Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 26 May 2015 (47th General Assembly, 4th Session, Vol. XLVII No. 20)

2015-05-26

Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)

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May

26, 2015

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 20

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources, standing on a point of order?

MR. DALLEY:

A point of order, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, I gave an

answer to a question in the House yesterday regarding the Integrated Cover

System at Muskrat Falls. A

little bit of ambiguity in my answer, so I just want to clarify for the

House, Mr. Speaker, that government was not involved in the decision around

the integrated cover system.

Nalcor is the project manager for Muskrat Falls, and the onsite contractor

is Astaldi. They work together

obviously on the project and the operations, but, Mr. Speaker, it was

Astaldi that made the decision to discontinue the use of the integrated

cover system using

Part I and II, but not

Part III and IV.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

There is no point of order.

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will hear

members' statements

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

members' statements from the members representing the Districts of Port au

Port, Trinity Bay de Verde, Bonavista North, Cartwright L'Anse au Clair,

Kilbride, and Torngat Mountains.

The

hon. the Member for the District of Port au Port.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CORNECT:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in

this hon. House to recognize the upcoming season of the Stephenville Theatre

Festival. On July 17, 2015, when

this cast takes over the stage of the Arts and Culture Centre, the

thirty-seventh season of delivering outstanding professional theatre to

Newfoundland and Labrador will have begun.

would like to extend a warm welcome to Thom Currie, who is joining STF as

Artistic Director.

Congratulations and thank you to returning Board Chairperson, Elizabeth

Brown, and all other board members for their continuous commitment and

dedication to the success of this festival.

Following the spirit of the founding director, Maxim Mazumdar's vision for

this festival, Monty Python's Spamalot

will be the major stage production this year.

Mama's Country Record

Collection , which is set in Stephenville;

Looking Back in '59 , and

Tales of Ti-Jean are just a few of

the marvelous performances to be staged for the enjoyment of theatre-goers.

The

incomparable entertainment the Stephenville Theatre Festival brings to its

patrons will be provided by a talented and skilled professional cast.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. Members in this hon. House of Assembly to join with

me in congratulating the Stephenville Theatre Festival on its thirty-seventh

season.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rise in this hon. House today to recognize 295 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet

Corps Baccalieu.

April 26, family and friends gathered in Old Perlican for the thirtieth

annual Ceremonial Review of 295 Baccalieu.

It was an afternoon of demonstrations showcasing the cadets' drill

skills, fitness and musical talents.

295 Baccalieu was also this year's Provincial Drill Champions.

The

Reviewing Party included: Reviewing Officer, Lieutenant Commander Gary

Parsons; Navy League representative, Clayton Bailey; Bay de Verde Branch

Navy League representative, Mrs. Joy Jolliffe; Commanding Officer, Mr.

Clifford Morgan; Coxswain, CPO Carissa Garland.

Some

of this year's top honours included: Chief Petty Officer Second Class,

Nathan Jolliffe, who received the Lord Strathcona Trust Fund Medal.

This medal is the highest award a Canadian cadet can receive for

excellence in physical and military training.

Chief Petty Officer First Class Carissa Garland, received the Royal

Canadian Legion Medal of Excellence along with the Navy League Medal of

Excellence. A Navy League Medal

of Excellence was also awarded to Chief Petty Officer Second Class Zachary

LeShane.

ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating all who organized and

participated in the thirtieth Annual Ceremonial Review of 295 Baccalieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Bonavista North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CROSS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rise today to recognize a group of young female athletes from my district.

The Loopers is a team of under-sixteen female volleyball players from

Pearson and Gill Memorial Academies of New-Wes-Valley and Musgrave Harbour,

respectively.

May of 2014, Corporal Dale Lewis recognized potential in his volleyball

squad and asked if they would like to go to nationals next year.

With a positive response, a team of parents initiated a plan of

action to make their little girls' dreams come true.

The

team, consisting of Laura Whiteway, Brittany Kean, Brianna Kean, Kendra

Bungay, Danielle Faulkner, Ocean Kean, Bridgette Burry, Leah Lewis, Samantha

Melindy, and Taylor Winter, coached by Dale Lewis and Kelly Faulkner-Kean,

took to the court at the University of Calgary in May of this year.

They went for enjoyment and fun, but the little team that could

served and bumped an attack, competing at a level beyond their wildest

dreams.

Corporal Lewis said, We hoped to compete and make a respectable showing.

Through the smiles we started winning.

The Loopers played in a division of over forty teams and they

volleyed their way to the semifinals, losing to the ultimate champions.

Please join me, Mr. Speaker, and all hon. members in congratulating everyone

who supported Loopers' success.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Order, please!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the Labrador South

Health Centre Auxiliary. Formed

in May 1985, by site co-ordinator Norman Cutler, with a small group of

volunteers from L'Anse au Clair to Red Bay, the valuable work of the

auxiliary continues to this day.

The

organization's mandate is to assist the Labrador South Health Centre in

Forteau in acquiring much-needed equipment and items not covered in the

clinic's operating budget. Over

the years, as a result of the tremendous volunteer support, their

fundraising efforts have been very successful.

Essential items purchased include a paediatric emergency system,

rescue toboggan, CPR training mannequin, and furnishings for specialty rooms

and offices.

For

three decades, the auxiliary has been a key contributor to the health centre

with its annual fundraiser in May and ticket draws throughout the year,

including the selling of bulbs for the Christmas memory tree.

The residents of the long-term care unit have also been experiencing

the kindness of the auxiliary's giving, through visits and the annual

Christmas stockings.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in thanking the Labrador South

Health Centre Auxiliary most of whom are well into their senior years, I

might add for their outstanding contribution to the Forteau Health Centre.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Kilbride.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DINN:

On March 21, 2015, Goulds

Lions Club celebrated its thirty-eight anniversary.

The Lions Club facility was full to capacity as forty-nine Lions Club

members, their spouses, friends, and special guests attended, including Leo

Club members.

After a delicious meal and several speeches, awards were presented.

The Lion of the Year Award was given to Maureen Hynes for her hard

work and dedication. The Melvin

Jones Award was presented to Bob Farrell for his thirty years of service.

The Rookie of the Year Award went to Ashley Abbott for her

involvement with the Leo Club and Christmas events.

Maureen Hynes won the Judge Brian Stevenson Award, and the late Doug

Harvey was honoured for his long-time dedication to Lionism in Goulds.

Jim

Linthorne won the President Award.

Barb Hearn, Gord Warford, and Gerald Antle received District Governor

Awards for their years of service.

The

Goulds Lions Club has done and is doing great volunteer work in our

community, and has provided financial help to many groups, including our

schools, Goulds Arena, Bidgood Park, recreation groups, and seniors.

ask all hon. members to join me and my colleague, the Member for Ferryland

district, in commending the tremendous efforts of the Goulds Lions Club.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in

this hon. House today to recognize Erin Andersen of Makkovik, who graduated

on May 9 from the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island with

her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine.

I always feel a tremendous sense of pride when I stand in this hon.

House to recognize the academic and athletic achievements of our young

Aboriginal people. Erin is

certainly one of those people.

After graduating from high school in 2003, Erin attended Memorial University

from 2005 to 2010, graduating on the Dean's list with a Bachelor of Science

in biology. She then worked on a

dairy farm in Kilbride where she was introduced to the veterinary field of

medicine.

After displaying tremendous interest and competency in the field, Eric was

one of two people from Newfoundland and Labrador accepted into the Atlantic

Veterinary College in 2011, where she once again excelled in her studies.

She is presently doing a thirteen-month internship at the

Veterinarian Emergency Clinic on Yonge Street in Toronto.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating Erin on this

remarkable achievement and wish her every success in her field of veterinary

medicine.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am

pleased to rise in this hon. House today to acknowledge the official

national launch of the Highly Sensitized Patient or HSP program for kidney

donation and transplantation.

The national launch was recognized across the country this past Friday and

marked the successful implementation of the new program in all Canadian

provinces and territories. Our

Province has been participating in the program since October 2013.

The

HSP program represents a collaborative effort between Canadian Blood

Services and provincial and territorial governments around the country.

The program enhances kidney donation and transplantation for those

whose immune systems are more likely to reject transplants, posing

difficulty in finding a match.

participating in this new national organ sharing program, our Province gains

access to a Canada-wide pool of kidney donors for patients who need a more

specific donor match. Under the

program to date, two highly sensitized patients in our Province have been

successfully matched with transplants and three patients across Canada have

received transplants from residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, a key component of the HSP program is its link to the Canadian

Transplant Registry, an online registry operated by Canadian Blood Services.

With direction and combined funding from provincial, territorial, and

federal governments, and in collaboration with stakeholders and the organ

donation and transplantation community, Canadian Blood Services developed

the registry to support provincial organ programs, making organ sharing

across jurisdictions more efficient.

Highly-sensitized patients wait much longer on average for a kidney

transplant and have a greater chance of becoming more ill or dying while

they wait. In addition, these

patients often require complex chronic care while they wait for a

transplant.

Mr.

Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Canadian Blood

Services for their excellent work in bringing this program online.

I would also thank them for their continued dedication within the

community sector and their work to advocate for the health and well-being of

all Canadians.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

This is indeed good news today.

We are honoured to stand here in the House and recognize the

leadership of Canadian Blood Services in establishing the national Highly

Sensitized Patient program for kidney transplantation.

It is has been seven years since Canadian Blood Services was mandated

to develop national services for organ and tissue donation and

transplantation, and the launch of this program is a significant milestone.

Highly-sensitized patients represent 20 per cent of provincial waitlists,

yet only receive about 1 per cent of available organs because their immune

systems are more likely to reject a transplanted kidney, making them hard to

match. Expanding access

nationally improves the chances of these particularly vulnerable patients,

most of whom are women.

According to Canadian Blood Services, 4,500 people across Canada are

currently waiting for a transplant.

Canada lags behind other developed nations in organ donation and

transplantation. Becoming an

organ donor saves lives and is therefore the most extraordinary legacy one

can leave.

Anything we can do in this House to raise the awareness, as we have done on

multiple occasions, is indeed a good thing.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

I too congratulate everyone who is involved in the implementation of

this important program. It is so

important that our government has been involved in it.

