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May 1, 2018

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 15

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

Today in

the Speaker's gallery, I would like to welcome Ms. Sheila Miller. Ms. Miller

will be mentioned in a Member's statement this afternoon. A very big welcome to

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will hear statements

by the hon. Members for the Districts of Torngat Mountains, Labrador West, Terra

Nova, Ferryland, Virginia Waters - Pleasantville.

The hon.

the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Mr. Speaker, on March 18 of

this year, during a weekend snowstorm, four young travellers left Hopedale by

snowmobile, heading to Natuashish. They became disoriented in a blizzard, and

failed to arrive at their destination. Mr. Speaker, I can attest to the weather

conditions as I travelled from Nain to Makkovik that same day.

This led

to a joint ground search and rescue effort from Natuashish and Hopedale, which

spread over three days. Four people were found, one at a time, and to our

relief, all four were rescued and returned to their family and friends.

I would

like to take this opportunity to commend the ground search and rescue teams from

Hopedale and Natuashish for risking their lives, and their efforts in conducting

a successful search in adverse weather conditions.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in thanking all ground search and

rescues in our province for their continued efforts to locate and assist people

in trouble, often in very challenging situations and adverse weather conditions.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Labrador West.

MR. LETTO:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to recognize another volunteer extraordinaire. Don

O'Leary has been maintaining Jean Lake Walking Trail, a centerpiece of outdoor

recreation located in Wabush. For more than 10 years, he has been grooming and

maintaining the trail in summer and winter.

This

six-kilometre trail system is widely used year-round by the residents of

Labrador West as an outdoor recreation facility. With its rivers, beautiful

landscape and scenic rest areas, it can be called a gem in the wilderness.

Residents have taken great pride by adding their own personal touches along the

way.

Don

O'Leary and his partner Ches Moyles accepted the responsibility to maintain this

trail on a daily basis. As Don would say, “we're not getting any younger,” so

they have scaled back and hope that a new generation of volunteers will step up

and maintain the trail that he loves so much.

I ask

all hon. Members to help me congratulate Mr. O'Leary and thank him on his

dedication to the trail and making sure that anyone who walks this trail has a

memorable and safe experience.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Terra Nova.

MR. HOLLOWAY:

Mr. Speaker, I have stood in

my place in this hon. House to recognize the abundance of leaders and invaluable

community organizations who make the Terra Nova District beautiful, unique and

strong.

Well,

today is no different. I am pleased to once again rise and acknowledge the

countless volunteers in communities like Glovertown, Traytown and Cull's Harbour

who give freely of their time and their talent to make these remarkable places

to live, to work, to raise families and to retire.

Saturday night, I had the distinct privilege of attending the annual seniors'

appreciation dinner hosted by the Alexander Bay Lions Club where nearly 180 of

our seniors came out to share in fellowship, good music and a great meal.

Saturday

night was time to give thanks and to acknowledge the contributions made by our

seniors. Their legacy adds to and supports this year's National Volunteer Week

theme of celebrating the value in volunteering by building connections,

competence, confidence and community.

I ask

all my hon. colleagues to join me in extending a heartfelt thank you to all the

volunteers for all you do; thus enriching each of the 38 communities in the

Terra Nova District.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today in the hon. House to offer my congratulations to the members of the St.

Kevin's Mavericks girls' basketball team. These incredibly talented athletes won

the provincial 4A high school girls' basketball championship.

This win

comes as no surprise after a near perfect season for the team, with an amazing

31 wins of 32 games played. The girls also claimed victories in the Keith

Keating Memorial, the Clarence Sutton Classic and the Elite 8 tournaments this

season.

I want

to acknowledge team members Emma Power and Grace Bennett, as both players have

signed on to play with Memorial University Sea Hawks next season.

Congratulations to both, I wish them every success in their university

basketball careers.

It is

very exciting to see bright, young athletes from the district excelling in their

passion and following their dreams. Any sport develops lifelong skills and

lessons to be used all through your adult life.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all Members of the House to join me in congratulating team

members: Jayne Howlett, Meagan Clarke, Kaitlyn Piercey, Alex McGrath, Alyssa

Maloney, Jenna Hayden, Taylor Frizzell-Ryan, Emma Power, Kaeleigh Vaughan, Grace

Bennett, Kielly Emberley and Kristen Goss, as well as their coach Randy White

and assistant coaches Janet Lee and Jeff Kirk, on their exciting win and

outstanding performance of this 2017-2018 season.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Virginia Waters - Pleasantville.

MR.

B. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to recognize a constituent who has gone above and beyond the

call of duty. Sheila Miller has recently completed an expedition with the True

Patriot Love Foundation, which raises funds and awareness surrounding veterans

returning to civilian life. As the mother of a veteran, Sheila knows first-hand

how hard the transition can be once someone is released from the military. The

expedition Sheila completed was a fundraiser which brings ill and injured

veterans together with members from the business community.

The

group spent three weeks together, meeting and conquering mental and physical

challenges. They hiked from Lukla to Mount Everest Base camp. From there the

group continued to Lobuche East summit and back to Pang bouche and Ama Deblam

base camp.

Over the

course of the expedition, the group travelled approximately 210 kilometres in

just 13 days. The expedition was to help veterans transition into civilian life

spend time and build relationships with people outside of the military. After

the expedition, business people are paired with a veteran to mentor for a year.

Of her

experience Sheila says: It was such an honour to serve those who served us.

Please

join me in thanking Sheila for her dedication and commitment to our veterans.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

It is brought to my attention

that we have a very important municipal leader joining us. The mayor, Mayor

Stone of Red Bay and her husband.

Welcome

to you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Attorney General.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, when people

think of Her Majesty's Penitentiary, there is usually an immediate focus on the

well-known and obvious issues with the facility. I would like to take the

opportunity today to speak about a positive initiative at HMP, the woodworking

program.

The

inmates who are accepted into the program spend four to six hours per day in the

shop, giving them an opportunity to make something from nothing. Working in the

shop is calming, therapeutic and relaxing. Inmates who work there have fewer

disciplinary issues.

This

program has built furniture for the Muskrat Falls Inquiry, for the Dunphy

Inquiry, the Family Court in St. John's and here for our House of Assembly

committee room. One of the special projects for inmates is their work on the

floats for the St. John's Santa Claus Parade as their families get to see the

finished products.

Mr.

Speaker, I have personally visited the trade shops at our correctional

facilities across the province. I have spoken with inmates who participate in

these programs about how they benefit from the work and the pride they feel due

to the positive impacts they can have on their communities. As well, inmates are

developing skills that they can use when they leave custody and are being

provided with a sense of purpose as they serve their sentences.

Mr.

