March 11,

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLIII No. 1

The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Snow): Order, please!

Admit their Lordships, the Justices of the Supreme Court.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS: Mr. Speaker, His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor has

arrived.

MR. SPEAKER: Admit His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS: All rise.

Mr. Speaker leaves the Chair.

His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor takes the Chair.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS: Ladies and gentlemen, it is the wish of His Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor that all be seated.

Thank you.

HIS HONOUR THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR (A. M. House):

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:

I take great pleasure in welcoming you to this Second Session of the

Forty-Third General Assembly. In this year, our 500th since Cabot's voyage, we

have much to celebrate. We enjoy the bounties of the land and sea. And we have

wealth in the talent and abilities of our people.

This is our birthright as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. We hold them in

trust for our children and our children's children. Let us pass on, to those who

will follow in the next 500 years, that birthright, with nature unblemished and

a culture yet further enriched.

Keeping Commitments

In February of last year, our citizens elected a government that sought the

people's support based on a platform of thoughtful optimism, genuine

partnership, and good governance. That platform was costed, detailed, and

distributed widely. It set out a clear direction and a plan of action - to

maximize benefits from natural resources, revitalize rural communities, develop

new industries, provide services that people need and do so within the means

available to us. And, in all this, there was a commitment to discuss openly and

honestly the decisions to be made.

That platform has become the basis of government's policies. Yesterday, My

Government released a report card setting out its progress in implementing those

policies. The Record to Date is a thorough assessment of My Government's

progress in fulfilling its commitments to the people of our Province. It is an

assessment that My Government will update throughout its mandate.

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:

Fishery & Aquaculture

The 1990s have been a challenging

chapter in the life of our Province and our

people. The collapse of the ground fishery dealt us a heavy blow that is still

being felt today, especially in our rural communities. We will not be whole

again until there is a return to prosperity in the ground fishery by those who

make their living from it.

My Government promised a renewed commitment to our fishery in a spirit of

partnership with the fisherpeople of this Province, and with the Government of

Canada. Government is committed to protect, rebuild and sustainably harvest our

groundfish resource. Together, the industry and both levels of government

participate in the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, charged with

recommending sustainable measures of harvesting, based on resource conservation,

growth and regeneration.

My Government has also worked with federal and industry partners in

developing the Fishing Industry Renewal Board's Policy Framework for Fish

Processing . This framework points the way to more stable employment and

income levels as stocks recover.

Last year, landmark legislation was passed in this House establishing the

Professional Fish Harvesters' Certification Board. This is a move toward

meaningful stakeholder participation in the regulatory process, and a

recognition of fishing as the professional occupation that it is.

My Government also promised to devote its energies to create a thriving

aquaculture industry in this Province. It has energetically worked towards this

over the past year, providing funding for aquaculture research and development,

financial investment and marketing, planning, education and training, and

extension services.

Aquaculture is recognized by My Government, and by its industry partners, as

having tremendous potential for our economy. The expanding salmon and trout

farms in Bay d'Espoir stand as shining examples of an aquaculture industry

moving forward, employing hundreds of people, with prospects for further growth

in employment.

Our people have shown great skill and ingenuity in developing new fisheries,

such as shrimp and porcupine crab. Their efforts to do so must be encouraged, so

that when groundfish resources rebuild, the fishery will be better able to

provide good and stable incomes. There is recent news that our shellfish stocks

are stronger than ever, and the prospects for an expanded shrimp fishery are

most encouraging. Indeed the fishing industry as a whole continues to generate

in excess of $500 million annually to our economy. It is a critical element in

My Government's economic development initiatives.

The Smelter/Refinery and Trans-shipment Facilities

In the past year, My Government has ensured that the Voisey's Bay smelter and

refinery and the offshore oil trans-shipment facility will be built in this

Province. These are developments of profound significance for the future of our

Province. Our vast natural resources will not simply be shipped away to the

benefit of others. They will be developed here, for the benefit of our people.

Construction of the mine and mine mill in Labrador, together with the

construction of the smelter/refinery complex at Argentia, will provide some

3,500 jobs for our people. Direct and indirect employment will create 3,000

jobs, once all Voisey's Bay facilities are in full operation.

Construction of the offshore oil trans-shipment facility will employ 300 at

peak. The terminal and the shuttle tankers to feed it will create 120 permanent

jobs. My Government will continue to work with industry to ensure our people are

trained and ready to seize the opportunities that will flow from these two

important projects.

Mining

Other mining opportunities are being developed throughout the Province. Two

new gold mines began production in 1996, as did a gypsum mine at Fischells.

Another gold mine at Nugget Pond has started processing and is expected to

produce its first gold bar shortly. A slate quarry in Keels and an antimony mine

at Beaver Brook, near Glenwood, are also expected this year.

These resources are ours to develop and process for the maximum benefit of

our people. My Government is committed to an appropriate royalty regime that

will allow for all citizens to share fully in the riches produced. Every

opportunity will be explored, including the viability of a copper smelter in

this Province. And My Government will continue to work with the mining industry

to promote new mines and quarries in Newfoundland and Labrador. Mining

exploration was at a record high of $91 million in 1996. This compares to $12

million in 1993, $15 million in 1994 and $70 million in 1995. In 1997,

exploration is expected to remain strong at over $70 million.

Petroleum

The recent mating of the Hibernia platform demonstrated to the world that

Newfoundland and Labrador is a major player in the world's oil and gas industry.

Hibernia's success has also paved the way for a diversified offshore petroleum

industry. The Terra Nova project is now undergoing an environmental review.

A new generic royalty regime was put in place for petroleum projects in 1996.

The benefits of the generic regime are already evident. Clearly, it has

accelerated the planning of the potential development of White Rose and other

offshore oil fields, and has spurred renewed offshore exploration. For example,

Amoco is planning an exploratory well on the Grand Banks in May, the first

drilling activity there in five years.

Beyond this, the generic regime was critical in persuading Petro-Canada and

its new partner, Norsk Hydro, to undertake a major, long-term commitment to

exploration and development in the Jeanne D'Arc Basin. My Government is

delighted with Petro-Canada's decision to establish an office in St. John's for

east coast Canadian oil and gas development. Government expects to see similar

offices opened by other major east coast energy players.

My Government is also exploring a new labour relations regime for our

offshore industries that will ensure we are competitive with other regions, both

here in North America and abroad.

Forestry

In forestry, My Government has announced a new, $5.7 million forest research

and education facility in Corner Brook, which will open in 1998. Government has

negotiated a new three-year forest management strategy with the federal

government, resulting in many silviculture projects throughout the Province.

And, an additional five-year cost-shared silviculture plan has also been

negotiated with Abitibi-Price and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper.

My Government has produced a 20-year forestry plan that, after extensive

public consultation, will become the basis for the long-term, sustainable

development of our forest industry. New areas for economic growth, such as on

the coast of Labrador, will be pursued vigorously, as will new opportunities in

integrated saw mill operations. The commitment to a sustainable and structured

with industry, is being kept.

Agriculture

In agriculture, My Government continues to act in partnership with industry

to target opportunities and to deal with restraints on development, including

the need for public grain storage, expanding grain production, alternative feed

trials, food marketing co-operatives, and an agriculture awareness campaign. And

we are pursuing an increasing number of niche markets and developments in the

foods processing and agrifoods sector.

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:

Our natural resources can help us to pay for needed public services and to

service our debt. It can also lay the foundation for a healthier, more

diversified economy. My Government believes that the tourism industry can help

to provide new growth for our Province.

Cabot 500 Celebrations

This year we are pleased to welcome Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and

Prince Philip to our Province to greet the Matthew on its arrival in

Bonavista. We will also be joined by a host of other leaders from across Canada

and abroad. Indeed, the Cabot 500 Celebrations will place our Province in the

international spotlight. This must be translated into permanent, sustained

growth for tourism in our Province. My Government has promoted these

Celebrations with enthusiasm, hosting five major anchor events, providing

financial support for fifty events, and in-kind support to over sixty Come Home

Years throughout the Province. Some of the regional events are annual events,

enhanced for this Cabot anniversary. Others, such as the Placentia Festival of

Flags, the Gander Festival of Flight, and the Northern Lights Cultural Festival

are special Cabot 500 events.

We are already seeing the fruits of our labours. The influential American Bus

Association has named the Cabot 500 Celebrations the top event in North America

in 1997. Nine cruise ships carrying over 5,200 passengers are slated to visit

fourteen ports of call both on the Island and in Labrador, and there is a 250

per cent increase in convention activity planned for this year. Our advertising

campaigns have won five international awards in the past seven months, and the

Province has been the subject of extensive coverage in such publications as the

New York Times.

Growth in Tourism

My Government will build on this success with further promotional efforts

focusing on American, European and Japanese travellers. As promised, My

Government has also developed a new state-of-the-art central reservations system

with New Tel Communications, which became operational in December of last year.

And, through the Economic Renewal Agreement, it has supported the enhancement of

interpretation centres throughout the Province, including the Ferryland

Interpretation Centre, The Signal Hill Tattoo, the Fleur de Lys Dorset Eskimo

Site, the Ryan Premises, and the Grenfell

Interpretation Centre in St. Anthony.

1997 Year of the Arts

My Government has also helped restore funding to the 1997 Year of the Arts,

as a commitment to the celebration of our rich culture and heritage. Over 1,300

individual artists will demonstrate their talents in seventy-eight exhibitions

ranging from music and dance to theatre and the visual arts. Public funds,

coupled with generous donations from our corporate citizens, will help bring our

songs and stories to life like never before.

