com as a public resource to ensure the

contribution a century ago of the Bonavista Peninsula and area to the

Newfoundland and Labrador's World War One effort is remembered.

Mr.

Speaker, hon. colleagues, please join me in recognizing the continued

dedication of this committee in keeping the history and memory of World War

I veterans alive.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Port de Grave.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLEJOHN:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

rise today to congratulate Jenna Lee Ralph, a Grade 8 student of Holy

Redeemer School, Spaniard's Bay, one of the winners of the Regional Heritage

Fair recently held in St. John's.

Jenna Lee's entry was in the Ambassador's Award category as a part of the

Honour 100 program. She was one

of nineteen students selected to participate in a battlefield tour of

Northern France and Belgium later this year.

her essay entitled, In their Footsteps The Life of Matthew Brazil Jenna

Lee takes us on a four year journey through World War I.

She

says Matthew Brazil was a heroic man who received the Military Medal for

conspicuous bravery: under heavy machine gun fire in full view of the enemy,

he ran into the open field to retrieve ammunition from fallen comrades.

Six

months later, he also received the Distinguished Combat Medal for

conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty.

He, along with another famous Newfoundlander and Labradorian, Tommy

Ricketts pushed forward while being shot at by four enemy machine guns.

They broke through the enemy line because of their accurate shooting

and unselfishness providing a path forward for their platoon.

Please wish Jenna Lee well as she retraces the trail of the Royal

Newfoundland Regiment later this summer.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Bellevue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. PEACH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rise in this hon. House today to recognize a student group from Crescent

Collegiate in Blaketown who are working hard to promote environmental

awareness. They contribute by

educating their peers on recycling and improving their environment.

The

Code Green club currently has approximately eighteen members, and started

about nine years ago with the assistance of Mr. Peter Bishop at Crescent

Collegiate. Within the last two

years, the membership has doubled it is proof that sustainability of our

environment is becoming more and more important to our youth.

The

club regularly stages clean ups around the school and surrounding

communities. They currently run

a recycling program and are planning to start a composting program in the

near future.

For

the past two years, Code Green has received the spirit award for Envirothon.

Envirothon is a hands-on competition for high school students.

The competition tests their knowledge of the environmental

sustainability and resources of this Province.

The students pick their own category before the competition and then

during the Envirothon, they are challenged on the subject of their choosing.

ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating the Code Green

team for their efforts to support our environment.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

often rise in the House to give recognition to people and groups who have

received particular awards or honours for their individual achievements.

Today I would like to recognize the hard work of a group of people in

the city who together brought an innovative sports pilot project to a school

in my district.

The

Province's first Junior NBA Canada basketball program ran at Virginia Park

Elementary as a pilot project from October to March.

Twenty boys and girls aged five to seven years learned the basics of

basketball, and I would add, of team play.

NBA

Canada supplied the school with two portable basketball nets, and each of

the participants with an NBA jersey, a ball, and a gym bag.

St. Paul's Knights of Columbus contributed the $1,200 needed for the

program.

Director of Operations, Jerry Puddister, and Coach Tony Oliver of the

Swilers Basketball Club worked with Rodney Drover, the principal at Virginia

Park, to get the program started.

Former Sea-Hawks player, David O'Keefe, joined in as a coach.

The young participants developed skills and had fun.

ask all members to join me in congratulating everyone involved in making the

Province's first Junior NBA Canada Program such a success and invite my

colleagues to think of schools in their district who might take this up as

it has been started by Virginia Park.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise today as the Minister Responsible for the Office of Climate

Change and Energy Efficiency to update my hon. colleagues on work recently

undertaken to improve our Provinces' resilience to climate change.

the 2011 Climate Change Action Plan, our government committed to ensuring

our Province is prepared for the impacts of climate change.

These impacts include more frequent and intense storm events, which

have the potential to cause increases in flooding and coastal erosion, as

well as significant damages to property and infrastructure.

Mr.

Speaker, preparing for such changes requires ensuring we have access to the

most up-to-date and authoritative information about trends in our Province's

weather patterns.

such, last year we contracted a world-class engineering firm to update our

Province's Intensity-Duration-Frequency curves.

These curves are developed from

historical data to predict future rain events.

They are critical tools for ensuring our infrastructure designs are

able to withstand increases in precipitation, including vital

transportation, municipal, marine, and mining infrastructure.

The updated curves are now available online.

Mr.

Speaker, this builds upon work we have already undertaken to ensure our

Province is well positioned to minimize the risks associated with climate

change. This work includes our

2013 climate projections study, which outlines how our Province's climate is

expected to change by mid-century; our innovative approach for completing

flood risk mapping, as we are the first jurisdiction in Canada to

incorporate climate change into these tools; our Hurricane Flood Alert

System, which notifies municipalities throughout the Province of impending

heavy precipitation events; and our ongoing work to monitor coastal erosion

at 112 site throughout the Province, including nine in Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, it is important to note that, in addition to risks, climate change

will present many opportunities in our Province.

These opportunities include the potential for a longer growing season

and longer summer tourism season, as well as opportunities to capitalize on

the demand for innovation within the green economy.

Research notes that with the right support, employment in the green

economy in this Province could grow by up to 30 per cent by 2020.

As such, our government is developing a green economy action plan,

which will ensure our Province is well positioned to maximize these

opportunities while minimizing risks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

Certainly, climate change is one of the greatest long-term challenges

facing jurisdictions around the world.

Climate change will present challenges going forward in our fishery,

with warming water temperatures impacting shellfish, but government

continues to ignore the fishery.

government's 2011 Climate Change Action Plan, to no surprise, there is no

commitment to the fishing industry there, given that the progress report

says that all these recommendations and commitments will be based on

available funding year over year over year.

With more money cut from the fisheries budget, will we see this go

forward?

Now,

the minister talked about these IDF curves for rain reports, and that

interests me. I actually went on

the government's website to look at it.

They are federal files. I

tried to access them. There was

a requirement for a username and a password which was not provided, and

there is no access to that.

Coastal erosion and flooding are huge issues, and they can devastate

communities. We saw heavy rains

that have flooded roads like in Croque and also in Hare Bay, areas of

Central. We have to make sure

that we have infrastructure in place to deal with those changes.

In November 2013, we asked in this House about the coastal erosion

report which sat on a shelf for quite a period of time, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

is great that we have a lot of usable information now over the last few

years. It is an awful lot.

What is needed is revenue not only to municipalities to directly deal

with the replacement of bridges and infrastructure, but we also have to have

a commitment from government to prevent washouts of culverts and bridges

that have been neglected over the years.

We all know; we have heard the arguments.

There is no evidence of a plan for our roads as noted by the Auditor

General. As noted by the title,

Mr. Speaker, it is a Climate Change Action Plan.

We need to see action now, not just a series of ongoing reports.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

rise in this hon. House today to provide an update on the voluntary

Operating Grant Program which was launched this past December.

Providing quality, affordability and sufficiency in regulated child care in

this Province is a priority for this government and we honour that

commitment through a number of programs under our 10-Year Child Care

Strategy entitled, Caring For Our

Future . One of these

programs is the voluntary Operating Grant Program.

Mr.

Speaker, the voluntary Operating Grant Program provides annual operating

grants to eligible regulated child care centres to help offset some of the

costs associated with providing child care.

I am pleased to tell you that since this program was launched just

five months ago, we have had encouraging uptake from licensed child care

centres from all regions of the Province.

As of today, we have received a total of forty-two applications which

represents almost 1,400 more affordable child care spaces.

Through Budget 2015, an additional $1 million has been allocated to

this program bringing this year's total investment to $10.7 million.

Centres that utilize the voluntary Operating Grant Program ensure that

parents have access to more affordable regulated child care spaces.

Parents of children at participating licensed child care centres will

see their fees reduced to current daily subsidy rates.

These rates would be set at $44 per day for infants, $33 a day for

toddlers, $30 a day for children aged three to twelve years in full-day

care, and $14 per day for afterschool programs for children up to twelve

years of age.

Mr.

Speaker, we are constantly monitoring the Operating Grant Program for

potential areas of improvement and are making an effort to engage child care

centres throughout the Province.

In March, our staff held a session in Bay Roberts and there will be other

sessions held in the coming months.

encourage all licensed child care centres to consider the voluntary

Operating Grant Program and talk to our knowledgeable staff about how they

can avail of this opportunity and work with the department to help ensure

that parents who choose regulated child care in this Province will receive

quality, sufficient, and affordable services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Thanks to the minister

for an advance copy of his statement.

I do not want to pour cold water on this, Mr. Speaker.

The minister should be embarrassed to get up and say that there

today..

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. KIRBY:

He should be embarrassed.

Forty-two applications, he said.

Sure, applications that is not the number of people who qualified

for the program. The truth of

the matter is that they did not consult with the sector.

This program is a flop.

They based it on outdated information.

It does not reflect reality, and it just goes to show how out of

touch this government is absolutely out of touch.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KIRBY:

AECENL early childhood

educators have spoken out against this.

It says no improvements of family care whatsoever, absolutely no

guarantee they are going to have quality spaces whatsoever.

The

10-Year Child Care Strategy is also off of the rails, Mr. Speaker.

They promised a review of the Inclusion Supports Program last year;

they never delivered. We have no

sign at all of the child care registry that is part of their ten-year

strategy. They are only into the

third year, and it is absolutely off the rails.

He should be embarrassed to get up here and say that today, Mr.

Speaker. You should be

embarrassed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

too, thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

However, I am not sure how this new Operating Grant Program is making

child care more affordable or accessible.

It takes gall to be able to say that.

I do not see how he can talk about parents having better access to

affordable child care when there are long wait-lists for quality child care

centres and when fees are still so high at $30 to $44 per day.