Speaker, I would like to give a special thank you to Correctional Officer Steve

Martin who is in charge of the shop at HMP. He is extremely talented and

committed to this important program.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement today. We join with the

minister in recognizing the good work and the good things that are happening at

Her Majesty's Penitentiary. This is another example of solid programming that

benefits inmates and I believe can also benefit those that are working in the

institution as well.

I can

tell first-hand that calming, therapeutic and relaxing, as referenced by the

minister, is very true when it comes to woodworking. I'm sure it's true in this

case as well. I've seen some of the work done by the inmates and what they've

produced. It's a quality product that I hope they're all very proud of and they

should be proud of.

I'd be

remiss, as well, if I didn't mention the good work of the people working there,

including correctional officer Steve Martin, and thank him for his dedication

and leadership. Again, Mr. Speaker, we join with the minister in recognizing

this very positive program that's happening in our correctional system.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister. Bravo to correctional officer Steve Martin and all COs and staff

who have worked to make this program a reality and a success.

Positive

programming like this is an absolute must for the people who are incarcerated in

our prison system. We must develop more programs like this that benefit inmates,

staff and, ultimately, the people of the province so inmates return to society

with improved training and marketable work skills.

Bravo

Steve Martin and all our COs who have dedicated their lives to our justice

system.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister Responsible for WorkplaceNL.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, for the third

consecutive year in Newfoundland and Labrador, the lost-time incidence rate due

to workplace injury or illness has remained at an all-time low of 1.5 per 100

workers, among the lowest in Canada. The rate among 15- to 24-year-old workers

also remained stable for the second consecutive year at 1.3 per 100 workers,

remaining below the overall provincial rate. It is important that we help

instill a culture of safe work practices at a young age, and the statistics

indicate our efforts are working.

There

were small declines in new claims, including approximately 200 less short-term

claims and 160 less health-care only claims in 2017 versus 2016. Unfortunately,

there were 25 work-related fatalities in 2017: five accidental and 20 from

occupational disease. As I have said numerous times, one fatality is one too

many.

February of this year, the Occupational Health and Safety Division of my

department, in conjunction with WorkplaceNL, released a new five-year workplace

injury prevention plan. It contains 50 priorities to be implemented for

2018-2022, with a core focus on serious injury and occupational disease

prevention.

Mr.

Speaker, while the statistics released by WorkplaceNL tell a successful story in

our province, there is still a need for continued vigilance. It is our

responsibility as leaders, employers and employees to ensure our workplaces are

safe. Our government will continue to work with safety partners across the

province in an effort to further reduce serious injuries and workplace

incidents.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I want

to thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement. Mr. Speaker, it's

positive to hear that the long-term incident rate due to workplace injury and

illness remains low in this province. I am sure that we all agree this must even

go lower and we always can do more.

Mr.

Speaker, when loved ones go to the workplace families expect them to come home

safely. We know workplace incidents have a profound and lasting effect on

individuals and families. It's so hard and sad to hear there were 25

work-related fatalities and 20 more occupational disease deaths last year.

Safety

must be first and foremost in any workplace. We must do everything possible to

prevent incidents from occurring in the first place. Supporting and creating a

strong culture of safety in the workplace is so important and is something we

should all strive for.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I too

thank the minister for the advance copy of the statement. I'm glad to see the

commitment to further reduce the number of accidents and fatalities. Even though

the rate of assault and violent acts in the workplace declined somewhat in the

past year, that was after a 53 per cent increase between 2012 and 2016, mostly

in health care and social services. The prevention strategy recognizes that more

education and enforcement is needed, and I hope this happens for these front

line workers.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Before we continue, I also

have been informed that we have a former colleague in this House of Assembly,

former MHA Oliver Langdon.

Welcome

to you, Sir.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, this morning on CBC we heard an extensive interview with a Liberal MHA

and former minister who described her experiences with intimidation. We now

know, and I quote, “bad behaviour” was allowed to happen.

I ask

the Premier: Why have you allowed intimidation and harassment to continue within

your government and not taken action before now?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think

when you look at the series of events that we've had to deal with within the

last week or so, there have been a number of decisive actions that we have

taken.

Back to

the question that the leader of the Opposition has just asked, I'm sure he'd be

fully aware, given his experience in Cabinet meetings and in particular when you

look at ministers of Finance, the cut and thrust what happens within those

Cabinet meetings, they can actually be very challenging times.

Mr.

Speaker, I've always had my door open. I've always made myself readily available

for individuals, no matter what position they hold within this government, to

make myself available to listen to any concerns.

Mr.

Speaker, we've navigated our way through this. There's a lot more work to be

done, and I would encourage every single Member in this House of Assembly to

work in collaboration to make this a better place to work in.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

certainly want to see it become a better place, there's no doubt about it, but

this has been ongoing for some time. The former minister and MHA spoke at length

this morning during the interview and talked at some length about the culture of

widespread harassment and intimidation that occurs within the Liberal caucus and

Cabinet.

Premier,

would you agree with her assessment?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, I always encourage people to step up and speak out on issues that

concern them. This morning's interview was an example of that and, Mr. Speaker,

we are more than willing to listen.

In past

administrations what we've seen is that people did not bring this out publicly.

They swept these matters, typically, under the rug. That's what has been

happening in the past. It's time that we deal with things differently and that's

what you've seen this week.

people must be comfortable in stepping up. An example of that, we saw this week,

and we've taken decisive action by removing ministers for inappropriate

behaviour and poor conduct. As the allegations have been laid against those two

ministers, we've taken them out of the Cabinet positions, taken them out of

caucus, Mr. Speaker, and they've been dealt with very decisively.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I'd say to the Premier that the Premier was in the room for much of

this. The Premier was actually present in the room for most of this.

So I ask

the Premier again: Does he agree with the assessment as discussed on CBC this

morning?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, when you go through deliberations at the Cabinet table and Members

speak up about positions that they have to take on a number of issues, I think

the Members opposite would be very aware of this.

As I've

watched things unfold, I've always made – there's no minister that I worked

closer with than the Minister of Finance. Oftentimes, they are some very

difficult decisions because they have to make decisions which obviously I would

support, but decisions are made that could actually impact on people. Back in

2016 this government had to make a number of very tough decisions that were

impactful on people in our society.

Mr.

Speaker, when you make those decisions, they come with some contention. They

come sometimes with discussions that people take very different views on, but

I've always supported the Cabinet Members. I've always supported our Finance

ministers every step along the way with decisions, even the tough ones, that had

to be made.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I fully

understand how challenging it can be sometimes when you have a difference of

opinion, but the MHA this morning was very clear, and I thought did a fantastic

job, of articulating the climate and culture in which she had to work. It led to

her resignation.

Premier,

are you saying because things are difficult that it was okay for these things to

happen; or, if it's not, why did you not act before now?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, what I'm saying

is that when the difficult decisions had to be made, I always supported the

Finance ministers within those difficult decisions. I've always made sure that

myself was available – I did not experience bullying at that Cabinet table. That

was not my experience, Mr. Speaker.

