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March 14, 2018

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 2

The House met at 10 a.m.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Orders of the Day

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would ask leave of my colleagues so that we can

present the report of the Select Committee.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Does the hon. Government House Leader have leave?

The hon. Government House Leader has leave.

The hon. the Member for Labrador West.

MR.

LETTO:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On behalf of the Select Committee appointed to draft a

reply to the speech from His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, I am pleased to

present a report of the Select Committee as follows:

To His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, the Hon. Frank

F. Fagan:

May it please Your Honour, we, the Commons of

Newfoundland and Labrador in legislative session assembled, beg to thank Your

Honour for the Gracious Speech which Your Honour has addressed to this House.

I move, seconded by the Member for Placentia West -

Bellevue.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

When shall the report be received?

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Now.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Now.

Is the House ready for the question?

All those in favour, ‘aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, ‘nay.'

The motion is carried.

On motion, report received.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

MR.

BROWNE:

Good morning, Mr. Speaker, thank you.

I certainly join in thanking my colleagues for their

gratitude to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor for delivering the Speech from

the Throne yesterday. Of course it likely will be his last as

Lieutenant-Governor, so I'd certainly thank him and his wife for their dedicated

service to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I'm here this morning after having just

attended – the Member for Burin - Grand Bank and I took the opportunity to

attend the public information sessions surrounding the environmental impact

statement surrounding the Grieg project, which will affect the Burin Peninsula,

the Placentia Bay region.

The Member for St. John's Centre was there as well.

Though I note her many concerns that she just raised on

Open Line went unanswered last night because she didn't raise not

once – not once did the Member for St. John's Centre stand at a public

information session that was designed to provide answers and raise concerns to

the questions posed, not once did the Member for St. John's Centre stand – and

the Member for Grand Bank can attest to this –

not once did she stand to ask a question.

I just heard the

Member on Open Line against the

project and against jobs on the Burin Peninsula. And I'm standing here this

morning to defend the people that I represent and defend the people who are

seeking employment and jobs. It's absolutely reprehensible that with no

knowledge, the Member for St. John's Centre would use

Open Line and other mediums to pander for her leadership campaign at

the expense of the people of the Burin Peninsula. I simply will not allow it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. BROWNE:

The people of the Burin Peninsula and of

Placentia Bay deserve better than pandering to the people of Downtown St.

John's, I say to the Member opposite.

This is a project

that has gone through rigorous environmental review, Mr. Speaker. All the people

of the Burin Peninsula are asking for is that it be set to the same guidelines,

the same standards as every other aquaculture development in this province. That

is all the people of the Burin Peninsula are asking for. But the Members

opposite, they want to delay and delay and delay. I shall not allow it. We will

go through the proper procedures, the environmental guidelines, but we will not

allow the Member for St. John's Centre to try and delay an economic development

project that has proven to be sustainable development.

Mr. Speaker,

they're over there laughing. Well, I can guarantee you, the people of the Burin

Peninsula aren't laughing after hearing the comments from the Member

for St. John's Centre this morning.

MS.

MICHAEL:

Point of order, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

recognize the hon. the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS.

MICHAEL:

Point of order under

section 49 of our Standing Orders, Mr. Speaker. I consider

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS.

MICHAEL:

consider the comments that are being made by the Member for Placentia West -

Bellevue concerning the Member for St. John's Centre very offensive – extremely

offensive. She is a professional in this House; she is doing her work

professionally.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS.

MICHAEL:

Everybody in this House speaks to issues outside of this House in media. I find

the term “pandering,” I find all the things that's just been said offensive to

the Member for St. John's Centre.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

This is not a point or order, plain and simple.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS.

MICHAEL:

Mr.

Speaker, could I have your ruling, please, and not that of the House Leader?

MR.

SPEAKER:

regret that I did not hear the comments. I have two options: One is I can recess

and review the comments or I can look to the Member for a response.

I'm not seeing any response. I could offer a recess.

I'm sorry; I did not hear the comments in question.

The hon. the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS.

MICHAEL:

You

don't have to recess at this moment. I would be asking the Speaker to take time,

maybe during the break in between today, to find out what was said.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Sounds like a reasonable suggestion. Thank you.

The hon. the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

BROWNE:

Mr.

Speaker, I encourage you to review all comments that I ever made here in the

public record this morning. The truth can hurt, I say to the Member opposite.

The people of the Burin Peninsula deserve better than

Members of this Legislature grandstanding on issues without knowing the facts.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

BROWNE:

fact, Mr. Speaker, comments were made about land-based aquaculture which, to my

knowledge, in the depths of research that I have made, unlike the Members

opposite, it has never been economically viable. If it was economically viable,

why would you put it in Newfoundland and Labrador? Why not put it adjacent to

the markets?

Why would you add transportation costs, labour costs

and everything else that would be associated with putting it on land here? Why

would you add that? That makes no sense, Mr. Speaker, and it was pointed out on

Open Line this morning that it made no

sense.

We welcome oversight. We must welcome it. Our

environment must be protected, Mr. Speaker. It's paramount to any project that

environmental sustainability be addressed, but this project has undergone every

environmental scrutiny that every other aquaculture project in the province has

undergone.

Along with the Member for Burin - Grand Bank, with the

Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, the Minister of Fisheries and

Land Resources, we took an opportunity last fall to tour aquaculture sites in

the Coast of Bays region. The Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune I'm sure can

stand at some point here today or tomorrow to expand on the opportunities it has

provided to rural communities.

We are trying to survive. We want a future for young

people in rural Newfoundland, and you stood yesterday pontificating on young

people leaving this province. As one of them, I'm asking, stop using us as your

pawn.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

BROWNE:

We want a future in this province. We want to stay, we want to work, we want

families to be raised here. If aquaculture can assist the people of the Burin

Peninsula and Placentia Bay in doing so, we will support that Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

BROWNE:

The future of rural communities is far different, I say, than downtown St.

John's, or St. John's Centre for that matter, Mr. Speaker, and we must protect

all communities in our province. If there are economic development

opportunities, we must have them in our communities.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

BROWNE:

We hear the Members opposite always, always being negative. I have here, Mr.

Speaker, a petition of some 1,700 names.

HON. MEMBER:

How

many?

MR.

BROWNE:

1,700 people have signed this petition, Mr. Speaker, in support of the Grieg

project on the Burin Peninsula – 1,700 people.

I heard the Member for St. John's Centre raise a

concern, what she called a concern with respect to last night's session, that it

was merely two hours to address the issues. She also indicated there were a

number of people there who wanted to discuss. Well in the room I was in last

night – apart from the Member for Burin - Grand Bank and I – I believe everyone

else, including the Member for St. John's Centre, had their mind made up against

this project and against the people of the Burin Peninsula and Placentia Bay.

We see the world's largest hatchery is to be

constructed in Marystown with processing to be done in St. Lawrence,

rejuvenating a plant that has been struggling under the current species that

it's operating under now. Mr. Speaker, this is a story worth telling, but the

Member for St. John's Centre doesn't want it to be told.

Mr. Speaker, I have a responsibility to those who

elected me to stand up for them and to help promote the creation of jobs that

are sustainable to both the economy and the environment, and on both bills, on

both aspects the people of the Burin Peninsula say it fits the bill. They

support the Grieg project, Mr. Speaker, but we are not against environmental

review. I would be the first to say it must undergo an environmental review, but

it has through both provincial and federal agencies. It's important to note

that.

If you listened to

Open Line this morning, Mr. Speaker,

you would think that no environmental review has taken place. You would think

the only environmental review was two hours last night at a session that spanned

the province.

Well, Mr. Speaker, I have to correct the record. That

is not true. It is not true. There have been so many consultations that we have

attended, the Member for Burin - Grand Bank and I, that I've not seen Members of

the Third Party attend. The sudden interest, Mr. Speaker, it is striking and

sudden. There are so many –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

BROWNE:

Mr.

Speaker, if the Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi wants to heckle me,

that's fine. I can take it, because the people of the Burin Peninsula want me to

stand up for their rights and their jobs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

BROWNE:

Mr.

Speaker, I listened to the Speech from the Throne yesterday and we heard about

the government's plans moving forward. The only positive out of it that the

Member for St. John's East - Quidi Vidi could find was a recognition of

athletes, and on that point we will agree. We will agree that Kaetlyn Osmond,

Liam Hickey and Brad Gushue, and these athletes are so deserving of our

recognition, but the Member opposite said that was the only point she could be

proud of, Mr. Speaker.

The highest non-resident and resident spending and

visitation in this province is not worth celebrating? Investments in film and

highlighting the contributions to GDP, that is not worth celebrating? The

efforts we are making toward regional development in terms of broadband and

connectivity, this not worth celebrating? I have a real issue with the negative

rhetoric coming out of the Opposition benches.

There is no doubt, there's a job to be done by Members

of the government side and Members of the Opposition side. It is the

Opposition's job to hold government to account. I respect that, but when all the

fear mongering comes forward and the rhetoric that is so blatantly negative and

politically motivated, Mr. Speaker, it upsets me. It upsets my constituents

because we want positivity. We want projects to move forward like the selling of

the Marystown Shipyard, like the redevelopment of Bull Arm, like the Grieg

project. These are all projects that are worth doing.

The Member for Burin - Grand Bank and I worked so hard

on the Canada Fluorspar mine, something that hung around the former

administration for over a decade, Mr. Speaker. They had the big ribbon cutting

down there in 2011 with the former premier and their Cabinet.

MS.

HALEY:

Four times.

MR.

BROWNE:

Four times I'm told, Mr. Speaker, by the Member for Burin - Grand Bank.

What happened? Nothing. This government got in on a

Treasury, Mr. Speaker, with so little left. We took it over the line, a $17

million repayable loan and we have hundreds of people working in St. Lawrence.

That is a success story.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

BROWNE:

hear the comments again; I have to go back to the comments surrounding young

people leaving the province, Mr. Speaker. I am here and so many others are here.

If you watched CBC last night you would have seen a

young gentleman from Marystown – his 22nd birthday was yesterday – attending the

information session last night. Do you know what he said, Mr. Speaker? What

would have been the greatest birthday gift that he could receive was an approval

for the Grieg project to proceed so that he can get a job and stay at home in

Marystown.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

BROWNE:

Not

everyone wants to leave. At some point, Mr. Speaker, if the Opposition is so set

on saying young people are leaving, you're going to have to take responsibility

that your rhetoric is driving them away.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

BROWNE:

The

young people of this province want hope, they want aspirations. They want a

future to look forward to, Mr. Speaker, not negativity, doom and gloom. That's

all we heard yesterday.

When I heard the Member for St. John's Centre on

Open Line this morning degrading this

project and the process involved – when it is standard for all projects, it is

outlined in the act, Mr. Speaker, it has followed every request that's been made

of it – then I have a duty to the people who elected me to stand in this

Chamber, to stand in my place and defend their prospects for jobs, Mr. Speaker.

That is my role as their MHA and I won't shirk from

that. I won't pander for the sake of any kind of leadership campaign. I

guarantee you, Mr. Speaker.