With an aging population, we are going to see more and more people in

need of programs such as this.

It is a program which is going to continue saving lives, there is no doubt

about that.

Canadian Blood Services is a good example of non-profit organizations

providing services to people in need.

I hope here in Canada we will continue to have programs like this

based on need, not on profit.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rise in this hon. House today to speak about the Municipal Stewardship

Program. Unique to Newfoundland

and Labrador, the program is a result of the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture

program a partnership of governments, conservation organizations and local

residents implementing the goals and objectives of the North American

Waterfowl Management Plan. It

encourages municipalities and local residents to recognize the value of

wildlife habitat found in and near municipal planning boundaries and to

implement wise use principles as outlined within a conservation plan.

The initiative places the responsibility of sustainable resource

management into the hands of the people who know the land best and who have

demonstrated a passion for its stewardship.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. CRUMMELL:

The Department of

Environment and Conservation, through the Wildlife Division, administers the

program and provides an annual contribution of $40,000 as well as in-kind

support to Eastern Habitat Joint Venture activities.

This funding also helps leverage external revenue from various

sources including Environment Canada, Wildlife Habitat Canada, and the US

Fish and Wildlife Service.

Mr.

Speaker, municipalities that sign stewardship agreements have the

opportunity to participate in the non-profit organization known as the

Stewardship Association of Municipalities Inc.

This past Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of attending the

association's Annual General Meeting, hosted by the Town of Flatrock.

The

Stewardship Association of Municipalities is a key driver in reinforcing

municipalities' commitment to wildlife habitat conservation.

Supporting the association in its work to protect wildlife habitat in

this Province aligns closely with my department's mission of reducing the

adverse impacts of human activities on the environment such as climate

change and contributes to other overall health of our ecosystems.

The

Department of Environment and Conservation was pleased to directly provide

the association with approximately

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. CRUMMELL:

$28,000 in funding last

fiscal year to support its important work in the area of wildlife habitat

conservation.

this funding, $10,000 was a contribution to the newly established

Stewardship Association of Municipalities' Conservation Fund, to be used in

support of annual scholarships for post-secondary students who demonstrate

academic excellence and intend to pursue a career in environmental

conservation.

Mr.

Speaker, my department values its close relationship with the member

municipalities on wildlife habitat conservation and is supportive of the

association's overall conservation efforts.

Currently thirty-three municipalities, Province-wide, including the

Town of Flatrock, have signed stewardship agreements and I look forward to

visiting a number of municipalities over the summer to announce further

agreements, thereby expanding the network of environmentally responsible

towns and communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, I thank

the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

I acknowledge the success of Eastern Habitat Joint Venture program in

protecting wildlife habitat throughout Atlantic Canada and the good work the

Wildlife Division personnel and municipal staff who work to get these

stewardship agreements in place.

The

program is an example of how environmental problems can be tackled through

co-operation and collaboration between governments at the federal,

provincial and municipal levels, conservation groups and local stakeholders,

but it is certainly one government needs to take more action on when it

comes to collaboration.

Through municipal stewardship agreements, Newfoundland and Labrador

communities are doing their part to protect migratory waterfowl, which is

truly an international environmental issue.

I commend the municipalities that have signed agreements thus far.

Many municipalities in the Province, though, are understaffed and

underfunded and they do not have the ability to be able to enter into such

an agreement.

look at the cut positions at Burnt Cape in Raleigh that makes the ecological

reserve more vulnerable. We see

that the Town of Raleigh, with just 140 residents, it is difficult to be

able to protect an area and we have yet to see government on their natural

areas system plan move to improve habitat protection there.

As well as we also see again the weak stance on the

Manolis L from this government when it comes to the Funk Islands and

that ecological reserve when it comes to protecting birds and waterfowl.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

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

I commend the thirty-three stewardship communities and the officials

who have worked hard over the years to protect local wildlife habitats.

Because habitats such as marshlands are so vulnerable to destruction

from municipal development, we need more people to form these local

stewardships and educate their neighbours.

urge government to support them even more in the future, but this government

also needs to do its part and honour its election promise: to create a

protected area system plan and protect more than just 4 per cent of land

which is one of the lowest percentages in the country.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Virginia Waters.

MS C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the minister just announced that the CETA fisheries fund is now

dead.

Now,

that we are beyond your premature party and after you went to Ottawa to get

Stephen Harper to change his mind, I ask the Premier: Can you now confirm

that you cannot deliver on the $280 million that you had thought you had?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, I guess

the member opposite was not listening very carefully.

The fact is that the statement that we made today, to restate our

position, is support for CETA.

We believe CETA is going to be good for Newfoundland and Labrador.

We support CETA, and we believe, and as I have said and clearly

believe, it is going to be good for business

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER DAVIS:

it is going to be

good for us as a Province as well.

What

we do not support, Mr. Speaker, is the relinquishing of our MPRs.

The federal government came to Newfoundland and said we want to

relinquish your MPRs. We reached

an agreement on the terms of releasing those MPRs and subsequently changed

their view. Until they live up

to their obligation, the $280 that they are going to deliver to us it is

not $280 million we are going to deliver; it is $280 million they are going

to deliver to us. Until they

live up to that agreement, we will not be giving up our MPRs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Virginia Waters.

MS C. BENNETT:

I guess that would be

a yes.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the Premier: Can you also confirm that the provincial portion

the $120 million that was to be leveraged with the $280 million federal

money is also off the table, and where does that leave our fishing industry

that has not seen growth in over a decade?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, MPRs are

our jurisdictional right. It is

one of two jurisdictional rights and authorities that we have in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

The

federal government came to Newfoundland and Labrador and wanted us to

relinquish that authority. They

wanted us to relinquish our authority on MPRs so that they could secure a

deal with the European Union through CETA, Mr. Speaker.

We are not going to give up our MPRs.

Let

me be clear, Mr. Speaker, the minimum processing requirements rests with the

authority of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We will not give that up until the federal government lives up to the

agreement that they reached with our government back in 2013.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.

MS C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, it was this government, this Premier who said they had no idea what

the value of MPRs were. Now this

is the same government that does not know what the consequences of this

action will be in relation to CETA, in relation to international trade, in

relation to fines against the CETA deal.

How

can you make such a statement about MPRs, about the CETA deal without

knowing the details?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

the member opposite understands, there is no consequence for the Government

of Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.

on behalf of all of the country.

What

we are protecting is our jurisdictional authority which the federal

government asked us to give up, Mr. Speaker.

What I am saying here today, and what I will reiterate to the people

of the Province, is that we will not give up our minimum processing

requirements unless the federal government lives up to the agreement that

they reached a long time ago with this government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, it is

estimated there are over 8,600 people living with dementia in our Province.

That number is expected to double in the next fifteen years.

Eastern Health's clinical chief has stated there are no full-on

trained geriatricians in our Province.

ask the minister: Can you confirm that there are indeed no geriatricians in

this Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, as reported

on CBC in recent days, it is true that there are no geriatricians in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Recruitment does remain a real challenge in this area.

Nova

Scotia does have several geriatric specialists.

However, there are general practitioners in Newfoundland and Labrador

who have training and who have experience in the geriatric field.

They do provide general geriatric care.

They are employed in areas where there are higher numbers of

geriatric clients such as in continuing care, rehabilitation, and in

long-term care as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I am

glad to hear Nova Scotia has a specialist, but unfortunately here in this

Province we do not have them.

have the fastest aging population in the country and this government has had

twelve years to prepare for the aging baby boom and the dementia crisis,

neither are surprises. This

government waited until 2012 to release the long-term care strategy and they

still obviously do not have a human health resources plan.

Stakeholders are reporting that we are years behind.

ask the minister: How do you justify your inaction to prepare for the aging

baby boom and the dementia crisis that is here and now?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, I should

also point out that discussions are ongoing with Memorial University's

Faculty of Medicine to discuss additional training that could be offered for

care of the elderly under the family medicine program.

Dalhousie does have a program but we do not here, and that is

something we are currently exploring.

the member's question, Mr. Speaker, we have made significant investments in

long-term care. We have made

significant investments in home support.

Our Close to Home strategy, and our long-term care strategy is in

fact working, Mr. Speaker. We

know there are challenges as the population continues to age.

The public discussion about dementia is an important one, and it is

one that we are happy to participate in.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I would

remind the minister and the government that their promises again, people

are having a hard time relying on these promises.

For

twelve years this government has held the purse strings, tens of billions in

oil money, and we are not at all prepared for this crisis that is here and

now. A local doctor says this

crisis will bankrupt us because we focused too heavily on

institutionalization rather than providing community supports.

Eastern Health declined to comment on home first care.

ask the minister: You have failed to provide the community supports needed

to care for people living with dementia, what is your plan?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, our strategy

for long-term care and community support services is, in fact, a very

detailed ten-year plan and it is one that we have already made great

progress with.

While we do not today have a specific strategy called home first, what we do

have is a Close to Home strategy.

It is a long-term care and community support services strategy.

It launched a few years ago, and it is targeted at supporting

individuals to remain in their community, remain in their homes, or to

return to their community. It is

working, Mr. Speaker, but we recognize, given how fast the population is

aging in Newfoundland and Labrador, we certainly have more work to do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, we all know

the difficult situation in Labrador West with the downturn in the mining

industry. Yesterday, the United

Steelworkers held a rally to show support for the 150 workers being laid off

The hon. the Member for

Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, the Premier

did not even see fit to send a Minister of the Crown to the event.

The Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs has been silent on

the issue in Labrador West. It

seems when times are good they are around, like Cabinet retreats; but in bad

times, they disappear.

ask the Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs: Why didn't you attend

and show your support for the people of Lab West?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. RUSSELL:

Mr. Speaker, nobody is

happy to see job loss in Labrador West.

I tell you what, the provincial government is going to be there to

support the families and the workers, just as we were when hard times were

happening in Wabush.

Today and tomorrow, I believe, in conjunction with Service Canada, we have

Advanced Education and Skills hosting a series of information sessions.