Amateur Sport

Looking beyond 1997, My Government is committed to working with the thousands

of Canada Winter Games volunteers to host the best games ever in Corner Brook in

1999. And we look forward to the 1998 Newfoundland and Labrador Winter Games in

Labrador West, following on the great success of the Summer Games held last year

in Conception Bay South.

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:

The development of advanced technologies is seen by My Government as key to

our advancement as an economy. The Internet and its applications are changing

how we work and where we can work. It offers the people of our Province enormous

opportunities. Our information technology companies aim to penetrate Scottish

and Irish markets as easily as they might those in Nova Scotia or Ontario. For

these businesses to grow, Government must provide a positive climate by

maintaining a sound fiscal position and a quality standard of education and

training, and by spearheading strategic promotional efforts to penetrate new

markets and attract investment.

SoftWorld '98

This New Economy has allowed our information technology companies to

transcend borders and find partnerships and markets around the world. It was in

this spirit that My Government signed an agreement with the Aberdeen region of

Scotland to bid as co-hosts for the SoftWorld '98 software conference in St.

John's. SoftWorld '98 will provide a catalyst for further promotional efforts by

My Government, in tandem with the information technology industry in this

Province. SoftWorld '98 will showcase the innovation, talent and entrepreneurial

spirit of our Province.

ERA and Advanced Technologies

Through the Economic Renewal Agreement, My Government has established a

research infrastructure fund to ensure that the research and development

facilities at Memorial University continue to foster advanced technology

businesses.

And, it has invested $5 million in the Canadian Centre for Marine

Communications so that it may increase the commercialisation of

Newfoundland-based technologies in marine communications, navigation, and

surveillance.

A further $10 million has been pledged to the efforts of Operation ONLINE - a

joint private-sector, university and government initiative that has assumed a

lead role in matters relating to our information technology sector. I am

particularly pleased to note that My Government continues to support our

world-class expertise in distance education and tele-medicine, and recently

supported the establishment of a Chair of Telelearning at Memorial University.

Through investments in satellite and multimedia technologies, Memorial

University, the provincial college, and the libraries will be equipped to

develop and deliver courses throughout rural Newfoundland and Labrador, thereby

allowing us to overcome the inherent problems of our geography.

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:

Rural Revitalisation

Renewal of rural Newfoundland and Labrador stood squarely at the centre of My

Government's mandate one year ago, and it created a Department dedicated to this

purpose. There is a demonstrated commitment to our 20 economic zones, which are

key to long-term sustainable growth. We must make way for local people to author

and implement solutions unique to their economies. In the months ahead, My

Government will build on these abilities by announcing a new initiative, in

training and counselling services in each of the 20 economic zones.

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:

Aboriginal Affairs

Labrador and its people stand as proud members of this Province and unique

partners in our ongoing story of these past 500 years. Indeed, for centuries the

aboriginal peoples there have hunted the land, fished the waters and raised

their families in Labrador, and they are now asserting a greater measure of

control over their communities. In its commitments to the people of Labrador and

the whole Province, My Government agreed that the negotiation of land claims

must be given top priority.

Negotiations have been substantial and intense and therefore have had moments

of pause and difficulty. Yet the will on both sides of the table remains strong,

and the results of the past year speak for themselves; conclusion of an

agreement in principle with the Labrador Inuit is possible in the near term, and

a self-government framework agreement has been signed with the Innu Nation. For

the first time in Canada's history, a four-way joint approach to the

environmental assessment of a major resource development has been negotiated.

Indeed, both the Inuit and the Innu have joined My Government and the Government

of Canada in the assessment of the Voisey's Bay mine project.

Labrador's Place

It is important that all of those who live in Labrador share in the

development of its riches. My Government continues to work towards its

commitment to officially change the Province's name to Newfoundland and

Labrador.

But My Government also understands that the needs of Labrador's people are

more than symbolic, and it has given tangible evidence of this. In this past

year, there has been a new regional hospital announced for Happy Valley - Goose

Bay; a new school for Hopedale; the Ptarmigan Trail in the South Coast; the

re-establishment of government services in Labrador West; the re-establishment

of the Labrador Air Subsidy for the South and North Coasts; and the recent news

that Labrador West will be the site for the 1998 Newfoundland & Labrador Winter

Games.

My Government will continue to support the notion that those who live closest

to a resource should have a full and fair opportunity to benefit from its

development. In the days ahead My Government will announce additional measures

aimed at improving the quality of life in Labrador's communities.

Labrador has not always received its full and fair share of the riches that

it generates. The grievances of its people have been heard, and they are

understood. My Government has worked hard this past year to meet real needs,

even in difficult times of restraint. My Government stands by its measured

accomplishments in Labrador over this past year with the pride one finds in

taking the first steps on a long, but prosperous journey.

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:

A Three Year Budgetary Plan

This year's budget will mark a new way of managing public money. This year,

My Government will present a three-year, forward-looking budget that tries to be

fair and honest with the men and women who work in the public service. Public

employees and their families want to know where they stand so they can plan for

their futures. This budget will give them a greater sense of stability.

Making Difficult Choices: Program Review

Last July, My Government announced an exercise called Program Review. Program

Review has meant a systematic, comprehensive rethinking of government's role

entering the 21st century. My Ministers have combed through government's

inventory of programs, one by one, and asked three questions: Is this program in

the public interest? If so, is it being run efficiently? And finally, can we

afford it?

The conviction behind this exercise is simple: given that our debt is high,

given that our third largest expenditure of taxpayers' money after health and

education is interest on that debt, and given that our revenues from the federal

government are decreasing, we must start making fundamental, rational choices.

If we continue across-the-board cuts, where each department and service is asked

to cut an equal percentage, we avoid the challenging decisions that must be

taken. Instead, My Government will listen to people and reflect their values in

the choices it makes. My Government will set priorities, and make choices.

Besides striving to get government right, we also have to make it more

responsive. People want more control over their own lives, and a greater say in

their children's education, in the managing of their health care, in tending to

their communities. People want these decisions to be made visibly and openly. My

Government knows this, and understands it. This year's Budget will establish a

leaner government, but also a government with more local decision-making over

issues that affect people within their own communities.

Education Reform

This is the example we followed in reforming our education system, where our

school boards are being reorganized and given greater flexibility in determining

their priorities. The number of school boards has been reduced from 27 to 10 to

lessen administrative overhead, and the chief executive officers of the new

interdenominational boards have been appointed by the boards themselves.

Education reform is proceeding, allowing more of our resources to be directed

where they count most - in the classroom. And while enrolment numbers may

decline, the demands for a quality education have never been greater. Therefore,

My Government will meet new needs of our students by making strategic

investments in equipment, facilities, and learning materials, as well as

supporting initiatives that meet more traditional needs, such as school lunches.

Child Poverty

In the year ahead, My Government will demonstrate its commitment to our

youngest citizens by working to eliminate our Province's and our nations biggest

blight - that of child poverty. The new National Child Benefit is an important

step in this direction. We will continue our efforts in a spirit of partnership

focus on ensuring that all of our children receive the services and programmes

they need, both in school and at home.

Savings from Program Review and other efficiencies will allow us to make

strategic investments in nutrition, adoption, foster care and family service

improvements. These investments will make our education, social services, and

health care stronger, more stable, and more responsive.

Health

One of My Government's most important responsibilities is the health of our

citizens. My Government promised that health care would receive stable funding

for the next three years.

In September, My Government announced plans to restructure hospital services

in St. John's, including a plan to move the Janeway Child Health Facility

adjacent to the General Hospital. This new child health facility, in association

with the Health Sciences Complex, will improve access to specialty services and

equipment and bring ill newborns and new mothers together. It will maintain a

separate space for health care delivery, and a separate emergency room for

children. The $100 million needed for this new facility, and additional

renovations to the General Hospital and St. Clare's Hospital, will come from the

efficiencies achieved through restructuring health care services in St. John's.

My Government is committed to maintaining services and funding, to improving

physician and medical services to our rural areas, to community health, and to

making strategic investments to improve health care delivery.

Social Services

In the area of Social Services, My Ministers are ready to make fundamental

changes in the way Government formulates policy and delivers services. Long

overdue changes to the delivery of income support and employment development

programs will emphasize the strong and natural linkages that exist between them.

Employment is the key connector of people to economic development. Every

effort must be made to assist able-bodied individuals who receive income

support, so that they may develop new skills to return to the workforce. My

Government is steadfast that the status quo is no longer acceptable because it

no longer works, and Government will take bold new measures to bring about

meaningful change.

The Strategic Social Plan

In keeping with My Government's commitment, a Consultation Paper for a

Strategic Social Plan was released in June of last year, and a 15-member Social

Policy Advisory Committee was formed shortly after.

This Committee is diversified in its membership, drawing from the ranks of

social action groups, volunteers, educators, health care providers,

environmentalists, aboriginals, and persons with disabilities, as well as

representatives of labour and academia.

The Social Policy Advisory Group has travelled the Province extensively to

discuss the Consultation Paper and to listen to the concerns of people in this

Province. It is now in the final stages of completing its report. In the coming

year, My Government will develop a Strategic Social Plan that will eventually be

integrated with the Province's Strategic Economic Plan.