I have 1,700 names, Mr. Speaker, on this petition that

all support the project. I'm sure that will all be considered when it goes in

for its environmental review. I welcome it. All oversight should be welcomed.

But at some point you have to stop and you have to say is it positive or not and

make your decision. At some point you have to stop sitting on the fence; you

have to make a decision. I can stand unequivocally to say that I support this

project. I support the prospect of jobs for the people on the Burin Peninsula. I

will work, despite the negativity and despite your efforts to constrain said

jobs, this government, in partnership with the Member for Burin - Grand Bank and

our entire Premier and Cabinet, we will work to support the people of the Burin

Peninsula in a way that was not there after the promise of 400 to 500 year-round

jobs at the Marystown fish plant, when FPI was sold in 2007.

Do you know what it is now? A heap of rubble – a heap

or rubble. We asked for support; we pleaded for support. The PC government at

the time would not respond, and the plant that was once the gold star of the FPI

crown is now a heap of rubble. Go up the road to Burin, Mr. Speaker, the only

secondary processing plant in this province, it is closed today. It was closed

on their watch. So I'm not going to take lessons on the fishery on the Burin

Peninsula from Members opposite. And I certainly won't be taking future lessons

from the Members of the Third Party, because we will support sustainable

economic development in this province.

We will do so, Mr. Speaker – we won't be handing $45

million out the door on the back of a napkin, I can guarantee you of that. Any

kind of deal that we put together in support of any kind of project will have

milestones and check marks to ensure the people of the province see the full

benefit of the investments being made, I can tell you that right now, Mr.

Speaker.

We have so much on the horizon, whether it's the sale

of the Marystown Shipyard; the living quarters being built at Cow Head in

Kiewit; the Husky Project being built just across the bay in Argentia; the

prospect of a port cluster for Bull Arm to support Jean d'Arc and Bay du Nord

and the future prospects in our oil and gas sector as we work to double

production by 2030. There are good things on the horizon.

I will say again, Mr. Speaker, that as leaders of this

province, as the 40 people, no matter the party, no matter what side we sit on,

we each have a responsibility to the people of this province to promote unity

and to promote positive messaging in the face of adversity. Because if we don't

have confidence in the future, if we hear Members opposite promoting such doom

and gloom, how can we expect the young people or any people of our province to

have confidence in the future? We need confidence from elected leaders. People

look to us to discuss the future, Mr. Speaker, and see where this this province

is going.

We face challenges; there's no doubt about that. I

would never deny we face challenges. We were left with nearly a bankrupt

Treasury, Mr. Speaker. As the Premier updated the House yesterday, thanks to his

actions, his Cabinet's actions, his caucus's actions, we will not be going

bankrupt, despite what the Members of the Opposition tried to do while they were

in government and the massive overspending despite warnings from the Auditor

General.

Mr. Speaker, we are going to take a measured approach.

We are going to take an approach that works for the people of the province that

works for the people of the Burin Peninsula. Just as we did with CFI in St.

Lawrence – and we cut the ribbon on that last year for the final time because

now it's operational and in construction phases, Mr. Speaker. We had a job to

find a piece of ribbon, it was that cut up. But the job was done. The people of

St. Lawrence, the people of the Burin Peninsula, are getting back to work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

BROWNE:

And

that is our vision; that is what we want to do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

BROWNE:

I would say to the Member for St. John's Centre, come to the Burin Peninsula,

have a public meeting, raise your concerns and hear from the people who you are

out talking about. We will attend, I will attend, Mr. Speaker, and I will listen

to the concerns raised, but I want the entire public of the Burin Peninsula

invited and each of the 1,700 names on this list, I want an invitation to go to

each of them.

I say to the Member opposite, I'm not afraid to debate

these issues. We will do it and we will do it in a way that is prudent to

protect the environment, the economy and sustain jobs in rural Newfoundland. Our

young people, Mr. Speaker, a memo to the Opposition: We have no intentions of

going anywhere. This is our home, it's our place, it's where our families are,

where we will raise our own families, and I am proud to call myself a

Newfoundlander and Labradorian and I'm not going anywhere.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It is indeed a pleasure to get up here on a Wednesday

morning and talk to Address in Reply, and represent the beautiful District of

Cape St. Francis, like I always say that I do.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I'd like to thank His Honour

Frank Fagan and his wife for the address yesterday and the reading of the Throne

Speech. Mr. Fagan and his wife – I'm not sure whether they'll be here for the

next Throne speech, but on behalf of everyone in my district, and I'm sure

everyone in Newfoundland, I really respect the two individuals. They did a

fantastic job in their term and represented the province very, very well; very

nice people and great people in the province. They did a fantastic job.

Like I said, I don't know how long their term will

last, but on behalf of myself, and I'm sure everybody over here and everybody in

this House of Assembly, we want to really show them the thanks that they deserve

for the great job that they did. It will be five years this month, so it's a

fantastic job.

Now, Mr. Speaker, before I get on to talk about what I

need to talk about, I have to address the former Member who just got up here and

spoke. I don't know if it was a great speech because always in this House I

always want to go to the point with respect for others. We have to respect

everybody's opinion and we have to show respect to each other in this House of

Assembly.

It really gets to me when we try to put one part of

Newfoundland against another, where we try to put one province against another,

people against each other. When he gets up and says about the Burin Peninsula

and people in Downtown St. John's, that really irks me because I'm sure there

are people in Downtown St. John's that supports his opinion, while there may be

people on the Burin Peninsula may support somebody else's opinion.

Why do we do it all the time? Why do we go and try to

divide one

section of this province with another

section of the province?

Everybody has a right to express their opinion. They have a right to go to a

public meeting and express their opinion. They have a right to stand up here in

the House of Assembly and express their opinion. They have a right to get on

Open Line and express their opinion.

But don't go out and try to put one part against another. The Burin Peninsula

against Downtown St. John's was his comments twice.

I really take offence to that, I really do, because as

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, whether it's in Labrador or it's on the

Island, we should support each other. Now, we'll all have a difference of

opinion, I'm sure we will. I'm sure myself and the Members from Labrador will

have differences of opinions sometimes, but I hope that there are a lot of times

I'll get up here and support you guys because we all need to work together.

I go to a lot of meetings with different organizations

in my district and the one thing I tell them all the time: Listen, we'll all

have a difference of opinion, but we all have to work together for what's best

for Newfoundland and Labrador. And that's what we're here for. People should

realize that. Don't be putting one part of the province against another part.

Don't be putting individual groups against another group. Let's work together.

Let's see what the best is for our people. That's what we're here to do.

I'm here today to talk about the Throne Speech. I read

the Throne Speech yesterday before I came in here and I listened to His Honour

address it yesterday. There are things in this Throne Speech I think are great,

I think are fantastic. I really do believe it.

There are some things in this Throne Speech that I'm

going to question today, but I want to work with government. I want to work with

the people on the other side. I want to work with industry. I want to work with

educators. I want to work with municipalities to make our province the best it

can be.

We can't be putting one part of the province against

another part of the province. The Burin Peninsula against Downtown St. John's is

wrong. It's wrong to get up here and even suggest it in this House of Assembly.

We're all here; there are only 500,000 of us. We're a small province. We are

vast regions.

I can remember going to school at Gonzaga and at one

time it was a big issue, I tell you. That was in the '70s, I'm telling my age.

It was a big divide, the baymen and the townies. I was in Flatrock 16 kilometres

outside of St. John's and I was a baymen and very proud of it.

When I went to St. John's, I made a point to get along

with my friends, to try to work together. That's what this has to do. But when

you see a Member getting up here and doing what that Member just did, that is

completely, completely wrong. We shouldn't be doing it; we should be working

together no matter what part of the province you're from. I am sure there are

people in Downtown St. John's that will support that Member's point of view,

while there are people in the Burin Peninsula who will support that Member's

point of view.

We're all entitled. We live in a country – freedom of

speech, freedom to be able to express ourselves. That's why we live in the

greatest province in the world, in the greatest country in the world. That's why

we are having the opportunity and should take the privilege of what we have

today to be able to express our views.

I just wanted to get on to that first. I'm sorry if I

ranted a little bit, but I really wanted to because that irks me. It really gets

to me; it really, really, really irks me.

Anyway, Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about something

good in the Throne Speech yesterday. We talked about women's issues. I know the

minister responsible for women's affairs was recently in New York. I saw some

things she made. Do you know what? As a part of the House of Assembly, we cannot

tolerate – cannot tolerate – violence against women and young girls. We cannot

do it.

When I read this yesterday that 50 per cent of women

and young girls over the age of 15 – 50 per cent will face either sexual or

physical abuse. That's wrong. Let's work together and make sure we correct it.

That's what I like about the Throne Speech.

I know the minister brought in about harassment – the

first bill is going to be about that and I know the other Members over there.

Let's work together and make sure we stop this. This is important. This is

important to fathers. It's not only important to our children, it's important to

our families. I have a granddaughter now and I really don't want her to be in

the 50 per cent. I really don't want her to be in it. So this is a good thing.

I agree with government. Let's get together and let's

do what we can to make that we get that down; 50 per cent is not tolerable. We

cannot have a society – society is really changing, as we look at #MeToo

campaign and everything else. People are speaking out today and for too long,

people didn't speak out, but we need to address it here in the House of

Assembly. We need to address it in our homes. We need to address it in our

province. I support government on anything they'll do to reduce this. This is

very important to our society. I want to work with government on that.

In the Throne Speech we talked about different things.

We talk about our fiscal situation. Listen, there's nobody in this House of

Assembly – we realize the fiscal situation we're in. We do realize it. I talk to

families; I go to all the functions in my district. I talk to my neighbours. I'm

around the block. But do you know what? We have a lot of people hurting in this

province. We have a whole lot of people who are finding it very, very difficult.

We have to improve the economic situation we have in

the province, but we have to improve people's lives too. The 2016 budget, I have

to go back to the budget. I know government was faced with a fiscal situation,

but we can't put in on the backs of the people of this province. We just can't

do it anymore.

Today, I have a private Member's motion coming in and

I'm hoping I'll get support on the other side. I probably won't, but I really

believe it's important because just speaking to people in my district, people

are hurting. People are really struggling.

When people don't have the money to spend on simple

things, it really hurts our economy. I spoke last week to the taxi industry. I

met with them twice last week and they're really finding it difficult. We saw

they had a meeting with the minister. Hopefully, things will be done; the things

they're asking for will come true.

They're like every other small business in this

province. Small businesses are really finding it difficult. They are finding it

hard because we don't have the income. The money is not there. People are not

spending money. When people don't have money to spend, they can't spend it. What

that does is it hurts everybody. It hurts our local stores. It hurts our

restaurants. It hurts the taxi industry. It hurts a lot of people.

We have to change our attitude. We just have to change

what we're doing and realize that the taxes and the levies and everything else

that we're after bringing in over the year – we pay this highest gas in all of

Canada here now. People are wondering: Why would you live here? I'm not a doom

and gloom – I'm not going anywhere and I always mention about my family –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

K. PARSONS:

and I tell you one thing I want them to stay in Newfoundland and Labrador. I

want every young person to stay here in Newfoundland and Labrador. I want

opportunities for young people here in Newfoundland and Labrador. I want to see

people here in Newfoundland and Labrador work. I want to see our population

grow. When people can't afford to live here, it's a reason to move away.