We will be there to support people, just like we have been there in

the past.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, in a briefing on MPRs provided by the fisheries department

yesterday, one truth emerged: There is little or no transparency surrounding

the approval and the monitoring of MPRs.

To begin with, information and reports relating to MPRs had to be

extracted from this government through ATIPPA.

ask the minister: Why are you forcing people to go through ATIPPA to see how

much unprocessed fish you are allowing to be shipped out?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, in response

to questions that came on the floor of the House last week, I guess it was,

with regard to MPRs in relation to Fortune and OCI and those kinds of

questions that were here, we offered up to both the Opposition parties and

we offered up to the media yesterday briefings on MPRs in the Province and

how decisions are made on those.

We provided to the Opposition and the media the kinds of information that

they were asking for. We did

that out of an offer that we presented to them last week.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One

recommendation from the last review on MPRs not implemented was the

establishment of an independent panel to evaluate and approve MPR exemption

applications. Instead, decisions

on MPR exemptions are solely decided by the minister.

ask the minister: Why have you refused to establish an independent panel to

evaluate MPR exemption applications as recommended by your consultant's

report?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, the purpose

of MPRs is to increase the utilization of the resource that is in our

waters. It is about providing

credible employment for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador in the

fishery. It is about getting

resources out of the water that are underutilized into market like we did

last year. We provided MPRs for

fresh cod coming out of 3Ps to ship to the American markets.

To take the consideration that the member opposite had, that is

something I will take under advisement.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR. SLADE:

Mr. Speaker, the minister

just said about creating employment in different areas.

I have to say that the people over in Fortune do not feel that way

today.

Mr.

Speaker, Tom Rideout was the Minister of Fisheries when government last

completed a review on MPRs almost a decade ago.

The report recommended a further evaluation of the MPRs to be

undertaken in 2010.

ask the minister: Since your government has admitted not to know the current

values of MPRs, will you commit to an updated assessment?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. GRANTER:

Mr. Speaker, MPRs are

about providing the opportunities for fishers in the Province, harvesters,

as well as plant workers. The

situation that we are experiencing right now on the South Coast is about the

fishery; it is about maintaining jobs in places like we just talked about on

the South Coast.

talked about 110 full-time jobs, Mr. Speaker.

OCI owns the plant in Fortune as an example.

OCI owns the quotas on the South Coast.

I do not see right now as I said yesterday in the media, I do not

see any other company coming

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. GRANTER:

behind to offer either twenty weeks' work, or twenty-two weeks' work, or

twenty-five weeks' work for the people of Fortune.

It is a difficult situation we find ourselves in.

There is no company coming behind it to get twenty, or twenty-two, or

twenty-five weeks' work. We will

look forward to further weeks' work in the years to come.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in

Estimates the Chief Review Commissioner confirmed that the workers' comp

review division has never met the legally mandated deadline of sixty days to

complete a review.

ask the minister: How can this government justify breaching its own legal

responsibilities while injured workers' lives are hanging in the balance?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister

Responsible for Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

would be interesting if the member opposite continued down the road of what

the Chief Review Commissioner was saying because she said while it has never

been met at sixty days, it is not even a practical and a realistic time

frame because a lot of times

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. S. COLLINS:

If I could finish,

please?

With

regard to the information that has to be gathered whether it be doctors'

reports, whether it has to be setting up representation, a lot of times the

clients cannot even fulfill that sixty days.

What we want to do and what is going to be part of the statutory

review is coming up with a time frame, recognizing of course you want to do

it in the most timely manner because people's lives are waiting on it, but

it has to be in practical terms as well as allowing enough time to be able

to compile that information.

As I

had said, the statutory review, we are working on that now and hope to

release it soon and hope to correct that problem.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, as I said we

have injured workers across this Province who are waiting to have their

cases heard. Yes, granted, there

are some injured workers that the situation on the timelines are of their

own doing, but many of them are not and we need to address that issue.

Mr.

Speaker, the admission by the Chief Review Commissioner further highlights

the need for changes to Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act.

Government has completed the workers' comp statutory review and has

it in its possession for long enough.

ask the minister, specifically: When can we expect you to table legislation

in this House of Assembly to fix this broken system?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister

Responsible for Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Mr. Speaker, I have

been very clear on a number of instances standing here in the House that as

soon as that piece of work is ready to be released, it will be.

It is a very important piece of work.

There is quite a bit of work that has gone into it.

When we do release it, it will be done right and correct; but I also

want to clarify with regard to the application to when the cases are heard,

we are looking at approximately four to six months currently.

That

is a little bit somewhat as a control of the review division of course

because, again, you have doctors' reports, you have clients having to seek

representation. What I am happy

to report is from hearing to getting a decision, that period, actually when

you look at the times most recently you are within thirty days.

So I think we have achieved great success with regard to that part,

the part that is solely within our control.

The other part will be addressed through the statutory review.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Mr. Speaker, I would say

to the minister that it is cold comfort for the injured worker and their

family to know that when it finally gets heard they will get a decision in

thirty-eight days, but it might take them a full year to get the case heard

to begin with.

Mr.

Speaker, I am going to go and I am going to ask the minister one more time:

When will we see legislation brought before this House of Assembly to

address Workers' Comp issues in this Province?

Will it be during this session of the House of Assembly, or will it

be after the election and someone else will have to bring it up?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Mr. Speaker, thank

you.

is not about kicking something down the road.

It is about making sure what we come out with, what we release is

indeed the right piece of work.

Again, I can speak to the importance of it.

It is a very important piece of work.

There has been much work done into it, but, again, I am not going to

rush something.

Will

it be brought forward in this session?

I cannot say at this point.

I would hope so, but what we release I want to make sure it is done

with due diligence and it is quite a piece of work to be released.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, in

November, 2011, the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights published a

report on the sexual exploitation of children in Canada.

At the same time, this government completed a study into youth sexual

exploitation in this Province but hid the results from the public.

Recommendation 8 of the Senate's national study was that the Government of

Canada dedicate appropriate resources and funding for education and

prevention of sexual exploitation of children and youth, including providing

assistance to the provinces and territories.

ask the minister: Has this

government received any federal funds to prevent sexual exploitation of

children in our Province? If so,

what use has been made of these funds?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

will say to the member opposite, I will endeavour to find out exact amounts

with regard to that piece of funding that he speaks of.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. Barbe.

MR. J. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, in 2006

Saskatchewan produced a fax sheet on youth sexual exploitation defining it

as the use of a child under the age of eighteen for a sexual purpose in

exchange for benefits such as money, drugs, food, shelter or other

consideration.

Manitoba has had a sexual exploitation established since 2002, launching

Phase III in 2011. Manitoba

named its strategy Tracia's Trust, after fourteen-year-old Tracia Owen, who

after years of sexual exploitation and drug addiction hanged herself in an

abandoned garage.

recognize the need for public awareness of sexual exploitation and have

tackled this problem head on, will the government now advocate to its

colleagues that the sexual exploitation report this government commissioned

be made public?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

very serious issue, not only for Newfoundland and Labrador, but for all

Canadians. It is a very serious

issue for members of this House.

I know on both sides we take these matters very seriously and they are of

very high concern for all of us.

Mr.

Speaker, with regard to the report very clearly that both police services

in Newfoundland and Labrador, the chief of police has said that he is

adamantly opposed to the release of this report.

He feels it is a concern.

He has serious concerns regarding that.

We are taking the advice from the police on this matter and we will

not be releasing that report.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Mr. Speaker, the new K-7

school in Kelligrews has been referenced in each of the last three Budgets,

but to date, we still have only an empty lot and a sign.

In Budget 2014, $11 million was identified for the construction of

the school.

ask the minister: How was the $11 million spent, and when can the people of

Conception Bay South expect construction to begin on their new school?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

The

new school in Kelligrews is another significant project that is being funded

by the provincial government and the Town of Conception Bay South, Mr.

Speaker. That particular project

is moving through the tender process right now, but I can tell you it is one

of many other projects.

The

new arena that is being built in Conception Bay South is funded by the

government. There is a new fire

hall being built in Conception Bay South.

There is also a new town hall being built in Conception Bay South.

A new bypass road just opened last year, Mr. Speaker.

We have made significant investments in the Town of Conception Bay

South, and the new school in Kelligrews will be the next one.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Mr. Speaker, I am

assuming the poor people of Conception Bay South will only be too glad to

thank government for their philanthropy in sending out a few bucks

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. HILLIER:

for us to build those

facilities. Mr. Speaker, it is

only what the people of Conception Bay South deserve.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HILLIER:

The

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

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, last year

government revealed that some schools would deliver full-day kindergarten

using a team teaching model that is not consistent with the standard

classroom setting. In some

cases, two teachers, with two classes of kindergartens will be using the

same space where now there is only one class of kindergartens taught.

ask the Minister of Education: Why are you refusing to release the list of

schools expected to use team teaching for full-day kindergarten in 2016?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Acting

Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I

answered the question last night in Estimates for the member opposite,

planning is underway for full-day kindergarten, Mr. Speaker.

Our government is very proud of this initiative to bring full-day

kindergarten into the Province.

We are on track to do so. A part

of that planning process, there is much evaluation, as there are some 189

schools that offer kindergarten in the Province.

We have to look at their capacity, particularly around capital

investments that may need to be made.

we go through that and we identify what space is available, there is a

process in how we are actually going to deliver full-day kindergarten in the

classrooms. When we get further

along in that process, we are able to define our numbers a little better,

Mr. Speaker, we are glad to make that information available.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

There are currently 2,400 outstanding grievances from the Steelworkers local

5975 that IOC is ignoring, thereby creating a toxic work environment at the

mine in Labrador City.

ask the Premier: How can he sit by and let this multinational company ignore

the positive labour relations culture that these 1,400 workers have been

used to in our Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, the

resolutions and handling of grievances is a matter between members of the

union representatives, employees, and also their employer.

We know the relationship between the employers and the employees in

the Labrador West region right now, and IOC, are strained significantly.

It is a concern for us.

This has a potential for a significant impact on so many families, and the

actual region itself. We have

already seen the impacts of the challenges that exist in the industry

itself.

have had a mediator assigned for several months now.