But in

any case where people would have felt that they had felt they were intimidated

or they felt bullied, my door was always open. I had multiple and, still do,

continue to have ongoing discussions with our Finance ministers, Mr. Speaker.

When these issues are raised, we look forward to working in collaboration, we

look for resolutions and solutions to what are systemic problems that we face in

legislatures all across this country.

We are

no different and we want to improve, Mr. Speaker. As leader of this party, I am

more than willing to take on the serious task that we face at hand and get us in

a better place.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The MHA

spoke about her experience and she referenced harassment and intimidation, such

as isolation. She referred to gaslighting. So I say to the Premier, you were

aware of these incidents that were happening right in your caucus and right in

your Cabinet, and you did nothing.

Why

didn't you show leadership before now? Why did you not show leadership when this

was happening and deal with the intimidation which was ongoing now for her two

years that she was a Cabinet minister?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware

of the situations that the leader of the Opposition just referred to. These are

not situations that I've been involved in, for sure; not situations that were

ever brought to my attention.

Mr.

Speaker, as I said, it is time for this House of Assembly to work together, work

in collaboration. I've invited leaders of both parties. I've already met with

one of the leaders, Mr. Speaker, and I've reached out to the leader of the

Opposition, as he's fully aware, so that we can sit down together. All of us

realize, as has been said by many people in this room, these are systemic by

nature, not always isolated to one particular party.

Other

parties have experienced this. We are taking this, Mr. Speaker, putting this in

a very open and transparent way. That is how you deal with it. That has been my

approach to deal with the issues, Mr. Speaker, make decisions on issues that are

brought forward.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the Premier has stated day after day over the past week that he was

only made aware of concerns last Wednesday. Well, the Member this morning, and a

former minister, stated that she left Cabinet because of the very harassment and

intimidation that occurred and made the Premier aware of why she was leaving

Cabinet.

So I ask

the Premier: Do you still stick with your story that you had no idea before last

Wednesday that these issues were happening in your own government?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, I think it was

on the interview this morning, the decision, when the former minister of Finance

and I met, I was not at all willing to receive the resignation of the minister.

As a matter of fact, I encouraged the former minister to stay, and I think that

was articulated this morning.

I still

believe that people with experience both in and outside of government could add

a lot of value, and I still feel that way, Mr. Speaker. So when the decision was

made by the minister, I said publicly that there was some time that was given to

actually re-evaluate. Mr. Speaker, the final decision was made and the final

decision was given. I've always supported both publicly. Since that, I've

supported the former minister of Finance and I will continue to do so. I think

this is a time that we need to work together.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate everything the Premier is saying, but he's just not answering the

question. As the Member said that when she was leaving, it was made aware to the

Premier the reasons why. That's what I got out of that interview this morning.

So I ask

the Premier: Is that correct? Did she make you aware of why she leaving, and

what did you do about it?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's

been mentioned many times about the meeting that I had with the former Finance

minister. At that time she had made a decision because of personal reasons to

leave Cabinet. And I will tell you now, that was not a good day. I was surprised

with the decision that was made, and I think the experience that the former

minister of Finance brought to the table, brought to the Cabinet, brought to

this government was valuable. I have always supported all MHAs in this

government and I will continue to do so and continue for people to reach out.

I've

said it many, many times and I think many, many MHAs have reached out at various

times. There is no minister, as I've said many times here today, that you work

more closely with than the Minister of Finance and also the minister responsible

for the Women's Policy Office at the time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The MHA

went on to say, and I quote: “It was the culture, it was the environment. It's

the bad behaviour that's allowed to happen that puts people in situations where

they question whether or not they are competent and if they're able to

contribute.”

Premier,

these were not isolated incidents, but took place over a long period of time.

It's a culture she refers to and an environment.

I ask

the Premier: How could you have watched this happen and unfold over the last

two-and-a-half years and not taken any action before now?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, I think when you look at the actions that this government has

taken, you need to go right back to Bill 1 of this administration now about

violence prevention, you look back at the committees that we put in place that

will involve many ministers of this government.

recognize there is a systemic problem within government. There is a systemic

problem amongst legislatures all across this country, I would say all across the

world.

We have

taken this issue very seriously, as we said, and we are making decisions. I'm

calling on every single Member in this House of Assembly to put in place a

better workplace, collaboration. Using the experience that exists in this room

will lead to a better workplace, a better working environment.

That's

what I'm asking every Member of this House of Assembly, let's work together to

get through these serious issues that we deal with.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Bill 1

didn't change anything about what was happening within the Premier's own Cabinet

and what was happening within his own caucus. He knew exactly what was happening

within those areas, the caucus and the Cabinet. The Premier's lack of action has

made it okay for the intimidation and harassment to continue right under his own

nose, in his own caucus room, in his own Cabinet room.

I ask

the Premier again: Why did you let this terrible behaviour continue right before

you and not take any action until the harassment concerns were made public last

week?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do not

tolerate questionable behaviour. As a matter of fact, I would suggest that the

leader of the Opposition, when you look at in his own caucus, he seems to be

very willing to tolerate questionable behaviour. We've seen that from his

Members opposite. He agreed that blocking doors seems to be okay, Mr. Speaker.

That's how the leader of the Opposition feels.

I will

not tolerate questionable behaviour; I will not tolerate poor conduct. I think

that is very evident in the decisions that I've made when just within the last

week we've taken two ministers out of this government, Mr. Speaker. We've opened

up a review that will be very thorough, using experts outside of government, if

required, to make sure we make this a better place to work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the Premier: What action have you taken to ensure broader

specialized expertise and independence that will allow a complete investigation

of any alleged allegations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If we go

back to 2007 and the Green report, which was a significant report that was

issued to the House of Assembly, Mr. Speaker, within that report there's a

mechanism that is outlined in there to deal with the issues that are arising

today. At that point, the Green report challenged Members of this House of

Assembly to put in place a code of conduct for Members within the House of

Assembly.

In that,

once you call the Commissioner for Legislative Standards, which we've done, to

start a review, Mr. Speaker, that person, that individual, that office could

call on all the experts that are required, that are needed to make sure we have

the best. That's what I've encouraged him to do, making sure that the resources

would be available to that office.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Opposition House Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the former Finance minister was strongly opposed to the Commissioner

for Legislative Standards conducting the investigation, based on her experience

and support in an entity with a specialized expertise and experience conducting

in such a matter.

I ask

the Premier: Do you think this experience is relevant in looking forward to

making the most complete and thorough investigation we can have for the issues

that we're presented with?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, I think when you

look at the situation that we're in today, it's incumbent on all of us to step

up and give the advice and suggestions on what a process would look like. That's

been done.

Mr.