My Ministers are convinced that economic and social development cannot take

place in isolation from one another. They must be combined to paint an accurate

picture of the socio-economic state of our Province, and result in a long-term

plan that is effective in improving our economy and our social welfare.

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:

The Harmonized Sales Tax

While My Government works to ensure that our wealth and resources are

distributed fairly in our economy, and that our money is spent wisely so that we

live within our means, we must also work to keep our economy growing - to

stimulate the economy and create more wealth for us to share. Government can

help by ensuring that more money is kept in the pockets of our citizens. Indeed,

this year will see the biggest tax cut for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

since Confederation in the form of the new harmonized sales tax. According to

the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, no other province will benefit as much

as ours from this new integrated tax.

The consolidation of the GST with the RST will result in a more efficiently

administered tax, cutting down on the duplication which currently exists. In

this Session, My Government will ask this House to consider a new Tax

Administration Act that will revise the administration of our provincial taxes

in light of this new arrangement.

The Legislative Agenda

You will be asked in this Session to consider many other pieces of drafted

legislation, with a view to their enactment. Among those to be considered over

the next year are: an amendment to The Schools Act, 1996, that will provide for

a French-first language school board; and a new Farm Practices Protection Act

that will assure arable land will be retained for farming purposes. Numerous

other pieces of legislation will be laid before you in this Session of the House

for your consideration. These will each be tabled at the earliest possible

opportunity so Members can properly prepare for the upcoming proceedings.

This House established a Select Committee to Review the Property and Casualty

Insurance Industry in this Province, and that Committee has begun its public

consultations, with a view to presenting recommendations to this House by

November of this year.

The Committee has listened to the people and uncovered a significant level of

dissatisfaction by the general public in rate setting and underwriting practices

of the insurance industry. My Government will welcome the Report with its

recommendations to address those industry practices which are identified as

problems by the Committee.

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:

In these past 500 years, we as a people have carved a good life and a

peaceful existence for ourselves in this place. What has helped us along is our

time-tested ability to turn adversity on its head, and, with a strong will and

good humour, to create opportunity.

In the years ahead, we must remember this talent, we must have faith in our

abilities, and we must call on our strengths. The real opportunities for

Newfoundland and Labrador have never been brighter. We stand together this year,

inviting the world to celebrate our history and to join with us as we prepare

for the new millennium and all that it heralds. We must be ready for it. We must

take stock of our circumstances and make our choices, now.

We must maximize the benefits we will gain from our natural resources, and

allow this to be the backbone of a new, diversified economy. We must move away

from the notion that any one big project will solve the problems that face us.

We must firmly, but compassionately, act to bring our debt under control. We

must reinvent the delivery of government services so that we protect them both

for this generation, and for future generations. And we must do all these things

knowing that the sacrifices we make today are the investments we reap tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Honourable House of Assembly:

Estimates of Expenditures will be laid before you in due course and you will

be asked to grant supply to Her Majesty.

I invoke God's blessing upon you as you commence your labours in this Second

Session of the Forty-Third General Assembly. May Divine Providence guide you in

your deliberations.

His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor and the Vice-Regal party leave the

Chamber.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. TULK: Mr. Speaker, I ask leave to introduce a bill entitled, "An Act

To Amend The Small Claims Act," Bill No. 1.

Motion, the hon. the Government House Leader to introduce a bill, "An Act To

Amend The Small Claims Act," carried. (Bill No. 1)

On motion, Bill No. 1 read a first time, ordered read a second time on

tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor has been pleased to make

a speech to the members of this General Assembly, and for greater accuracy I

have obtained a copy. Is it agreed that the speech be taken as read and that

copies be distributed to members?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Agreed.

MR. SPEAKER: Agreed.

The hon. the Member for Labrador West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CANNING: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to respond to the Gracious Speech

of His Honour welcoming members to this hon. House to begin the Second Session

of this Forty-Third General Assembly.

We, as a society, have journeyed together for some 500 years. Our Province

stands as a beacon of self-confidence and perseverance when often, against great

odds, our people, both past and present, stood shoulder-to-shoulder to create a

better future for themselves and their children.

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to His Honour today as he listed the

achievements and goals of this government. The optimism and promise expressed in

our future were indeed very encouraging.

Mr. Speaker, the people of Labrador West have contributed a great deal to

this Province. This year witnessed increased activity of both the IOC mines and

the Wabush mines. In fact, in December of 1996, IOC announced a $75 million

capital expenditure program for its Labrador West facilities, including

improvements to the Quebec North Shore and Labrador railway. Out of 215 laid off

employees at the Iron Ore Company of Canada one year ago, 189 employees have

been recalled to work. Wabush Mines recalled twenty-seven employees on lay-off

one year ago, while adding an additional twenty new hires. All thirty-two

employees on current lay-off will be recalled this year for vacation relief.

Further, I am pleased to report to this House that the North Corporation of

Australia in January made an offer to purchase 59.3 per cent of IOC for a total

of $230 million. This is a very significant positive development for both the

employees and the community at large.

Additionally, government's response to the community leaders of Labrador West

regarding a power pricing strategy for the 127 megawatts of recallable power at

Churchill Falls has created substantial international interest in our huge

silica deposit. I am pleased to report that a 4,000-ton sample of silica will be

shipped to a silica smelter in the United States of America within the next few

months. This sample will be test smelted to determine its quality and its

performance during the smelting process. While this project is still in its

infancy, much of today's success is a direct result of government's

determination to be proactive in creating new wealth and new job opportunities

for our people. Simply put, we are determined to move at the speed of business.

Mr. Speaker, the first EDGE program was announced in Labrador in 1996.

Industrial Rubber of Bathurst, New Brunswick, plans to begin supplying

rubberized products to the mining industry in Western Labrador, other parts of

this Province and indeed, throughout the world. It is expected they will begin

operation in Labrador West this coming summer.

Our people want the dignity of a pay cheque but with the promise of a

sustainable environment that we can pass on to future generations. I draw

particular attention to the project at the Iron Ore Company of Canada that will

replace the dry grinding system with a new wet grinding system. This new system

will effectively eliminate the terrible airborne dusting conditions emanating

from that facility near Labrador City. This project, costing approximately $30

million, will be completed in November of this year. The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Labour deserves great credit for ensuring that this project was

given the green light by the board of directors of IOC to ensure a timely

completion date.

It is indeed noteworthy that Sean Spurvey, formerly of Labrador City,

currently as a teacher in the United Kingdom, was instrumental - in fact,

presided over - the initiation of Her Majesty's home page on the worldwide net

just last week. Young Labradorians and Newfoundlanders have taken up the

exciting challenge flowing from the information highway and they have proven

they can compete with the world.

Mr. Speaker, this government has worked hard during the first year of its

mandate to reinvigorate this Province and our people with hope and optimism. The

list of achievements has been impressive, from Voisey's Bay to Hibernia, Terra

Nova, White Rose, the oil trans-shipment facility, and exciting new growth

opportunities in Marystown. These achievements are a direct result of this

government's action plan for this Province. While these achievements are

noteworthy, the impressive work done to restore confidence and hope in our

fishery, forestry and tourism potential are equally laudable.

On May 22, this government announced a two-stage increase in the minimum

wage. On April 1 of this year, the minimum wage will again be increased for the

second time in as many years to $5.25 per hour.

Members recognize that people of my region, Labrador, have long felt a sense

of not receiving its full share. I am indeed pleased to note that His Honour has

committed this government to a path of restoring their collective confidence in

this political process. History will judge, in my view, that this government -

those who came before us chose a path and we delivered.

Mr. Speaker, as I have said so many times, the irony of the richest nickel

find in the world today being discovered in perhaps the poorest region of our

country ought not to be lost on any citizen. I am confident that an honourable

agreement with our aboriginal partners is within reach and we will instill hope

and a fresh new spirit of confidence in those communities. There can be no joy

in the discovery of this magnificent mineral wealth in Northern Labrador, until

those who have least amongst us have an opportunity to share fully in it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. CANNING: Seeing my friend, the hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains,

achieve benefits for his people in Northern Labrador is immensely satisfying to

me.

Mr. Speaker, both the North and the South Coast of Labrador need a hand up to

adequately tap the job creation potential available from their local resources.

The recent food subsidy program announced by this government and their expressed

willingness to work with local groups in support of new fishery and forestry job

creation opportunities are examples of this government's Labrador agenda.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps no other single project has as much hope attached for

the people of Labrador as the construction of the Trans-Labrador Highway. As

hon. members will recall, this government has been earnestly negotiating a deal

to take over all federal marine assets and responsibilities currently serving

Coastal Labrador for compensation. We plan to use this compensation to construct

a highway across Labrador and down the southern coast while maintaining a marine

service to the north coast that will meet or exceed the demands of the needs of

the people there. I look forward with anticipation to both governments

concluding an honourable agreement that will make this highway a reality.

Mr. Speaker, Labradorians and Newfoundlanders have spoken and this government

is determined to deliver. The people of our Province want government to be

accountable. They want a consultation process for major public policy goals that

allow ideas to percolate from the bottom up rather than always being pressed

from the top down. They want their public officials to make job creation a

priority. They want the government to live within their means and right-size

itself to meet their needs. Above all, Mr. Speaker, they want this government to

continue with education reform, provide a quality health care system and

continue the fight against child poverty. In short, our people want our

government to lend a hand to those in need.