Mr. Speaker, I know they talked about innovation and

business development, but it all starts at home here. I believe in investing in

our local businesses. I'll make a point myself – and I hope all Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians do – to support our own. It's very important. No matter if it's

the guy who's selling the vegetables on the side of the road or it's a local

craft shop Downtown, or it's a local craft shop in Bonavista or a local craft

shop in Corner Brook, we have to make sure that people in this province really

support our own because that keeps jobs here. It keeps people working. Local is

very, very important.

Mr. Speaker, we speak of our culture. We talk about

culture in our province. To me, honestly, I love travelling this province. I

love travelling to different areas of the province. If I had a choice to go to

my moose hunting trip up in Millertown or go to the Dominican, I'm gone to

Millertown because I just like what we have here. I like talking to the people.

A couple of guides that are up there, that's what they

do for their livelihood and it's interesting to see their perspective on life

and how working off the land and the way it is, but it's who we are as people.

It's our culture. It's who we are. That's what makes us attractive. People love

to come here because have great, great things to see and everything else. But

the number one thing we have in our province is our people. Our people are what

bring people here. Granted, they like to see the nice scenery, the homes, the

icebergs and everything else but what people come for in Newfoundland and

Labrador are the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, another thing that I like is the comments

on Labrador in our Throne Speech. I texted the Member for Cartwright - L'Anse au

Clair because I had the opportunity for the first time to go Red Bay this year.

I have to say it was absolutely beautiful. It was amazing just to see the boat

and what was down underneath. I went to the tour and they explained how they

used to bring over all the red rocks and drop down –

HON. MEMBER:

Red Bay?

MR.

K. PARSONS:

was in Red Bay, yeah. It was absolutely beautiful.

Do you know what? The two people that were there, I

mentioned that I knew the minister and they –

HON. MEMBER:

You

should have said that we were friends.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Yeah, I told them we were friends. I mentioned that I knew her. They spoke very

highly of you and said you were there. I said: Oh no, she's a good lady. I also

mentioned that I knew the former Member that was a good friend of mine also.

It was a great visit to Labrador. It was the first time

ever in that part of Labrador. I've been in Goose Bay, I've been in Happy Valley

and I've been in Lab City, but it was very nice. Granted, the day was foggy but

Labrador has so much to offer.

We have to put the investments in 100 per cent. I mean

our government started off the roadwork in Labrador with the Trans-Labrador

Highway. We invested heavily in the Trans-Labrador Highway and this government

over here is continuing to do it in your district, in other districts, Mr.

Speaker. That's a good thing. That's not a bad thing. That's great. That's a

huge part of our province.

Mr. Speaker, in the Throne Speech there's tourism. I

know the minister gets up all the time and touts tourism. He says: What a great

job, we're at $1.6 billion this year. I have to remind the minister, the tourism

ads and the things we see on TV didn't start two years ago. They started over a

number of years. The tourism industry is like any other industry, it starts low

and hopefully you keep building and building and show things we have to offer.

I really do hope that by 2020 we do get to that $1.6

billion. I can remember getting to the billion part, now we're looking at in

2020 – because we have a great product. Whenever you talk about tourism you have

to talk about the product that you offer. The product that we have to offer is

beautiful land, a beautiful province and beautiful people. We can sell it

because all you have to do is look at the ads.

I think just a few more ads. I suggest to the minister,

come down to the beautiful District of Cape St. Francis and take a few pictures

because there's some great scenery down there also. Just hike the trails.

Just look at the East Coast Trail.

HON. MEMBER:

Lots of berries there.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Lots of berries down there, yeah. If you look at the East Coast Trail, the

investments over the years are amazing. When you walk the trail, it's amazing

the people that you meet there. People from all over the world come here just

because of the East Coast Trail.

Mr. Speaker, I think tourism will grow. I think it was

huge investments by our government, and the government continuing. It's a good

thing. It's a great thing.

Mr. Speaker, one part of the Throne Speech – and I'm

just going through it, I can stay here all day and talk about it actually – is

immigration. It's important that we show our province and want people who want

to come here. I mean honestly – and it's not doom and gloom, it's not doom and

gloom at all – but honestly, we have to make changes for people who want to come

here.

I know government just put out I think $22,000 to see

why the ex-patriots are not coming here anymore. I could have told you. I could

tell you why they're not coming here. It costs too much to live here. Our taxes

are too high. Our taxes are way too high. That's the reason why people are not

coming here.

I'll tell you, the first thing, if we do smart things

and reduce our taxes and make it more affordable for people, immigrants will

come here, but we also have to work on people in our province to stay here. We

really have to make sure we work on our own. We have too many people. I know a

young family in my district – I spoke to the guy a month ago. He worked on a

couple of megaprojects over the years. He said: Kevin, you know what – he was in

Fort McMurray for a number of years and now he's gone back to Alberta again. A

young family, two children, left our province because he said I just can't

afford to live there anymore. And that's the sad part of it.

So we talk about immigration. We have to make it

attractive for people to live here. We really have to make it attractive for

people to live here. We have to make sure we do things to make sure that the

people are young people who want to stay here; are educated young people. We

have the best education system in Canada. People can afford to go and get a good

education here, and that's a good thing. That's a real good thing, but we need

to work on making sure they stay here.

Mr. Speaker, I only have a couple of minutes left on

the Throne Speech, and I really want to talk about the fishery. I know when we

look at our fishery today, and sometimes you'll look at it, it's just after

changing so much.

The very first job I ever had was when I was 13 years

old driving along in a fish truck, writing out slips and weighing codfish. That

was the first job I ever had. My father was a fisherman. My brother is a

fisherman now. My son goes at it. It's just such a big change in our fishery.

Our fishery was everything to rural Newfoundland. It

was good to St. John's and areas like that too. I used to go over and haul fish

off the Critch's and the Hancock's and all the boys over on the Southside. The

fishery in St. John's was huge because it was based on the cod fishery, but

today our fishery has changed.

We really need to make sure we support our

fisherpeople, our harvesters on the water. There are regulations out there right

now that I get up in the House of Assembly and talk about all the time. It's

about safety for harvesters that go on the water, about vessel size. Do you know

we have absolutely no say in our fishery?

I put a motion here a little while ago about joint

management, and everybody in this House of Assembly got up and supported it.

Yes, we need to work on joint management for our fishery. I don't know what's on

the go with joint management anymore. Do you know what? It's what's happening in

our fishery. We talk about our people, our resources and everything else without

any say in it.

Mr. Speaker, no matter what side of the House you're

on, whether you're in rural Newfoundland or in downtown St. John's, our fishery

is the backbone of our society. Our fishery is what brought people to

Newfoundland and Labrador. We need to work hard. We need to work together to

make sure our fishery stays the way it is. It can. It's after changing from cod

to a shell fishery. Crab is a huge fishery in the province. If you ask some

harvesters in this province, they'd probably tell you they don't want to go back

to the cod. They would rather stay at the crab, because it's more lucrative for

one thing.

Just in closing, I think that in our province we need

to make some changes. We need government to look at what's happening to the

people in our province. We need government to stand up and give people the

opportunity to stay here. We need to reduce taxes in this province.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak this morning. It

certainly is always a pleasure to stand and speak and to express what we really

feel. I think it's important that all of us do that.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to acknowledge His

Honours yesterday and the Speech from the Throne, which was very well done. I've

known both His Honour and Her Honour for quite some time, and it's always a

pleasure to see them and have them in our presence.

Today, I'm really responding to some type of

pontification that always happens on the opposite side when it comes to numbers.

I learned a long time ago that stats and numbers are whatever you want to

interpret it. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the Members on the opposite side

always look at the doom and gloom. If they would listen, as I go through this

process, they might learn something about what the real facts are.

I make reference to my hon. critic last week – I think

it was Thursday – who talked about a bounce in the steps of people. The bounce

is gone. There's no bounce anymore. Well, I want to tell the hon. Member that

there's probably not a lot of bounce back in the years when they were in power –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

HAWKINS:

When you go to the gas pumps and it was $1.48 for a litre of gas, there wasn't a

lot of bounce in his steps then. You'd swear, Mr. Speaker, you were living in a

land of milk and honey, when everything was flowing. The land of paradise, when

everything was happening and there was nothing in this world that could have

come tumbling down, except the $2.7 billion deficit.

The hon. Member gets up and says: We have 300 new fees.

No, it's not 300 new fees, Mr. Speaker. Most of those fees were put in place by

the Opposition. There were some –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

HAWKINS:

There were some increases in fees, yes, there were but some of them hadn't

changed in about 40 years. So when you get up and make that statement, the

general public has a tendency to feel: Wow, there were 300 new fees? No, there

weren't.

If the Member opposite would take his time to make some

reference – he got up yesterday or on Thursday and talked about increases in

taxes; nobody is staying here because the taxes are too high. Mr. Speaker, 20

minutes last night – and I'll read them slowly. Twenty minutes last night – and

I found out where Newfoundland and Labrador is after the increase in 2016 with

personal income tax.

Here are the numbers and if he doesn't want to write

them down he can have my four little pieces of sheet afterwards. New Brunswick:

the first $41,675, 9.68 per cent; New Brunswick: $41,674 to $83,351, 14.82 per

cent; $83,351 to $135,510, 16.52 per cent; $135,000 to $154,382, 17.84 per cent;

over $154,000, 20.3 per cent. New Brunswick – maybe that's where some of our

people went.

Nova Scotia: less than $29,590, 8.79 per cent; $29,590

to $59,180, 14.95 per cent; $59,180 to $93,000, 16.67 per cent; $93,000 to

$150,000, 17.50 per cent; over $150,000, 21 per cent. PEI – probably a little

competitive of PEI, they only have three categories, Mr. Speaker. Under $31,984,

9.8 per cent; $31,984 to $63,969, 13.8 per cent; over $63,000, 16.7 per cent –

and our bad Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, where taxes are so high that

everybody is leaving the province, everybody is going away because they can't

afford to pay the taxes in Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland and Labrador:

first $35,851, 8.7 per cent, the lowest, the lowest – for the third time, the

lowest in Atlantic Canada; $35,851 to $71,701, 14.5 per cent, the lowest in

Atlantic Canada; $71,701 to $128,010, 15.8 per cent, lowest in Atlantic Canada;

$128,010 to $179,214, 17.3 per cent; over $179,214, 18.3 per cent.

That, Mr. Speaker, is with the humungous increase that

killed this province in 2016. When the Members opposite talk about personal

income tax and people are leaving because of taxes, those are the facts, Mr.

Speaker, and that's not happening.