I am very glad to report, the latest information I have is that

through this mediator assigned by the government, that both parties are now

meeting on a more regular basis and are trying to work through their issues

together.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

Premier is hearing stuff that I am not hearing for sure.

labour management committee, as recommended by the Voisey's Bay Industrial

Inquiry, would have been a useful tool before relations got as bad as they

are in Labrador City.

ask the Premier: Will he amend the Labour Relations Act to require that

parties to a collective agreement establish a labour management committee

where one of the parties makes a written request?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Labour Relations Agency.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, over the last number of months, as the Premier has indicated,

senior staff at the Labour Relations Agency has been engaged with the

employer and the union, working through various issues, making options

available in how they find a resolution in regard to issues that have been

defined between the two groups, as is indicated by the Premier as well.

Hearing back from the Labour Relations Agency, there is some progress being

made. We are certainly pleased

with that, but we emphasize that a relationship between the groups cannot be

mandated. They need to work

together collectively to find a resolution to the issues they have at hand.

We will provide the service to do that.

That has been done now.

We look forward to greater resolution to some of the issues that are

outstanding right now.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker,

psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, community groups are all telling us

loud and clear that people cannot get better if they do not have a safe,

affordable house to live. People

are stuck in the Waterford, or go to emergency rooms, or return to jail

because they cannot find housing.

ask the minister again: Will he instruct NL Housing to halt the sale of all

assets until a housing plan and strategy is completed reflecting

consultation and incorporating the recommendations of the OrgCode report?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, we recognize

the challenges that some people face in finding suitable accommodations.

The work that Newfoundland and Labrador Housing carries out, they are

to be commended for it.

The

OrgCode report, the work continues, Mr. Speaker.

The committee has reported back and we will act on that.

terms of the sale of units, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing are not

selling any social housing units.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland

and Labrador Housing is receiving $20 million less in Budget 2015.

ask the minister: What assets exactly is NL Housing selling to make up for

this Budget cut to social housing?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, there has

been some land sold, or it will be put on the market to be sold.

Mr.

Speaker, the member and I have had several conversations about this.

We know the challenges that are faced by individuals seeking houses,

but I want to say to her again, there is going to be no sale of social

housing units. The units that

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing has now will remain.

We expect, Mr. Speaker, that working together we will find housing

that will accommodate the individuals she is talking about.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's Centre has time for a quick question.

MS ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

minister again: Where is the long promised, home ownership assistance

program designed to help young working families?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister

Responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation has time

for a quick reply.

MR. JACKMAN:

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Work

is underway, and we expect to roll out that strategy very shortly.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

petition to pave Route 434 in Conche.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of

Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Route 434 Conche Road is 17.6 kilometres of unpaved road; and

WHEREAS the current road conditions are deplorable; and

WHEREAS the Canadian Automobile Association ranked Route 434 as the sixth

worse road in Atlantic Canada; and

WHEREAS it is government's obligation to provide basic infrastructure to all

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians; and

WHEREAS an improved paved road would enhance local business, fish processing

operations and tourism, which is vital to the health and communities

affected;

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

allocate funds in the Provincial Roads Program to pave Route 434.

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, the petition is signed by residents of Roddickton, Conche, Bide

Arm, and Englee. All communities

on the Northern Peninsula East.

The Town of Conche, on many occasions, have been advocating for a paved road

network. They were promised

verbally. That is what they have

in writing, that the current Administration had verbally promised that this

road would be paved.

There has been a $6 million investment, rebuilding and realigning this

route. There is a lot of

activity in this community. It

is a strong, viable, vibrant town.

It has 800 commercial trucks travelling over this highway with the

crab and pelagics processing plant.

They do whelk there. They

employ regionally people on the West Coast and on the Northern Peninsula.

They also have a tourism economy that is quite strong with thousands

of tourists, cruise ship visits, a good business community that is there.

It is a town that has a lot of opportunity, but government is

limiting because they are not providing the basic infrastructure.

Current conditions are deplorable.

Requests have been made to the minister to come drive this road, to

visit the community, and to make allocations.

We need to see where the politics comes out of road paving

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

and we actually see where roads have a priority.

I think a gravel road such as this with so much activity in a

community certainly deserves a higher rank in priority when it comes to how

roads are currently being budgeted and we see where value is going out.

will keep presenting this petition on behalf of my constituents in the

region as long as I am the Member of the House of Assembly and as long as

this road is not paved.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS the residents of Winterton feel that the condition of Main Road,

Route 80, located in the Town of Winterton, is deplorable; and

WHEREAS residents of Winterton are frustrated with the condition of the

road; and

WHEREAS government has failed to address this problem;

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

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

make the necessary repairs to Main Road, Route 80, in Winterton.

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, it is my pleasure to stand here this afternoon and enter this

petition on behalf of the residents of Winterton.

Route 80, which is the main road through Winterton, in the summer

months is a very busy route for tractor trailers servicing the three large

fish processors in the district.

The wear and tear from the heavy loads is quite evident on this road.

This

portion of road in Winterton needs to be resurfaced.

Cold patch is just not any longer working.

The department did do some work there back a few weeks ago, but it

has already deteriorated back to a condition similar to where it was before.

It is also, Mr. Speaker, causing a safety issue.

The safety issue comes where we have vehicles swerving to avoid these

large potholes in the road and going sometimes into oncoming traffic.

Mr.

Speaker, I did have the opportunity this morning to meet with the Minister

of Transportation's officials and address this issue.

They were willing to listen to the issue, but I was not overly

assured that it was going to be fixed in this construction season.

Mr.

Speaker, again on behalf of the residents of Winterton and the people using

that road on a daily basis to get to the three large fish processors and the

tourism industry in the District of Trinity Bay de Verde, I would urge

government to address this issue during the 2015 construction season.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS most communities in the District of Cartwright

L'Anse au Clair do not have adequate broadband service; and

WHEREAS residents, businesses, students, nurses, and

teachers rely heavily on the Internet to conduct their work and cannot

afford to wait until 2016 to access a potential plan in partnership with the

Muskrat Falls development; and

WHEREAS there are a number of world-class tourism sites

in the region, including a UNESCO site at Red Bay, Battle Harbour Historic

Site, and the Mealy Mountains National Park;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

Newfoundland and Labrador to work with the appropriate agencies to provide

adequate broadband service to the communities along the Labrador coast.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have presented this petition so many

times I am sure you can quote it back to me verbatim by now, but the issue

continues to persist. It is a

very pressing issue in the district.

I am not exaggerating when I say every single day I get an email or I

get something posted

SOME HON.

MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS DEMPSTER:

many, many frustrations around the broadband issue.

When you live in a technological age and sometimes you

can send and receive emails and almost never do more than that and we are

not talking one community, Mr. Speaker.

We are talking about all of the communities in Southeast Labrador.

It is extremely frustrating.

I would ask the minister to give the people of the area

an update. I know there is

updated proposal gone into the system.

I have met with the MP on this issue.

The MP is lobbying federally for some funds.

We have a great partnership proposal here where if we could receive

money from the feds and the Province would be willing to do their share, the

service provider is willing to put funds into this and to maintain it.

Mr. Speaker, they are not able to do this without a partnership.

People are being crippled every single day.

The tourists who are coming in are not able to use the broadband

service. Businesses are being

hindered, schools, and working professionals.

We are maxed out in most of the communities.

We have been closed to sales for a couple of years.

It is a very pressing issue and we are looking for an

update. I would ask the

government to pursue this matter to bring the residents of Southeast

Labrador online with the rest of the Province.

Thank you.

SOME HON.

MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. George's Stephenville East.

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have a petition from people in the St. George's area

related to health care. The

petition reads:

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of

the undersigned humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS there is not a permanent doctor in the Town of St. George's; and

WHEREAS this absence of a permanent doctor is seriously compromising the

health care of people who live in the town and surrounding area, causing

them undue hardship; and

WHEREAS the absence of a doctor or nurse practitioner in the area leaves

senior and others without a consistency and quality of care, which is

necessary for their continued good health;

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

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

take action which will result in a permanent doctor or other arrangements to

improve the health care services in the St. George's and surrounding area.

Mr.

Speaker, I have presented petitions on this topic many times before, and I

am going to continue to present petitions on this topic until the situation

is resolved because it is a very serious matter.

We have had a community here in St. George's without a doctor for

about half a year now. They look

to their neighbours in the Heatherton to Highlands area and they look at the

clinic in Jeffrey's and they see a situation there where they have not had a

doctor for a year-and-a-half.

People are wondering what is going on, people are wondering when they are

going to get a doctor. This

situation is causing serious problems.

It is a crisis situation in the hospital in Stephenville.

People, because they do not have a doctor, have to go to the

emergency services in Stephenville.

What happens is people are left waiting at the emergency outpatients

there in Stephenville and have to wait hours.

Some people have told me they have waited all day until late at night

to get in to see a doctor there, Mr. Speaker.

is causing serious problems.

Elderly people are having to travel long distances to get to the health care

they need. There are delays in

getting their medical test results back.

People with cancer have told me they have had to wait they have not

been able to get their tests back in a timely manner, so they have had to

get a doctor in other communities such as Port aux Basques or Corner Brook

in order to get their test results in a timely manner.

is a serious issue, Mr. Speaker, and it is causing people lots of problems

and government has to take action to address this and to see that it does

not happen again.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I am

happy to present this petition to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province

of Newfoundland and Labrador, the petition of the undersigned residents

humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS hundreds of residents of the South Coast of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador, including residents of the communities of Burgeo,

Ramea, Grey River, and Franois use Route 480 on a regular basis for work,

medical, educational and social reasons; and

WHEREAS there is no cellphone coverage on Route 480; and

WHEREAS cellphone service is an essential safety and communication tool for

visitors and residents; and

WHEREAS the residents and users of Route 480 feel that the provincial

government should invest in cellphone coverage for rural Newfoundland and

Labrador;

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

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to partner with the private sector

to extend cellphone coverage along Route 480.

in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I am very happy to stand here and present this petition on behalf

of my constituents, and, in fact, on behalf of the constituents of other

districts in the House who are not presenting petitions on this need.

find it very interesting again, I have done this on a number of occasions.