Speaker, we've made allowance for experts and for people from outside of this

government, outside of the independent offices that exist within this

government, to come in and to be included in the processes. There will be

resources there that are required.

Those

people that engage in this review, Mr. Speaker, it's important they are

comfortable with the process. I've said that many times. They must be

comfortable with the process as we move along into this and get this review

started and then essentially completed with recommendations coming out of that.

Yes, there is an allowance for independent resources, independent advice to come

in to this review process.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

certainly acknowledge the Premier and what he described, but my question is:

What assurance do we have that the appropriate expertise, professional services

will indeed be a part of the investigation? It won't be optional, it will be

guaranteed and those resources that are needed, and expertise, will be part of

the investigation so when we're finished we have a complete report with those

expertise involved in the process?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker, and I brought this information forward to the

Commissioner for Legislative Standards. It was the only meeting that I would

have had with him on this issue.

brought this forward proactively and suggesting that there might be a need,

there could be a need and I encouraged – as a matter of fact, I encouraged him

to go out, or his office to go out and get the necessary expertise that's

required to make sure we get a very thorough review.

Mr.

Speaker, just going through a check-in-the-box review, that is not what this is

all about. I will guarantee the Members of this House of Assembly and I will

guarantee the people of this province, it will be as thorough as required. The

expertise that is required will be available to the Members that are engaged in

this review process.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Events

of the past week clearly illustrate that there are problems with conduct at the

highest levels of government. Changes to the system are needed to give everyone

confidence that these problems are not repeated ever again.

I ask

the Premier: What are you doing to reform Cabinet, caucus operations and the

House of Assembly to make them a safe workplace?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would

say that we put a – to begin with, I want to thank the Member. I know at this

particular point in time, given what I've heard in the media, that these are

difficult times for every single person in this House of Assembly; but, more

importantly, very difficult times for the female Members that we have here. So I

thank her for her question today. I'm very pleased to stand here in my place and

talk about some of the changes we've put in place.

Mr.

Speaker, harassment training is very important. As people would know, we put in

place new policies that will be effective on June 1 of this year. We want to see

better policies in place for Members of this House of Assembly. We've had some

discussions that have been started already that we want to put to the House

Management Commission. I'll have a meeting this afternoon with the leader of the

Opposition. I've already met with the Leader of the Third Party, Mr. Speaker.

I am

committed, I am committed to making this a better place to work so we can get on

with the business impacting Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and deal with

issues inside of this House and outside of this House to make this House a

better place to work and this province a better place to live.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay - La Hune.

MS.

PERRY:

fall of 2015, the Liberal Party's election platform promised – and I quote –

that “a New Liberal Government will form an all-party committee on democratic

reform.”

Premier, it is going on three years. When will you take

action on democratic reform?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, this is one of the items that were put in my

mandate letter by the Premier, to bring a resolution actually to the House for

an all-party committee on democratic reform. I believe in multiple interviews

that I've given with the media, I have said that it is something that we will

have here in this House by spring of 2018.

We still have a significant amount of time to do that,

but I look forward to working with all Members of this House to make this

Legislature and our democratic process a better thing.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS.

PERRY:

When the Government House Leader was asked about this issue in January of this

year, he stated in the media that I know there's a lot of talk academically

about it. It's not an issue on the radar for constituents that I deal with.

Premier, given the events of this past week, do you

stand by your comment that democratic reform is not an issue that

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are interested in?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly I stand by what I said back in January, which

was this democratic reform, which at the time we talked about voting, we talked

about first past the post and we talked about issues like that. These were the

issues even being brought to me by Members of the other side and by the academic

community that I have been engaged in. These were not issues that were brought

to me by members of my constituency or my members of the general public.

When it comes to reforming the House of Assembly, our

Legislature, democratic institutions, that's something that I certainly have

great interest in and I look forward to working with Members on the other side

and people in this province to make our democratic process a better and more

inclusive one.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS.

PERRY:

April 2017 the Government House Leader said to the media – and I quote – during

the spring 2018 session that resolution will be debated in the House of

Assembly.

Minister, will you honour your campaign promise, keep

your word and create an all-party committee on democratic reform this session?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, in my two years in this job there's never a word I've said in this

House or outside that I don't stand by and believe in. I do this job the same as

all 40 Members of this House because I was given this great opportunity by the

people of my district. I'm not going to let them down and I'm not going to let

constituents of this province down. When I give my word, I stand by it.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for the

District of Conception Bay East - Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Back in

November 2016, the province's Teachers' Association pleaded with the Premier to

remove the minister of Education after what they described as the minister

having violated both the Premier's mandate letter and the code of conduct for

Members of the House of Assembly.

I ask

the Premier: Why did you not take these allegations seriously?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think

we've been very clear this week, the Premier has been very clear and has made

leadership in the sense that he's taken very seriously any allegations that have

come forward and has dealt with them, Mr. Speaker. The process is in place and

we will continue to work through that.

There

have been a lot of concerns and a lot of work that's gone into this. Obviously,

the Premier has certainly moved forward on this. As soon as it came to his

attention on an official allegation, then he acted on that, Mr. Speaker. We will

see the process as we work through it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Conception Bay

East - Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In June

of 2016, the chair of the Federation of School Councils said that the minister

of Education scolded him, saying that his negative comments regarding government

could affect the group's chances of accessing funding.

Why did

the Premier turn a blind eye to these allegations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think

we've been very clear in this House that on official allegations that have come

forward to the Premier, the Premier has acted very decisively, very quickly and

has not taken any length of time in which he's made the decision that he has to

make. He's made it official and has acted very quickly on that.

Now, Mr.

Speaker, we will go through the process; I think it will be a very independent

process. We will look at and see what the results of that report will be.

Certainly, that will be taken in consideration at that time.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Conception Bay

East - Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

But

these allegations were put forward over a year ago and no action was taken. In

September of last year, 2017, the former minister of Education went on a public

tirade against a school board trustee over a disagreement. He aggressively

charged that the volunteer spread falsehoods and acted inappropriate.

What did

the Premier not deal with the actions of the minister at that time?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development?

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

items that the Member opposite is bringing up, I can't speak on what happened in

the past, Mr. Speaker. I know what happened this week and the way in which the

Premier dealt with it, in a very decisive manner and a very quick manner. He did

not sit on information for a two-week period; he acted on it very, very quickly.

We now

have a process in place to make sure the results of what will come forward, that

this particular House will be a place where we can come in a safe working

environment and people can express their opinion.

Mr.

Speaker, I think it's incumbent on all of us to make sure that we have that type

of rapport within our House, that we can come and comfortably be able to do that

business that we have to do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, for the last

week, the Premier and his government's dysfunction has taken over the work of

the Legislature while the people of the province continue to face a serious

fiscal crisis, the specter of soaring electricity rates, toxic chemical spills

offshore, poverty and a host of other big problems.