Another comment, Mr. Speaker, I've got to bring this to

attention. The hon. the Leader of the Opposition got up yesterday and talked

about people are leaving by the droves, and I think my hon. critic last year

talked about they're leaving in the thousands – they're leaving in the

thousands. Well, Mr. Speaker, let me tell you something. In 2012, the glory

years, the glory years when everything was flowing with milk and honey, we were

living in the land of paradise and nothing could happen: 2012, 7,628 people left

this province; in 2013, another year of milk and honey, 6,788. In 2014, 6,760

left the province; 2015, 6,851.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I need to get to the year when we had

such a very, very difficult year and a different budget, when people were

leaving by the thousands. In 2016, 6,368 people left the province. I have to

tell the hon. Members opposite, if they want to listen, in 2017, there were 70

more people left this province; 70 more than when we had milk and honey flowing,

in the land of paradise, when we had all things going for us. We had 70 more

people leave in 2017 than 2012. These are the numbers. They don't lie; 70 more

people, when according to the Members opposite, when the doom and gloom was

happening, I ask the hon. Members: What happened in 2012? We can go on, Mr.

Speaker.

I can also bring to light, when you want to talk a

bounce in your step, I would have invited the hon. Member and critic to come to

Grand Falls-Windsor when in 2008 and 2009, the paper mill closed. Not a lot of

bounce in the steps of people when the paper mill closed – devastation. My hon.

Member talked about the fish plant in Marystown is rusting out. Well, I'll you

what, there is no infrastructure left from the paper mill in Grand

Falls-Windsor. It's gone.

Mr. Speaker, when people get up and pontificate on the

fact that there's doom and gloom in this province and everybody is leaving the

province, that's not true. That is not what I would consider to be a positive

step or a positive message because we are making a difference. A lot of times

when you go through a period of time when you did not have to plan, when you did

not need a vision, when $25 billion in royalties was coming in and you never

really had to put a strategic plan in place, that's what happens. You end up

with a $2.7 billion deficit and, Mr. Speaker, that is an unfortunate situation.

We are dealing with those situations by strategically planning for the future.

Mr. Speaker, I want to reference one other point –

maybe a couple of other points. I want to talk about what the previous

government proposed for Grand Falls-Windsor when it comes to long-term care

facilities. If I remember correctly I was mayor at the time, when the huge

announcement was made that they were going to do a long-term care facility for

an aging demographic and an aging population in the largest centre in Central

Newfoundland, 50 beds. Fifty beds, that's the vision they had. An aging

demographic, the largest central community centre and you're going to do 50

beds.

HON. MEMBER:

How

many?

MR.

HAWKINS:

Fifty beds.

Now, Mr. Speaker, that was not acceptable to me. It

wasn't acceptable to me as a mayor at the time and was not acceptable to me as

an MHA. To be quite frank, as well, not only did their model have only 50 beds,

their model had it would be provided by the private sector – services by the

private sector. That was not a model that we had.

Immediately upon election, I started talking with my

good friend, the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

HAWKINS:

great guy who has a tremendous knowledge of the health care in this province. We

sat, we talked, we discussed and we looked at a model that works. Guess what,

Mr. Speaker? We have now made a sensible announcement.

For the people of Grand Falls-Windsor and surrounding

area, we're not going to be getting 50 beds which was totally inadequate. What

are we getting? We're getting a long-term care facility that's going to provide

60 beds. In addition to that, the services will be provided by the public

sector.

It doesn't stop there, Mr. Speaker. In addition to

that, we have 20 protective care units that are going to be going in Botwood.

When I look at Botwood and Grand Falls-Windsor, it's about a 20-minute drive

distance. Really, that is within any large centre, really you're in the same

community.

A lot of times if you go to other parts of the world, a

community is sometimes defined by your water supply. Well, the water supply in

Grand Falls-Windsor provides Bishop's Falls, Botwood, Peterview, Northern Arm.

If that's a supply, that's a community.

We have 20 additional protective care units that will

be going in Botwood, and the Botwood Hugh Twomey Centre is providing a

tremendous service to the people in the area. Mr. Speaker, I know first-hand

because my mother-in-law is currently at the Hugh Twomey Centre with

Alzheimer's, and the level of care and the professionalism that's provided in

that facility is second to none.

Mr. Speaker, the addition of 20 protective care units

for Botwood, now we're up to 80. We were going to have 50, now we're up to 80.

One of the other areas we've been having close

discussions with my hon. colleague is with regard to the Lionel Kelland Hospice

in Grand Falls-Windsor. Hats off to the chair, Mr. Bradley and Sandra Evans for

the tremendous amount of work they're doing. They're trying to set up a

community hospice. What will happen there, they're looking at 10 palliative care

units. We as a government, we're looking at the model and looking at how in fact

that can fit into our long-term plan for the region.

Mr. Speaker, once that's operational, we have now

increased service in Central Newfoundland from what would have been 50 long-term

care beds to now a potential for 90, almost doubling. Our government has almost

doubled the potential,

whereas before the status quo and keeping 50 would have

been adequate.

Mr. Speaker, when I sit as a Member on the government

side, I'm usually fairly quiet when it comes to – I'm not really into the

heckling sort of thing, but sometimes sitting back and listening to some of the

verbiage that comes forth without putting real facts on the line – because, Mr.

Speaker, quite often we could really take the message that we want put out there

and twist it, and twist it whichever way we want it, but I think it's important

for us to put the facts out there, to put the numbers out there.

We know, Mr. Speaker, there are challenges. We know we

have an aging demographic. We know we have less number of kids coming out of our

schools. We know there are challenges for enrolment, whether it's Memorial

University, whether it's the College of the North Atlantic, whether it's the

private training institutions. We know we have challenges.

So it's important for us to plan, to strategically

plan, to put a vision in place, and that's part of what we're doing with

The Way Forward . Not only are we just

saying The Way Forward is something

that's words on paper, the Premier has been very, very clear that as we move

through The Way Forward there are

benchmarks, there are checks and balances and that in the end we will have a

report card.

It's not a matter of just saying we're going to do

something, it's an initiative and it just sits there and nobody has to implement

it. We have to make sure we are following the vision that is set forth and that

we are going to be doing and checking to make sure we have results.

Mr. Speaker, I have gone through three summits, and I

mentioned them briefly the other day: the aquaculture, the agriculture and the

technology summit. There are tremendous opportunities. There is tremendous

potential for our young people. And, yes, immigration is important for us as

well. I think we have targeted – and the way in which we're moving forward on

our immigration file brings a degree of optimism, because I believe the targets

we've set we will be able to meet.

Mr. Speaker, it's important for all of us to embrace

the opportunities we have, to embrace the fact that we do have – we are open for

business and we are providing opportunities not only for our young people but

for our skilled labour and opportunities within the technology sector for young

people to be able to come to Newfoundland and Labrador and to have a productive

lifestyle and a productive job.

So, Mr. Speaker, as my time is now running down, again,

it's always a pleasure to speak. I'm sure I'll have another opportunity to speak

later, but it's important for us and important for all of us – we have a degree

of integrity within us to make sure that when we talk about and we put facts out

there, that it's just not hearsay. That it's backed up with knowledge, with

information and with facts that are accurate and that are correct.

Mr. Speaker, that's important for all of us. The

message I want to put out to all of us in Newfoundland and Labrador is that we

are open for business. We do have a future and we have a very bright future.

We're going to make sure, as a government, that we will

do everything that's possible to make sure that people do have a standard of

living in this province that's second to none. People will have pride to be

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, which I am and will continue to be.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for this opportunity.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER (Reid):

The

hon. Member for St. John's Centre.

MS.

ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I'm very happy to stand and speak this morning for my

20 minutes. I would like to say that last night I did attend the meeting on the

Grieg EIS, Environmental Impact Statement. It was a very interesting meeting.

How it was set up is that there was a main session

happening in Marystown and then there were three additional satellite sites

across the province, excluding Labrador, however. They were in Corner Brook,

Gander and St. John's. We were all connected via the Internet. There were some

technical difficulties. Unfortunately, we didn't get to hear from Gander and

some of the fine folks who were gathered in Gander who wanted to speak.

Mr. Speaker, I was quite appalled at the vociferous

nature and tone of the Member for Placentia West - Bellevue in his attack on me.

I think at some point people have to realize that rather than attacking Members,

let's attack the problems. I think that would be much more productive and I

think that's what we need to do.

I was very happy to be at that meeting. The meeting was

two hours. A two-hour meeting sounds pretty substantial; this was two hours for

the entire province. The only open public consultation on a huge project, a very

significant project that does, Mr. Speaker, provide some opportunity and we'll

have to see really how that opportunity rolls out.

I was there for the two hours and I listened. I took

copious notes; I have them all here which I would be willing to share with

anyone. I listened. I believe that was my role. I did have some questions I

would have loved to have asked, but there was no time for that. I listened to

the people from across the province who had concerns, not people who are against

aquaculture, not at all, but people who had some valid concerns and also some

people who had some valid answers as well.

Imagine, Mr. Speaker, a huge project that will invest

$45 million of the people's money. That's what was on the table. Whether or not

this government is going to commit to that $45 million, we haven't heard that

absolutely yet. The other thing is that this company, which has years of

experience in aquaculture, anywhere else in the world they would have to pay

licence fees to be able to set up their operations. The Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador had said that they will not have to pay licence fees to set up

here. So there's more than $45 million of the people's money on table here. This

is significant and the people have a right to ask questions and we, as MHAs,

must listen and be engaged in that process.

Mr. Speaker, not only was I there for the two hours

listening intently, I stayed for an additional hour because there were so many

people with additional comments and additional questions who didn't have the

opportunity to speak. So I felt my role, as an MHA, was to listen and to hear

what some of those concerns are and to say: All right, where do we need to go?

What do we need to do, because this is a big project? Also, it offers the

potential of many jobs.

We're not quite sure yet exactly what types of jobs in

terms of how many of them will be close to minimum wage, what will some of the

salaries be, how many will be in that category, how long will some of the jobs

last. We know there will be more jobs in terms of the initial start-up.

Maybe government has that information. We don't really

have that information and that's really important to the people of Burin. As a

matter of fact, I have family members on the Burin Peninsula who work in the

fishery, who work in harvesting and who work in processing and I know how

important these jobs are. I have a lot of friends who are in that area as well.

We all know how important those jobs are, so we want to

make sure that we get this right because we want sustainable jobs, we want jobs

that are good for the economy, we want jobs that are good for the community and

we want to make sure that they are jobs that can last, but we also have a few

other goals that we need to look at.

It's a very interesting time in the aquaculture

industry. Things are changing rapidly. We can see, for instance, what's

happening in different parts of the world, but particularly on the Northeast

Coast of the United States, where they are in fact doing land-based aquaculture.

Now, somebody asked that question at the meeting yesterday and said: How come

we're not going to do it land-based? Because again, that seems to be becoming

the gold standard. It's safer for the environment. It's safer for the fish

themselves, in terms of less pesticides have to be used, less antibiotics have

to be used. So it's kind of interesting. The industry is at a time of change, so

we're kind of like: Where will our feet be? Will we be using an older method

because of our geographic location? It would be very much more expensive to do

land-based here; we know that, because of even transporting the feed for the

operation.