It is indeed noteworthy that the hon. the Minister of Social Services is

co-chair of the Federal/Provincial Territorial Ministers of Social Services and

has been working tirelessly, along with her counterparts, to deal effectively

with child poverty. Mr. Speaker, while the needs are great, the resources that

we have available to deal effectively with those needs are limited. That is why

we must make important and significant choices on behalf of those we serve. The

government has a collection of women and men with a vision and a collective will

to make things happen.

Politics is a call to service. It is by choice that each of us sought the

approval of our electorate. It is by choice that this team you see collected in

this hon. House will continue our determined efforts to build a better tomorrow

for our Province's greatest resource, the very people that we are serving. While

there may be challenges and challenging times as we forge ahead, I am confident

that we have a growth plan for this Province. We have set our course and we are

well on our way.

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I want to express our gratitude and appreciation

to His Honour for his attendance here today. I move that a Select Committee be

appointed to draft an Address in Reply to the Gracious Speech from the Throne.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Falls - Buchans.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS THISTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is my great privilege this afternoon to second the motion just put forth

by my colleague, Perry Canning, the Member for Labrador West.

My district, the district of Grand Falls - Buchans, as most people are aware,

is in the central part of our Province, midway between Port aux Basques and St.

John's. Most of us will remember that famous slogan, `We will finish the drive

in '65'. It referred to the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway across

Newfoundland, and the Pearson's Peak monument between Badger and Grand Falls -

Windsor recognizes that centre point.

The economy of Grand Falls - Buchans, revolves around our forestry resource,

and in recent years we have seen a gradual shift to diversify that economy with

tourism and service industries. As part of the Cabot celebrations, this summer

we will be showcasing the Exploits River as one of the best salmon fishing

rivers in North America, made possible by a tripartite funding agreement with

all levels of government for an environmental clean-up and enhancement. Tourism

possibilities of this natural resource are on tap and will benefit the entire

Exploits Valley.

Over the past year we have seen a new interest in mining exploratory work in

the Buchans area. In fact, at this present time drilling is taking place in the

Buchans watershed area and the people are very optimistic that a new ore body

will be found.

The people of my district have the same concerns as people all over this

Province: jobs, continued commitment to health care and education; and, of

course, unique to my district is the all-important partnership commitment with

government to maintaining a sustainable and structured forest plan.

I am pleased that the Speech from the Throne has addressed social policy

matters. Mr. Speaker, this is one area that touches not only the people in my

district of Grand Falls - Buchans, but everyone in this great Province of ours.

The government's continued commitment to maintaining services and funding health

care is welcomed news. Health care is a primary concern of many people, mainly

because the care we receive today affects our lives tomorrow. Mr. Speaker, this

speech will reassure people in rural areas that the government is working to

improve physician and medical services that they receive as well as the overall

way health care is delivered.

Health care is not the only social policy issue I am pleased to hear the

Speech from the Throne address. Every day we talk about how important our

children are. They are the future, the leaders of tomorrow, our hope. The

commitment that savings from the new National Child Benefit will go directly to

the children for whom it was intended to improve their quality of life is a

reassurance for many parents who depend upon and need social programs. And it

goes to show yet again the forward thinking of the government.

Those same children also deserve quality education. Mr. Speaker, this speech

also reminds people that education reform is proceeding. At the end of the

process we will have a more focused education system with investment where it is

most needed: in equipment, in facilities, in learning materials and programs to

meet basic needs of our children. This is a further investment in their future.

Citizens in rural areas of my own district of Grand Falls - Buchans, as well

as many other parts of the Province, will be glad to hear that the government,

training and counselling services in the twenty economic zones. This will give

many people an opportunity to be a part of the burst of economic activity that

lies just around the corner. Not only is this government ensuring that many of

the jobs created by our numerous resource-based industries stay in our Province,

but programs like this will well prepare people to take advantage of spin-off

opportunities as well. People can qualify themselves for the jobs that become

available and need to be filled. In the long term it will prepare people to

adapt and deal with their local economic challenges.

This year will be a busy one for all of us. So many areas of the economy are

developing, and we are keeping pace. Advances in information technology are

diminishing distance in the Province. Rural Newfoundland need no longer feel

physical isolation from the centre of business. And the even better news is that

local companies are among the forerunners in this growing industry. In fact only

last week Steelcore of Buchans was awarded a lead-in contract with Boeing

Aircraft to supply airplane parts, a true example of what can be achieved in

rural Newfoundland with a committed well trained workforce and new technology.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS THISTLE: Mr. Speaker, the Speech from the Throne promises continued

support in this area, and that is good news indeed. It is also good news that we

have not given up on the industry that was our bread and butter for so many

years. The renewed commitment to the fishery is very encouraging. People who

grew up on the ocean want to see a return to that way of life, and efforts to

rebuild a sustainable fishery are well underway. Not only is the government

working to revitalize traditional fisheries, it is developing a whole new area,

aquaculture. I am also seeing that come alive in my area of Grand Falls -

Buchans where there is a new development underway. With our rich knowledge and

experience in the fishery we are well on our way to developing this new

industry.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, in this 500 anniversary year we can be proud to

celebrate not only where we have come from, and all that we have accomplished in

good times, and, of course, in difficult times, but, also, to celebrate the

prosperous future that is well on its way to fruition. It gives me great

pleasure to second the motion put forward by my colleague Mr. Perry Canning,

Labrador West.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is my pleasure today to welcome His Honour. It is his first opportunity to

deliver the Throne Speech setting out government's agenda over the next year. To

all honoured guests, I welcome you on the floor of the House of Assembly and

those in the galleries today; also, to the mover, the Member for Labrador West

and the Member for Grand Falls - Buchans who seconded it.

Today we are looking at really a crossroads. We are looking at our Province

from two different polarized set of emotions. We have, on the one hand, a

tremendous potential for success. We have Hibernia, we have Voisey's Bay. We

have tremendous opportunities developing in Argentia with the nickel smelter and

refinery there. We have an opportunity with the cod hopefully returning to our

waters, at least on the south coast and the gulf regions, 3PS in particular. We

have opportunities there and we have to make the most of those opportunities and

do it right.

On the other hand we have to look at our Province from another perspective, a

perspective that has been looked at by many ordinary Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians today, and that perspective is a lack of jobs in this Province,

20,000 less that there were several years ago. We have an out-migration

unprecedented in the history of our Province, and one that Stats Canada tells us

will be 40,000 more people over the next twenty years. We have communities

dying, and as you travel around this Province and look you will see

infrastructure eroding on a rapid basis, from pavement to the structure of

buildings around this Province.

We have health cuts that have been unprecedented in our history. We have

chaos in our education system. We have had tax increases. While not purported to

be in the last Budget we had tremendous increases in licensing fees, some up to

600 and 700 per cent increases that put extra revenue into the coffers of the

Province under the guise of no tax increases. We have the ripping open of the

social safety net that people have treasured in this Province and across Canada,

and government tells us we are going to have three more years of cuts.

Now, I reminded government back in the 1996 Throne Speech that they promised

a new approach to doing things in this Province, and that approach that was

promised, was a promise of consultation with ordinary Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians. They were going to listen as governments have never listened

before in this Province, and they were going to go out then and they were going

to promote and to sell this Province in the boardrooms and yes, in the ballrooms

of the world, but I was rather sceptical and I said so, because I looked across

the House, Mr. Speaker, and I saw the same old faces making up this Cabinet as

the previous.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology I saw, and his travel

excursions continued; the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, with five years

the fisheries closing, where is the plan, I now say? The plan where the minister

was going to solve the dilemmas in our Province; and the Minister of Mines and

Energy with no energy plan. We are bankrupt of an energy plan and we are

scrambling now to find energy to supply the new-found industries, not that we

found around the world but the ordinary Newfoundland and Labradorian found on

their own, the Verbiskis and the Chisletts found, and started this process

going, people from Newfoundland who spent years out there in the field in

exploration.

In Health we have seen it, one cut after another in health care,

unprecedented I said, and need I say more on Education chaos, we have had it

here from day one; the Environment aspect, we have not accepted our

responsibility on the Environment and our ability to deal with oil spills that

can devastate our resources that we depend on so heavily in a resource-rich

Province, and of course, in Justice, we have had a series of chaos. We have had

no Justice. We have had Trans-City; we have had the police force chaos. They put

down the RCMP and RNC and they turn this Province upside down with a lack of

direction to tell the people that they would be provided with basic services in

a non-competitive environment; and of course, municipalities. Let us hope the

regionalization is going to be done right, great confidence in the minister he

is going to do it; not what happened before and we all know the bad taste of

what we called regionalization before. We have a new name; let us hope we have a

new process.

The Minister of Finance, I cannot forget my counterpart over there, and he is

tremendous, the only person in Newfoundland and Labrador who to the Senate did a

presentation that said: `The HST is going to be positive in the tax-inclusive

pricing'. I mean, he is living in a bubble in here in this building and he does

not know what is happening in the outside world, I say to the minister, and I

thought we were going to see it all when we saw it. Then we had the new Cabinet

Ministers rushing in to set the agenda that was going to get this Province back,

moving again on the right path. We had the Minister of Government Services and

Lands, who had cabin fever from day one and Crown Lands - and we had tripling

and tripling of fees, tenfold in many instances. No new taxes but pay an arm and

a leg to be able to own the little cabin that you built in some remote area;

taxation up to $20 million I believe, in total.

AN HON. MEMBER: Twenty-one million.