I ask

the Premier: Who exactly is in charge here? Why didn't he keep his own house in

order so we could keep doing the work of the people in this House?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will assure you that, as Premier of this province, I am

in charge.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PREMIER BALL:

The issues that we face today within the House of Assembly are very serious and

we are spending a lot of time dealing with that, there is no question about

that. There are people out there in our province who are needing government and

relying on government for the services they deliver.

You mentioned the rising prices of electricity; we had

industry that has been struck with tariffs and so on. We are working on these

issues. The role of government on these issues that you just mentioned has not

changed and the work is ongoing and it will continue.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS. ROGERS: Mr.

Speaker, two Cabinet ministers out, two Cabinet ministers complaining of

harassment and the Premier still insists he knew nothing about any of these

until a formal complaint was lodged last Wednesday.

I ask the Premier: Where is his leadership? Why didn't he

stop this? Why is it he couldn't or didn't make his Cabinet a fair and

collaborative workplace, rather than preside over the toxic, abusive situation

we now know exists?

MR. SPEAKER: The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When issues arise, you deal with them. I took prompt

action. We did not sweep those things under the rug. We encouraged others to

come forward, and others have.

I've reached out to both leaders – the Third Party and the

leader of the Opposition – and I thank you for the discussion that we had

yesterday. I think it's great. This will actually advance some of the

discussions that we need on the floor of this House of Assembly. But not

sweeping these issues under the rug, making sure that people are free to come

forward is important in all of this and taking the prompt action that is

required. We did that , Mr.

Speaker, with the ministers that were involved and with the allegations that

came forward. We have dealt with them and we'll continue to do so.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

Premier keeps insisting he knew nothing of bullying or harassment in Cabinet

before last Wednesday and continues to claim that he dealt with it promptly when

he was formally made aware. It is becoming increasingly clear he oversaw a

dysfunctional Cabinet and caucus for some time.

I ask

the Premier: Why does he keep insisting he knew nothing before last Wednesday in

the face of growing evidence to the contrary?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, when issues are raised by me, they were dealt with. The examples of

that I think are very clear when you look at what happened last Wednesday, what

has happened again yesterday. They are very unfortunate, and I've said that.

Decisions that this government would make through the Cabinet table and through

other mechanisms that are required from a day-to-day basis and the operation of

government impact people, Mr. Speaker. The decisions that are made at various

Cabinet tables and committee tables and so on, they impact individuals in this

House of Assembly.

I will

not tolerate bullying. I will not tolerate intimidation. When these issues are

raised, Mr. Speaker, we will deal with them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

former minister of Finance says she had no choice but to leave Cabinet because

of bullying by her colleagues. The Premier insists he first became aware of

bullying when the complaint was filed last Wednesday.

I ask

the Premier: If he was unware of this bullying inside his own caucus, who was in

charge? Who was running the show?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of meetings that occur within government, and I

will tell you right now that I am in charge of this caucus. I am in charge and

Premier of this province, and we will deal with the issues.

I would

ask every Member of this House of Assembly to work in collaboration. These are

systemic by nature. We know that, and we cannot tolerate this, Mr. Speaker. No

one in this House of Assembly – people in this province have put faith in

Members in this House of Assembly to put in place a functional Legislature.

It is

incumbent on all of us to work together to bring improvements in this House of

Assembly. I'm asking for every single leader that we have here, all 40 in this

House of Assembly, to do their part to make this place a better place to work.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Time for Oral Questions has

ended.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Presenting Reports

by Standing and Select Committees

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burin

- Grand Bank.

MS. HALEY:

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to

present the report of the Social Services Committee.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

reports by standing and select committees?

Tabling

of Documents.

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I will on tomorrow move the following motion:

That

notwithstanding Standing Order 9(1)(a), that this House meet at 2 p.m. on

Thursday, May 3, 2018.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Today, I

hold a petition regarding universal public child care and after school care

program. Here are the reasons for this petition:

Our

licenced child care system is a patchwork of private-for-profit centres; 70 per

cent of all centres, non-profit community-based centres and family daycare, plus

a small number of education and workplace based centres. It is nowhere near

meeting the child care needs in our province.

Affordable licenced child care is often in short supply in rural parts of the

province. Even in St. John's there are long wait lists for quality child care

programs.

Child

care programs have both social and financial benefits for society. Studies show

that high-quality child care and early childhood education programs result in

better cognitive language and humorously skills. They help economically

disadvantaged children transition to school on the same level as other children.

For

every one dollar spent on early childhood education the benefits range from

$1.50 to $2.78. Investing in child care creates jobs. One million dollars

invested in child care would create 40 jobs more than in any other sector.

Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly as follows:

To call

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

to take immediate steps to put in place a plan for a gradual transition to a

universal, regulated and publicly funded and fully accessible child care and

after school care program.

These

petitioners, Mr. Speaker, fully understand that there's a difference between

what happens from kindergarten to grade 12 and what happens prior to getting

into kindergarten. People in the province are happy we have a full-day

kindergarten, there's no doubt about that, but children's lives begin five years

before that.

countries around the world, especially in Europe and Scandinavian countries,

there's child care for as early as six months. For two reasons, that it helps

children's development, number one; and, number two, it helps parents be in the

workplace at the same time that they have children.

What

these petitioners are asking for, Mr. Speaker, is something that's not strange,

it's not weird. It's something that goes on around the world. We sometimes look

to a place like the United States as our model. That's not a model for good

social services. When we look globally, we find good social services, mainly in

Europe and in Scandinavian countries, as well as in other parts of the

Commonwealth. Let's look to where there is publicly funded and publicly

regulated child care and put it here into our own province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

petition to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador in Parliament assembled:

The

residents of Hermitage and surrounding area depend on timely access to medical

services. The amount of days that medical services are being provided at the

Hermitage Medical Clinic has been reduced from two days per week to just two

days per month.

Residents of the Hermitage area, including many seniors, must now travel

approximately 50 kilometres to Harbour Breton to receive medical services and no

public transportation is available in this area. The residents of the Hermitage

area have expressed concerns about their ability to receive medical services in

a timely manner, as well as safety concerns related to travelling for medical

purposes.

Therefore, we petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows:

The

undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House of Assembly

to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to extend operations at the

Hermitage Medical Clinic to include an extra two days of services per month for

a total of four days per month.

Mr.

Speaker, the residents of Hermitage-Sandyville, Seal Cove, Gaultois and McCallum

continue to be gravely concerned about the reduction in health care services

that they are receiving in this particular part of the province. While we all

realize and appreciate there are budgetary challenges with government, for the

citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador, clearly nothing is more important than

education and health care when it comes to our citizens' well-being.

We're

able to find money for studies and we're able to find money sometimes for some

things that perhaps one might consider frivolous. Why not take these types of

expenditures, allocate them directly to front-line health care, Mr. Speaker.