Somebody asked about this: Why not do land-based here

in Newfoundland and Labrador? And the answer was because it wouldn't be

economically viable. So we don't know if (

a) it wouldn't be economically viable

at all, or that Grieg is saying that the profits wouldn't be as high. We don't

know. And we know that companies set up to make profits, absolutely. That's the

goal of commerce, to make profits, and the by-product is jobs in your local

community. I have no problem with that. That's important, because then we know

that kind of commercial activity actually creates other commercial activities.

What we need to look at, Mr. Speaker, is that we need

to protect all our resources. We need to protect the resources of the fish

harvesters who have fished in that area for years. So we have to make sure that

those resources are protected. We need to make sure that the health of Placentia

Bay will continue; that there will be no damage to Placentia Bay and to our fish

harvesters. Then the rollout of that is also, as we've heard the Member for

Placentia West - Bellevue, the issue of jobs. It's important. We all know that,

and we all want to make sure that we seize every possible opportunity we can in

a way that's sustainable.

There are a few goals that we should be looking at: to

protect the resources of our fish harvesters who have fished in that area for

years in our waters; we need to ensure that we have good-paying jobs in rural

communities – absolutely – and government needs to hold a higher standard, and

government needs policy to protect that.

One of the issues that were raised in the meeting last

night, the question was: Would this particular type of operation, the way it is

being proposed by Grieg, be allowed to be set up in Norway right now? The

scientist for Grieg said: Probably not. The standards in Norway, which is what

most of the world is moving towards, are different than the standards in the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Someone asked: What standards will this

project be under? They will be under the standards of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I'm not making any of this up, Mr. Speaker, I'm simply reporting back as to what

happened at that meeting and the questions that were raised.

We know that our commercial fishery is worth over $1

billion a year and it provides good jobs to people across Newfoundland and

Labrador. We always need to make sure we protect those resources. We must move

forward. The science is changing. We must move forward and seize the

opportunities that present themselves, but let's make sure that we do it in the

most responsible way that we can.

We have to have a government that's committed to

meeting all those goals and that will not trade one off for the other. What we

have here, Mr. Speaker, is that the people of the province had to go to court to

force government to employ every safeguard that we had.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador released

this huge project from an environmental impact statement. So the Atlantic Salmon

Federation and the money from the Atlantic Salmon Federation – a lot of US

money, we can't deny that – went to court to force government to insist, to

follow all of our democratic safeguards to ensure that this project was done in

the most environmentally sustainable way and in the most responsible way,

protecting all additional resources for the people of the province. That's the

only reason we have an EIS. That is the only reason because this company was

released from an EIS.

When we look at what happened with Muskrat Falls, we

have our regulatory safeguards to make sure that this project was going well:

the Public Utilities Board. That was the regulator who had the legal position of

oversight to investigate all aspects of Muskrat Falls to make sure it was

environmentally sustainable, financially viable and good for the people of the

province. They were stripped of that right and look what happened, look at the

boondoggle, even government itself talks about the boondoggle that is Muskrat

Falls. The previous administration bypassed the legislated safeguards that were

in place, and that's what this government did. This government also released

Grieg from an EIS assessment.

Now the people have to go to the courts to make sure

that government didn't, once again, bypass every regulatory safeguard and tool

at our disposal to make sure that any major project would be under scrutiny, to

ensure that it was good for the province. It shows that government can't be

relied upon. People shouldn't have to be working against their government in

order for government to employ the safeguards and the legislated safeguards that

are in place. We need due diligence, and that's what this is about.

The people of Burin know that as well. There are people

in Burin also lobbying for the same thing. I'm would be very happy to meet with

people in Burin. I'm not making a decision about whether or not this project

goes ahead. The government will make that decision about whether or not this

will go ahead, but government must employ all the tools that are at their

disposal to ensure that this project is good for the environment, good for jobs,

good for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, and particularly good for the

people on the Burin Peninsula who are relying on this project, who see this

project as an opportunity for economic advancement and for jobs, which we all

agree is very important.

I would like to now just raise some of the issues, some

of the questions that were raised last night. They seem like valid questions and

they seem like important questions to me. Again, my role was not to take up

time; my role was to listen to the people who had raised concerns. One of the

issues that was raised is about the ice in Placentia Bay. Someone raised the

issue of ice in Placentia Bay is very, very, very thick. One of the issues that

the raised is if these cages had been in the water last April when we saw all

that ice in Placentia Bay, and all those cages with 7 million fish, they were

damaged and there was an escape of 7 million farmed salmon, which is more than

the amount of wild salmon in the world, if there was an escape of 7 million

salmon because of the ice that we saw last April in Placentia Bay what would

have been –

HON. MEMBER:

Fear mongering.

MS.

ROGERS:

It's not fear mongering, Mr. Speaker. This is a question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MS.

ROGERS:

Mr.

Speaker, no, no, no, this is not fear mongering. This is a question that was

raised. It wasn't you can't do the aquaculture. The question was raised: What

would be the emergency response plan?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS.

ROGERS:

It's the same in the oil industry, Mr. Speaker. We ask oil companies.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MS.

ROGERS:

Mr.

Speaker, I can hardly hear myself. I listened intently to what they had to say.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS.

ROGERS:

It's not fear mongering. We ask our oil industry what are your emergency plans,

should there be an event. So that was the question that was raised, not that you

can't put the pens in the water. The question that was raised: What is the

emergency response? What would it be? It's a good question, very good question.

Another issue that was brought up is the proximity of

Placentia Bay and where the pens would be to the mouth of salmon rivers. Good

question. I'm not so sure people were satisfied with the answer. A lot of people

feel – so hopefully some of those questions will be answered in the actual EIS.

Another issue that was brought up was the issue of

triploids. Now there's been, the Norwegian, the scientists –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS.

ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The scientist who was there on behalf of Grieg said

that they would be using triploids and that there is a 98 per cent sterilization

rate of triploids. So someone raised the issue: Well, however, that sounds

really good, only 2 per cent possibility of no sterilization. What would happen?

So 2 per cent of the triploid process, if there was an escape, that's 140,000

fish, only 2 per cent – that's a lot of fish. What would happen then? That was

the question.

The other question that was raised about the triploids

is that the scientist said to us – and there were other scientists in the room

who were not with Grieg who had questions, and it's really important to hear

these questions. If the triploids do well in cold water, but one scientist asked

the question: Yeah, the triploids do well in cold water, but what happens in the

summer when we have warmer currents, are the triploids going to survive? Are

they going to be a valid way of doing this? It hasn't been fully tested. It's

still somewhat of a new area for Grieg. Grieg admitted that as well. They're

doing due diligence about the sterilization process. They have a whole new

sterilization process that they use in a way of sterilizing the eggs.

It's very, very interesting, compressing the eggs

through pressure. They said they're doing it in multiple pens rather than a

large pen. So they're feeling very confident, but it's still somewhat a new

area. He said: What happens then if it's proven after all this work that the

triploids may not be absolutely a fool proof way to do it, will they have to

result to the diploids? I don't know. Good question.

One question was asked: Can this be done in Norway? I

don't think that was adequately answered. People still have outstanding

questions that it may not be. Norway may not allow a company to do the exact

same kind of project in the waters off Norway.

This is about having respect for our people, Mr.

Speaker. To shut down any questions is exactly what happened with Muskrat Falls,

and look what we ended up with. We have to hear these valid questions and there

has to be a dialogue.

For people to ask questions does not mean they're

against and want to shut down aquaculture. It does not mean they're against good

jobs in Burin, and the good people of Burin know that too.

One of the issues that was brought up is there has been

no peer reviews or documentation presented at any of the presentations last

night. We know in science how important that is, to have peer reviews.

There was a report recently out of Scotland where

640,000 dead fish were in the water in aquaculture. People were saying: What

happens then? If that happens, what are the remediation processes?

The other issue that was raised was that – Mr. Speaker,

I see my time is running out. One of the things is that the Newfoundland and

Labrador coalition for agricultural reform has asked for some very specific

things, among them is: We have to make sure that we have better regulations,

better policies and independent oversight and monitoring. I support that, Mr.

Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS.

ROGERS:

Also, we need to see –

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. Member's –

MS.

ROGERS:

need to see an independent regulatory body.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. Member's time has expired.

MS.

ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's an honour, as it is for everybody here in the

House, for me to have opportunity to respond to the Speech from the Throne which

was delivered here yesterday.

Like my colleagues, I want to thank His Honour, Frank

Fagan, and Her Honour, Patricia Fagan, for their contribution to the province

over the course of their term in that office. It continues to evolve and

modernize. We've heard a lot of very complimentary points made about the work

that's been done by the Lieutenant-Governor and his wife since they took that

office. I just wanted to say that right off the top.

It is a cause for optimism, the Speech from the Throne

yesterday, but there's certainly lots of caution in there. Just briefly, to

respond to the previous speaker, I just feel obliged to say a few words about

the issue of the Grieg development down in the Burin Peninsula area and

Placentia Bay.

I'm from the Burin Peninsula originally; I grew up on a

little farm down in Lords Cove. Over the course of the last couple of decades

we've really seen a lot of stripping out of the population down there. If people

want to talk about population decline, go down to that area of the province and

see.

With the recent development of the fluorspar mine

reopening – both my grandfathers worked there, my father worked there, a lot of

my uncles worked there back in the previous time when that was open. We're all

very proud of the fact that we were able to work together to get that mine

reopened. The people down in St. Lawrence and the surrounding communities of

Lawn, Burin and Marystown are all very proud of the fact that we got that going,

with a lot of credit to the ministers and the two MHAs for the area.

The Grieg development is another piece of the puzzle to

make sure that we have long-term population and economic stability on the Burin

Peninsula. I hear a lot of talk about people leaving and people leaving. I left

the province a number of times in my youth and I came back.

I want my son, who will be seven this year, to have the

choice to live in Newfoundland and Labrador, if he chooses. If he wants to go

away to work, that will be his decision, like all of the Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians from this part of the province who left and worked in Labrador

years ago and all the people from this province, before we joined Confederation,

that used to go to Boston and New York and built large portions of those cities.

Their infrastructure was built by hard-working Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

After we joined Confederation, lots of our families

relocated and worked on the Mainland. My father's first job after he graduated

high school was he went to London, Ontario in 1968 to work for Labatt's Brewery,

but he died at his home on the Burin Peninsula because he came back.

Sometimes we migrate out for work, but we often come

back. Everybody knows that saying about the Newfoundlander in Heaven is the only

person who wants to go home. I hold that true. I think we're all patriots here

in the House of Assembly and we want what's best for the province.

I won't get into the specifics of what the Member had

to say, all I'll say, Mr. Speaker, is there's something very fishy about what it

was she had to say about that project.

I also wanted to point out, Mr. Speaker, today the

Conference Board of Canada is sounding that we have a very, very positive

economic outlook for the City of St. John's for 2018. That is again something

that is happening because we are all working together, working on all cylinders

– municipal government, provincial government, federal government, and sometimes

the Opposition – working together to get this province back on track again, and

we are getting there. We are getting there, I assure you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KIRBY:

Now, I wanted to say a few things about child care, because when we had the

by-election in Mount Pearl North that was an issue that was talked about by, I

guess, all of the parties who were running in that election.