MR. SULLIVAN: Twenty-one million, it could exceed. And forestry - well we

were supposed to have a five-year plan last year. A six-year plan just came out

a month ago on the wood supply analysis, we did not have it. We have Tourism and

the parks, we have seen it, yes - chaos. Where is the consultation we were

promised? and Social Services, cut after cut after cut in social services; the

day the Budget was read with increased funding for social services, there was a

memo sent out to people mentioning a 10 per cent cut to the disabled, the very

same day last year. We have the Minister of Rural Development and Renewal; I am

still looking for that renewal and that development in rural Newfoundland. I

have not seen it. Transportation, need I say more on the air ambulance, the

document that Cabinet said that it was cheaper to maintain it because we have a

fleet of aircraft, it is cheaper to maintain it, but now they are going to go

out and privatize it and it is more expensive than the Cabinet document

indicated. We are going to take from Northern Newfoundland and Labrador over 50

per cent of the air ambulance services there and the Medivacs, they have over

half and they are going to take it out of there and now they are going to hide

that under the disguise of privatization. Privatization is good if it serves a

public purpose and it is cheaper. If it is not, why do it?

I was pleased to see the Premier of the Province last year, the very first

sentence last year of the Throne Speech, the number one thing in the Throne

Speech said, after His Honour welcomed people to the first session of the

forty-third General Assembly: "It is time to change the name of our Province to

reflect the reality that it is made up of two equally important parts,

Newfoundland and Labrador. My Government will bring forward legislation to

change the name of the Province from Newfoundland to Newfoundland and Labrador."

In the Throne Speech today he said: "My Government continues to work toward its

commitment to officially change the Province's name to Newfoundland and

Labrador."

Legislation is what is required. Admit it, you aren't working toward it. If

you are going to make a statement, I expect the Premier to live up his

statements, or else he should not have made it.

AN HON. MEMBER: Do you agree with it or not?

MR. SULLIVAN: I'm on the record in the House of Assembly last year, my

stand on it, I say to the Minister. I am on the public record. We condemn the

approach that government has taken. There has been widespread anger out in this

Province over the approach on education, I would say to the minister. We were

told consultation. Bowled over with consultation. Public exams. Consultation,

where was it? Cancellation of kindergarten last year, where was it? Community

colleges in chaos. Where was the consultation we were promised? It never

happened. Where was it in health? Where was it in parks? It wasn't there. There

was no public consultation whatsoever.

Very significant legislation came to this House of Assembly last year,

probably some of the most significant legislation we have had in our history.

Legislation got rammed through this House last year. In our history in the first

forty years of this Province we had five closure motions. We had seventeen under

the next term of government. We have had several this year alone; three in three

days, closure motions. Even a closure motion before one person had an

opportunity to speak on a reading of that bill. That to me is autocratic, no

consultation, and doesn't give regard to the House of Assembly or the rights of

members.

We proposed twenty-five amendments to the schools and education act; very

significant acts, an area that we supported. I even took the Premier's offer and

went to Ottawa, and I set the record straight when he tried to stray from the

course and took him to task at certain occasions, as the Minister of Education

can vouch for. We had significant amendments, and we would send that legislation

back here for amendments in the future, because there was closure motions

invoked on a process that we agreed with and we didn't have an opportunity to

express our opinions and to get them entertained. That isn't justice, that isn't

democratic, and it isn't a role in which we are elected to perform here in the

House of Assembly. We want to see the most effective and best legislation go

through this House of Assembly and we don't want to be back here wasting

taxpayers' time and money doing it over again.

In the last session of this House we have seen power being taken from this

Legislature and given to Cabinet and ministers, power under expropriation that

the House had. We have had powers on releasing of confidential information; we

have had changes in the fish inspections act. We have an increase of powers to

the minister and staff and less legislative powers in the House of Assembly in

matters that are very crucial and very significant affecting those specific

areas and industries out there.

That isn't the openness we were promised. We have been unsuccessful in

getting answers to questions, in dealing with the new approach, we call it, and

it hasn't. The Premier, Cabinet, have not shown a commitment for more openness,

more consultation, more constructiveness, I would say more thoroughness and more

thoughtfulness, and a more concerted effort and approach in dealing with the

people's business here in the House of Assembly.

The Premier just indicated, and I just heard yesterday, he doesn't want a

long session here. He doesn't want to interfere with Cabot 500. That is an

insult to the people's House of Assembly here. A House that last year we sat for

just fifty-some days, about one day a week in the House last year. We want to

debate the issues here. We have only set aside eight days in this month. Closed

tomorrow, a day next week, closed after the Budget. Not an opportunity to

adequately discuss and deal with the issues out there today. There are

demonstrations in the streets. There are people crying out to be heard, to be

consulted, and it has not been happening.

I am sure everybody remembers a famous statement a year ago, `We cannot cut,

cut, cut our way to prosperity!' It rang out loud and clear throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador. But times have changed. Times change very, very

quickly. We have uncertainty unprecedented in our Province. We have had more

lay-offs. We have had budgets now in bits and pieces. We had the release on

parks just last week, on teachers yesterday. We are going to piecemeal it now so

the budget will not be as dramatic a document. That has been the strategy now to

cut it piece to piece. That has been the direction. More panic - and all this

spells out, Mr. Speaker, that we just do not have a plan here in this Province.

We do not have a plan. We are out working and going on automatic pilot and

sometimes if it is non-functional we will try to correct it instead of charting

our course and ensuring that we stay on this specific course.

I would like to get back to the HST. The only person in the Province who

thought all the aspects were good - it is ill-timed and it was poorly thought

out. It was suspiciously motivated. There was no mention of it in the election

campaign, there was no mention of it in the Throne Speech of 1996, but one month

after the Throne Speech, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed last April 23,

laying out the plans for a Harmonized Sales Tax to hide the GST around the

Province. That was not a direction. It was rushed through. It was an

instantaneous thing. It was a cash grab up front that we will pay dearly for,

and reflected back to the last fiscal year of the Federal Government, I might

add, a plan that is going to take $155 million out of the Treasury of this

Province. If it was going to serve a social function, as part of a social plan,

we could accept that as being a policy direction of this government, but what

did it do? It put the costs on the backs of the people who could not afford it.

An increase in oil, electricity, in children's clothing and hair cuts. If you

take your kid to a hockey arena, ice rentals and all these; dozens and dozens of

items out there today.

Is there something wrong when you change and take the tax from big ticket

items that are at 19.84 per cent down to 15 per cent on the fur coats and you

put it on children's clothing? Is there not something wrong with that process,

taking away $155 million, badly needed revenue in this Treasury that is going to

result in more health cuts and education cuts in the process? It does not serve

a social function. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick realized the impact that such

harmonization is going to have and they give breaks back in those areas for a

social purpose in their provinces.

I just heard today that Premier McKenna believes that the tax-inclusive

pricing is going to be a problem now. He is speaking out against it right now, a

Province that had gone along with it. It is bad for this Province, it is bad for

the people, and what is this Province doing? Putting in a new tax for other

revenues; insurance tax at 15 per cent. If you sell a private vehicle now it is

a new 15 per cent tax. They would not be taxed under the HST, under the new

agreement. So, Mr. Speaker, we have conflicting statements coming from

governments. We have no clear direction.

The Minister of Finance told me in this House that the $155 million we are

going to lose on harmonization, we are going to make up that by an improved

growth in the economy of the Province. We have a declining economy this year. We

are going to take in less revenue in RST than last year. There is conflicting

information. On the same day the Social Service Minister indicated - in response

to my question - that the Minister of Finance said the economy is going to grow

and make up for harmonization in lost revenues, he said that the consultation

paper, the Social Strategic Plan, said, over the next twenty years we are going

to have fewer people working. We are going to have more seniors in our Province,

an aging population. We are going to have greater health care needs. We are

going to have increased demands on our resources to meet those needs, and until

those two ministers and the government can speak out of the same side of their

mouth and reconcile their statements, we are going to be a boat adrift out on

the ocean with no direct path.

The Minister of Finance - in fact, I am inclined to believe the Minister of

Social Services. We have had lay-offs. Let us look at realism out there. Let us

not deal with - let us deal with realism. We have had lay-offs in the system:

Hibernia, the gravity base, almost 6,000 jobs - `two great fish plants'.

Hibernia work has ended, just about, on the construction phase, coming to an

end. We have had the mating of the topsides and gravity base, a significant

event in the history of this Province. It is tremendous - the tremendous jobs it

created, the tremendous spin-off effects.

But we are getting into an era now where we are seeing the fishery decline.

There are TAGS cuts. Every week there are sixty people, on average, dropping off

TAGS. There are 25,000, 26,000 left on the program - 3,300 went last year, and

2,350 this year, and the remainder by May of next year. The last 15,000 or

16,000 will go then. It is going to be dramatic. EI cuts have been devastating

under this new seasonal. Some announcements there will certainly alleviate that

to a degree, and I was very pleased to hear that this past week. We have had

transfer cuts to this Province. We have had tax increases in this Province,

under a different name, but we have had them. We have had municipal downloading.

Many communities in this Province have shrinking tax bases, they have

out-migration, they have fewer people working, and we have a downloading and on

the verge of bankruptcy, as indicated here in the House many times by the

minister. We have a serious problem with municipalities here in our Province in

being able to meet their needs.

We look around, and what we need in this Province is a long-term plan, we

need long-term thinking, not short-term band-aid approaches to our economy.