Keep the doctors and the nurses in our communities. That, in turn, will enable

our residents to continue to want to live in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

One of the deterring factors for many is the continual attack on rural health

care and the continual decline of services to rural areas.

We truly

hope that government recognizes the error of that kind of thinking and restores

health care to all persons of Newfoundland and Labrador and, in particular,

restore services to the community of Hermitage.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Mount Pearl North.

MR. LESTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

These

are the reasons for this petition.

Port

Blandford and surrounding region's economy is reliant on tourism and related

outdoor activities. The forest in and around Port Blandford contributes heavily

to a thriving tourism industry, employing many residents. The forest in and

around Port Blandford sustains a large wildlife population including the once

endangered and now threatened species, the Newfoundland marten. The council and

residents of the community were not properly consulted before important

decisions were made.

Therefore, we petition the hon. House of Assembly to call upon government to

immediately cancel any plans for clear-cutting in the Port Blandford area, as

identified in the five-year plan; and, furthermore, before any current or future

decisions are made considering wood harvesting in our region to direct the

department to ensure that appropriate consultations are conducted with active

involvement from the municipal council and an opportunity for its residents to

be engaged.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call

Orders of the Day.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I call from the

Order Paper, Motion 1, the Budget Speech.

MR. SPEAKER:

The Budget Speech.

The hon.

the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for

the opportunity to speak to the budget.

As many

colleagues in the House have started off their speech recognizing volunteers in

Newfoundland and Labrador, I had the pleasure on Saturday night, being at a

Lion's Club, the Sandy Cove Lion's Club. They celebrated their 40th anniversary.

I had the pleasure of giving their first president and their current president a

certificate of recognition and speak about the impact that these volunteers have

on their community and region.

A very

important aspect of the budget – in particular, I've given a speech before in

the House of Assembly talking about two very important things you can do to

advance your economy. Being the lead minister responsible for economic

development in Newfoundland and Labrador, advancing telecommunication and

advancing transportation networks are those two key things.

In this

year's budget, I'm very proud that when the Minister of Finance read the speech,

he highlighted there would be $1 million dedicated to cellular pilot projects.

This week, we announced a call to accept applications. I encourage all Members

of this House to reach out to community groups, to providers, look at that

application. There's a continuous intake up to September 30. It is a big issue

for many of our rural communities as a means to improve and expand business and

economic development in and around regions, expand tourism. Look at all of the

opportunities that having advanced telecommunication networks, like modern day

cellular coverage, can provide.

This is

a government that's innovative. That's taking steps forward to advance the

economy of Newfoundland and Labrador and create opportunities for small

business, and improve the quality of life of people living in rural Newfoundland

and Labrador but also in urban economies as well, like the City of St. John's.

I will

note that previously the former administration had made investments into

broadband Internet, and we've continued to do so. We actually continued with our

federal counterparts this time in $1.5 million and was able to leverage almost a

total combine between private sources and the federal government close to $40

million in broadband coverage to help close gaps.

anyone would know, when you're dealing with fixed wire line and when you're

dealing with our vast geography it can be very costly to get into rural isolated

communities. Some significant challenges exist, but when you build that backbone

and you build that right infrastructure, like a major infrastructure network

that's going into Southeastern Labrador, or Northern Labrador, how important

that is, or how important in a small community like Bacon Cove or Kitchuses –

the Member for Harbour Main has reached out time and time again. I was out

meeting the Mayor of Conception Harbour of finding means of which broadband

services can be provided.

If you

look at the Labrador network, this is really interesting because if you can

build a network to connect and create redundancy in a system, and build this

circular system in Labrador and with the fibre line that is going across the

Strait of Belle Isle, you can have a much better broadband connectivity and

maybe we can connect to other jurisdictions like Nunavut or Greenland. There are

opportunities.

We've

been leaders in telecommunications. Heart's Content is a prime example of that.

Back more than 150 years ago when Marconi launched the first transatlantic

wireless signal that was done on Signal Hill. We have been leaders. We cannot

afford to be laggards in Newfoundland and Labrador. We are a small Island in the

North Atlantic and we are at the edge of Mainland Canada when we look at the

Mainland portion of our province in Labrador.

These

are things where we have to be strategic. We have to make the right investments,

and Budget 2018 makes the right

investments. It makes the right investments in how we expand tourism in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

We did

an exit survey in 2016. During that time, it highlighted the significant growth

that's actually happening in tourism. That impacts all of our districts, almost

every nook and cranny. There are 2,600 businesses and almost 20,000 jobs in

tourism. That is up from 18,000 jobs in 2011. The job numbers are increasing

when it comes to the tourism and hospitality sector, Mr. Speaker.

In 2016,

tourism combined for resident and non-resident was $1.13 billion. That is the

most in our history. If you look at just non-resident in 2017, $575 million was

expended in tourism. That is the most in our history ever. It's quite exciting

to see.

continue with our award-winning ad campaign, but we also continue to do things

differently as to how we look to improve access. Improving access can be

something like the MOU that the Premier has signed with Quebec as to how you can

look at Route 138. The Quebec government is looking at investing $232.5 million

in upgrading Route 138. If Route 138 is complete, then traffic will start

flowing north, that's from the west, Ontario, Quebec and western.

We know

that about 70 per cent of the traffic that comes into our Island flows that way.

If you were to look at expanding tourism, what an opportunity to come up through

Route 138, go into Labrador, maybe explore back through Quebec, or come into the

Island and then either leave the Island through Port aux Basques or the port of

Argentia. It could stimulate economic opportunity from trade and other

commercial activity that would exist. That's why our department cost shared a

study around the fixed link and looking at how we can expand transportation in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

When we

look at culture, Mr. Speaker, we've done a lot to look at renewing our cultural

plan here because we recognize the last cultural plan was done in 2006. With

that, we've seen growth in our cultural industries. Culture, as I'm talking

about it, is more reflective of our cultural industries when we talk about film,

when we talk about the performing arts, when we talk about literature and all of

the aspects of music, et cetera. Culture is certainly much broader. Culture is

our identity, it's our belief system, it's who we are. It touches every one of

us.

We just

launched – I was at The Rooms last night; it was a pleasure to be with a number

of stakeholders in the community talking about renewing our cultural plan, which

comes on the heels of the Status of the Artist legislation that we had enacted

here in this province. As I read in the House earlier, we're establishing an

arts accelerator program in Newfoundland and Labrador, where we can work with

artists to help connect them to the appropriate level of supports that they

would need for the promotion, for export, and all of those opportunities that

come with the arts.

Film,

Mr. Speaker, has been a broad success here in Newfoundland and Labrador. As the

Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, we've been able to see

how the local production companies here have done some incredible work with our

Film Development Corporation and the staff there and how people are believing

that we have such an industry that is developed here and that we have great

infrastructure such as NIFCO, a co-op that was created, I believe, more than 40

years ago. These were the foundations, the innovation that's existing so that we

can develop a thriving industry.