This idea is ludicrous; $8 a day in Quebec, Mr. Speaker.

The

only way we will ever have fully affordable, accessible child care with

universally high quality is through a publicly funded and administered child

care program.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, disasters may be beyond our control, but there are ways to reduce

the risk and the impact of whatever emergency we might face whether

natural or human-induced.

This

week is Emergency Preparedness Week throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Residents are encouraged to take a few simple steps to become better

prepared to face a range of emergencies anywhere, anytime.

recommend all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians follow some simple steps in

relation to emergency preparedness:

Know

the risks Although the consequences of disasters can be similar, knowing

the risks specific to your community and your region can help you better

prepare.

Make

a plan It will help you and your family know what to do.

Get

an emergency kit During an emergency, a number of basic items are

required. You may need to get by

for a few days without tap water or power.

Be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least seventy-two hours in

an emergency.

For

more information about Emergency Preparedness Week and more resources to

help you and your family prepare for all types of emergencies

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. KING:

please visit

www.GetPrepared.ca .

Mr.

Speaker, this week I am also pleased to note that The Weather Network,

federal/ provincial/territorial governments, Environment Canada, and the

broadcast industry have recently launched a new national public alerting

system called Alert Ready. Alert

Ready will notify the public of an event that could have negative impacts,

and can provide advance notice of a potential adverse event so the public

can be better prepared. A public

awareness campaign to promote the system has been airing since early April.

The

first official Alert Ready notice took place yesterday, and was the first

opportunity to test the system with the issuance of an alert by Fire and

Emergency Services-Newfoundland and Labrador to broadcasters, who then

provided the message to the public.

Further tests will occur regularly in the future to keep the system

top of mind for our residents.

encourage all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to visit

www.alertready.ca

for more information about the new national public alerting system and,

furthermore, I encourage everyone to be vigilant and listen to these alerts

at all times.

Mr.

Speaker, in conclusion, this Emergency Preparedness Week, let's commit to

take concrete actions to be better prepared.

Experience has shown that individual preparedness and staying

informed go a long way to help all of us cope better both during and after

a major disaster.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

thank the minister for an advance copy.

I am just reading his statement whether natural or human disaster,

Mr. Speaker. Also, without power

or water, be prepared to be self-sufficient.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians know all about DarkNL and about

power and being self-sufficient.

You

talk about climate change; Mr. Speaker, out in Lark Harbour there was a

meeting, an amalgamation about flooding in the area.

The minister, the Member for St. John's West, never even showed up to

the meeting. I am sure this

minister takes this a lot more serious than most.

I thank the minister for this because it is a big issue for the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and I am very confident he will take

his duties much more serious than the minister from St. John's West.

Mr.

Speaker, at this time we must thank the councils around Newfoundland and

Labrador that get prepared for the councils.

I know the government is helping councils to prepare for this, and

residents to prepare for emergencies.

We all have to be ready, Mr. Speaker.

We know there are a lot of emergencies that will happen.

There are a lot of natural disasters that we must be prepared for.

I think this is a great avenue to notify people, and I commend the

government for being helpful with this.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement here today.

We also caution the public against adverse weather conditions or

emergencies.

Mr.

Speaker, how can people be protected when government has slashed its own

budget for fire and emergency services by 75 per cent in this year's Budget?

Mr. Speaker, $2.7 million to $670,000; disaster assistance slashed

from $1.3 million to less than $100,000.

Is this enough money to protect the people of the Province in an

emergency?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MURPHY:

The feds have also cut

back drastically on disaster assistance.

Mr. Speaker, while we have to caution the public, we have to say that

based on this Budget it is clear that this government certainly is going to

have issues to be dealing with the public, too.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Newfoundland Power is concerned that there will be considerable risk of

prolonged transmission failures on the Muskrat Falls transmission line.

They went looking for detailed information from Newfoundland and

Labrador Hydro but they have been denied.

Hydro says the request is outside the scope of the current PUB

investigation on the power system.

ask the Premier: Do you support Hydro withholding this information from

Newfoundland Power?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I think it

has been well documented, and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro has been very

open and transparent in working through, particularly the issues that

occurred in January of 2014, and particularly around the Muskrat Falls

Project and all the information that has been made public.

well, we are currently going through a process with the PUB around a review,

an internal review, Mr. Speaker.

The PUB has hired Liberty.

Newfoundland Power is an intervener in that process.

All requests that have come forward are being worked through the

Public Utilities Board. I know

on this particular issue, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro has provided a

fifty-seven page document outlining the information related to reliability

of Muskrat Falls.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Having this information publicly available is really part of a transparent

evaluation that Newfoundland Power is interested in because they say that

the risk involved and they have applied to the Public Utilities Board to

release this information. This

is really not commercially sensitive information at all.

They say that given the power outages that we experienced in 2013,

2014, and 2015, they want a full understanding of what would happen

post-Muskrat Falls, and it is needed.

ask the Premier: Why won't Hydro release this information and allow for that

transparent analysis to occur?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, it is

interesting to hear the Leader of the Opposition talk about how supportive

he is of Newfoundland Power and the fact that we are going to need more

power, we are going to need to do this, when the whole debate we have had on

Muskrat Falls, they have rejected it.

They have not supported Muskrat Falls.

They have not supported the issue that we need more power.

With

respect to Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Mr. Speaker, they have been

open, they have been transparent.

They are making all the information available.

They are working with the Public Utilities Board.

There is a process, Mr. Speaker, through the regulator that if more

information is required, they will ask for it.

I can assure you if they ask for the information, Newfoundland and

Labrador Hydro will provide the information, as they have done for over 850

requests for information. They

have complied with it and they will continue to do so.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

is very unfortunate that the minister went down that route because it was

not about more power I say, Mr. Speaker.

If the minister had listened to the question, it was about a

transparent analysis. Now I know

they do not like transparent analysis.

They like to hide stuff from the people of the Province.

was not about more power, it was about reliable power.

In Manitoba Hydro's report, it said it could take up to two weeks if

those transmission lines went down.

ask the minister, just answer the question: Why won't Hydro release this

information?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, Hydro

released a fifty-seven page document on the studies that have been done

around the reliability of the transmission.

Through this process and the evaluations from the PUB and Liberty,

independent review, if there is more information required, they will

absolutely provide that information.

Mr.

Speaker, the audacity of the Leader of the Opposition to stand and talk to

us about withholding information, and about transparency and openness, when

for weeks people have been looking for the $10,000-a-plate dinner list and

nobody will provide it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

The audacity to stand

here and accuse us of withholding information that is of interest to the

public when he had not even put out the list of donors for his leadership

bid, Mr. Speaker. The list goes

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

minister seems to be very concerned about the great fundraising efforts that

we on this side of the House have been doing.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BALL:

As a matter of fact, he

seems to be a little disappointed that he did not attend that function we

had. Many of his friends were

there, I say, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BALL:

Yesterday, referring to

P3s, the Minister of Transportation and Works said: There is one contract

that we have engaged in with Partnerships BC.

He said they were getting great value for a $35,000 investment, but

last week the Premier said they were involved in a $600,000 contract with

Partnerships BC.

ask the Premier: How many contracts does government have with Partnerships

BC? Is the P3 contract worth

$35,000 or $600,000?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

is really interesting to listen to the members opposite today talk about

their own positions they take and how they have talked about them, because

it was only this week that the Member for Bay of Islands clearly stated that

the Liberal position was that they did not agree with any type of private,

not-for-profit partnership in health care, Mr. Speaker,

Then

the Leader of the Opposition, speaking on behalf of his pharmacy friends,

came out and said: I am going to qualify this now.

This is only about core health care, Mr. Speaker.

every time they move, they change their position.

They always have the position: never let the facts get in the way of

a good story. Mr. Speaker, it is

unfortunate, because over here we rely on the facts.

speak for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We are here to do a job.

We are going to work hard at doing that job.

We are going to protect the best interests of the Province, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

the Premier wants to start with the best interests of the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador, maybe he should just answer the question that was

just asked: How many contracts does government have with Partnerships BC?

The

Minister of Transportation and Works, yesterday, mentioned one of $35,000.

The Premier, speaking out of the other side of his mouth last week,

said $600,000. What is it, one

or two?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

had an initial contract through Transportation and Works with Partnerships

BC for the $35,000 that the minister outlined yesterday.

We are now in the process of finalizing a second agreement, which is

the larger agreement that will take us right to the completion of these

projects.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. KENT:

Speaking of these

projects, Mr. Speaker, it is very clear that the member opposite and his

party do not support constructing thirty-two long-term care beds.

They do not support finding smarter ways to deliver health care

services, obviously. They do not

support attrition plans that will avoid layoffs of public sector workers.

while we know what they are against, I can tell you that we do support

seniors, we do support the public service, and we will find better ways to

deliver services to taxpayers.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I am very proud of my colleagues on this side of the House in the

support for seniors, because what do is we want to make sure that we do

control the level of care, we do control the location, and we do control the

costs unlike members on the other side of the House side, who have not

laid out one shred of evidence of anything that I just mentioned.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BALL:

Bring the details to the

people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, we have learned from Budget Estimates that government has not

allocated any funds for participation in the Agreement on Internal Trade.

This agreement between provinces helps the free movement of people,

goods, services, and investment within Canada.

The Deputy Premier said the Province has withdrawn from further

negotiations within this agreement.

So,

I ask the Premier: Why would you withdraw from negotiations that are aimed

at establishing an open, efficient, and stable market?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

have addressed that question a number of times in the House here.

It relates back to our negotiations on CETA and the position that the

federal government has currently taken, which is not to honour an agreement

that was negotiated in good faith by our government.