Rural development in this Province: it was called, I think - and the Throne

Speech made reference to it - rural revitalisation. What I have seen in my

travels around this Province, my experience of rural Newfoundland - and I happen

to live there, grew up there, and participated in industry in rural

Newfoundland. I have seen the agenda on rural revitalisation has been relocation

to Edmonton and Fort McMurray and Fort Nelson and Vancouver and all around this

country - people, in droves, leaving this Province.

I have seen a decline of 40 per cent in a town in my district in the last

five years. It has gone down by 40 per cent, a town of 1,500 people. We are

seeing a mass exodus of people out of this Province. With no basic development

of that infrastructure and no job (inaudible) in rural Newfoundland, we have

been seeing really a resettlement of rural Newfoundland by policy decisions. Not

a massive exodus one time pushing people out, but the lifeline is being pulled

tighter and tighter, and people have no choice, because the costs are going to

be greater to live in rural Newfoundland, even though there are opportunities

and hopes and infrastructure there. People will cling on to that as long as

people are giving hope.

We have an economic renewal agreement heard again today. I heard it ten or

fifteen times last year. That was the agreement that was signed in June 1995 by

the former Premier of the Province at Hotel Newfoundland, at a function I

attended, in which the Province contributes $4 million a year. For $4 million a

year we have about $100 million-worth of announcements. It is (inaudible) -

MR. MATTHEWS: The $100 million plan (inaudible).

MR. SULLIVAN: Yes it is. It is a $100 million plan over five years, $20

million a year, $16 million federal, $4 million provincial, of which it was

announced in June 1995, I might add. In fact, I went to the news conference. It

was positive. I am not disagreeing with $100 million going into economic

renewal, but I certainly think, in many instances, we could be directing it into

areas where we would get a good return.

MR. MATTHEWS: What is your plan?

MR. SULLIVAN: Resources - I will get to that, I say to the minister. I

say to the minister, he is not putting people on a shift system; you can only go

to an emergency between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. I can tell you, you cannot get

sick after 11:00 at night.

Just to please the minister, I will move on and talk about health. We have

seen, I say to the minister, a decline in the quality of health, because we do

not have the personnel to deliver that quality. It is not a reflection on the

individuals who work in the system. We have seen hospital closures; we have seen

bed closures; we have seen people waiting on stretchers for two days at a time,

eighty and ninety-year-old people - that going on every week. It went on last

week, last month, and months ago, and we call them rare, isolated cases. You

talk to people who work in those hospitals, and the families of those people; it

is not a rare case, it is almost an every day occurrence.

Waiting lists for cardiac surgery have increased. One individual was waiting

one year, benefits run out, a family in distress, a person emotionally drained -

people on longer and longer waiting lists - to try to get a bypass operation to

save his life; and in many instances an opportunity to get back to work in early

instances - they have gone beyond the point.

We have almost 100 unfilled positions for doctors in this Province, and the

minister says we are trying to fill them.

MR. MATTHEWS: (Inaudible).

MR. SULLIVAN: Two months ago it was eighty. I heard a doctor from the

Medical Association yesterday say almost a hundred. The figure I received from

your department was eighty a few months ago.

MR. MATTHEWS: (Inaudible).

MR. SULLIVAN: The minister is saying: We are trying to fill them but we

are not giving any more money. The government is not intent on filling positions

when they are not willing to allocate any resources to fill them, that is the

point.

We have seen a Canada health and social transfer, when we lump together our

established program financing, NCARP, and last year in our budget we had $427

million. This current fiscal year we are receiving $87 million less - $340

million. That Canada Health and Social Plan was delivered to us when the Premier

was the quarterback on the Cabinet team that made the decision. The Premier

threw the pass to this Province, and now he has become the wide receiver. We are

in this Province now with $87 million less, and that plan is going to be $60

million less next year and another $50 million over the next three years. If you

can imagine taking out of post-secondary education and health, from $427 million

down to $230 million in five years... It is a lot different when you are looking

up the barrel of a gun than holding the trigger. It is a much different

situation, I say.

We have failed to fight the cuts into our social safety net that is going to

put our Province in a very difficult position. We, being a have-not Province,

depending on a significant amount, in excess of 40 per cent of our revenues,

from the Federal Government, it is drastic and impacting today, last year and

next year, on our Province. That is an avenue we have to look at as a resource,

as a supply of revenue to our Province.

We have seen education being a very low priority with this government. We

have seen, in the last two years, $50 million taken out of education, out of the

budget. An announcement yesterday, with 468 teachers, there will be tens of

millions of more dollars taken out of the education system in our Province in

this fiscal year.

Before I was elected to the House of Assembly, the Williams Royal Commission

report was released. About five years ago that was released, and a few months

later - and I have watched it; I left an education system, having spent twenty

years in the system, and I have not seen the areas in which a province has

jurisdiction and can move in classroom reform, deal with disruptive behaviour,

enhancing the learning environment, that we did not need constitutional changes.

But we were told we needed the constitutional changes to get the savings to use

to do those things. And now we are told, `We are not going to put the money back

in.' That is what is being told to us, and that has not been an honest and

straightforward approach.

We had the Canning report, last year, on special matters. Where is it, and

what is being done to improve the plight of the people of this Province who are

depending on educational opportunities to enhance their education and to enable

them to be more productive members of our society? It is not happening. We are

not getting the attention for special needs children. The need is out there.

Studies have been done, study after study. We do not need any more studies. We

need results, we need action, and we need to do it.

If we manage our resources and handle our fiscal affairs, we can have the

fiscal maneuverability to do many of these things. But it is not getting done

because we do not a plan, we do not have an agenda, we do not have a fiscal plan

to develop on maximizing on our resources, and we do not have a direction in the

social sector in our Province. Just recently, the Federal Government made an

announcement on the child benefit. They give it on the one hand and then our

Province is going to take it away on the other hand.

In our Province today in our schools we have 40,000 children hungry as we sit

here in the House of Assembly. We had 200 presentations to the Committee on

Children's Interests but what is going to be done? There is a vague reference to

doing something, but time will tell the results of the intensive work by that

committee - the committee that did a tremendous job as they went all over this

Province and listened to the general public on a consultation process that

started back under the previous government, the previous Premier. It was

certainly a very noble direction and something to do for the children of our

Province who are our future, and we have to make sure that the resources are

going to go into that area.

Today we have in this Province 78,000, at certain times, on social

assistance. It varies, but the specific caseload, I guess, is 32,000 to 35,000,

in that range, but when you consider children, the total family, we have between

75,000 and 80,000 people today in this Province depending on social assistance.

There are people coming off TAGS every week. There are 25,000 to 26,000 still on

the system and another 54,000 people on EI benefits in our Province. Only one of

every three people living in this Province today is working and many of these

are in the category of the working poor.

We are seeing deep cuts in funding. We are seeing cuts in the social sector.

Social Services is affected, too, by the Canada health and social transfer that

is taking away the social safety net and putting an extra burden on people in

this Province who just cannot afford it. And we have opportunities - we need to

be looking at our strengths. We, as a Province, are one of the most have-not

provinces in this country but one of the richest in terms of natural resources.

Does anybody see anything wrong with that, why we should be such a have-not when

we have such a wealth of resources? We have to start looking at our resources as

an avenue to wealth in our future and it will not be an easy role. You do not

become a have-not Province overnight, and probably not in my lifetime, but we

can make considerable progress toward it.

We hear `full and fair share'. We have never heard a definition as to what we

mean by `full and fair share'. We have seen government being negligent in

maximizing returns on resources in our Province. In 1992, the fishery closed and

five years later we still do not have a plan laid out as to what the future is

going to hold.

Mr. Cashin did a report and presented it to the minister. He was going to

have it the end of December, and then it was January, and then February, but now

it is March and where is the plan? In your office on a shelf gathering dust. It

is not released, not public. The minister wanted to consult a little more.

We do not need five years of consultation. We need results. And the vessel

replacement sits, too, on a shelf in Ottawa waiting for people to make decisions

on purchasing boats before they can go out and fish the resource that is able to

be fished out there now, to maximize it. There are many people out there, in

spite of a moratorium, who have fished for numerous species and did quite well

in this Province. They have moved into multi-species fishing. It will be

important in the future to be able to sustain those people with an industry that

is still there, but they do not have the direction and they do not have any

response from governments in doing so. They have had roadblocks put in their

way.

Under forestry, we had an announcement - and it is good to see a forest

resource, an education facility, research centre, $5.7 million. But last year,

about seventy jobs went away to New Brunswick. Our expertise went out of this

Province in forestry, in a province that only has half as many federal public

servants working as in the average province in Canada. We have a draining of

people, of federal public servants working in our Province. We do not have our

full and fair share. We only have half in terms of numbers of our full and fair

share.

We have had the wood supply analysis that the minister released a year late,

but it is still there. A five-year plan. It took six years, I say to the

minister, for a five-year plan. It said that 50 per cent more wood was harvested

in 1994 than is sustainable in this Province. That sends a signal to people in

Grand Falls - Windsor, Stephenville, Corner Brook and those areas who are

depending on a forest industry, to the sawmills and the loggers around our

Province. We have to do something. Now they are saying: We have a fair supply in

Labrador. I say, God help the trees in Labrador if they do the same thing to

them as they have done to the ones on this Island.