I just wanted to talk about where we are, because

someone said recently to me, you don't hear about the good things. All you hear

is the negativity. Anything that's positive is drowned out by this tide of

negativity. I just wanted to tell you, we are living in a transformational

moment in education in Newfoundland and Labrador. We are living in a

transformational moment, and I'll tell you why.

Last year when we were facing great financial

difficulty, we worked with the former minister of Finance, the ministers of all

the departments, with the Premier, and we realized that even facing great

financial difficulty, we had to invest in early learning and child care. So we

put funds towards reducing the threshold by which parents can qualify for

subsidized child care, and that had not been changed since 2007. Ten years, a

decade went by without a change to the affordability of child care in this

province.

I say that the hon. Minister of Advanced Education,

Skills and Labour talked about this fictional time that the Opposition parties

talk about, somehow when we had everything and everything was great and was

fine, even then the Progressive Conservative government of this province did not

see fit to change that threshold of eligibility for the child care subsidy. We

did it twice last year. We did it the first time as a result of the provincial

budget and then we did it again as a result of the federal contribution to child

care, which I'll go into some detail about.

Last year, we also changed the supplement, which is a

wage supplement, to early childhood educators. Some early childhood educators –

and this was a platform promise of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and

Labrador in the last election – got as much as $2.33 an hour extra as a result

of that initiative that we brought in at a time of great difficulty.

People talk in this House of Assembly about pay equity.

I'll tell you, you go in to child care centres in this province and you don't

see a lot of dudes taking care of our children, it is a predominantly female

workforce. This has gone a long way to leveling the playing field for women who

work in that very important profession.

Also, last year, we reached a bilateral agreement with

the federal government, which will provide, over a three-year period, $22

million of federal funding for child care. The provincial government, the people

of Newfoundland and Labrador, this province did not have to contribute anything

extra to that. Those are all federal dollars. We are going to be announcing very

soon, in great detail, how we're going to put that money to work to make sure we

have better quality, more affordable, more accessible early learning and child

care in this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KIRBY:

say, Mr. Speaker, when I came into this House of Assembly in 2011 – there are

still a few of us here – there was a report by the Atkinson Centre at the

University of Toronto, an organization of some reputation that studies the

progress of child care in the provinces and reports on it on a regular basis. So

it's like a report card, and the grading in that report is you can score a total

of 15. There are a total of 15 points allocated to a variety of different areas.

The first year that I was in this House of Assembly, do

you know what the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador scored on child care?

Mr. Speaker, 1.5 out of 15. Do you know what we were last time? When this report

was released very recently, it was just about a month ago, we were 8.5 out of

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KIRBY:

The

highest scoring province in Canada only scored 11 out of 15. We have moved

significantly. We have moved this significantly in a short period of time. Why

is that? There are two reasons why; one – and I have seen it first-hand because

I have had the privilege in my job to travel the province and talk to early

childhood educators, to go to centres to see the work they're doing first-hand.

They are working hard and they are working with us. We

are working together. Early childhood educators, owners of child care centres,

not-for-profit groups who are creating new spaces, private operations, operators

within centres; they're working with all of our regional and departmental staff

to get things together so that we can improve the situation of child care in the

province. As I said, just back in 2011 we were way behind the rest of the

province.

Another thing that we did, Mr. Speaker, is we brought

in full-day kindergarten a couple of years ago. In the first year there were

about 5,000 children who benefited from a full day of kindergarten and we've had

about another 5,000 again this year. That's 10,000 children who will have

benefited from full-day kindergarten at the end of this year. I won't go into

details because I've spoken about this issue in the House of Assembly many,

many, many times.

We know that quality early learning and care and

full-day kindergarten better prepares children for life, better prepared for

grade one, better cognitive development, better mathematics literacy, better

reading ability, more socialization. In other words, children, by being in a

child care or a full-day kindergarten setting, learn how to get along with one

another, learn how to treat others with respect, learn what is appropriate and

learn what is not. Or as my mother would say, learn your pleases and thank-yous.

But they learn that.

So full-day kindergarten was a long time coming to

Newfoundland and Labrador. I'm proud to say that we saw it through. Because the

fact of the matter is by the time we get to the next election – because the

former premier, the Leader of the PC Party Opposition said yesterday the clock

is ticking, and I'm glad the clock is ticking because I appreciate nothing more

than an election campaign. I think all of us do. I look forward to knocking on

doors in my district next time and telling my constituents – and I do it now

when I'm knocking on doors in my district and out at events – that we'll have

20,000 children who have benefited from a full day of kindergarten, an

initiative which was opposed by the NDP and opposed by the PC Party. That is the

truth. If they had their way, they would have denied 20,000 Newfoundland and

Labrador children a better opportunity to get a better start in life.

So I'll leave it to them to explain, but I was a bit

taken back in the by-election in Mount Pearl North where I felt like we were

being lectured by the NDP on child care when they're not even in favour of

full-day kindergarten, let alone of anything else.

If you add up the sums of money, if people are

interested in figures, over a three-year period in this province there will have

been $39 million, by the time they get to the next election, allocated to

full-day kindergarten. There's the $22 million over three years from the federal

government. There's another $9.9 million, cumulative, that we started to invest

last year. So that takes us up to over $70 million in new investments in early

learning in this province just in three years –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KIRBY:

– at a time where people are saying on the Opposition benches the sky is

falling. There's nothing good. There are no positive initiatives. It's all

falling apart. We are in a transformational moment in education, in early year's

education in Newfoundland and Labrador. This next generation – and I believe

this to be true – will be better off as a result of it. They will be better

citizens. They will be better equipped. They will be more able to build the

Newfoundland and Labrador that we have been so lucky to inherit. They will stand

here in the House of Assembly themselves and they will be better equipped than

we were.

They will treat other children in a different way. The

whole safe and caring philosophy is being instilled in children at an early age,

besides what they get at home. They're getting a full day of care, either in a

child care centre or in school. It's all regulated and there's an element of

quality within it.

In addition to that, it enables people to go to work.

It enables women to get into the workforce in greater numbers. We are doing

everything that we possibly can. At a time of purported austerity, we have been

able to make that $70 million-plus investment in our tiniest children. I can't

tell you how optimistic I am for the future of this province just by virtue of

that one thing alone.

There's more. Yesterday, in the Speech from the Throne,

Lieutenant-Governor spelled out the next stages of our plan for education in

this province. The backbone of it is the task force the Premier appointed to

make sure that we resolved some of the issues that have been most glaringly

problematic in this province over the past number of years.

I encourage anyone who has not had an opportunity to go

through this report to see what it is we are going to do. I note that I don't

think I had a single question so far in this session – we are here now, this is

the middle of the third week of this sitting and I have not gotten a single

question about education from the Education critic for the Progressive

Conservative Opposition. I've had lots to tell him but he has nothing to ask. At

least I got questions from the NDP.

So far, with relatively small expense, we have been

able to implement 15 recommendations of the 82 that were in the task force

report; there are 67 left to go. The task force itself came in under budget.

They came in almost 30 per cent under the budget that was allocated to them.

They did it in the most frugal way possible and produced one of the most

important public documents of our time.

Now is the Time is the title of the report, and now is the time.

On March 27, we will see the path forward for education

in this province for fixing the problems with the inclusive education model that

the previous government implemented with very little consultation in this

province, foisted it onto the system, created enormous stresses and strain for

the school system. We will see a path forward for early literacy intervention in

a way that we have not seen in quite a long time, if we have ever seen anything

like it before. We will provide better supports for our children in schools to

make sure they get the best start that they can in life.

The reason why I say we're living in a transformational

moment in education in this province is if you look at what we have managed to

do in such a short period of time, just over a couple of years, starting with

the task force and our investments in early learning and child care, those

children who are getting all that additional attention, who will get all that

additional support, who will have a better quality educational experience from

their earliest years right up through the system, they are going to have

something that we didn't have, that children in the province don't have right

now. In addition to that, teachers will have more opportunities to support

children in classrooms, to deliver a modern 21st century curriculum in a way

that will produce better outcomes.

We will start to see the value – we are already seeing,

I would say, for those children who are in grade one this year, who were in

full-day kindergarten last. We are seeing some of the benefits already, but over

the course of their time in school we will see the benefit of this

transformational moment that we are currently living in.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl - Southlands.

MR.

LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is certainly a pleasure to stand in this hon. House

and speak this morning. Mr. Speaker, there are an awful lot of things that – the

Speech from the Throne range from a whole gamut of issues and initiatives. There

were a lot of things that were in the Speech from the Throne that basically

outlined things that have already been done, things that are already underway

and so on. That's fine.

There was a little bit of insight into a few new

initiatives. One of the things, as has been mentioned, that I took away as a

positive was the commitment that was in the Speech from the Throne to deal with

the issue of violence against women and children. I think there's nobody in this

House of Assembly, I'm sure, who would have any issue with that. There have been

some initiatives taken already and from the sounds of it, there are going to be

further initiatives that are going to be taken as time goes on.

I would say to the government, anything they do in that

regard they'll certainly have my full support and I'm sure they will have the

support of the entire House of Assembly. We all have either partners or mothers

or sisters or daughters or friends and so on who could all be impacted by those

issues.

MR.

K. PARSONS:

Grandchildren.

MR.

LANE:

Grandchildren.

We certainly hope it never happens, but the statistics

are very startling. As my colleague from the beautiful District of Cape St.

Francis indicated earlier, anything we can do to support that initiative is very

important. I'm sure we're all united on that issue. So that was a good thing.

There was also mention there of gender equity and

ensuring there is more done to ensure that women have increased involvement in

various industries and areas of employment and, in particular, leadership roles

and that government was going to champion that cause. I know it's something

that, in particular, I hear from the Member for St. John's Centre and St. John's

East - Quidi Vidi speaking to those issues all the time. I'm sure they're very

pleased with that. I'm sure everyone in the House would support that initiative.

There were a lot of things there as well. They talked

about a number of industries and things that government is trying to do to

diversify the economy and to create jobs and so on. That's good to see. I think

we all agree, there's a lot of opportunity that we have here in this province.

We're certainly blessed with natural resources, I think like no other province,

actually.

I don't think there's another province in Canada that

actually has the amount of natural resources and opportunities that we have here

in Newfoundland and Labrador, whether it be with oil and gas, whether it be the

vast mineral deposits that we have, both on the Island and in Labrador, in

particular. There's no doubt about that. We have tremendous opportunity with the

fishery. The fishery is certainly what brought people to Newfoundland to begin

with. That's where we came from, was because of the fishery. It's still a

billion-dollar resource, despite the challenges that we've had and continue to

have, and there are things we need to work on for sure, which I'll just speak to

a little bit later. But that's a resource that's there and it's an opportunity.

We have opportunities certainly in agriculture. I'm

very pleased to see the government has taken some initiatives, whether it be

freeing up Crown lands and other initiatives, in trying to grow the agriculture

in our province. I think that's a very important initiative. I'm sure that

everybody in the House would certainly support that, providing it's done

properly and sustainably and so on.

Food security, as we know, is an issue here in our

province. So whatever we can do to address the food security issue and at the

same time grow that industry, provide employment for farmers and so on, and of

course the spinoff associated to that, then that's something that we all need to

be supportive of and working on, and I'm sure we do.