Our

position has been very clear all across Newfoundland and Labrador and all

across Canada, any chance we have had to speak, that until we find a way

forward, it is our position that we cannot trust the federal government to

negotiate on our behalf; therefore, we have not entrusted them to negotiate

or act on our behalf, or negotiate away any rights that we own here as a

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

That

is not to say, Mr. Speaker, that we do not stand in constant communication

with those who are doing the trade on behalf of the federal government.

We will not give away our right to negotiate on our behalf.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What

I just heard was, we are not going to sit at the table, we are not going to

send representatives to these trade negotiations, but what we are going to

do is we are going to pick up a phone and figure out what went on there.

We are going to communicate in some other fashion.

That is not the way you effectively manage negotiations, I say, Mr.

Speaker.

Raising taxes and withdrawing from trade negotiations sends a message that

our Province is not open for business.

With all provincial economic indicators pointing in the wrong

direction, this further hurts our economy.

So I

ask the Premier: With so much of the provincial economy dependent on trade,

why are you sending a message that we are not open for business?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

is interesting for the leader of the party that does not support expanding

health care to support our seniors,

and those who need services in the Province the most, to paraphrase

my position on trades. So, let

me be very clear. What he just

heard is a policy of a government that stands up and fights for the interest

of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Not a government that

waffles to public opinion and changes their position from day to day

depending what the pollsters and others say in the Province, Mr. Speaker.

took a position that is in the best interest of the Province, and we stand

by that position. Until the

federal government is prepared to come back to the table in good faith, we

will never, never allow somebody else like the federal government to have

the right to negotiate away a right that belongs to Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians. That is a

principle of this government, and we stand by it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

I appreciate the

endorsement.

Mr.

Speaker, in the Auditor General's update of recommendations dating back to

2009, a number of recommendations relate to radiation equipment used in our

hospitals. He references six

recommendations from that year that have not been fully implemented by

Service NL. It is disturbing

because these recommendations relate to approvals for radiation equipment

and the need for certificates of approval to be issued when equipment goes

into service. This could impact

patient safety.

ask the minister: Can you tell me why, after five years, almost half of

those recommendations have been ignored?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, we take the Auditor General's recommendations very seriously.

We look into all aspects of what he outlines in his recommendations.

We have been working actually and doing a review of our policies; we

are doing a review of the act right now, the legislation and regulations, so

we are a longs way through that review.

We are going to be reporting back very soon to the House.

Actually, the outstanding recommendations in the Auditor General's

report are linked to that review in itself.

are moving forward on that. The

oversight is still there, Mr. Speaker, through our Occupational Health and

Safety Division. We will have

the results of that review very shortly.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

We have been moving

forward for five years wow.

Mr.

Speaker, one of the AG's recommendations calls for the re-establishment of a

radiation health and safety advisory committee.

This is mandatory under the Radiation Health and Safety Act and

Regulations.

ask the minister: Given that you are the one responsible for enforcing

safety regulations in this Province, how can you justify breaking those same

regulations for over five years?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker, we do have

an effective program in place for the inspection and monitoring of radiation

equipment in the Province. We

are going through a very comprehensive review.

We are in the process of that review.

The results of that review are going to become evident in short

order. If there are any changes

that are going to be made, they will be made at that time.

That is going on at the same time as the Auditor General has made his

remarks.

Mr.

Speaker, we are looking into this.

We are working on that.

The people of the Province are safe and our workers of the Province are

safe. We are doing our due

diligence.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

The Auditor General

provided an update on recommendations made in 2010 for road ambulance

services. Mr. Speaker, 80 per

cent of the recommendations have not been implemented by the Department of

Health. It points to needing a

new funding structure for the road ambulance program as well as a need to

review standards and policies.

ask the minister: Why do we still have a substandard ambulance program after

all these years?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, we certainly

support the recommendations that are outlined by the Auditor General and we

have made significant progress.

At the same time, there are a number of issues that are related to the

health care system that are complex.

It will take time to implement the recommendations, but I can assure

you that we continue to work on them.

There are four related to road ambulance services that we continue to work

on. We are reviewing

legislation. We are reviewing

existing standards, Mr. Speaker.

We are implementing some of the work that came out of the provincial

ambulance review.

Recommendations related to ambulances have been partially implemented.

We anticipate over the next year they will all be fully implemented,

Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, it is

funny how the Minister of Health talks about it taking time to fix things.

I have a bunch of press releases here from 2002 and 2003 from the

Opposition Health critic who now is the Minister of Finance.

dealing with the ambulance operators and not getting contracts signed.

ask the Minister of Finance: Why has it taken twelve years for you to get

nothing done? Can you please

confirm to the ambulance operators and paramedics in this Province that you

are an absolute hypocrite?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Clearly, the language used by the Member for Burgeo La Poile was

unparliamentary. I ask him to

withdraw it, and withdraw it now.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Withdrawn.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Well, Mr. Speaker, we see

what the members opposite are capable of.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

In terms of the road

ambulance review, we have made considerable progress.

Again, the recommendations related to road ambulance, all of them

have been at least partially implemented.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. KENT:

The ones that are not

fully implemented will be fully implemented over the next year.

The review of road ambulances is now complete, it is approved, and as

a result of doing so, the remaining recommendations are now fully

implemented.

should note as well, for the interest of the Opposition, there are private

partners involved in the delivery of ambulance service in communities across

this Province. Are they against

that too, Mr. Speaker?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.

MS C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

know that during times of economic hardship, rates of domestic violence go

up and women's shelters fill.

Sadly, we know this is happening in Lab West where increases in domestic

violence are definitely noticeable.

The Violence Prevention Action Plan expired in 2012, three years ago,

and we were disappointed to see there was no mention of any action plan in

the Throne Speech or the Budget to provide direction and oversight to the

spending.

ask the Premier: Why are you budgeting for something over and over again

without providing clear direction in a plan?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Clearly, the reduction of violence, domestic violence, violence in the

workplace, all forms of violence, Mr. Speaker, are important to our

government. We have made

significant efforts in that regard in partnering with the police services of

Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as numerous organizations, community

organizations and community driven organizations around the Province.

Phase II of the action plan will soon be coming, Mr. Speaker.

It will be coming in the very near future.

The violence prevention initiative has been very successful in this

Province. This year, in Budget

2015, we have announced $2.1 million in the provision of Phase II of the

plan and we look forward to it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Virginia Waters.

MS C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, the plan

the Premier refers to was due in 2012.

In the absence of a plan, government hid the sexual exploitation

report rather than being open about what they doing to combat it.

They deprived families in crisis of the Family Violence Prevention

Court for over two years before changing their mind again.

Prevention and intervention are vital to save lives, Mr. Speaker.

ask the Premier: Do you consider it fiscally, socially, or morally

responsible to spend money again and again without a plan, without direction

on clear and critical priorities to reduce violence in our Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, when you

initiate plans and you deliver on plans, it does not

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

When you deliver and

initiate plans, Mr. Speaker, it is not a, you start and you stop initiative.

You continue to grow and develop initiatives.

You continue to build on them.

You learn from the successes.

You learn what happened that worked really well, and you also have to

be willing to look at what has not worked as well as you would like it to

do. Then you develop future

plans.

have been following our Violence Prevention Initiative very closely, Mr.

Speaker. We have made great

strides in that regard. We have

invested heavily in it. We are

working towards Phase II. It

will be based on the results of Phase I, and it will be based on what we

learned from partners in the community who do great work for the people of

the Province in providing services and supports for those who live in

violence.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

August 11, 2011, the eve of the last election, government announced a $17

million loan for Canada Fluorspar.

The money was intended to spark economic activity on the Burin

Peninsula. It was to create

hundreds of new jobs, expand local business opportunities, and have a net

economic impact of $380 million.

It is almost four years later, and none of these things have happened.

ask the minister: What is the status of this proposal?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

I thank the member for

the question, Mr. Speaker.

is indeed a pleasure for me to be able to stand up and have acknowledged

that our government delivered, with my support, a loan of that magnitude to

support a growing business in my District of Grand Bank.

So I thank the member for raising that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

A very good question.

The company continues to work.

The workforce in the community has been building over the last couple

of years. The latest update that

I have, because it is the company that is doing the work we are just

supporting them financially when the time comes they have drawn down some

of the funds, I am told. They

are hoping to move forward with the next phase of the project beyond the

environmental assessment phase within the next couple of months.

Mr.

Speaker, I will gladly speak to the company on the member's behalf if he

would like, because it is a private business that is carrying out the work

there.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, we know that as of 2013 the company had only accessed $637,000 of

the $17 million. We do not know

what has happened since.

Given that over $13 million of this money has been removed from this year's

Budget, I ask the minister: Is the proposal off the table, and how much

taxpayers' money has been lost?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

can say to the member opposite, nothing could be further from the truth that

the money is off the table. I

clearly understand the insinuation though, that if the Liberals were to ever

form the government the money would be off the table.

I will make sure that I communicate that to my constituents.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. KING:

I can say to the member,

that clearly the proposal is not off the table.

The company has great confidence in the world markets.

They have actually discovered more ore over the last couple of

months. A new deposit that

shines a great light on the future for that operation in St. Lawrence, Mr.

Speaker, but it is taking time to get the operation to market.

The

money in the forecast is still there for the commitment we made, as a

government, to that company and it will remain there.

They will draw down from the funds as they see fit.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, the minister stated he was tabling requests, and I quote:

documents on the Fortune plant.

I was expecting an armload of information but all I got was a mere two

sentences.

Now,

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Will he commit to finishing the job and

provide all the information, including audits, on the Fortune plant or is he

waiting for Bill 1 to pass before it becomes clear?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, it is a

pleasure for me to stand to answer the hon. member's question because I have

answered the questions in letters to the hon. member.

I have also answered and tabled the answer to the question that he

asked.

will quote right from Hansard, Have there been 110 people working

full-time since the plant opened, and will he tell us how many are currently

working there?