There is not even a profile developed. They haven't looked at development of

Labrador. Three times as long to grow a tree as it does in other parts of the

Province. We have to have a plan to sustain them. It isn't all gone. It can grow

back, but it has to be done properly with sustainability in mind. We are feeling

the results of a northern cod stock that was devastated because people didn't

listen. We can count trees quite easily. We do not want it to happen to our

forest industry in this Province and something has to be done about it.

On energy, Mr. Speaker, we in this Province are scrambling. We do not have a

plan. I say to the minister who is in the portfolio I think since 1989, we do

not have an energy plan for this Province. We need 200 megawatts and there are

proposals going out all over the place to scramble and find it in the short

term. Upper Churchill could go a long ways in making us a have province. It

could go a great part of the distance. But we need now to look at development of

the Lower Churchill, to maximize what we can in side agreements on winter

availability on the Upper Churchill. We need to look at a plan for the Lower

Churchill. There is a market for power out there and there is an opportunity. It

is the key to unlocking the wealth in developing Labrador, and the

Trans-Labrador Highway, and an opportunity to put back into Labrador some of the

wealth that has been obtained by having such a resource-rich part of this

Province.

We have Hydro. We have seen government move in direct response to Hydro's

proposals on what should be developed in this Province, a particular resource

that government tried to privatize. When you look last year at our revenues -

and the Minister of Finance can certainly confirm this -, Newfoundland and

Labrador Hydro put into the coffers of this Province last year in direct

revenue, based on a return of dividend and by guaranteeing the debt, $52 million

in this fiscal year, when every other single corporation in this Province in all

of Newfoundland and Labrador in corporate tax paid, or the government's

projections are, $50.5 million.

We took more in dividends and by guaranteeing the debt of Hydro than every

company doing business in this Province today, and we want to give that away.

Where do you find another $52 million to beef up the coffers of this Province? A

resource that is a people's resource. It has the expertise to develop our

resources. The Premier said last year he doesn't want us just to say what we are

against; we must say what we are for. We have stated, we have developed and

released policy on energy development, I say to the Premier. We have indicated

what we would do, basically, in this Province with dealing with the energy

problem, and we had a news conference to do that. We have done it on many

occasions. We have indicated what we would do.

We are looking at the transshipment facility. The transshipment facility in

this Province - any development in this Province is good. We want to see jobs

and we want to see a return. But I can recall just back some time ago on

September 5, I attended a news conference on transshipment and read all the

pertinent releases and information available. It isn't what I found when I got,

under freedom of information, the agreement that was signed. There was no

mention -

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. SULLIVAN: Of course not, there was no mention, there was no

particular mention of the giveaways on the transshipment facility and I stated

on that day on September 5: it is good if there is a net economic return to this

Province, a net economic benefit. You spend $200 million and to receive $150

million is not an economic benefit. You must have a net economic return. It was

not indicated that day, and I heard the Premier say, every single thing we said

on September 5 is there. Well, did the Premier say on September 5, retail sales

tax is retroactive? Did he say that GST input tax credits that you lose because

of harmonization will be picked up by this Province for all the companies and

the transshipment facilities? Did he say there is a protection against tax

increases for up to eight years, for any new taxes or any increase in current

taxes? It was never released, never released.

Did he say that gas tax revenues for fuel consumed - he made reference on the

fuel aspect - mentioned it - about $11 million concession. Did he tell us that

they can write off some of the charges against royalties to the Province? No.

There are many, many instances. I won't go into more that were not given to the

people of the Province on September 5, and I went to great length to write all

the companies involved and finally, in January I was successful in getting a

copy and I am still waiting under Freedom of Information to get the details of

the agreement that I have not received yet and waiting almost a month for that.

We have tremendous opportunities and we have to protect them. The

environment; the environment can destroy the fishery. It can destroy something

on which this Province was built. We have not been prepared for dealing with oil

spills, in dealing with prevention of spills and what to do in case there is an

oil spill. We have seen Exon Valdez, the destruction that happened there. We

have increased risks, increased traffic, industry is good, business is good but

we have to have the checks and balances in place to make sure that we maximize

the return and we do not destroy the environment in the process.

We are on the edge of a whole new resource industry that can bring millions

and millions into this Province; and I am speaking about Gisborne Lake and the

proposals for the exportation of water from this Province. We have two

proposals. We need to ensure that there is legislation in place that limits the

size of a container in which water can be exported from this Province. British

Columbia has enacted legislation. Forty per cent of the world's population today

are without proper drinking water. Eighty countries in the world have water

shortages that threaten their health and their economy. The World Bank, the

United Nations have commissioned in-depth studies to address this crisis today

and our own Canadian, Paul Desmaris has said that `fresh water is tomorrow's

gold'. We can reap a benefit on jobs by ensuring that there is a limit on the

size of containers and on the royalty of the people's resource that we own in

this Province, and not give it away with a big tanker to back into Gisborne

Lake, Grand Le Pierre and see our resources off somewhere else to some other

part of Canada or the world. We have to maximize our benefits.

We have mineral resources in this Province and we have significant, up to

forty billion and maybe, fifty, sixty, who knows, 100 billion down in the

Voisey's Bay area. It is a tremendous discovery; it is one that we have to

maximize. We were promised royalties in 1995 and the wisdom of the former

Premier I must admit, had legislation on the books of the House of Assembly in

the fall of '95, saw the need to do something about it and the current

government, the Premier, scuttled it and we still do not have it. We have had a

promise, '96 we are going to have a royalty regime. It is a very weak statement

today in the Throne Speech on a royalty regime for Voisey's Bay and we have to

do something before it is too late.

We have to stop thinking of our resource industries in this Province simply

in terms of the jobs they create. Alberta got rich by getting royalties from its

resources in addition to getting jobs from its resources and that is something

we have to start doing in our Province. Why shouldn't companies pay royalties in

return for the privilege of developing and profiting from the people's

resources? Why shouldn't they?

Mr. Speaker, I certainly look forward to this session and look forward to

having ample time to debate legislation in this House. We have had a committee

on insurance alluded to in the Throne Speech today, a committee that has been

ongoing for almost three years actually. I think it is over two years ago that

it was put in place. I am looking for a strong legislative agenda to deal with

the concerns here in our Province. We cannot lose sight of the importance of the

House of Assembly here in dealing with the people's business. We have seen a lot

of negativity but we have also seen a lot of empty rhetoric about positivity

that is not accompanied by substance. We, as an Opposition, have a

responsibility to point out the weaknesses in government's policies and to offer

alternatives. One of the commitments I made a year ago is we will point out

alternatives. We have done it on fiscal policy and direction. We have done it on

energy policy, on water resources and we have done it in education. We have

taken proactive stands in statements on numerous issues out there. We don't

mind, I say to the Premier, if government wants to steal some of our policies

and use them - which they have done in a few instances - we don't mind that at

all because if it is good for the people of the Province, we will certainly let

him do that.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. SULLIVAN: Yes, it must be.

Yes, we pressed for that here in this House of Assembly on many occasions.

Last December my colleague from Baie Verte asked, `Why isn't there a copper

smelter in this Province?' We were told by the Premier and the minister, `No, we

are not going to have one. We are not going to have a study done. Inco said it

is not profitable. That is why we won't have it.' Now I am glad they finally

relented. We are going to have a feasibility study to look at the opportunities

to have a copper smelter refinery here in the Province. If 100 per cent of the

copper is not available from Voisey's Bay - if 80 per cent is available there

are other copper resources here in the Province and outside the Province. It is

quite possible there are sufficient amounts there depending on the production

rate of the nickel smelter.

So, Mr. Speaker, certainly on behalf of Caucus here, we will ensure that we

will represent the voice of ordinary Newfoundlanders and Labradorians here in

the House of Assembly. Now government has raised people's expectations so we

will ensure that government lives up to those expectations and the

responsibilities with which they are entrusted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER TOBIN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I want to - I know on behalf of all members of the House -

express, even in his absence, our appreciation to the Lieutenant-Governor for

this his first occasion, for which he has been able to read the Speech from the

Throne. He did so with great eloquence, Mr. Speaker, and I must say that he did

so in a time frame even shorter than that of the response of the Leader of the

Opposition.

Mr. Speaker, I want to note as well the presence of so many distinguished

visitors; members of the clergy - if I may take the liberty of saying so - His

Honour, the former Lieutenant-Governor here with us today, and of course I want

to note the presence of a great builder in the work of Newfoundland and

Labrador, the former Premier of the Province, Clyde K. Wells.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER TOBIN: Mr. Speaker, I want to give thanks and to pay tribute to

the eloquence of my colleagues the Member for Labrador West and the Member for

Grand Falls - Buchans for their excellent Address and Reply to the Speech from

the Throne and for the optimism, for the confidence that they have expressed on

behalf of the people of Labrador and of the Island of Newfoundland, the Province

of Newfoundland and Labrador, in the prospects for this Province and her people

in the months and years and indeed the decades ahead.

We heard from the Member for Labrador West, I think a fair commentary on the

need to ensure that as we undertake our deliberations in this session of the

Legislature, we bear in mind the very real desire of the people of the Labrador

portion of this Province to, in a very real, tangible way, become full members

of this community in every social, economic and political sense.