Also, anything we can do with our forestry. We still

have a lot of opportunities with forestry, whether it be up on the Northern

Peninsula – that's certainly in need of an economic boost, for sure. Although

they are doing well in terms of some tourism and so on, but forestry, I think,

is still something that needs to be worked on to help that area. Certainly

forestry in Central Newfoundland, the Terra Nova area and so on, there are

opportunities there, and that's going to create a lot of jobs.

All of these initiatives that we hear of and I'm

pleased to hear government talk about these industries and initiatives they have

taken, and the fact that they're indicating there's more to come in that regard,

I think that's an important thing. I think it's something that we all should be

supporting. Again, providing that it is done properly and sustainably, and

provided it's done in a way that the number one beneficiary of those resources,

whether it be fishery, whether it be forestry, whether it be agriculture,

whether it be oil and gas, mining and so on, that the number one beneficiary of

those resources are the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. And that's the key.

I think for far too long we have been exploiting our

resources and it seems like Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are not necessarily

gaining the full benefit that they can and that they should in a lot of our

industries. A lot of the benefit and a lot of the wealth go to other provinces

and jurisdictions and private interests and not necessarily the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

I think in anything that we do, on a go-forward basis,

certainly with our resources, we have to ensure that the principle of ensuring

that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians benefit first and the most from our

resources, that has to be key and not just for a few short-term jobs. Quite

often, we've seen again in our history where we've seen things leave the

province, short-term projects and so on, all for a few jobs, for a year or two

or until the next election cycle. Unfortunately, we've seen that as well. That's

not where we need to be as a province.

We need to ensure that if we're exploiting our

resources, whatever they might be, that it's done in a sustainable, long-term

vision. That it's not just done for a few jobs for political purposes, that it's

done for the long haul to benefit our people and our communities. As long as we

can commit to do that and to stay on that track, then I'm sure that's something

we would all support.

There's no doubt we have opportunities here in our

province as it relates to tourism. Another very, very bright spot that we have

in our province is tourism. There are numerous locations throughout Newfoundland

and Labrador, whether it be the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, whether it be our

national parks, whether it be a lot of our historic sites, a lot of our small

rural communities, the history associated to that, the beauty associated to

that, whether it be the puffins and the whales, the icebergs, there are so many

things that we have to offer here in Newfoundland and Labrador. The world is

finding out about us, which is a good thing. I'm very glad to see that rubber

tire traffic is up. That's a good thing.

When we talk about sometimes it's all about doom and

gloom from the other side, I just want to say it's not. I agree. I want, I

genuinely – and I'm sure we all do really – want government to succeed. There's

nobody over here that wants government to fail.

We saw this little to and fro here and the Member for

Burin Peninsula West, I believe the district is called, who took –

HON. MEMBER:

Placentia West – Bellevue.

MR.

LANE:

Okay, Placentia West – Bellevue.

I would say to that Member who took some exception to

the Member for St. John's Centre: I want your town to succeed. I'm sure

everybody here does. There's nobody here that doesn't want to see them succeed.

There's nobody here that's saying we don't want jobs in Marystown or we don't

want jobs in Burin, or we don't want jobs in Grand Bank. Of course we do. We all

do because when those communities benefit, we all benefit.

I'm sure the Member for St. John's Centre feels the

exact same way. To be honest with you, I never heard anything. Maybe other

Members heard something that I didn't, but I did not hear the Member say that

she was against aquaculture. I didn't hear her say that. I just heard her say

that there are people who have concerns about the environmental process.

That's a reasonable comment for anybody to make.

Whether it's Grieg or whether it's any other aquaculture project, whether it's

an oil and gas project, whatever it is, we have rules in place for a reason. We

have environmental assessment processes in place for a reason. As long as

they're followed and we can assure that things are done properly, done safely

and done environmentally sustainable then, sure, of course, we're all in favour

of that.

I would love to see 10 Griegs. I would love to see a

hundred Griegs, if it's possible.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

LANE:

Absolutely, if it can be shown that it can be done properly and it's not going

to endanger our wild fish stocks. If it's done properly and we've got the

scientific data to back it up and all the safeguards in place, I'd like to see a

hundred of them. Absolutely. Why wouldn't we?

I'd like to see 10 mines open up in Labrador tomorrow.

I'd like to see them all open up because there are a number of them. It's not

just Wabush and the IOC. I know for a fact, and I'm sure the Member could

confirm, there are a number of mines up in Labrador that are not open yet that

have been discovered. There's a big uranium mine, as I understand it; there are

two or three iron ore mines, Alderon and there are some others.

We have mining potential here on the Island. We want to

see it all going. Absolutely, go gangbusters, give it to her. The same thing

with oil and gas; we've only just scratched the surface on oil and gas.

Scratched the surface of what's out there, the potential.

I would give credit to the former administration on the

work they did on the seismic data that showed – and it's true, you have to give

credit where credit is due. They invested in seismic data that has shown there

is tremendous potential all around the Island and right up the coast of

Labrador. It's there. That's absolutely fantastic.

HON. MEMBER:

It's not going anywhere.

MR.

LANE:

The

Member says it's not going anywhere. It's not. That's right. It's not going

anywhere. It's there for us to use and for us to benefit from.

No, it's not all doom and gloom. Absolutely, we will

eventually turn the corner. I am really convinced that we will.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

LANE:

There are always going to be peaks and valleys, no doubt about it. Yes, as the

Minister of AESL said, we've always had people leaving the province. It's not a

new phenomenon, everybody knows that. If you look back in time, there was always

Newfoundlanders heading up to Alberta or Toronto or wherever they were going.

There are lots of young people who graduate from Memorial University that want

to leave.

Granted, there is no doubt, I have heard from people

who have said they're leaving the province because they can't find work or they

can't afford the taxes and so on. If we're all going to be honest about it,

we've all heard it. I'm not saying it's widespread and everyone is saying it. I

can't say I've heard it from 1,000 people but I've gotten, I don't know, a dozen

emails or so in the last year from people saying they're gone, I'm gone and this

is the reason why. We've all gotten that, no doubt, but there have always been

people who left Newfoundland.

A lot of young people don't want to stay in

Newfoundland because they see greater opportunity on the Mainland. I know people

personally who have left who said one of the reasons is I like to travel and

it's so expensive just to get off the Island. So if I live over here in Ontario

somewhere, I can get aboard the car and I can drive down to the states and so

on. I can drive there in a day or so. It's really cheap to do and so on. There's

more opportunity to travel or there's more entertainment, because I want to go

see major league baseball games, hockey games and stuff that I can't see in

Newfoundland.

There are people who would say there are other reasons,

whether it be more opportunity in their chosen field on the Mainland. So that's

always happened and it's always going to happen, there's no doubt about it. As I

indicated, that's not to say there are no concerns that people have, because

there are concerns that people have. Nobody can deny that there are concerns.

Now, I heard the Minister of Education talking about

early childhood education, full-day kindergarten. That's a good thing. We

support that. I heard the minister say the Members over on this side – now he

didn't name me specifically, he said the PCs and the NDP – were against full-day

kindergarten. I have to be honest, I never heard a Member – I never heard it.

They might have said it, maybe they wrote him a letter and said we're against it

but I never heard them say they were against it. I certainly never said I was

against it.

I said at the time, during

Budget 2016 , that we're going to tax everyone to death. We don't

have enough resources for children in the system now, children with special

needs, overcrowded classrooms and all of that. If we can't afford to do what we

have now, then maybe full-day kindergarten is not the right thing to do at this

time if we can't afford what we have now. I said that. We all said that, but no

one said we're opposed to full-day kindergarten. I think that's where the

rhetoric has to stop. I think that's where the rhetoric has to stop on all sides

and let's talk the reality of the situation.

So, yes, I'm glad that things are working out for

education. I look forward to the implementation of the recommendations on the

Premier's Task Force on Education. We all do (inaudible). If there are things in

that task force that are recommended and we agree they're good things and the

government says no, we're not going to do them for some reason, we might

question that.

We might question the timing, we might question the

cost, we might question all those things. That's our job. It doesn't mean we're

against it. It just means we're questioning it, because that's what we're here

to do. We're here to question those things. That's the role that Opposition has.

It's not about opposing for the sake of opposing. It's about raising questions

and concerns when questions and concerns arise, because believe it or not, every

single thing the government does is not necessarily going to be perfect. I know

that might be hard to believe but it's true.

Any government, it's not all going to be perfect. The

intent might be good, there might be an issue with the roll out, there might be

an issue with the timing. There could be issues. It could be 99 per cent good,

but there's an issue. There are some smaller items that could be massaged.

That's why when we come to this House of Assembly we

debate legislation. That's why sometimes you see amendments or you see Members

here vote in favour of a bill, but they still question things. So we acknowledge

that's a good bill. What you're doing is a good thing but we have a couple of

concerns. This is something that could be done a little bit differently to make

it better. That's what we're here to do.

It all comes down to, I think, mutual respect, working

together for the people who elected us. In fairness, I say to the Member for the

Burin Peninsula, I understand he has a role. I totally understand he has a role

to stand up for the people of his district. Those jobs are very, very important

for the people of his district. He said he's got a list of 1,700 names on a

petition, I'm sure that could be 17,000. Because, of course, people are in

favour of it. They need jobs. They need economic development, spinoff and all

that stuff. So good for him for speaking up and supporting the people of his

district.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

LANE:

Absolutely, I agree with that. I agree with that. That's his job. It's only what

any of us would do. But – the only but I'll say – just because Members question

certain things or ask questions doesn't automatically mean we're against you or

we're against your district and so on, because we're not.

We're just simply putting out questions and concerns

that we're hearing on certain issues just to make sure things are done properly,

fairly, sustainably and so on. At least that's why I put out the issues. I have

no political – I have no horse in the race here. I couldn't care less who wins

the next election, to be honest with you. I couldn't care less. I'm just trying

to put it out as I see it for the people who have elected me.

HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

LANE:

Mr.

Speaker, I see I am starting to run out of time, but I will acknowledge that

it's not all doom and gloom. I will agree with that, but there are concerns.

There are concerns. People have concerns and we have a role to bring those

concerns forward.

I hear, I'm sure all Members hear, people still have

concerns about the affordability issue, seniors and so on. I know there's a

seniors supplement for seniors on very low incomes but for seniors who might

have a small pension, and now all of a sudden that extra 15 per cent tax we're

going to be talking about today on insurance, the levy, different things like

that are all impacting them. They have concerns and we're going to continue to

bring those concerns on their behalf.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would move that we adjourn debate on Address in Reply

and with the consent of my colleagues, I would suggest we recess until 2 p.m.

MR.

SPEAKER:

accordance with paragraph 9(1)(

b) of the Standing Orders, this House is in

recess until 2 o'clock this afternoon.

Recess

The House resumed at 2 p.m.

MR.

SPEAKER (Trimper):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

We have several guests today that I'd like to draw the

Members' attention to. First of all, in the Speaker's gallery, I'm very proud to

welcome retired Airforce Veteran, Mr. Mike Jackman; he's going to be the subject

of a Members' statement today. A great welcome to you, Sir.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

And

we have some great mayors visiting us today. In the public gallery I have Mr.