I answered that question

clearly yesterday, and I answered clearly in what I tabled in the House.

I went on to describe and I answered it verbally in this House,

saying there are two ships currently at sea and that the company plans on

opening up the plant in late May or early June for this particular year and

into the fall.

also went on to say if not, I will say it here today that the company

has already made arrangements with workers at Fortune.

If they want to get work in St. Lawrence

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. GRANTER:

I can answer further

questions.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Mr. Speaker, I can

guarantee the minister, he most certainly did not answer the questions to my

letter of January 11 to him.

Mr.

Speaker, I spoke with the plant union reps today and their information does

not exactly jive with what your two sentence document said.

There have not been 110 full-time jobs as per the requirement of the

2012 agreement.

ask the minister: Will you show the workers at Fortune the respect they

deserve and meet with them on their own turf?

Will you also commit to a full independent assessment of this

agreement to ensure all commitments are kept?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, I want to be

clear, this government was behind the people of Fortune when they were in

trouble.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, this

government will be behind the people of Fortune in the weeks and the months

and the years ahead.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, there is

information that is proprietary in any company that does business in the

Province. I am not sure if the

member opposite or if the government opposite want us to disclose

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

or the Opposition

opposite

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. GRANTER:

want to disclose

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. GRANTER:

if they want to

disclose. I am not sure what

they would do, Mr. Speaker.

Would they disclose proprietary information to the people of Newfoundland

and Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

have learned that the Board of Regents at Memorial University are being told

and graduate students. Many

international students want to stay and contribute to our Province and fee

increases will drive them away.

ask the Premier: Why are you imposing these fees on international students

going against government's immigration strategy?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, as we went

through an exercise through the Budget process, Memorial being a part of

boards and agencies, were asked to find their part of it.

The member knows that we do not hold the autonomy.

The Board of Regents and Memorial have the autonomy to make their own

decisions. If they choose to

move down this route, they do so within that structure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

have been informed that the presentation being made to the Board of Regents

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS MICHAEL:

this afternoon, Mr.

Speaker, indicates certain cuts that are being directed by government.

I am

asking the Premier: Will he confirm that they are being informed today of

government's demand for them to make $4.8 million increases in fees on the

backs of students, the international and graduate students?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, we cannot

impose on Memorial. As I have

said, they have autonomy. One

thing we have committed to again in this Budget is to maintain a tuition

freeze for our Canadian undergraduate students.

That has been in place since 2005.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I met with

some students from the students' union just before we came over here.

They recognize what this government has done.

Again, I will say the autonomy rests with Memorial University.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

I am asking the minister

and the Premier: Have they seen the presentation which has been made to some

groups in this Province and which is being made to the Board of Regents

today?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, what I

believe I am hearing is that she is asking that we interfere in the

operations of Memorial. As I

have said, Memorial is autonomous.

They make their own decisions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

2012, an independent review of psychiatric services at HMP recommended

government immediately implement the recovery model, the accepted mental

health best practice, noting it is compatible with safety for inmates and

the community, yet this is not possible in the current facility.

Since a new prison is years down the road, I ask the Minister of Justice:

What is he going to do to implement his expert's recommendations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate the question. Our

government will continue to do in the future what we have done for the last

seven or eight years. We have

made significant investments into HMP.

Most

recently in the aftermath of the particular report the hon. member mentions,

I had meetings with correctional workers down there and the leadership team.

We have invested in a security system.

We have invested in infrastructure upgrades to support not only the

correctional officers but as well as the inmates, and we will continue to do

that, Mr. Speaker.

There have been millions of dollars put into Her Majesty's Penitentiary

because we recognize there are health and safety concerns but we have also

invested on the programming side of things in partnership with the John

Howard Society, and we will continue to do that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, the

minister's mental health experts say therapeutic best practices for mental

health are based on the recovery model; yet, his own planners and officials

said the recovery model could not be done in the existing Waterford

building, people are suffering.

ask the minister: What is he going to do to ensure the recovery model can be

used if the new Waterford building is years and years away?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KING:

Mr. Speaker, we will

continue to do as we have always done.

We will provide resources to support the staff we have at Her

Majesty's Penitentiary, and I have great confidence in the kinds of

programming they are able to deliver for inmates in partnership with John

Howard Society and others.

provide, as I said a few moments ago, significant investments in HMP to

support not only infrastructure but programming, and we will continue to do

that. We have great personnel

there who are working within the conditions they have, making the best

programming decisions they can, and we provide monetary support and human

resource support to the extent that we can and we will continue to do that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of

Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS oral health is intrinsically linked to overall health and health

care is universally covered in our Province; and

WHEREAS many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have been forced to wait for a

year or longer for much needed oral surgeries; and

WHEREAS residents with emergency cases and others who need oral surgery must

seek medical attention in other provinces; and

WHEREAS the cost of access to oral surgery outside the Province is

prohibitively expensive for many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians; and

WHEREAS the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador covers only 50 per cent

of travel costs and requires a $400 deductible; and

WHEREAS this financial burden and the lack of adequate oral surgery services

in Newfoundland and Labrador is creating a two-tier system with health care

system;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to ensure that a more adequate level of

access to specialist primary care based oral surgery and oral surgical

procedures is provided in Newfoundland and Labrador.

further urge government to review the level of financial assistance

currently provided through the Medical Transportation Assistance Program to

residents who must leave the Province for oral surgeries.

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, thank God most of us do not have to access the health care system

frequently. My recent experience

with the health care system, due to illness in my family, has really shaken

my confidence. I know people are

working very hard in our health care system, but there are a lot of holes in

the health care system. I cannot

figure out how it is we are spending the sort of money we are spending and

getting some of the things that I personally have witnessed in the last

couple of weeks. I cannot figure

it out.

are supposed to have a universal system.

We have the Canada Health Act.

We are supposed to have a universal system but we have these people

in this petition with oral surgeries, there are just no surgeons around to

do it, so they have to go out of the Province.

had a constituent contact me the other day.

She said we are selling tickets, $1 each, on $100 or some prize

because her husband has to go out of the Province for surgery, and on and on

it goes. I do not know where

this ends but at some point this government, or the government over here, as

the Member for Humber West pointed out, is going to have to get this fixed.

We cannot continue to spend that sort of money and to have the sorts

of holes and problems and issues that we have.

was down in the hospital the other day I mean, there are people out in the

hallways in emergency.

Unbelievable; it is like something from a third-world country, sometimes,

when you look around. I think we

have absolutely got to get a handle on this.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the Heart's Content Barrens is a very busy connecting road between

Trinity Bay and Conception Bay; and

WHEREAS following the paving and roadwork completed in 2013, the shoulders

of the road has become very narrow; and

WHEREAS the narrow shoulders of the road have created a very unsafe

condition for the travelling public;

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

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

eliminate this unsafe condition by widening the shoulders of the Heart's

Content Barrens.

Mr.

Speaker, I am pleased to stand in my place this afternoon and enter this

petition on behalf of the residents of Trinity Bay de Verde.

Route 74, or what those of us from the district call the barrens, is

one of the busiest roads in the district.

It is an important link between Trinity and Conception Bay.

Two ambulance services alone, Mr. Speaker, travel this road over 500

times a year to transport patients to the Carbonear Hospital.

Following the roadwork last summer, the shoulders of the road became very

narrow. The minister and his

department are aware of the situation, Mr. Speaker, and I would thank them

for being very responsive to the issue.

There is more work scheduled to happen on the Heart's Content Barrens this

summer, and the petitioners are asking the department to ensure that upon

completion of this work in 2015, that safety is first and foremost in minds

when dealing with these shoulders.

would be remiss also to not mention, Mr. Speaker, that this

section of road,

Route 74, does not have cellphone coverage, which is also a grave concern to

the residents of Trinity Bay de Verde.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of

Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Route 2 on the Conception Bay South Bypass Road is the second

busiest highway in the Province; and

WHEREAS we must ensure the safety of the residents who use the access road,

especially when driving at night; and

WHEREAS brush clearing can reduce the risk to drivers from the local moose

population;

We,

the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to urge the government to

allocate funding to include brush clearing for the Manuels Access Road.

Mr.

Speaker, this is several times I have brought this petition forward.

The area we are talking about is the area from Weir's Pit basically

to Fowler's Road. We know that

we have a significant moose population there.

The Department of Transportation and Works has erected moose signs

there to let the people know that there are moose in the area.

Mr.

Speaker, people already know that there are moose in the area.

Moose collisions are common in that area.

We often hear of a moose-car collision near Weir's Pit.

This is the area we are talking about.

Not only do we have the collisions there, but the near misses are the

concerns.

This

is the second busiest highway in the Province.

We have about 25,000 cars a day.

On peak days, we are up over 30,000 cars.

These vehicles are coming from Holyrood, which is in the District of

Harbour Main. They are coming

from the District of Conception Bay South.

They are coming from the District of Topsail.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, this particular petition comes from a group of

people in the Topsail district who really have not gotten any satisfaction

in the past in contacting their MHA.

When

I was a council member in Conception Bay South, I received emails from this

group of people asking me to speak with the Minister of Transportation, who

happened to be their MHA at the time; nothing happened, Mr. Speaker.

The town has written government, the Member for Labrador West when he

was the Minister of Transportation; nothing has happened. The town has

written the current Minister of Transportation; again, nothing happened.

His answer is when we get a new tender, perhaps you will be included.

Mr.

Speaker, the last tender was for nine areas in the Province; all nine were

in government districts. Liberal

districts, the Opposition districts, we have moose problems.

We have woods where moose come out of.