We were actually criticized yesterday by a member opposite who stood

up during debate on the Budget and said you stand over there and you ask for

things like cellphone coverage.

To that, I say that is our job to ask for things for the people of our

districts. This is something

that is not just a pie in the sky.

This is a life or death situation.

So we will continue to stand and ask for things like cellphone

coverage. In fact, we are happy

to do it for those out there on the other side whose members are afraid to

stand up and enter petitions on their behalf.

Now,

you might say: well, how can you ask for money and then ask for something

else and then complain about the Budget?

Well, I would say this, there are other ways.

This is what we continue to say, is the management and the wastage

has been an issue. For the

million dollars you spent on the Bill 29 review, you could have covered

cellphone coverage in a bunch of areas in this Province.

That is wastage.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. A. PARSONS:

In fact, I remember

this big song and dance you had for this thing called CETA.

They had a big announcement on that.

Again, we had a big party on it.

We could have taken that money and put it into something like

cellphone coverage.

fact, I remember all the songs and dances, the big tea party they had out in

the lobby to talk about Muskrat Falls.

Well, these are things you could have we are not even going to get

into the other wastage that has gone on, the money that has been wasted in

other endeavours that have shown nothing to fruition.

So,

we are going to continue to ask for this.

We are going to continue to represent the people who put us here and

until we do not have that opportunity, we will continue to stand up here in

this House and ask for things like cellphone coverage.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government

House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

this time I would like to call from the Order Paper, Motion 1, that the

House approves in general the budgetary policy of the government, the Budget

Speech.

MR. SPEAKER:

Resuming debate on the

Budget Speech, debating the amendment.

recognize the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

is an honour to rise and speak to the Budget.

Mr.

Speaker, it is always good to review Hansard sometimes and see what your

colleagues have to say and what members across the way have to say.

I would just like to reference comments by the Member for Lake

Melville on cellphones. I have

brought it up in petitions in the past.

We are led to feel like we should not be asking for cellphone service

because what, we are too small?

We are in Northern Labrador, we are not important?

This is from a minister, Mr. Speaker?

will tell you something, Mr. Speaker, a cellphone tower has a range of sixty

miles. If you had put a cell

tower in every community from Rigolet to Nain, Burton Winters would still be

alive today.

Now

I say to the Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs, you think twice

before you stand up and criticize us on what we are fighting for.

It is not a pleasure to be in Opposition when you look at the things

he has done. He outlined them in

his district yesterday. We would

love to have some of that, Mr. Speaker.

We will stand up and we will fight for the people we represent.

Mr.

Speaker, if we were not doing that, then we would not be doing our jobs,

would we? We would not be doing

our jobs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, we do not

want these things because they are a novelty.

We want things because everyone else has them, why can't we?

Are we substandard people?

We do not get to have what other people take for granted in this

Province? I do not think so.

I do not believe it. That

is why I am here, to work on that.

Mr.

Speaker, I will give credit where credit is due.

In last year's Budget I saw the then minister, the Member for Gander,

announce a $350,000 housing repair program.

I give credit to the Member for Gander.

As a matter of fact, the AngajukKk from Makkovik told me to pass on

his gratitude to the Member for Gander.

I think the members in this government from Labrador ought to take a

lesson from the Member for Gander because he has done more for Labrador than

our own Labrador ministers.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. EDMUNDS:

When I hear our own

ministers criticizing us for standing up for the people we represent, yes,

Mr. Speaker, I take offence to it.

Mr.

Speaker, we talked about the housing program.

I would like to go back there.

When you have substandard housing or lack of housing, it causes a

long list of issues wherever you are in the Province in different capacities

but the problems are real. The

problems are very real, Mr. Speaker.

It leads to overcrowding and it leads to a whole bunch of social and

health issues that we have seen.

Since 2011, since I became a member, Mr. Speaker, I have questioned the

effectiveness of the food subsidy.

I have also questioned the Nutrition North program to the point where

we question if they actually benefit the people in the regions they are

designed to.

The

Member for Labrador West, when he was a minister, Mr. Speaker, actually

questioned me. It is not the

kind of an answer you want when you are looking at a consumer who is paying

outrageous prices compared to a nearby region with a Nutrition North subsidy

and Air Foodlift Subsidy program in place, two different programs.

has been acknowledged that the Nutrition North program is not working.

It has been acknowledged, but the previous member responsible for

Labrador actually asked me if the airlift subsidy was working, and my quick

answer was, no. We are still

paying outrageous prices when compared to retailers in Lake Melville.

As a matter of fact, it is 50 per cent to 100 per cent difference in

the prices, and in some cases more.

When

you are looking at revisiting programs that are set up to assist the people

in Labrador, things like the Air Foodlift Subsidy, the question that comes

out, is it being monitored? The

quick answer to that is no, it is not.

If the former minister is going to ask me if it is working, then I

would submit that it is not working or it is not being monitored.

The

nutrition component of healthy living that most of us in this Province take

for granted, Mr. Speaker, in some areas in the Province, like Northern

Labrador, it is more of a barrier.

It is more of a barrier than a right, and this is all due to

overpricing. It is certainly

something that it is not going to go away.

It is not going to go away as long as I am here.

All

you have to do is walk around the stores.

Being in Labrador and then coming out to St. John's and taking a dart

down to the stores here, you very quickly compare prices.

It is quite staggering; the same items on the shelves here in St.

John's or on the shelf in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and on the shelf in

Hopedale, Rigolet, or Nain is totally different prices.

You cannot help but wonder if there are programs in place, how

effective they are when you are paying 300 per cent, as much as 500 per

cent, difference in prices.

Then

you go on and look at services to get those goods to where you live.

The government has stood up and taken great pride in its new strategy

for replacement of vessels great announcements.

We look on that and say yes, we are going somewhere, but also we are

part of this Province too and questions have arisen regarding the Request

for Proposals in Labrador.

colleague, the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair, has been very vocal

on this issue. Our leader has

been vocal on this issue. I have

been vocal on this issue. What

did the government do, Mr. Speaker?

They pulled it off the table.

I think it is stall tactic myself.

I have never heard the Minister Responsible for Labrador and

Aboriginal Affairs stand up. I

have not heard anything.

talk about the vessels that came out.

A lot of them were mentioned in the Throne Speech.

The Hazel McIsaac was built

to replace the Island Joiner and I

think it was the MV Sound of Islay .

Then you had the Grace Sparkes , she replaced the

Hamilton Sound .

You

are looking at two new vessels coming online, the

MV Veteran , which is to replace the

Captain Earl W. Winsor and finally, the

Legionnaire , which is coming out to replace the

Beaumont Hamel .

Do you notice I said finally?

The Legionnaire is the

final vessel.

The

Member for Lake Melville had his chance.

I am sure he will have his chance again.

When it comes to the last part of the vessel replacement strategy for

Labrador, the announcement was made in 2013 the same time as the

Legionnaire , the same time as the

Veteran but that one went backwards.

Not only did they withdraw the announcement, they took the RFP off

the table. Not only that, they

violated the land claims agreement, which was signed by three governments:

the Nunatsiavut Government, the provincial government, and the federal

government. That is just one of

a whole number of violations of the land claims agreement that I will get

into.

agreement that is signed between levels of government is not an agreement of

circumstance. It is not an

agreement for

interpretation, and this government ought to see the

difference but no. It is their

way and no one else has anything to say about it.

Then they have the audacity to stand up and say they are committed to

Labrador, they are committed to the Province it makes you wonder.

Again, I would like to talk about the RFP, Mr. Speaker.

A former minister, the Member for Labrador West, talked about how

complicated the process was for the Request for Proposals.

It was very, very complicated; but, at the same time, he was saying

this, the RFPs for the other vessels were rolling out in front of us.

I do not think it was that much more complicated.

You

talk about how time consuming was this process?

It took three ministers to do it, yet the Humber Valley Paving

contract took seven hours.

AN HON. MEMBER:

What?

MR. EDMUNDS:

Seven hours, yes.

So, again, a matter of circumstance, that is all it was, and the

Humber Valley Paving contract is cancelled, and now the RFP contract is also

cancelled.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. EDMUNDS:

I would like to go back

to the Muskrat Falls Project, Mr. Speaker.

I hear the Member for Lake Melville standing up.

I listen to him every year talk about how supportive he is of the

Muskrat Falls Project.

MR. EDMUNDS:

The former minister said

that there will be no infrastructure but we are going to give you two new

vessels. Mr. Speaker, in this

year's Budget under Project Highlights, I think it was, under New Ferries,

if I could quote from that document, Bell Island, Fogo Island and Change

Islands Project cost: $140 million for vessels and new wharf

infrastructure.

Mr.

Speaker, I am glad that Bell Island, Fogo Island-Change Islands got their

vessels and I am glad they got their infrastructure, because there are other

parts in this Province that never got it.

As a matter of fact, like I said, under this government's watch our

people were taken off the table, and no, Mr. Speaker, they are not going to

hear the end of it.

Northern Labrador, Mr. Speaker, you look at storage facilities.

The sheds are sixteen feet by sixteen feet, which cannot hold

one-one-hundred of the freight that comes off.

Last fall, and I will say it again, Mr. Speaker, 300 pallets of food

was dropped off in Hopedale in sub-zero temperatures.

That is okay? There is

nothing wrong with that? If that

happened anywhere else, I wonder what the outcome would be.

hear the Minister of Labrador Affairs standing up.

Now, Mr. Speaker, it is too bad he cannot do it when he is supposed

to.

let's put it all into perspective.

We are looking at, as I talked about: shortages, overcrowding, high

food prices, nutrition impacts, substandard services

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER (Littlejohn):

Order, please!

ask members to confine their comments to somewhere else in the Chamber.

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains, please.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, in the

Budget, and I have said this before, it was good to see the announcements in

the Budget on social programming, but my statement is your throwing revenue,

or you are throwing programming in for social programming but we are not

seeing anything done to address the issues that cause social programs.

think if you look at addressing the social issues yes, they are very

important, but when you get the social impacts like overcrowding, high cost

of living, then you are getting into mould issues, you are getting into

tuberculosis and it spawns to social programs that many regions in our

Province are experiencing, Mr. Speaker.