Government is there to support those people who are on the ground and the

productions like Little Dog , the

productions like Caught ,

Frontier and Maudie . My

parliamentary secretary talked about

Maudie here and the economic return to the province. When I was meeting with

the Deputy Premier of Nova Scotia, she had highlighted, she said I can't believe

that Maudie was filmed in Newfoundland

and Labrador.

We have

such a competitive industry here and we have great sets; we have great people

who understand it. We had actually gone out to Keels with the Member for

Bonavista and actually got to tour, basically, what is the Hollywood of

Newfoundland and Labrador where there former film sets like

Random Passage , aspects of

The Shipping News , Joe's Place from

The Grand Seduction . They're all

there.

If you

look at what's happened there, there are 650 full-time equivalent jobs; $50

million in just production work alone, and that's not counting the

post-production work. So film is certainly something that I'm proud to see in

the budget. Last year, there was $5.4 million because of the opportunity to

invest in Caught . This year we've

maintained our doubling of the equity investment for film so we can continue to

see growth in our film sector.

When we

look at what we've done when it comes to innovation, we created InnovateNL. It

was an ability to save over $3 million when it comes to the roll up of RDC and

bringing that into government, but the creation of the Innovation Council and

the advice that it is providing and the direction that we are achieving through

InnovateNL, through their advice around global locals, their advice through how

we reach out to our networks, how we strengthen, how we grow.

The

department is continuing – they're having a full-day meeting on this particular

matter today – advice on how we capitalize on the ocean supercluster, an

initiative that the Atlantic Canadian governments through our Atlantic Growth

Strategy and by working together that local companies are stepping up, they're

putting money on the table because they believe in the oceans, they believe in

the opportunity that is here and they're going to capitalize on that federal

investment coupled with their private sector investment. Our department has been

supporting those initiatives. That is really key.

Monday when we talk about finding means to curb our energy cost, I wish there

was some Members from the House of Assembly that continue to promote and

highlight companies that are doing the type of work like Empowered Homes, Mysa

and the systems that they have created. These two young brothers have created a

company that's employing 25 people, young people right here in Newfoundland and

Labrador in St. John's on Harvey Road.

It is

really exciting to see this, when you go into their office, an open office

environment and space and that energy, but the energy that is the benefit to

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians comes from their product. They have created

this thermostat and they have created an app system where we can sit right here

at our desks, use our phone and that app and control all the temperatures in our

home and save up to 20 per cent of our energy costs for the household homeowner.

This is

really relevant, given the upcoming impacts of Muskrat Falls and the concern

that's on the minds of everyone when it comes to the rising costs of

electricity. These are all mindful that every one of us as legislators here in

this House must be mindful of. So anything that we can do to promote energy

efficiency, that we can do to mitigate the impact so that we can promote

business and build that stronger Newfoundland and Labrador, we certainly must

do.

I was

very pleased to see the Minister of Health and Community Services in the budget

and at the announcement with the Premier around mental health and addictions

services and the announcement of the replacement of the Waterford Hospital with

a new mental health facility and addiction facility that will be connected to

the Health Sciences centre but also that there would be more community supports,

supports in community.

With 183

community care beds, this is really critical that we find a means to provide

those supports. The Doorways program that has opened up in numerous health

centres and hospitals has been very positive. I will say that a recent

investment – and the Member for Conception Bay East - Bell Island talked about

addiction support groups. We've recently had one set up in St. Anthony and area

serving the Great Northern Peninsula. I'm very pleased to see that they've just

recently received a small sum of $2,900 to help them out and help them grow.

That is really important. These community groups and these community

organizations that are doing good work have impact. Providing care close to home

and in the community does make a difference, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to talk about something that I – and I'm sure all Members, particularly if you

live in a rural district; I know the Member for Placentia - St. Mary's gets this

quite a bit as well. I have about 650 kilometres of road in my particular

district. At this time of year the concern about the grading of gravel roads,

the potholes, the infrastructure and the maintenance that must be done to

prepare for summer is a concern.

I'm very

pleased to see that in the budget there's $77 million for roadwork. There are a

number of tenders that have gone out early in the District of St. Barbe - L'Anse

aux Meadows and my constituents appreciate that. What I really appreciate is

that there are multi-year road plans and infrastructure plans that have been

created under the leadership of this Premier and the ministers that are leading

the charge. These are very important.

When I

sat in the Opposition in the past, there was always a significant discussion

around the politics in pavement. There would be time and time again when there

would be no roadwork in particular districts. Representing a district that is

650 kilometres of road, you could go almost year in, year out and not get a

kilometre of paving and have some very terrible roads.

I'm very

pleased to see that there's a tender that just closed for Route 433, Conche

road, seeing kilometres for pavement. It's certainly something significant. I

thank the minister and the former minister for any actions of them and their

staff on this particular file and the constituents who certainly rely on this

infrastructure day in and day out.

Having

multi-year plans is important. The Premier has taken a real leadership role and

a whole-of-government approach of making sure that our ministries are looking at

strategic sectors.

The

Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources has already been involved in

Aquaculture Sector Work Plan. We've all been engaged on which role our

departments can play in support and expand aquaculture in Newfoundland and

Labrador and around agriculture and the initiative around Crown land. If we look

at the tech sector and the opportunities of scale ups and companies in

Newfoundland and Labrador; Advance 2030

as we take an approach for our oil and gas sector and how we can expedite the

process of exploration, prospectivity and development; our provincial tourism

product development plan; and in this year's

The Way Forward , part three, it has

been discussed about the approach and the importance of the community sector, as

well as mining and the forest sector.

The

forest sector and mining, when I look at my own district, never has it been a

high area of where mining has been the focus. There has been a dormant marble

mine there and there's been a little bit of exploration but, right now, there's

a real lot of staking and prospectivity and excitement in my district around the

potential of gold, zinc, other precious metals, and there's activity.

So it's

nice to see that there is that opportunity and that prospectivity taking place,

as well as opportunities in our forest sector. That is something that is really

important to look at the fibre basket that we have and how it can be best

utilized to create the jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador. I have the second

largest, containerized international shipping port in the province in my

district in St. Anthony, just next to Argentia, being number one. There is

opportunity with CETA to do shipping, to do export, if we look at fibre

products, if we look at minerals, if we look at fish products and the resources.

There's a state-of-the-art cold storage. There's an application that's working

through an EIP process of looking at development of a supply base in Crémaillère

Harbour.

There

are interests in our economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. We have been working

on a number of files in the department of business throughout Newfoundland and

Labrador. The Member for Burin - Grand Bank talked about all of her efforts into

working and getting the Canada Fluorspar mine kick-started. She highlighted a

number of great initiatives that's happening in all our economics and regions of

the province.