We also have highways where people drive

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. HILLIER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS in 2012 the provincial government lifted the 8 per cent provincial

portion of the HST on residential heat and light by introducing the

Residential Energy Rebate; and

WHEREAS heat is a necessity of life and a health concern, particularly for

seniors; and

WHEREAS the provincial government has projected oil prices to increase in

the next five years;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to stop taxing home energy and reverse

its decision to abolish the Residential Energy Rebate.

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this will be the first of many petitions that I will be presenting

in the House of Assembly on this issue.

On March 28 of 2001 this House was also entertained with a petition

signed by approximately 55,000 residents of Newfoundland and Labrador at a

time when oil prices were low, when home energy was rising, too, at the same

time, asking for government, urging government at that time, to lift the tax

off heat and light in their homes, particularly light as it pertains to

being used as a heat source. It

was a big issue with people. A

lot of people signed it.

know, and government knows too, that in their consultation when they brought

it in the minister at the time said he had a conversation with an older

lady on Riverside Drive, which I believe was in his constituency over in the

Corner Brook area. At that

particular time she asked government why they were taxing energy and making

it hard on her.

the time, the minister of the day thought it was a good idea in that

particular Budget to lift the tax off heat so it would not be so hard on

seniors. Yet, Mr. Speaker, we

have government in this Budget now putting the tax back on a necessity.

I keep wondering if it is still a

necessity for that older lady who is on Riverside Drive.

Did government consult with her and get the answer from her that it

was okay to raise the energy cost in her home?

Mr.

Speaker, this is also money disposable income, if you will that

consumers could be spending elsewhere.

Spending it on more important things like food, because we know one

of the most important issues out there centered around, and still center

around, the whole question of being able to afford food or fuel.

Mr.

Speaker, this will be the first of many.

It is out there in the general public now.

I thank these constituents for signing this petition at this

particular time.

bring notice to government: consider reversing your decision to abolish the

Residential Energy Rebate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the Strait of Belle Isle is a very important

transportation link between Labrador and the Island of Newfoundland; and

WHEREAS both commercial and residential traffic is

continuously increasing because of the opening of the Trans-Labrador Highway

and increased development in Labrador; and

WHEREAS the existing ferry service can no longer

effectively handle the traffic; and

WHEREAS there have been many interruptions in the ferry

service, especially during the 2014-2015 winter season;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to complete a comprehensive feasibility study for

a fixed link across the Strait of Belle Isle that would include a geological

assessment and a full cost analysis.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, if there is anybody in the entire Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador not aware of the ferry woes that continue to plague the residents

of Labrador and other users around the Province, that Strait of Belle Isle

ferry service, they must be hiding under a rock not to be aware.

Until you are able to have an efficient flow of goods and services from

point A to point B freight, passengers, vehicles Mr. Speaker, the region

cannot help themselves. The

region cannot help themselves to become sustainable.

have seen this government bungle ferry contracts so bad.

After three delays, the RFP closed in June 2014, Mr. Speaker, and we

are still no closer to a ferry than we were when they put it out.

It is very disheartening.

I had a mayor say to me yesterday it is an insult to the people and it is a

joke that they are going to go back and do more PR exercises.

It is a stall tactic. It

is nothing but lip service.

Mr.

Speaker, the region has been calling.

With a little bit of long-term planning and vision, we should be

looking at the viability of a fixed link.

We have recently been hearing in the media some movement again now

with Route 138 coming down through.

That is going to make a tremendous difference for the people.

It is going to give the people of Labrador a way out that the

government has refused to do.

look at the cost of the ferries; $30 million again in this year's Budget,

Mr. Speaker. We would not have

to look very far into the future before we could see the benefits of a fixed

link. I am happy to know that

our government is on the record that we would support something like this.

is what the people want. It is

what the people need. It is what

we need to advance tourism in the region, Mr. Speaker.

I will continue to petition for this study.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Deputy

Government House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I move to the Orders of the Day, Motion 1, that this House approves

in general the budgetary policy of the government.

MR. SPEAKER:

We are going into Motion

1, the Budget Speech.

The

hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile speaking to the amendment.

MR. A. PARSONS:

It is not to the

amendment. I will take the time

though, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile, yes, my recollection is that you have approximately ten

minutes speaking to the amendment.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I am

going to continue on speaking to the non-confidence motion that was brought

in by the Member for Virginia Waters.

I will continue on with some of the comments that I had to make

previously and I will continue on after.

One

of the things I wanted to discuss I mentioned previously that I was going

to talk about health care, I was going to talk about justice, and I am going

to talk about my own district.

So I want to go to the Health budget and that particular aspect of this.

We all know that Health makes up a very large portion of our Budget.

There is no disagreement amongst any member here about the importance

of health but it is amazing how over the course of time things that have

been promised, things that have been asked for, do not always seem to

happen.

Last

year, there was an announcement in Budget 2014 about ambulance service, and

that is a topic I brought up here in the House today.

I brought up ambulance. I

do not know about members on the other side, but I get a number of calls and

emails from ambulance operators, from paramedics, and from people who have a

concern with the ambulance program.

The

Minister of Health wanted to provide a refresher on private operators.

I know full well there are private operators.

Do you know why? Because

they have been without a contract for three years, because members on the

other side do not feel they are important enough to have one with.

Again, I think it is quite hypocritical that we have press releases from

when government was on this side.

You can look at them here; I have them right here.

AN HON. MEMBER:

Who said it?

MR. A. PARSONS:

It was the Minister

of Finance, who was the Opposition Health critic at the time.

It is not from Hansard, it is press releases.

are talking about here: government's negligence in dealing with private

ambulance operators. The

minister shows inflexibility.

This one is funny here: they are amazed that the government waited to hold

its first contract talks until five days before the existing contract became

due. Right now, the private

operators have been without a contract for three years.

is amazing that you are going to stand here and say something, and then get

in on the other side the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Health

and do nothing to help the private ambulance operators of this Province.

We know there was a bunch of money that was budgeted last year for a

centralized dispatch and to fix things.

Do you know what? I do

not believe and the Minister of Health can correct me if I am wrong, I

will certainly sit down. He is

going to get an opportunity.

Tell me how much money is in this year's Budget for ambulance operators, for

the private operators all over this Province.

Tell me, because right now, I did not see anything.

Last

year, oh, we are going to do this, we are going to do that.

They have been waiting years for a contract, and they actually agreed

in good faith to hold off negotiations to allow for government's ambulance

report to be done because that was going to determine how government was

going to proceed. They got the

report. That was two years ago,

and still these paramedics, the ones we rely on to get us to safety, they

are sitting there and they have nothing.

They have nothing, and working without a contract.

Again, I say to the government, you talk about I think the term used here

is balance and choices. Well,

forgive me if me and every single paramedic and ambulance operator and

citizen in this Province says no thank you; you lost any trust that you had.

You lost absolutely every bit.

You had the opportunity, you had it at first, and you have lost that.

We continue to see that on an everyday basis, I say, Mr. Speaker.

Now

again, I am going to move on because there are so many different aspects to

health care in this Province.

The ambulance program is just one failure of this Budget.

I am going to move on to primary health care, something very

important. We know it is

important because the Premier back when he was running for his leadership

said: I am going to have a health summit.

I am going to have this big health summit.

We are going to go around the Province.

We are going to have big meetings.

We are going to bring in people.

He did it and again, kudos to consultation.

Sometimes I know that consultation is a code word for this government for

delay. When it comes to the

Labrador ferries, they are going to consult now.

They have already been told what they want, but they are not doing

anything about it and they just continue to be slippery about what they are

going to do for the people of Labrador.

I will leave the members that we have for Labrador, who represent

them on a daily basis, to talk more about that.

Going back to primary health care, there was a consultation.

There was a Premier's summit, a big fancy event.

I attended a number of the meetings.

I sat with people. People

took the time to come out. It is

funny because one of the things that came out, one of the key messages, was

primary health care. Now, the

irony is that it was this government that cut the primary health office in

2006. You cut it and now you

have completely I do not know if you would call that a 180 or you do a

360, I guess. You went the

opposite, you cut it, and now you have gone back to that.

me, sometimes it seems like when you have been there long enough that you

are completely reversing your own decisions, you have to question the

direction that you are going in.

Anyway, I am going to move on and there is a $2 million investment in

primary health care this year.

It is much needed. We knew it

was much needed; we said so.

This was the government that cut it and now they are bringing it back, and

we will see how that goes.

Again, primary health care is obviously crucial.

want to move on to infrastructure.

I mentioned this a little bit in my previous conversation.

There is a lot of infrastructure that has been announced by this

government over the past. Again,

I use a phrase from the Member for Bay of Islands, who has been probably the

loudest advocate for the Corner Brook hospital it the Corner Brook

hospital but we, on the West Coast, know that it is going to service

everybody. The equivalent of

what they have done this year, eight years after it was promised, was

equivalent to oh, we have enough money for another box of nails.

The

former Premier I do not know if it is the former Premier or the former,

former or the one in between because they have had three-and-a-half in the

last year, but the former Premier was the one who stood in this House and

said: I am not quitting until the steel is up.

I say to the Member for Bay of Islands, is the steel up?

MR. JOYCE:

No.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Okay, the steel is

not up, so that is another broken promise.

Now look, we heard it in election 2007, we are going to build a

hospital; election 2011, we are going to build a hospital.

The Member for Humber West, by-election 2011, heard that promise.

I am pretty sure that in election 2015, you can probably save your

ads and save a bit of money because it is the same promise.

It is the same promise.

There has been nothing done.

You

spent $40 million, according to the Minister of Health, on this facility for

the West Coast. The only thing I

can be led to believe is one of two things: (

a) you do not know what you are

doing because you promised it and we are no farther ahead we have the

biggest dog park in the Province over there on the West Coast or a driving

range, depending on what you like or (b), you do not care about the people

of the West Coast. You promised

it to them; we need it.