So you have to look at where you are putting your resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. EDMUNDS:

If you address the causes

of social programs, Mr. Speaker, you eliminate social programs.

If you put money on social programs, you put another band-aid on the

problem. I think it is just

another case of mismanagement, of failure to address the issues.

will have another twenty minutes also to address the Budget.

Hansard from yesterday, I say to the Member for Lake Melville, is a

wonderful thing.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

is certainly an honour and a privilege for me to rise here in the House

today and speak to the amendment to the motion, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to start out today again by thanking my constituents for

the great privilege and opportunity to be here today and representing the

fine people of Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

is quite an impressive district.

I like to boast about my district as often as I can.

In my previous Budget speech, Mr. Speaker, I spoke a lot about the

aquaculture and the advances it has made in my rural, remote area.

Because of aquaculture, Mr. Speaker, we have the ability to sustain a viable

future. We have the opportunity

to at least offer choice for those who decide they may want to stay living

in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

That is not the choice for everyone, but at one time there was no

choice at all. You had no choice

but to go.

Today, that has changed. It has

changed in large part because of the strong support and initiative of the

innovative entrepreneurs in the Coast of Bays region, and the strong support

of our government which has over the last ten years invested very heavily in

the sector. We recognize the

importance and value that it brings not just to the Coast of Bays, but to

the Province as a whole.

in thinking about what I would get up and speak about today and I have

been listening to a lot of the Budget speeches, some very, very interesting

ones, some very informative ones where you actually learn a lot, and some

that have a lot of rhetoric and pandering, Mr. Speaker.

I am going to focus today, when I speak, primarily on Budget 2015 and

actually speak to the Budget itself.

With

budget bills and money bills, of course, we have the latitude to speak

freely, and we can talk about any number of issues.

I thought today I would focus on the Budget and, in particular, the

fact that we have a plan, a very concrete, accountable and measurable plan,

Mr. Speaker.

The

question I would pose to the Official Opposition Party, and I am sure we are

going to hear more from the Third Party in the months ahead.

The question I would pose, and that has been posed by many here in

the House, is: what is your plan?

Is it the borrow, borrow, borrow of the Leader of the Opposition, or

is it the cut, cut, cut of the Member for Virginia Waters?

do not really know, Mr. Speaker, and it causes me to ask myself the

question: Can we trust the Opposition with any policy that they bring

forward? Because they do seem to

change their mind on a rapid basis.

The plan to plan the plan has been a long time coming.

I sit back sometimes and scratch my head.

Over

the years growing up you hear a lot of talk about politicians and what

politicians are and are not. I

have to say now here in the House, being a politician I do have great

respect for each and every member of this House and a great appreciation and

understanding of the amount of vast work that goes into the job we do by

each and every one of us.

That

being said, when it comes to policy, I have to scratch my head.

I ask myself the question: Can I trust anything that is being

promised or promoted from across the way?

Because I have seen nothing that gives me confidence that trust

exists. Can you trust the

Progressive Conservatives, Mr. Speaker?

Absolutely, because we have laid out our plan.

We have laid out our plan in more detail than any plan has ever been

laid out in this House of Assembly.

In fact, we have actually mapped out clearly the next five years.

Many

of us talk about how we go back to our districts and we talk to residents

and people on the ground in our various communities about what Budget 2015

actually means. Someone who I

have great respect for, great admiration for, a strong leader in our

community, Mr. Speaker, made a point of talking to me one evening about the

Budget. His comment was, anybody

can get up and promise to pave the world.

It takes a strong person to get up and tell it like it is.

This

person said he has great confidence in Premier Davis and will definitely be

supporting Premier Davis in the upcoming election, and in large part because

of his confidence in the Premier.

He knows he can trust the Premier and the man will tell us the truth.

is not always something we are going to like, but it is reality, and truth

is something that we all have to deal with.

If we are going to serve the people of the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador and the best interests of the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador, Mr. Speaker, they deserve nothing but the truth and for their

politicians to be honest and upfront with them.

Budget 2015 is a plan that takes a measured, balanced approach to deal with

the fiscal realities that are facing Newfoundland and Labrador.

As I said in previous speeches, it is not just a fiscal reality for

Newfoundland and Labrador; it is a fiscal reality for the entire globe, as

we have seen the unprecedented fall in oil prices.

We have to manage our way through this.

lot of my colleagues, they all enjoy a good game of hockey me, not so much

and a phrase that is often used is you stick handle your way through rough

times. We are going through a

rough patch right now, but our team, our Premier, our Cabinet, our caucus,

does have the experience. We

have been down this road before in 2008, we have popped out of the decline

faster than any other jurisdiction, and I have every confidence we will do

so again.

This

year, in particular, the Premier of the Province has a new approach to

fiscal management. We are on a

new watch now with a new leader at the helm, and he has a fresh approach to

doing business. I, for one, have

to say I thoroughly enjoy being a politician, and I thoroughly enjoy working

under the leadership of Premier Davis.

This

is not always an easy job. At

times, it can be very challenging.

When you have a leader like Premier Davis, who is so very engaging of

each and every member of his caucus, who is willing to listen to each and

every member of his caucus and to the people as a whole, then it is easy to

spring out of bed in the morning and come to work and feel really good about

the work you are doing. So, I

have the greatest of confidence.

Probably one of the greatest times since I have been here in the House of

Assembly I have really enjoyed the last year or so in particular.

Now,

back to our Budget. The

unpredictable in oil prices, it has placed great strain on the revenues of

the Province, Mr. Speaker, and we need to adjust our course to meet this

reality head-on. That is exactly

what has been mapped out for us through the Budget in 2015.

So, because the revenue circumstances have changed, of course, we are

looking at our overall long-term fiscal plan, and we have precise targets

laid out over the next five years.

We have the ability to measure those targets, measure our outputs,

and see how we are actually performing, and we can adapt accordingly as we

go through the plan.

want to be very clear about this.

The situation we find ourselves in now is a temporary one, and we are

going to manage our way through it, but prudent fiscal management demands

gradual change to avoid harming the Provinces economy.

Mr. Speaker, I do not hear as much of it in the House now that there

is a larger Opposition and they seem to be performing as most typical

political parties do; but if you look back to Hansard, a few years back, you

heard about so, who is writing their speeches and this, that, and the other

thing. I have noticed a definite

theme in the speech writers for the Opposition now.

They have a theme of mismanagement is the word that they are using.

You will notice every speaker uses it, so I firmly believe the speech

writer is at work.

The

reality, Mr. Speaker, is that our Province is in the best possible hands

that it can be at this point in time in particular to manage our way through

a rough patch. We have been

through the rough times. We have

been through a lot of the rhetoric that we hear coming from the other side.

We know what works and what does not from the school of hard knocks

often in a lot of cases.

want to speak in particular to Muskrat Falls in that regard.

Muskrat Falls is something that the Opposition we still are not

clear if the Opposition is going to suspend the project, are they going to

put it on hold and put it under review, in which case it would drive the

cost up by hundreds of millions of dollars.

That, to me, is a very scary prospect, Mr. Speaker, to see something

like that happen just for the sake of politics.

do not know if they would plan to squash it, but I know that Muskrat Falls

is one of the smartest things that has ever happened to the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in terms of our ability to be self-sufficient and

have a reliable, sustainable source of revenue for generations to come,

centuries to come, because it is a renewable resource.

As long as the water runs, Mr. Speaker, there will be electricity and

as long as there is electricity for us to sell, we will be a Province that

makes money.

Instead of looking to Quebec and comparing ourselves to Quebec and all the

great hospitals and all the great road networks that they building with the

money of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians from the Upper Churchill, I might

add, we will be the ones in that position, we will be the ones reaping those

benefits, and our people will finally see the benefits of the great

Churchill.

was reading on Twitter last week some comments about Muskrat Falls.

I kind of said to myself this person really does not have a good

handle on the Muskrat Falls the Upper Churchill, I should say, and the

history of what it means to Newfoundlanders and how it burns deep in many of

us. I know I was just a very

young girl sitting around the table watching the news with my dad after

supper. He would talk about the

Upper Churchill and be so angry about the great injustice that had happened

to us as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Premier Danny Williams, when he came into office, was absolutely determined

that he was going to right that wrong.

He was going to find a way to ensure that the vast resources of the

great Churchill River would once again be restored properly to the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

did it, Mr. Speaker. He found

the solution in Muskrat Falls because we are no longer beholden to Quebec

for a corridor to sell our power.

We now have two routes off the Island to sell our power.

Those two routes will ensure that we have revenue, as I said earlier,

for decades and generations and generations to come.

It is a fabulous project for Newfoundland and Labrador.

we have the certainty that our children and our grandchildren will not have

to live in poverty and they will not have to be subjected to the decline in

infrastructure, like we have, because they have a very profitable enterprise

in Nalcor of all of its citizens, then that is something that makes me sleep

very well at night. I have great

confidence that the future for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will

continue to get better and better and better.

Muskrat Falls is the very key to our profitability and our

sustainability. I am a strong

supporter of it.

truly hope as we move towards the next election when voters think about

things, they ask themselves: (

a) do they trust what they hear in promises

from the Opposition; and (

b) what will happen to Muskrat Falls?

At this juncture for anything to happen to Muskrat Falls, to stall it

or shut it down, in my opinion, would be disastrous for the people of the

Province. I think, at the very

least, they deserve some straight answers as to what anyone else who is

proposing to govern would offer on that regard.

One

thing we are absolutely confident of is we will continue to offer excellent

leadership on Muskrat Falls. We

will have the project up and running and be very happy to flick the switch

in the next two or three years.

It is going to be an absolutely memorable day for the entire Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

will not have a history as the Upper Churchill does, leaving quite a

negative taste in our mouth as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

I have every confidence in seeing it as the solution that brought

back the Upper Churchill and gave us new assets in addition through Muskrat

Falls and Gull Island. I truly

believe it is a fabulous project.