Daniel Veilleux, he is the Mayor of Lushes Bight-Beaumont and he is joined by

his wife, Mrs. Laura Lee Rowsell.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

And

way over on the other end of the island from the community of Channel-Port aux

Basques, we have the Deputy Mayor Todd Strickland, Councillor Mel Keeping and

Town Manager Leon MacIsaac.

Thank you to all of you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

believe that's my intros.

Statements by Members

MR.

SPEAKER:

For

Members' statements today we will be hearing from the Districts of Harbour Grace

- Port de Grave, Lewisporte - Twillingate, Exploits, Conception Bay East - Bell

Island and Harbour Main.

The hon. the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave.

MS.

P. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today's statement

is about determination, family, community support and the power of prayer.

Forty-three year

old Curtis Bullen of Bay Roberts is a father of two young boys, Mitchel and

Tyson. He is a husband to Melissa Ralph, formerly of Port de Grave. The Bullen's

are active members of the community and their church, the Port de Grave

Pentecostal Tabernacle.

In July of 2014,

Curtis was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer, learning that the disease had

also spread to other organs. This news was devastating, but with so much to live

for, Curtis and his family have become stronger and more determined than ever.

With the challenges

of treatments and surgeries, their journey has been difficult but the community

support they continue to receive is amazing. Curtis has been very strong but

when he and Melissa met with the doctor in January they were told that all

treatment options have been exhausted. In spite of this, Curtis told me he isn't

giving up.

Their faith is

strong. People from Cambodia, Africa, Florida, Texas, British Columbia and

across our country all the way to Newfoundland are praying for the Bullen

family.

Mr. Speaker, I ask

that all Members in this hon. House keep Curtis Bullen and his family in their

prayers.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Lewisporte - Twillingate.

MR.

D. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On February 28, I

had the privilege of attending the 15th Annual Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP)

ceremony of the Student Volunteer Bureau at Memorial University.

VIP was created to

recognize and encourage student involvement in volunteer and leadership

activities. By combining volunteerism with valuable life and career skills,

participants will realize their potential as student leaders. The skills

students acquire through the VIP will assist them in their personal and

professional development.

Participants in the

program entered at the bronze level and ascend through silver, gold and

platinum. Approximately 200 students were recognized for their contributions

during this year's ceremony.

I'm proud to say

that five young ladies from my district who actively volunteered, while

maintaining academic success, were acknowledged during the ceremony. Amber

Tremblett received gold and platinum; Kristen Peckford: platinum; Laura

Peckford: silver and gold; Taylor Ivany: bronze and silver; and Cayley Thoms:

bronze.

Mr. Speaker, I ask

all hon. Members in this House to join me in congratulating the recipients of

these prestigious awards and to thank them for their valuable contributions.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Exploits.

MR. DEAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon.

House today to acknowledge Mr. Wilson Bridger and his 40 years of

voluntary service with the Kinsmen Club of Botwood, for which on May 13, 2017 he

was presented with the Life Membership, the highest award that the Kinsmen Club

of Canada can bestow upon a member.

Wilson joined Kinsmen in 1977 and has served on all

executive positions during those four decades. Wilson has served on the Zone

executive, has received Kinsmen of the Year three times and, in 2015, was named

the Town of Botwood's Citizen of the Year.

Anywhere that a helping hand is needed, be it with the

Kinsmen or with other groups in the town and beyond, is where you will find

Wilson. A modest and humble person, Wilson doesn't do it for recognition. He

takes great pride in the clubs motto: Serving the Community's Greatest Needs.

Wilson is helping to make the world a better place.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join with me in

congratulating Kin Wilson Bridger on his Kinsmen Club of Canada Life Membership

award.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand today to acknowledge a resident of my district

who I had the pleasure of presenting a special award to a few weeks ago. I speak

of retired Air Force Veteran Michael Jackman, who was awarded the 60-year pin as

a member of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Michael has held various positions in the Legion

movement in various branches over his 60 years of serving this great

organization. At 85 years of age, he still participates as an active member of

the Color Party and helps organize the annual Poppy Drive.

Michael joined the Canadian Air Force in 1951 and

served in various parts of the world but, particularly, all through Europe. Upon

his arrival back in Canada, Mike joined the Legion in 1956 and he started a

lifetime of supporting aims and objectives of this organization.

Mike, a native of Bell Island, served as member of

Branch 18 on Bell Island and continues to serve in Branch 10 in Portugal

Cove-St. Philip's, his adopted home for the last 20 years. Mike has been a

volunteer in numerous organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador that enhance

the lives of people from one to 100.

I would be remiss if I didn't note that Mike's father,

the late David Nish Jackman, was the first member elected after Confederation to

represent the District of Harbour Main - Bell Island in this hallowed House.

I ask all Members to congratulate and thank Mike for

his dedication and commitment to the Legion movement.

I salute you, my friend.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

And

if I may, before I go on to the next item, I would also like to welcome into the

public gallery Mayor Paul Pike of St. Lawrence and Mayor John Strang of Lawn.

Welcome to you both.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

I've been thrown off. I will explain at some point.

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women.

MS.

COADY:

Mr.

Speaker, this week I joined ministers and parliamentarians from across the

country and around the world, as well as representatives from labour, education

and civil society at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New

York City.

The Canadian delegation was led by the Minister of

Status of Women Canada. Several representatives from this province attended

including leaders from the Canadian Federation of University Women, Unifor and

the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour.

The session at the United Nations – in which Canada

played a major role – was integral to advancing the rights and equality of women

and girls. It was an honour to be part of the empowering general assembly and

participate in sessions on gender-based violence and accountability measures for

gender equality, and to discuss gender-based analysis in policies, programs,

services, legislation and budgets to ensure equitable outcomes for women in

decision making by governments.

As was said during the assembly, “evidence proves that

investing in gender equality and the health, rights and well-being of girls and

women, creates a ripple effect that spurs growth and progress for all.”

While at the United Nations session, I also had the

opportunity to meet with my national colleagues on how we can continue to

collaborate on initiatives of gender equality and violence prevention.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to advancing

the status of women and girls in Newfoundland and Labrador. We do not want half

the population left behind in opportunity or advancement. This is just one of

the many reasons why it is important to share our voices in the United Nations.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS.

PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of her

statement. I'm very glad to hear about the minister's commitment to advancing

the status of women and girls; I share this commitment. It is imperative that we

place a gender lens on all of the decisions made and that we continue the

conversation on how to eliminate gender-based violence in our communities.

While the minister indicated that she is committed to

advancing gender equity and the status of women and girls, I was disappointed to

see only vague references to her plan in yesterday's Throne Speech. The minister

also failed to provide specifics on which tools she will use and which processes

she will introduce. I look forward to seeing legislation which the government

will bring forward in this sitting of the House and encourage the minister to

make sure that the legislation is strong enough to truly protect women and girls

in this province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MS.

ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister. I wholeheartedly agree with the

statement that investing in gender equality improves everyone's lives. I also

agree we don't want to leave half the population behind in opportunity or

advancement, or in any way for that matter. That is why I am patient to see pay

equity legislation.

My private Member's motion on this issue a year ago was

supported by government; yet, we still see no evidence of action.

We know the problem. It's time. I ask government, where

is there pay equity legislation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social

Development.

MS.

DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to

recognize March as National Nutrition Month.

The provincial

government is pleased to support Nutrition Month in partnership with dietitians

of Newfoundland and Labrador and many of our community partners. The theme of

this year's campaign is, “Unlock the Potential of Food” and is dedicated to

helping Canadians understand food's limitless potential. Food does more than

just fuel our bodies; it also brings together family and friends and teaches us

about culture and tradition.

Mr. Speaker, our

province has some of the highest rates of chronic disease in Canada. We know

that enjoying a healthy lifestyle, which includes eating well, can help to

prevent the development and advancement of diseases such as cancer, heart

disease and diabetes. This is why in The

Way Forward we have committed to increasing fruit and vegetable consumption

along with increasing physical activity rates and decreasing obesity rates.

Today, March 14, is

also Dietitians Day. Dietitians throughout our province work to promote healthy

eating in our communities and hospitals, rehabilitation centres, in primary

care, long-term care, private practice, government, public health, industry and

educational institutions. Dietitians are passionate about the potential of food

to enhance lives and improve health.

I invite all

Members of this hon. House to please join me in thanking dietitians throughout

our province for their great work and to recognize their valuable contributions

to the health of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay -

Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd like to thank

the minister for an advance copy of her statement. We join with government in

recognizing National Nutrition Month, our province's dietitians and our valued

community partners.

While I was happy to hear government commit to

increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, along with increasing physical

activity rates and decreasing obesity rates, after two years in government we

have not seen any significant movement towards reaching these goals. And even

more concerning, they have offered no plan showing how they will achieve it.

Hopefully, they'll share an action plan soon.

Mr. Speaker, dieticians throughout our province are

busy every day improving lives and promoting healthy eating habits in our

communities and its various facilities. We celebrate their contributions today,

March 14, Dieticians Day, and offer our sincere gratitude and appreciation for

their most valuable work.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MS.

ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister.

Bravo to the dieticians of the province who, pardon the

pun, serve us so well. So many of the chronic diseases people suffer from in

this province can be relieved by a healthier diet.

It is great to encourage the eating of more fruits and

vegetables, but it is also essential that these foods are affordable for people.

Our seniors on OAS and GIS, people with diabetes on income support simply cannot

afford the food that is essential to their well-being. It's a real problem that

needs a real solution.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and

Innovation.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last year, Newfoundland and Labrador surpassed 553,000

non-resident visitors for the first time and non-resident spending was the

highest this province has ever seen.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Government is eager to build on this momentum, which is why I'm pleased to

report that we have made some great strides in improving the sense of arrival to

our province.

As an action of

The Way Forward , we collaborated with industry partners and tourism

stakeholders to establish a standard sense of arrival goals, priorities and

initiate partnership activities. This initiative aligns with the Provincial

Tourism Product Development Plan, which suggests the best practices for

welcoming visitors, beautification, wayfinding and other visitor services to

guide strategic investment and help enable more partnerships.

Mr. Speaker, during a recent tour of the St. John's

International Airport expansion, I saw first-hand how this new sense of arrival

strategy will welcome visitors in ways that are representative of our province's

brand pillars of people, culture and natural environment. St. John's

International Airport receives 71 per cent of all air visitors that travel into

our province, and their new expansion will certainly enhance visitors' sense of

arrival in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Along with other major airports across the province,

investments have also been made at our Provincial Visitor Information Centres,

to create innovative spaces that showcase stunning iconic imagery of the

province. We also developed a standardized identifier to promote public Wi-Fi.

Mr. Speaker, sense of arrival can greatly impact repeat

visitation, satisfaction, length of stay and spending. By honouring this

commitment from The Way Forward , we

want visitors to feel instantly welcome and at home, connected to our people and

to this place. By improving the province's sense of arrival, we will increase

our competitive edge and heighten Newfoundland