Every day I am getting calls from people in my district who cannot get a bed

in Port aux Basques. They cannot

get a bed in Stephenville. They

cannot get a bed in Corner Brook.

Yet we have seen nothing through all your promises over the last

eight years. I say to you: Good

luck with that promise when you go back to the polls because I am telling

you what, people will not fall for it again.

They

fell for it before, they gave you their trust, and you broke that trust.

You broke that promise to the people of the West Coast the entire

West Coast. You broke that

promise. It is not acceptable,

but maybe you do not know what you are doing.

Maybe we can forgive you if that is the case.

I do not know if that is incompetence or whatever it is.

That

is just one piece of infrastructure.

There is another one called the Waterford.

It is Her Majesty's Penitentiary's older sister.

It was built in 1854 and there was a promise that we are going to fix

this; we are going to build it.

Do you know what? We have heard

now through this Budget that is on hold.

That is being paused until the fiscal situation improves.

From

what I can gather, the fiscal situation is not going to improve until the

next decade. It would be nice if

we had confirmation. If the

Waterford Hospital is on hold until the next decade, we would like to know

that. A straight answer would be

appreciated for all the people in this Province who rely on that service.

It is funny how actions speak louder than words.

The words are mental health is a priority; the actions are you are

not getting the facility that we promised to you because of the financial

mess that we have created here.

that note and I see that my time is running out I would like to move,

Mr. Speaker, a subamendment, seconded by the Member for Bay of Islands, that

the amendment that was previously presented, the non-confidence motion, be

amended by changing the period at the end thereof to a comma, and by adding

immediately thereafter the following words: and that this House also

condemns the government for its failure to present a Budget that reflects

the possibilities which exist in terms of addressing the needs of the people

of this Province.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

House will take a brief recess to consider the amendment.

This

House in now in recess.

Recess

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

We have considered the amendment to be in order.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is good to be two for two.

I will continue on, and I have another twenty minutes to speak to

Budget 2015, so I am going to switch gears from Health and I just want to

ensure I speak about a couple of other things as I continue on.

One of those, obviously, is my other critic role, which is Justice

as it is now called, Justice and Public Safety.

It used to be called Public Safety, and Justice.

It has been switched around.

A bit of flip-flop going on with the Justice department, depending on

who you listen to.

What I can say about Justice this year, from my initial

glance of the Budget, is that Justice does not appear to be particularly

hard hit. I will get a better

opportunity through Estimates I am talking about in terms of manpower.

I am not talking about infrastructure, because infrastructure is a

different story. Again, in

Justice, the Budget looks to be relatively the same.

That is probably a good thing, because Justice was so

hard hit in Budget 2013 when this government moved ahead and cut the guts

out of it. They had a big uproar

and then two days later they brought in the special committee and they

switched everything that they did.

There was a bit of a flip-flop on Justice there too.

It is a word that they like to use sometimes, but it is funny,

sometimes you have to look in the mirror, Mr. Speaker.

When it comes to the individuals involved in the

system, I think there has been maintenance of the number of people, whether

that is Crowns, whether that is Legal Aid in fact, there was a top-up of

the Legal Aid rates for private lawyers.

So not Legal Aid lawyers, but the individuals that get private

lawyers, there was a raise in those fees.

They have been the same since the 1970s.

That can be a bit of a contentious issue, but certainly I think when

you have the same fees that you had thirty years ago that is a necessary

thing.

I have not heard yet from people whether there are any

cuts in that system. Now, the

Premier's comments in the House lead us to believe that there are more cuts

coming. Sometimes they use the

word attrition, but we know that, especially in health care too and that

is the part that I will come back to at some point, the jobs that are being

lost in health care, because there are jobs being lost when you have this

consolidation.

One of the big things for Justice is that there has

been a number of big announcements, big-ticket items, and I am going to get

an opportunity again in Estimates for Justice, when I get to sit down and

look across at the entire department and all the heads and ask questions.

It is like Christmas when you think about it; I love to sit down and

look across and ask the questions and actually get answers, which is not

always the case, not what you always get in Question Period.

In fact, these days, it seems like we get more questions than we get

answers, which we are fine with that as well.

If you look at last year in Budget 2014 there was a

courthouse in Stephenville announced.

I think there was an RFP on that, but I have not seen a whole lot

moving forward with that. I

think it must be and if I am wrong, the minister and his staff will

correct me and say no, no we are moving ahead, but I think that one is

probably being paused as well.

You need the courthouse in Stephenville.

It is necessary. The

current courthouse is not a very good facility.

Stephenville handles more because it was this government that shut

down circuit courts all across the Province.

For savings of $600 and $700, they shut down courthouses, shut down

circuits. Access to justice

becomes an issue.

Now, we will move to another courthouse.

This is one that was actually announced just in the fall and it was

the former minister, Judy Manning, and the Premier went down to Courtroom

No. 7 and made the big announcement.

It is nice to see an announcement.

The problem was that we got no information on it.

We have no idea when, we got no idea where, we got no idea how we

did get the why. We know why it

is needed, but they make these announcements and there is nothing behind it.

It is sort of, I guess, emblematic of this government: a lot of talk

but nothing behind it. That is

what it seems to be, Mr. Speaker.

That is again another big-ticket item announced; we will see what

happens.

I am hoping it is not like the Corner Brook hospital

where you announced it and you spend a bunch of money getting a plan but you

take so long that you have to go back and spend more millions to get a new

plan, and it is a waste of money.

In this case I am wondering if there is going to be that waste of

money there, because we are obviously not in the position to be wasting

money.

Another one this was another big-ticket item, and

that is Her Majesty's Penitentiary.

Look, we know that it is needed.

Like I said I think the pen was actually built in 1859, and there is

no need to reiterate how decrepit that facility is and how it is really hard

to work there. Again, my primary

fear is not just for the inmates, I fear about the staff in there because

they do very tough work.

It is only when you see a video like we had last year

with that riot. We saw that riot

last year and you actually get to watch it.

It is one of those videos where you have to turn off the news if you

are sat home watching with your kids I turned it off because I do not want

my kids to see what went on there.

It was horrific. It was

brutal, but it is reality.

So we know we need a new facility.

We know there was an announcement made, but it is the same thing.

It is an announcement with no substance behind it.

Again, it is very symptomatic of the current government.

We did see one announcement related to the workers at

the penitentiary. I always make

the joke that by the time it gets done, it is going to be His Majesty's

Penitentiary as opposed to Her Majesty's; that is when we will see it.

We did an announcement of $100,000 for uniforms for the inmates.

I cannot stand here and criticize that because I have asked for it.

In fact, I asked Judy Manning about it when I had a briefing with her

back when she was the minister.

I said: Is this something you are looking at?

Now, I did not get much detail from her then, but we know that it is

in the Budget. I will get an

opportunity to ask the current minister and his staff about the clothing.

People may say: Why are you doing that?

The reason is two-fold.

Number one, we know there is a drug problem at the penitentiary and a lot of

the drugs get into the pen through clothes.

People are getting it sown into their clothes and brought in.

We know that. The guards

see it every day. You have to

search them. You have to go

through it. It is amazing the

ingenuity that is there.

The second

part is there is a lot of bad behaviour that

goes on in the penitentiary that is related to clothes.

So if we can eliminate that, there is going to be a savings to

people's safety and it is going to be a savings when it comes to money that

we have to spend to replace clothes or things along those lines.

If we can cut down on the drug trade that is going into that

penitentiary, then it is going to make things that much better.

I think it is a smart investment.

I was surprised to see it this year.

I was surprised to see it, but, look, it is the right move and it is

what the guards want. It is the

correctional officers they will tell you; they get the least glory of

anybody within the system. You

have the police that go out and they are the ones that catch the bad guy and

they go through the system, but it is these guards, 24-7, that have to stand

there and watch these individuals and live among them.

So I say to the correctional officers that are out

there: Thank you for the job that you are doing.

I know sometimes you do not always get the support you need, but we

are happy to ask the questions and get things done, as we have done in the

past. Certainly, I am happy to

do it. I have been in that

penitentiary. I know what it is

like. So I want to have that

opportunity to thank

them for what they do.

Like

I say, Mr. Speaker, it is hard and I will get an opportunity again to

speak to this Budget when you have not done your Estimates, because

Estimates is when you can really get into the nitty-gritty of this Budget

that this government brought down.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. A. PARSONS:

I have not had that

opportunity, but I will get the chance to ask about: what are their plans,

what are their policies. There

are a lot of questions I am going to ask in Estimates.

There was no money actually allotted for inquiries this year.

There is $1,000. They

allot $1,000 for inquiries every year.

It has not been spent in the last little while.

This year they did not allot any money for an inquiry, but it is my

belief that there is going to be money needed for an inquiry this year.

I am willing to go on the record and say it is going to be needed.

We will see what happens there.

There are a lot of things I can ask about.

I can ask about Crown prosecutors.

They do a great job. In

fact, they are so good that they were just asked to do some more work to

oversee an RNC investigation in Corner Brook.

That is something else I can ask about too, ask about what is going

on with that. I look forward to

the opportunity to ask questions about the Crown prosecutor review.

Overall, this government has invested money in justice.

You can look at it and see it.

The problem is sometimes it is almost like they take away from the

money that they have spent by making these ham-handed decisions to cut the

guts out of it, and then they have to come back and fix what they did.

It comes back to this overall message I think the people are really

seeing it is about management.

It is the management that is going on.

Right now, we do not have good management over there.

That is why we think we should be there, because we will provide good

management.

I am

going to move forward. I want to

talk about my district for a second, Burgeo La Poile, which is my home

area. I live in Port aux

Basques. I go to a number of

communities. I am going to

Burgeo tomorrow. One thing I

want to talk about is the Burgeo road.