Now,

in terms of the choices our government has faced this year in terms of

Budget 2015, and that is what it is, Mr. Speaker, it is clearly a Budget

about choices. We chose a

balanced, measured approach that puts people first versus the slash and cut

that was suggested by the Finance critic in the Opposition, or the borrow

more and borrow often that was suggested by the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr.

Speaker, it is interesting to see how there are so many different policies

coming out of just one group, but our people and our team are very

committed, very focused, very jelled.

We are all pulling our oars in the same direction, and that direction

is the betterment of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Now,

I am going to talk a little bit in my remaining time about some of the

strategic investments in particular that are in Budget 2015.

I want to talk a little bit about early childhood development and

education. In terms of early

childhood learning, this is the plan of the Progressive Conservatives.

Budget 2015 allocates $45.7 million to continue the implementation of our

Caring for Our Future strategy.

That represents a $3.2 million increase over last year's Budget, Mr.

Speaker, and it is the third consecutive year of funding increases.

It really points to our recognition that early childhood development

is very much a priority for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

than $10.5 million has been allocated in this year's Budget to continue with

the implementation of full-day kindergarten to start next year in 2016.

That, again, is an investment we are very committed to.

It is an investment in the early development of our children that we

firmly believe is going to lead to a better society in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

continue to strengthen the K-12 school infrastructure.

This year over $8.2 million has been allocated for planning for new

schools. Over $65.2 million for

the ongoing school construction projects, and nearly $22 million will be

spent this year for repairs and maintenance.

terms of post-secondary education, what great initiatives have been brought

forward by the Progressive Conservative Government.

I am one of those people, I like to keep a scrapbook of things that

are very meaningful to me. One

of my scrapbooks has my very first tuition bill that I ever had.

My first year of university, and I will not tell you what year that

was because I will date myself, but my tuition was $500 a semester, Mr.

Speaker, and at that

AN HON. MEMBER:

It sure has gone up.

MS PERRY:

It has gone up a bit, and

at the time it was quite a challenge.

My father had passed away; it was just me and my mom.

I was going through school on student loans and it was tight.

It was a challenge, Mr. Speaker.

We did not have a lot of money.

That is probably why I kept that first tuition receipt, because I was

so proud of myself. I did pay it

from odd jobs and things that I did when I was in high school, like many

kids do these days.

did not have a franchise as such, but I used to work at a place called

Golden Fried Chicken. I would

work until 6:00 o'clock in the morning and then get up at 9:00 to go play in

Mass. So that was my life in

Grade 10, 11, and 12 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was able to save money for my tuition which meant so much to me.

Today, Mr. Speaker, many of our rural residents in particular, and certainly

even the residents here in St. John's who live at home, tuition is still one

of the biggest impediments to the ability to be able to go and avail of a

post-secondary education. In

terms of some of the measures we have taken here as a government, we have

frozen tuition year after year after year, making it possible for thousands

of more young people to be able to go to school and avail of a university or

trade degree.

terms of loans to grants and this I started talking about when I started

out. Loans to grants; boy, did

that ever make a difference to me.

At the end of my time in university, I was able to go straight to the

bank when I graduated. The very

first thing I did was I went and took my grant paper and I went straight to

the bank and paid down on my student loan.

So all of a sudden what was a massive student loan became a very

small, manageable student loan, Mr. Speaker, that I was able to pay off

within two or three years as opposed to nine, because of the grants that

were in place. We have brought

those grants back.

terms of apprenticeship renewal, there is approximately $20 million in

Budget 2015 to go towards skilled trade development and a variety of

initiatives to revitalize the apprenticeship system, Mr. Speaker, which

gives our people the opportunity for work experience.

The provincial government will also continue to support, like I said,

the tuition freeze this year for Canadian undergraduate students and the

tuition freeze for the College of the North Atlantic.

terms of the Population Growth Strategy, $500,000 has been implemented this

year as well for the Population Growth Strategy, Mr. Speaker.

I am very quickly running out of time here.

I am getting a feeling that for some reason I am getting leave today.

want to talk a little bit now actually about our business investment.

One of the things, Mr. Speaker, that really upsets me when I hear it

coming from the Opposition is how they talk about we do not have innovators

in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

MR. SPEAKER:

I remind the hon. member

her time has expired.

AN HON. MEMBER:

By leave.

MR. SPEAKER:

By leave, the hon. the

Member for Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

MS PERRY:

How could you say that we

have no innovators in Newfoundland and Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS PERRY:

We have a very innovative

population. I will venture to

say that from the very first settlers that came to Newfoundland and Labrador

we have been innovators, Mr. Speaker.

The

Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development is encouraging a very

diverse business climate, and we encourage diversification of the economy.

We have a lot of programs in place to support that.

For example, if you look at the business and regional development

program, Budget 2015 maintains funding of approximately $44.4 million to

support start-up businesses, emerging growth sectors, and regional

development activities. This

investment is a continuation of robust business support programs from

pre-commercial phase, to new start-up, to growth and expansion.

have tax breaks for certain businesses.

We have special investments into fisheries, driving tourism, heritage

assets, research and development, work in forestry, aquaculture, and the new

interactive digital media tax credit.

Mr. Speaker, that is innovation.

There is so much more here, Mr. Speaker, that I would love to be able to

talk about, but I am out of time.

Thank you so much for granting me leave, and I look forward to my

final Budget speech when we actually get to the main motion.

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bay of Islands.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE:

I thank the member.

I was a bit late, Mr. Speaker, coming into the House because I was

just on Open Line talking about the increased cost of waste management for

Western Newfoundland. So, I am

sorry I was late, but I had to express my concerns and my thoughts to the

people of the Province about the cancellation of the waste management.

Once

again, Mr. Speaker and I will tell you the flabbergasting part about this,

and my caucus members heard me here today. Don

Downer, who is chair, who I do not think was qualified.

He was a political appointee.

Here

is the Mayor of the City of Corner Brook, and I have been preaching to the

City of Corner Brook for a long time about this, about the increase in fees,

that it has been delayed. There

has been nothing said about it, but today, give the Mayor of Corner Brook

credit. He stood up for the

people of Corner Brook in Western Newfoundland, not for the government.

Don

Downer: it could have been worse, they have a billion dollar deficit.

Why doesn't Don Downer either move himself aside or defend the people

of Western Newfoundland, which he is supposed to, and stop defending the

political people who appointed him there, which I do not think he is

qualified to be there?

anyway, I am sorry for being late, but that is where I was.

Once again, I just said on Pete Soucy, and to anybody who is

listening out in Western Newfoundland, in their own report, in the

government's own report, Mr. Speaker, to ship the garbage from Western

Newfoundland to Norris Arm out in Central, there is a $1.8 million cost over

and above. Who is going to pay

for that?

AN HON. MEMBER:

The people of Western

Newfoundland.

MR. JOYCE:

The people of Western

Newfoundland are going to pay for that, Mr. Speaker.

That is what I have been saying.

I have been preaching in this House I asked questions to three or

four different ministers. It is

very obvious now this minister is just taking in the problem but if you go

back the last two or three years and look at the questions I asked in this

House, what I have been saying, what I have been hearing, and what I have

been preaching in this House and Western Newfoundland finally came true.

Sadly, it is finally coming true that the Waste Management Strategy

has been delayed. It is going to

cost more.

know the minister is listening very intently, and I think the minister

inherited this problem. I think

this minister is going to try his best to get it straightened out; but the

other three or four prior, I have asked them questions upon questions upon

questions and there is just no way in the world would they stand up and be

honest and say no, this is going to be delayed.

This is going to cost the people of Western Newfoundland more money.

It is absolutely shocking.

Mr.

Speaker, what is the reason given?

We have a billion-dollar deficit.

Here they are now this government is standing up saying to the

people of Western Newfoundland we are going to charge you more when we get

the waste management site set up outside Gander, in Norris Arm.

We are going to charge you more.

We are not going to have it done for another ten years.

In ten years we will finally have it all done, yet they want these to

be happy because you put yourself in a financial mess, now who is going to

suffer are the people in Western Newfoundland and the environment.

Because of this government's mismanagement now our environment and

the people of Western Newfoundland are another casualty.

is sad, Mr. Speaker. Do you want

to know why myself and the caucus here cannot support the Budget?

Here is another example.

AN HON. MEMBER:

So many reasons.

MR. JOYCE:

So many reasons.

So many reasons, it is so true that we cannot support here is

another one, and this is just gradually coming out, Mr. Speaker.

Bit by bit, this is gradually coming out about what is in the Budget

and I should say what is not in the Budget.

you know the sad part about this, Mr. Speaker, just about the waste

management? The federal gas tax that

was coming to the Province, there was 1 per cent taken out that was supposed

to go to municipalities to pay for this waste management and Western

Newfoundland is being punished.

Here

is the other point. When I did a

tour of the site in Norris Arm now, I may be off a few percentage points,

but I am sure I am not off too much.

You want to talk about mismanagement.

The reason why they are going to take the garbage with an extra cost

of $1.8 million, plus the extra cost incurred, plus the liabilities all

going across and the trucks going across, the footprints going across daily

do you know why the government now is pushing this and why Don Downer, the

big political appointee, is pushing this?

The Norris Arm site is up to about 33 per cent capacity.

That is it. The Norris

Arm site, which is up and running it may be 35 percent

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible) talking

about not full.

MR. JOYCE:

Not full, 33 per cent.

So they built this huge infrastructure out in Norris Arm oh my God,

we are too big now.

MR. LANE:

They do not need.

It is too big. The

opposite of the schools, building them too big and schools too small.

MR. JOYCE:

Yes, the Member for Mount

Pearl South just said, the opposite of schools, building them to o big and not

filling them. Not like the

schools, building them too small, not big enough.

It is a very good point.

That

is the reason why. Then you

wonder why I cannot support the Budget.

I have to stand up in this Legislature here and this government is

going to say how about the few things you are going to get for the district.

Yes, I will acknowledge that.

I make no bones about it.

I will acknowledge that. I will

stand up here and say yes, that is what government is supposed to do.

Any minister who helped out the Bay of Islands, I will acknowledge

that, but how can I acknowledge I have been saying for three or four years

that the waste management has been put behind.