Mr. Speaker, we had a tremendous meeting this morning with the members of the

combined councils of Labrador. We had a thorough discussion with all four

Labrador members in attendance, on both sides of the House, a thorough

discussion of the issues. We came away, both the members of the combined

councils, the members of the Legislature here in this House, with a commitment

to work together, to not see the size of the problem - and there are

considerable problems that confront us - but rather to see the size of the

potential that exists for the development of Labrador. In that regard perhaps

the Leader of the Opposition could pay some small measure of attention to the

prospects for development in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, the Member for Grand Falls - Buchans has reminded us with her

remarks that this is indeed the 500th Anniversary of Cabot's arrival here in

Newfoundland and Labrador. The member reminded us that this is a time to

celebrate all that we have accomplished, and our accomplishments have been

significant.

The member spoke of the importance of the forestry sector to Central

Newfoundland, and reminded us in her own powerful way that this is a resource

that cannot be taken for granted, cannot be forgotten, and if it is not squarely

at the centre of our resource planning could go the way of the cod fishery. I

assure the member that we understand the importance of this sector to the people

of Grand Falls and to people in some eighty communities throughout the Province

of Newfoundland and Labrador, and we will continue, under the able leadership of

the House Leader, the Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods, our plan of

silviculture, putting the fibre back on the land.

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition suggested that we may want to

borrow from his policy handbook, but I have to tell the Leader of the Opposition

that while he may not mind our borrowing liberally from that handbook, it

appears to me the people of the Province indeed may mind our borrowing from that

handbook.

Out of consideration for the capacity of our distinguished visitors to sit

longer than they have already sat, I do not want to respond point by point to

all of the arguments that have been made today by the Leader of the Opposition.

I suspect we will have many opportunities for an exchange in the weeks and

months and years ahead to debate all of these questions.

You know, there is a very interesting commentary today, and I am not in the

habit of quoting commentary -

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

PREMIER TOBIN: Your response to it. I am sure we will read your response.

Today in The Evening Telegram it says, "Opposition Parties lack fiscal

plans". Let me just quote one or two words:

"As the House of Assembly opens for business, the opposition parties have to

get their act together..."

"Given Newfoundland's $10 billion worth of combined debt in bonds and

pensions, borrowing is out of the question, and even with some breaks due to

lower interest costs expenditures must be cut..."

"The opposition parties should realize that many taxpayers in Newfoundland

support downsizing the provincial civil service. Newfoundlanders face the

highest taxes in the country and they see other provinces bringing their

expenditures under control while at the same time cutting taxes..."

"Times have changed since the good old days when people thought governments

could solve all the problems of the country..."

"Opposition parties have a duty to challenge governments, but when they do

they should also be clear about where they will get the resources..." for

example "...to reinstate public parks and to elevate spending on education and

health. And if they plan to borrow more and tax Newfoundlanders at even higher

rates to keep all services at their current level, please say so before the next

election."

AN HON. MEMBER: Did you write that for them?

PREMIER TOBIN: No, actually it is an editorial in today's Evening

Telegram . It has a nice, big, banner headline which can be read here.

Mr. Speaker, I merely make reference to this comment because the Leader of

the Opposition, in his usual, thoughtful and well-prepared response to the

address given by His Honour, talked about polarization in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador, and I agree that there is a measure of polarization

in the Province, but that polarization is most acute here in this Chamber. It is

most defined here in this Chamber, and I would suggest that at least it is

defined in a different view about the future of Newfoundland and Labrador

between that view held by the Leader of the Opposition and his party. I don't

attribute these qualities to the Leader of the New Democratic Party or to the

Independent member. But at least there is a polarisation between the view held

by the Leader of the Opposition and the view that I hold and members of this

party hold about the future prospects of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I have to say to the Leader of the Opposition that the Leader of the

Opposition appears seized totally by the size and the multitude of all of the

challenges that confront us, and then being seized by the size and multitude of

those challenges overwhelmed to the point of paralysis, doubtful about the

prospects for Newfoundland and Labrador, certain of our continued decline, and,

Mr. Speaker, absolutely certain in the knowledge that nothing good will come in

the future of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I have to tell the Leader of the Opposition that a year ago we were sworn

into office, buoyed up by a confidence that a good foundation had been laid

under the leadership of Clyde K. Wells, and that if we built on that foundation

Newfoundland and Labrador would prosper as we entered the next millennium, and

that confidence is unshaken.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER TOBIN: Mr. Speaker, I remember a little more than a year ago in

the election campaign, and I would ask the people of Newfoundland and Labrador

to cast their minds back, to close their eyes and to remember the words that

were spoken last winter when we were told that the transshipment facility was a

facility that would never see the light of day in Newfoundland and Labrador. It

was but a plot launched during the election campaign. Right after the election -

remember the specific charge that two weeks after the election it would be

announced for Nova Scotia. The transshipment facility is now being built at a

cost of more than a quarter of a billion dollars at Whiffen Head because we

believed in the capacity of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador to get

things done.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER TOBIN: Mr. Speaker, cast your mind back. Of course, being the

only non-partisan soul in the House of Assembly you would have the only true

objective memory of what really happened. Remember your drives around the

Trinity Loop, staying away from any partisan activity and thinking only of

returning the Chair to serve where you serve so well. Remember the words of the

Leader of the Opposition then and the words of members of the Conservative Party

when it came to the question of the smelter/refinery complex.

They said there would be no smelter/refinery complex in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador. All of the resources of the Province were going to be

sent to Ontario. They were going to Sudbury. The government of the day was

hiding that dismal fact, but right after the election the truth would be known.

The reality is that the most technologically advanced, most modern,

best-equipped smelter/refinery complex on the planet Earth today is being built

right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER TOBIN: Yes, Mr. Speaker, cast your mind back to that winter

without snow last year, such was the bright promise that was held forth. We can

recall the words of doubt of the Leader of the Opposition and all of those

opposite about the prospect for success of the Cabot 500 celebrations. It was

near the Christmas season and the Leader of the Opposition was, as I said last

year, completely caught up in a new expression he found powerful and worth

repeating: Bah, humbug.

The Cabot celebrations this year are indeed, under the leadership of the

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation and her colleagues, a great success

with a record number of convention goers coming to the Province of Newfoundland

and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER TOBIN: Mr. Speaker, then there was the assessment of Hibernia.

Hibernia was to be one project, a one-project show, not an industry about to be

born. But all Newfoundlanders who paid close attention to this five day mating

exercise recently at Bull Arm know indeed that a full-fledged industry has been

born, and the Terra Nova project is now undergoing environmental assessment. It

will be brought forward this year and next year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER TOBIN: The Whiterose development, Mr. Speaker, is now well in

hand, and we hope to see full production from that facility as well. Consider

this. Within the space of a few years Newfoundland and Labrador will go from

zero production to fully 36 per cent of the full light crude national production

of Canada all within the space of forty-eight months. Mr. Speaker, this is an

incredible achievement and one that we ought to celebrate in Newfoundland and

Labrador because we made the right decisions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER TOBIN: Mr. Speaker, for the first time in five years, for the

first time in five years this year, in 1997, exploration will begin again in the

Jeanne D'Arc Basin, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Petro-Canada which has up until

now managed all of its east coast operations from Calgary, this year, in 1997 in

the weeks ahead will establish an office in St. John's to manage all of its east

coast assets from the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Norsk Hydro has

indicated they will establish a similar office in this Province. Husky will

establish an office in this Province. The boards of all the major players in the

oil and gas sector will have their board of directors meetings here over the

next seven or eight weeks. Why, Mr. Speaker? Because they know that the

headquarters, the centre of east coast Canada oil and gas is Newfoundland and

Labrador in 1997.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER TOBIN: Now, Mr. Speaker, do we have challenges in this Province?

Of course, we have challenges in this Province. Is it going to take everybody in

Newfoundland and Labrador working together, making sacrifices together, making

choices together, finding savings together, making the right investments

together to move ahead? There is no question. Are there still people in this

Province for whom hope is something that can only be imagined but not within

their reach? Absolutely! Mr. Speaker, we don't deny that, but, Mr. Speaker, we

are not prepared to be defeated by the size of the problem on this side of the

House.

We are not prepared to wrap ourselves in some cloak of misery and quit before

the game begins. Mr. Speaker, we remain confident on this side of the House,

confident that we have a plan, we have thought through the kind of problems that

confront this Province and the kind of opportunities that await this Province

and, Mr. Speaker, we intend to continue implementing that plan in 1997 and

notwithstanding this act, Mr. Speaker, because I know it isn't the real Leader

of the Opposition we are seeing, I know he is truly a sunny character of

optimistic disposition with great confidence in the people of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador. Notwithstanding this performance today, I remain, Mr.

Speaker, patiently awaiting him to come across the floor one day and shake our

hand in optimism about the future of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that the address of thanks be

presented to His Honour The Lieutenant-Governor in reply to the gracious Speech

From The Throne with which he has been pleased to open the present session of

the House of Assembly.

The members of the Select Committee will be the Member for Labrador West, the

Member for Grand Falls - Buchans and the Member for Conception Bay South.

All those in favour of the motion, `aye'

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: Against.

I declare the motion carried.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and Treasury Board.

MR. DICKS: Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will on tomorrow move that

the House resolve itself into Committee of the Whole on Supply to consider

certain resolutions for the granting of Interim Supply to Her Majesty.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: Before we have the adjournment, I want to remind our guests

that the reception is being moved from the main lobby of Confederation Building

to the Government House caucus room which is located immediately behind the

Chamber on this floor.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. TULK: Mr. Speaker, I move that the House adjourn until March 13,

Thursday, at two o'clock.

On motion, the House at its rising adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, at two

o'clock in the afternoon.