I heard the Minister of Transportation and Works say today: Yes, we

are keeping that amount of money for roads in the Province.

Now,

a couple of things about the Burgeo road, Route 480, it is about 148

kilometres in length. There is

no cell service on it. The funny

thing is they talk about the money they have spent, but I would like to see,

and I hope we will get this information of where that money is spent.

Because the Burgeo road just got voted and this is one of those

sort of infamous things, you do not want to famous, you want to infamous.

Well, infamously, Burgeo road is now ranked the fourth worse road in

Atlantic Canada. It is so bad

that a culvert in the road, just prior to Christmas, collapsed it

collapsed. It would be funny if

it was not for the fact that a man almost died.

An employee of Transportation and Works drove out there on his way to

work at 5:00 o'clock in the morning and the road collapsed.

He went across, thankfully.

He never went down. He

would likely be dead. I have had

opportunity to speak to this gentleman.

I am

going to talk a little bit more about this because it affects another area.

He went across, the vehicle totalled.

He thought the vehicle was on fire.

With a broken back, he managed to crawl out of the vehicle to the

side of the road. Now, it is

5:00 o'clock in the morning, it is pitch-black.

There are fish trucks coming back and forth and he was scared for his

life. He crawled to the side of

the road.

could hear the radio in the truck, he could hear that.

He could not get to it again because he was lying there unable to

move. He cannot call anybody

because there is no cellphone service.

We have not seen any movement on that.

He has a cellphone, but he cannot talk, he cannot use it.

Thankfully, later on somebody came upon him.

He was airlifted and he is on his way to recovery.

will not talk about the absolute travesty that is the agency, Workplace

Health, Safety and Compensation Commission, because what they have done to

this gentleman is absolutely disgraceful and shameful.

All I can say is what they have done to this person, this employee of

this government who was gravely injured doing his job what they have done

to him, they should be ashamed of themselves.

had to fight to get a walker. I

was not planning on talking about this today, but he wants to talk about it

because he is home relearning how to walk.

This government, through the workplace that is my topic area, but

he is trying to get back upright and he has to fight workers' comp every

step of the way. It is shameful

and it is shocking. If I worked

over there I would likely be embarrassed because, God forbid and I

appreciate the programs they do.

They talked about the safety programs to teach kids.

We need them, because God forbid if you end up on workers' comp.

I tell you what, God forbid.

Anyways, going back to the Burgeo road that he almost died on, I have asked

the minister, and the mayor has asked the minister, to come down and look at

the roads. This is the second

time we have had a road collapse in the last two years.

We are lucky no one has died.

have asked the minister now I appreciate the fact that the minister is

busy. I get that, I know that.

I will give his department credit for the work they did when the road

collapsed prior to Christmas and getting people back and forth.

They did their best. The

problem is if you are from Burgeo, or if you go to Burgeo, you do not know

when the next one is going to happen.

It is scary that the department has not come down yet to inspect the

other culverts in the road to see if they are possibly going to collapse.

look forward to that road being fixed.

It is not right now, there is still nothing done.

I hope to see it done this summer season.

We will see what happens.

Let alone the fact that the road is in a deplorable condition because this

government refuses to do anything for that road because, I do not know,

maybe they are the wrong colour down there.

Maybe they vote the wrong way.

I do not know how they grade the roads.

I do not know.

Some

members on the other side want to talk about it.

Well, I invite you to come down and drive the road.

Come on down. I will take

you for a tour and we will go past the culverts that are collapsing.

If you want to keep talking about it, get up and talk about it.

Now,

they are talking about the roads.

Some of them do not have to worry because their roads are fine,

because they get an investment in their roads.

They get that investment.

would like to see some investment in that road this year.

I would like to know the road is safe for the people who travel to

and from Burgeo, and Ramea, and Grey River, and Franois.

They would like to know the road is safe and that it is not going to

collapse under them and get injured.

It is real, it has happened, and if you do not do something about it,

it is going to happen again. So

please do not stand there and tell me I am not talking about something that

is important and criticize me for criticizing the state of the road.

It is horrible.

could talk about the tourism industry.

Again, I love the ads the department puts out.

They are great ads. We

all love them, but the problem is that tourists like to travel places but it

is hard to travel there when the road is not fit to go on.

When you see contests out there all across Atlantic Canada talking

about the worst roads, so you are making a decision, well, where am I going

to travel? Let's go to Burgeo.

No, I am not going to bring my camper down there to beautiful

Sandbanks Park because I am going to tear the guts out of it driving it down

there. They are not going.

This

is one of the few growth areas that rural Newfoundland and Labrador has, we

know it is a growth area, but this government does nothing to help promote

it. They are stifling it, and it

is unfortunate because they have so much there.

You have the Island of Ramea, it is gorgeous, but to get there you

have to take that road. I guess

they are in the wrong spot. It

is funny actually, and I have a letter sent off.

I am

going to talk about Route 470. I

do not want to leave out my constituents who live in Margaree, Fox Roost,

Isle aux Mort, Burnt Island, Rose Blanche, Harbour Le Cou, Diamond Cove, and

La Poile who have to travel Route 470.

Now their road is a bit better because it has not collapsed, but it

still has not seen any significant work in some time.

Last year, actually, they got a bit of work, and it was only because

they threatened to pull the school buses off because it was not fit to go

on. If I am wrong, we could see

a classification it is like capital works, which I will probably get into

after. Last year, for instance,

the Town of Port aux Basques got a goose egg.

They got shut out and got nothing for capital works.

The first time in years, they told me, first time in years.

So I

say, look, I thought that there was a grading done and we follow that

grading to see who should get what and when they should get it.

I would like to see that.

I think the community would like to see that, but last year Port aux Basques

got nothing, not a thing.

continue past Port aux Basques, which is the main point of rubber tire

traffic entering into this Province through Marine Atlantic again, another

area where this government fails to speak.

Oh, Marine Atlantic is federal; well let's leave that to them.

Let's leave that to the feds to take care of that.

It does not affect us.

That is a topic for another day.

I do not have enough time to talk about it all, unfortunately.

You

go down that road, Route 470, they have not had any significant work either.

In fact, we showed a picture yesterday.

The Member for St. John's South showed a picture of two residents of

Rose Blanche canoeing in a pothole in the community.

There is actual photo evidence of it.

It is funny, because it is laughable.

This community has not seen the funds to fix it, because I guess they

are just not important enough.

find it hard every time I hear members talk about the investment in the

communities when I literally have not seen any investment in those

communities. That is

unfortunate, Mr. Speaker.

see I have a tiny little bit of time left, so what I would like to end off

with is and I will get at least one more opportunity to speak to this

Budget. Look, right now, there

has been a lot of promises made.

This Budget continues to make promises, as the Budget before did, and the

Budget before did, and the Budget before did, but there has been no delivery

on those promises to a lot of people.

That

is unfortunate, and it is called a breach of trust a broken promise is a

breach of trust. Right now, the

people of the Province, especially in my district, they say that there is a

breach of trust here, and they are not going to believe any more promises

that this government wants to make.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Littlejohn):

The hon. the

Member for Exploits.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. FORSEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

is always a pleasure to get up and represent the wonderful District of

Exploits and the people of Exploits and to be able to speak on the Budget.

You can tell the commitment over on this side.

You just look at the Members for Mount Pearl North and Harbour Main.

They would certainly rather spend their birthday here than anywhere

else, so Happy birthday to both.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. FORSEY:

I use the word

commitment, because we are committed.

As our Budget states, it is a balanced approach and it is all about

choices.

When

the Opposition and the Third Party get up, they will always come out with

information that is not exactly correct.

Hopefully, as we go along, we can get the opportunity to correct

them; but, they come up with so much of it, it is a job to correct them half

of the time because when you do tell them the truth, they still get it

wrong.

will try my best in twenty minutes, which is not going to be very long, to

get through some of the items because we do have a commitment to seniors.

We do have a commitment to infrastructure.

We do have a commitment to education.

That is what our Budget states, Mr. Speaker.

There were several things that I wanted to get into right away but because

the Opposition gets up and even during Question Period the Member for St.

John's East made a statement that was incorrect, but I will straighten that

out as I go along and hopefully he will understand it, as the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

Just

let me say that from 2008 to 2014, the provincial government has invested

$820 million in more than 1,200 waste water, recreational, and municipal

infrastructure projects; $184 million has been invested in water-related

projects since 2008, including the ongoing construction and commissioning of

twenty-five portable water dispensing units.

Budget 2015, Mr. Speaker, will build on this progress.

The reason I mention that now and I wanted to get into it right away

and there will be times that the Opposition will use waste, and that is

unfortunate because I would certainly like for them to go out in the

District of Exploits and tell them that the money they got for the schools,

roads, and municipal infrastructure was a waste.

Mr.

Speaker, the Member for Burgeo La Poile got up and he started talking

about roads. I think that his

party or his party members represented that district when they were in power

and have been representing them for the past number of years.

Just to show a comparison, when I got elected in 2005, which was ten

years ago I missed the first Budget.

We have not gotten our allowance for this year, so in eight years for

roadwork I have been there ten.

Ten years prior to that, the Member for Exploits at that time, who

was a Liberal member and also the Premier of the day, invested $2.5 million

in roadwork. Since I have been

there, we have invested $22 million in roadwork in eight years.

There is no doubt that under the leadership that we had, the revenues were

good, and we were happy to get it.

Did we say no, we do not want it?

Of course we did not. We

wanted the district to be brought up to standard.

That is what we were trying to do.

Mr.