The waste management is going to cost the people of Western

Newfoundland more money.

Yesterday, it was proven to me.

Even Mayor Charles Pender is out today saying the government never spent the

money on it. I have to give the

mayor credit. Not very often he

stands up against this government, but I have to give him credit.

He came out today and he said the government has not been spending

the money in the district, in the area.

Get

this, Mr. Speaker. The Wild Cove

dump site got to go until 2025.

I have been saying it. That

mayor confirmed it today. He is

not even sure if this site has the capacity to keep going until 2025.

Yet, the decision is made.

Do you see why we need consultations out there?

How

the decision was made again, I do not want to talk about how someone was

pushing the government agenda through, but this decision was made probably

about three years ago. It was

made in June or July I think in July, the summer.

I think there were eight, nine people at the meeting, just barely

made the quorum, one or two, and they made the decision.

They did not even have a big roundtable discussion.

The municipalities had very little say into it.

That is how the decision was made.

Mr.

Speaker, I will leave that alone for now.

I just want to say to the minister that we need to have consultations

out in Western Newfoundland to ensure that if we need to change this, we

need to change it. Let's do the

right thing. I will stand with

you. I will go out; I will sit

in the meetings with you. I will

offer my support. I will offer

my help. I will offer my

assistance like I did for the hospital in Corner Brook, like I did for

radiation. Our leader, the

Leader of the Opposition, will stand shoulder to shoulder with you because

we need to do it right.

The

decision that you are going to make, please God it will not be a bad

decision. Please God we will

have time to consult please God on that.

We need to go out together.

The municipalities need to come together.

You have my commitment here today.

I spoke to all of the Opposition members here on the West Coast; they

are willing to go out with the minister.

They are willing to go out.

Let's have public meetings.

Let's see what the best thing is to do for Western Newfoundland.

Let's not just take it and ram it down their throats because you are

in a financial mess. Let's go sit

down, listen to the people who are going to be mostly affected, the

municipalities of Western Newfoundland, the Northern Peninsula.

I am not even getting into Labrador today, Mr. Speaker.

That is a different topic because they have their own issues up

there, as we know, about waste management.

There are some difficult issues up that way.

Mr.

Speaker, we will have a commitment here today from the Opposition that,

Minister, I will go with you to any meeting out in Western Newfoundland and

discuss waste management. We

will try to work this together.

We did it on the hospital. We

did it on Kruger. We need now to

do this on waste management because this is going to affect every

municipality on the West Coast, long after all of us in this House is out of

this place. We have to do it

right.

Minister, I thank you again that we are going to have those meetings.

I hope we are going to go out together, shoulder to shoulder and all

the members here, Mr. Speaker. I just think it is a great idea that we will

work together to get this done.

We will meet with all the mayors and municipalities.

We will meet with all the joint councils.

That is how we are going to get it done is have consultations, but we

need to come together on consensus.

Consensus, Mr. Speaker, is what we need to do.

That is how we need to solve this problem together as a group.

Let's not fight over it.

Let's go out and have public consultations.

Let's go out and meet with the people.

Let's go have meetings with all the municipalities that are affected

and we will come up with the right solution.

Mr.

Speaker, I have a few minutes left.

I am going to speak about a few other issues in the Bay of Islands.

The Member for Gander I know the Member for Gander is sitting there

and I just want to acknowledge that June 5 the fire truck that was

desperately needed in Cox's Cove is going to be delivered.

I know the Member for Gander was a part a big part of that because he

seen the need when he went out and seen the truck, so I just want to

acknowledge that.

The

fire chief told me to personally invite you to come out, because he knows

that you went out, you looked at that area, you saw the need, and you saw

the problems with it. I just

want to say thank you very much for that and the fire chief is very pleased

with that truck. It is going to

save lives because of that. So I

just want to acknowledge that from the Member for Gander.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, also I will

just go through district and I know the Minister of Municipal Affairs, we

are going to have a meeting. I

just want to thank him for helping out with some of the amalgamation with

York Harbour- Lark Harbour. I do

not know if it is going to work.

I do not know, there are some issues there, but I know the previous two

ministers would not even meet with the people.

One promised to show up and never even showed up to the meeting, so

this minister I just want to acknowledge that.

Mr.

Speaker, that is how we solve things; we have to work together.

Fine, we have differences of opinions, absolutely, we have different

approaches on how to solve problems, but when we come down to an issue, we

have to work together. I know

the people in York Harbour and Lark Harbour are excited that hopefully they

are going to amalgamate. I know

there is a meeting tomorrow night, and I thank the minister again for that

because he has been very accommodating to them.

Mr.

Speaker, the people of York Harbour and Lark Harbour recognize that, unlike

the previous minister, the Member for St. John's West, who never even showed

up. I just want to acknowledge

how people are treated differently from the opposite side, and how when you

treat people with respect, with dignity, you get results.

I am willing to work with any member over there, any minister, or the

Premier, to get results for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Also, part of that, they are going to get a fire truck.

If we all remember, there was a fire back probably seven or eight

months ago. What happened, they

went to the fire and the truck actually broke down.

I know the minister there went down and he looked at the need, did an

evaluation, and once again, they did the right thing for the people of York

Harbour-Lark Harbour and I just want to acknowledge that also.

Mr.

Speaker, I move on up now into Humber Arm South.

There are a few issues there in Humber Arm South that we are dealing

with. When we look at the whole

issue and I know the Acting Minister of Education how can I vote for a

Budget, even though there are some things there for the Bay of Islands, when

you walk out to the school, go to the graduation, twelve kids I think

there might have been two students left, maybe two, by the time people add

in last year it was the same number when they started and they got two units

taken out of the school. Two

units gone. No one can explain

to them why.

What

I am going to do here again is write the school board they will not meet

with them and say will you send someone out there to meet with the school

council, which this government appointed to help out in the schools but they

will not meet with them, will you go out and meet with them and explain to

them Mr. Speaker, even the special needs services in the schools, it is

just unbelievable.

Then, as you come up and you see the cuts in the school out in Lark Harbour

and York Harbour, and they cannot get any proper evaluation of why, and I am

supposed to vote for that Budget, Mr. Speaker.

I am supposed to stand up now and vote for that Budget.

Mr.

Speaker, look at another school, Sacred Heart; they are being cut units this

year. The last I heard it was

three. I cannot get it confirmed

yet from the school, but I will tomorrow.

There are a lot of underlining issues out there because of this

Budget.

know the minister has agreed to sit down with me sometime and go through the

911. I said it before and I will

say it again; this is going to cost people's lives and safety.

I gave some examples in this House and I say to the minister that I

know he is going to inherit this mess.

There are cases that we already brought up where the fire departments

of rural Newfoundland Mr. Speaker, you know; you were part of a municipal

council. Who is the first one to

respond in a rural Newfoundland setting?

The fire department; 80 to 85 per cent, up to 90 per cent of the

calls right now are for medical.

What

is going to happen now, Mr. Speaker, because of this 911 system and it

does not cost any extra money.

No one could sit down and explain to me I know the former minister could

not, and I know the Member for Gander, he brought in 911.

If he stood up on his feet, ask him is this what he thought it was

going to be. I can tell you, Mr.

Speaker, this is not what he thought he was bringing in.

This was changed. By the

time that POMAX study started, by the time this minister left the

department, it changed.

gave the minister the page; it is page 9 on the report.

When the minister stands up and the other one stood up here before

and said we are going to be like Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia is not like Newfoundland.

Nova Scotia has dispatch, page 9; read it.

That is their report.

When that report came out the ones that they were looking at keeping it in,

it was the constabulary in Corner Brook, the same thing up in Lab West, and

St. John's Regional Fire Department.

It changed it actually changed.

There has been no one yet explain to me why the change.

Mr.

Speaker, here is what is happening.

I will just use the member right here.

Here are two of us and I want the people of the Province to

understand this. I know the

government puts out this big cloud, oh we have 911.

It is good to have 911, absolutely no doubt.

There are two dispatchers, Mr. Speaker, sitting down.

A call comes in. If you

pay your $2,500 through the City of Corner Brook, they take that hat on, put

it on, and they will dispatch to you.

If you do not pay the City of Corner Brook that $2,500 minimum, the

call comes in you did not pay, they say oh, we will put you through to the

pager of the fire department.

The same two people, it is just that if you pay the City of Corner Brook,

the city allows you to dispatch and for me not to dispatch.

The

same two people who are paid by the seventy-five cents that every phone in

this Province is paying for everything is paid for.

All the capital cost is paid for by the seventy-five cents.

The workers sitting at your table are all paid for by and guess

what, Mr. Speaker? There is

$180,000 surplus that if you need an extra worker you can pay for it.

Not an extra cent not one extra cent.

cannot, Mr. Speaker, I tried. I

challenge anybody here who wants to discuss this, go out and speak to people

like Colin Tucker. Go speak to

Colin Tucker. We are in this

House; we are going to talk about volunteers.

We are talking about volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, you know a lot about volunteers.

hear the government out going to support volunteerism.

The Towns of York Harbour-Lark Harbour has a volunteer fire

department. Last year, starting

now with the 911 they had two calls for a fire; the other eleven or twelve

were medical. They have to pay

$2,500 if they want two calls dispatched from the City of Corner Brooks.

Isn't that shocking, Mr. Speaker?

Yet now they are out, oh yes, we want all these volunteers coming in.

Not only are they putting their lives on the line for us, now we are

saying to them, listen, we want you to go out and raise more money to pay

the City of Corner Brook.

I do

not blame the city. The city is

trying to make money, I do not blame them.

It is the government that allowed them to do it.

The two people sitting down dispatching are already paid.

They are paid, 100 per cent.

So I

look forward to the meeting. I

can tell you, Mr. Speaker, if someone gets injured, or if a life is lost

because of this 911, I can assure you this government was well-warned.

The nays have it.

motion, amendment defeated.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. HILLIER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. S

Document details

Collection	Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	2015-05-26
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	2015-05-26
Language	en
Format	htm
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	21eef85447a3e6a71fef4d7671aa2c522f23a2dd

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