Speaker, I just spoke about investment in municipal water and

infrastructure. In 2005, when I

sat down with the Minister of Municipal Affairs

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. FORSEY:

Yes, they do not want to

hear all the good stuff. They

will get up and they will just say the things that are not correct, I say,

Mr. Speaker. That is what they

will do. They will get up there

and they will try to mislead the people of the Province, but that is not

going to happen. The people of

the Province are more intelligent than that.

Out

in the District of Exploits, they know what we have done.

They know what we received.

They know where we are right now.

They know that we have choices to make and they are hoping that we

make some good choices. That is

why we are out there and we are explaining the choices that we made.

Hopefully, it is going to resonate with the people.

Mr.

Speaker, in 2005 actually 2006 because like I said I missed the Budget in

2005; I could not believe it.

When I got the requests from the communities, just in the District of

Exploits, it was $35 million worth of requests.

I do not know what the former Administration did when they were there

because they represented the district for fifteen years.

They

just do not seem to want to listen.

They do not understand the facts.

They do not understand why the money was invested.

The money was invested because we had an infrastructure deficit.

We were in a very poor condition.

This year, when I looked at the requests from the municipalities out

there, the request this year was less than 10 per cent of what it was ten

years ago.

That

is an investment in infrastructure that communities like the Town of

Northern Arm, or the Town of Peterview, or the Town of Bishop's Falls, or

Cottrell's Cove, or Point of Bay, or Leading Tickles, or Phillips Head

these people needed their water lines.

They needed it done; they need upgrades, Mr. Speaker.

well, Bishop's Falls, this year we are completing or trying to complete a

$14 million sewage treatment system in the Town of Bishop's Falls.

We will have the best I see the Minister of Municipal Affairs is

looking at me there and I hope he is still with me after I sit down too

because we need to finish that project.

We do have one of the best salmon recreational fishing rivers in

North America in the Exploits River, and we want to make sure that it is

pristine and we want to make sure that we can use it for recreation and

whatever else that is going to attract tourism in the area.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. FORSEY:

Mr. Speaker, in Budget

2013 our commitment to completing a review of provincial-municipal fiscal

framework within two years, under the Member for Gander when he started this

work with MNL well, it is now two years later and we have delivered on

that commitment.

Our

Premier has announced the new Community Sustainability Partnership will

provide an additional investment of $46 million over the next three years to

assist communities in ensuring they can provide quality services to the

residents and businesses of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. FORSEY:

Now, Mr. Speaker, there

is a lot of information there, but I probably will not get to all of it.

What

was the response from MNL, Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador?

Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador have applauded the

commitment of our government. Their president has said that this Budget

finally set in motion a long-term plan towards sustainable revenue that will

allow municipalities to meet demands such as drinking water, waste water,

and fire services. That is from

the President of MNL.

Now,

Mr. Speaker, I also mentioned fire services.

When the Member for St. John's because I am not going to leave out

the Third Party either. When the

Member for St. John's East maybe it is because he got shaved yesterday

with the Minister of Health and maybe he lost a few things while he was

doing it. He got up to say that

we cut the budget for fire and emergency equipment.

He got up and that is what he said. Now

he is going to get up and say that it is different.

MR. MURPHY:

A point of order.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

point of order, the hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Just to correct the

Member for Exploits. I said

there was a cut in Emergency Services, 6.1.03 in the Budget, page 18.20, the

monies amount goes from $2.7 million to $646,000.

It is on the record.

MR. SPEAKER:

There is no point of

order.

The

hon. the Member for Exploits.

MR. FORSEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I

appreciate that.

Now,

anybody can have this document I have here.

AN HON. MEMBER:

Table it.

MR. FORSEY:

Not a problem.

It is from the fire chiefs association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The

Member for St. John's East and anybody else over there can say that we are

not doing the right thing. Well,

listen to this, he says the name is Vince MacKenzie by the way, if you do

not know; he is a friend of mine from Central Newfoundland The provincial

budget came down today and I am pleased that there were no cuts to the fire

service I remind the Member for St. John's East.

Funding for fire trucks and equipment remained at last year's record

high level of over $5 million.

MR. J. BENNETT:

That is because it is

an election year.

MR. FORSEY:

It was not an election

year last year, I say to the Member for St. Barbe.

They still seem to heckle and they do a lot of smiling over there.

I guess they do not take the operations of the Province very serious,

Mr. Speaker, because everything is a joke to them.

Everything they have to laugh at or heckle at.

That is all they seem to do over there.

I have seen parties being arrogant before, but I think this takes the

cake.

This is the second year in a row that this funding is in place over the

core funding of 1.6 million. That

means there will be a continued effort to upgrade fire equipment in the

province.

Mr.

Speaker, I have a lot of respect for firefighters, volunteer firefighters

especially, and most of our members on this side do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. FORSEY:

We do.

As a matter of fact, last Saturday night I did spend time with the

volunteer fire department of Peterview.

It was their fiftieth anniversary.

Fifty years of providing protection to the community and the

surrounding area. They need

equipment like this so they can do their job, Mr. Speaker.

Have

we done the right things? I

believe we did. Have we

investment more than probably we should have?

Maybe we have, but the cause and the need was there.

We wanted to make sure they had the services and the equipment to do

it.

goes on to say: Our NL Fire Services Association has worked hard over the

years to lobby for increases and they have; I talked to Vince many times

about it. He has turned up to

Budget consultations and I have seen him there.

He was very consistent in what he was doing because he is one of the

main supporters of fire services. in the cost shared program and we are

pleased that the funding was held even through this tough budget.

Was

it a tough Budget? Yes, it was.

Of course it was a tough Budget, but it is all about choices.

Under the leadership of our Premier, he came up with some new ways to

move forward.

MR. RUSSELL:

Strike a balance.

MR. FORSEY:

Strike a balance,

absolutely, I say to the Member for Lake Melville and Minister of Labrador

and Aboriginal Affairs. Strike a

balance; that is what this is all about.

It is all about the approach and the choices, Mr. Speaker.

Our leader is doing this and doing it very well.

Grants for our Learn Not To Burn Program and the association's operating

grant were maintained as well.

Again, I am pleased with the result of this year's budget announcements and

thank government for continued support to fire services.

The

association will continue to work further.

There is still much work to be done around the areas of training and

regionalization. That was

another thing that was brought into the Budget as well, Mr. Speaker, to set

up to work with the communities, to work and look at regionalization.

We have been doing it out in Central Newfoundland.

Right now in our district and in Grand Falls-Windsor, in our communities, we

share services now. When one

community needs a backup for fire services, all they have to do is call

their neighbour next door and they got it.

We share the same water services, we share the same waste disposal,

we share a lot of services, and that is the way to go.

This is what he is saying here.

They do a lot of training today.

Why? Because we support

them in it, because we need them, and they offer their best.

they say: We ask for more protection officers in the Province to support

fire departments. Given this

year's deficit Budget, the job cuts, we have to wait further to come to

fruition. So he was not sure,

but this year's Budget maintains current levels.

We are thankful for that.

There you go. He is thankful for

this year's Budget and what we did last year and what we did this year, Mr.

Speaker.

Did

we do wrong by doing that? I do

not think so. If you leave it to

the Opposition over there, they get up, one wants to cut, one wants to

sharpen their pencil. I was

listening to her on a talk show the other day, the Member for Virginia

Waters. The host said: What are

you going to do? Well, we are

going to repeal the 2 per cent, but we are going to sharpen our pencils

because we need to cut down, basically.

Now,

they are sharpening their pencils, but they are not telling us where they

are going to start cutting, making all those little marks and crossing

people out and

AN HON. MEMBER:

Cutting services.

MR. FORSEY:

cutting services, but

they are going to do it. That is

the scary part; they are going to do it.

Now,

the other way is their leader is not sure.

He figures they should borrow more and go more and more and more in

debt, but they cannot seem to be onside on that and they do not have a plan

to do so. I guess they just have

different opinions, Mr. Speaker.

That is basically where they are.

Mr.

Speaker, when I started I said that we have made a commitment to seniors and

age-friendly communities; investing in inclusive communities and

age-friendly communities. Budget

2015, and I will just name a couple, approximately $180 million in the

Provincial Home Support Program; $42.1 million in Low Income Seniors Tax

Benefit.

That

seniors' tax benefit comes out every fall, and it is up to $1,059.

Did we cut it? No, we did

not. We did not cut it because

we believe in seniors. That is

why our leader formed a department responsible for seniors.

I think our minister is doing a great job and he is a good advocate.

He is a good advocate for the seniors of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

AN HON. MEMBER:

He is a senior

himself.

MR. FORSEY:

He is getting there himself, so there you go.

Mr.

Speaker, we have had people out there saying, because they do not listen

again, they do not listen they will always say something but they will

always say something that is not right.

heard the other day that one of the members over there got up and said:

government over there, they love to hear themselves talk.

That is what he said. Not

any more than they do, Mr. Speaker, but the only thing is when we talk we

have something to say. That is

the difference.

AN HON. MEMBER:

We speak from

actions.

MR. FORSEY:

Yes, we can speak from actions, more than just words, Mr. Speaker.

aid active, healthy living, $24.9 million to sport and recreational

infrastructure projects, bringing the total investment since 2004 to $169.6

million.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. FORSEY:

Is there a problem over

there, Mr. Speaker?

Mr.

Speaker, I know you have not said order very much because there is no noise

on this side, I am able to control myself, but on the other side it is not

very quiet. It is too bad they

do not have something to say when they get up.

They do have something to say because they do like to hear themselves

talk, but it is all words and no action.

Mr.

Speaker, $8.8 million under the Home Repair Program getting back to the

Home Heating Rebate Program, that is still in place.

We kept that in place.

Some people said, oh, that is cancelled.

Well, it is not cancelled.

That is not cancelled, I say to the people out in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador and to the seniors.

That is not cancelled.

also moved the GST rebate that you can get, GST credit, from $40 to $300.