I want

to say that we have a significant amount of support when it comes to small

business and how we maintain a low small business tax. How a number of

initiatives are taking place to support small business, whether it's through

WorkplaceNL and their ability to lower rates, whether it's the outreach that we

can do through our Business Development Support Program.

When we

look at other aspects, I've taken on some responsibilities for Francophone

Affairs and this interest – I've had the ability to travel with the Member for

Stephenville - Port au Port. I appreciate his interest and given outside the St.

John's area, he certainly represents the largest Francophone population in the

province. If we look at the connectivity to programs and services, meeting with

those groups were key. I had the ability to sign an agreement with Quebec that

can expand cultural opportunities with Francophone groups throughout this

province and that's important.

The

parks of our province are getting kick-started, ready for opening. We've taken

our reservations. If anybody knows anybody or whatnot, the reservations are

still open. So let's encourage people to use and be active this summer our

public system in the provincial parks, as well look at the private opportunities

that exist for parks that are outside of provincial responsibility.

Seniors

housing is critical, very important and timely, particularly in my district

representing an aging population. Health care and investments in health care,

and the budget here certainly puts forward a number of initiatives that I

encourage all Members to support this budget because it certainly builds a

stronger Newfoundland and Labrador, a stronger tomorrow.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Reid):

The hon. the Leader of

the Third Party.

MS. MICHAEL:

Well, actually the Leader of

the third Party is not in the House.

MR. SPEAKER:

Oh, sorry, the Member for St.

John's East - Quidi Vidi.

Sorry,

old habits die hard.

MS. MICHAEL:

That's okay. Thank you very

much, Mr. Speaker.

Well,

here we are. We're speaking to the main motion of our budget and I'm very happy

to be able to stand and speak to the main motion. We've been through the

non-confidence motion and I was happy to vote for the non-confidence and, of

course, government did not. Then we had the sub-amendment to the non-confidence

motion and I was happy to vote with the Official Opposition on that. Although,

of course, government didn't.

So now

we are down to the main motion again and it's my last chance to talk about what

the government has brought in this year and the effects of that, positive or

negative, on the people of the province.

Once

again, Budget 2018 , government likes

to call it a new budget, a different budget but in actual fact budget '18 is a

continuation of the path that was set with

Budget 2016 . In many ways, it's a cut and paste from 2016. Maybe not so much

pasting because they don't bother to refer to all the negative things that were

in 2016. So I think they're hoping that people forget what was done in 2016. I

think they're hoping that people will forget that things that they had prior to

2016 are gone, that programs have been reduced, that things that they expected

to be able to have in their lives are gone since 2016.

Government seems to be using all kinds of paper and all kinds of words to have

people think they're being taken care of. When I say that this is a

cut-and-paste budget from 2016, it's also a cut-and-paste budget with all the

paper that government is using.

I find

it interesting when I read through the different sheets that government produces

with the budget on various issues, you find things repeated. For example, I look

at the sheet that's called Our Financial Plan and it says: “… Building for Our

Future continues our government's balanced approach to supporting our province's

communities and families while helping to create new business and employment

opportunities.”

My first

thought is, balanced approach, I have not seen a balanced approach. I see an

approach of the government sticking its heels in, trying to reduce the deficit,

trying to do that and getting some businesses to benefit while, at the same

time, people are suffering in the province.

But talk

about cut and paste. I go to another page called Building for Our Future –

Budget 2018 Focused on Delivering Valuable Programs and Services While Returning

to Surplus, and I read: “Building for Our Future continues government's balanced

approach to supporting communities and families throughout the province while

helping to create new business and employment opportunities.”

The same

sentence there as here, and that's basically what this budget is all about, Mr.

Speaker, just shoving words around, shoving dollars around and not really being

built on the needs of the people of the province. They can say all they want

that it's a balanced approach that's helping communities and families as well as

creating new business and employment opportunities, and my answer to the

government is that they're doing neither one of those two things and it's not a

balanced approach.

shocks me to look at what this government is putting forward in this budget. The

last time I stood and talked about what was in the 2016 budget they kept

shouting at me that well, this was 2018, it wasn't 2016. But I claim that this

is no different than the 2016 budget. Because everything that was in the 2016

budget gets continued in this budget and cuts that were made, changes that were

made, programs that were taken away, all of that still exists.

When

government presents their financial plan and in the financial plan they talk

about the decisions that have helped to maintain their course, their course with

regard to fiscal targets, everything they're talking about are things that

really don't relate to the lives of people, and that's the problem with the

budget and that's a problem with all this paper. They don't relate to the lives

of people, because their main goal is that fiscal target of reducing the deficit

and bringing it down to zero.

That's

fine and dandy to try to do that when you have revenues coming in and you can

help people at the same time, but what they've done by focusing on those

targets, on their fiscal targets, their fiscal goals, people have suffered and

continue to suffer, Mr. Speaker. This is something they don't want us to talk

about. It's something they say we're just being negative when we point it out,

but we know what's going on in the lives of people. So when we say that it's not

to be negative. It's to point out reality.

When we

look at their fiscal plan, they look at the targets which are targets based on

fiscal policies but not really based on meeting the needs of people, we say:

what's there for people? I look at the actions, and once again that famous word

balance. Our financial plan is one of balance.

They

talk about the changes to taxation that support consumers and businesses. Well,

yes, the auto insurance is going down, that's good. I'm not saying that's bad.

You will have 33 per cent of the retail sales tax on auto insurance will be

eliminated over four years. That's not a bad thing, but when you go on from

there all the different measures that are put in place really don't relate to

the community as a whole.

It's

really good that the budget introduces a search and rescue volunteer tax credit.

That's really good for those who are working and doing volunteer work in search

and rescue. It's really, really important but they're a small part of the

community.

They

have in here an action, which is part of their financial plan, and the action

is, an independent review of the public post-secondary system will be

undertaken. Well, I think that's needed. I'm not sure that's part of a financial

plan. I'd like to see that connection.

Then

government are talking about anticipating savings of $5.2 million as a result of

cost-saving measures to manage government expenses, including reducing

discretionary spending. We've been through Estimates now for a few weeks and

we're getting different examples of reducing discretionary spending, and that's

good.

I'm not

knocking saving $5.2 million, but when I pair that off against what's happening

to people in the province I would like to see the savings, the $5.2 million

savings not just be savings going out into mid-air saying we're reducing our

deficit more. I'd rather see those savings, that are savings from discretionary

spending, go towards a program that will help people in the province. This is a

great fiscal plan they have.

They

also will consolidate the vehicle fleet under one department. Again, this is

part of their financial plan and they will save hundreds of thousands of dollars

over the long-term. Once again, I haven't a problem with saving that money but

the thing is I'd like to see the savings of that money going towards the people

of this province.

They're

also continuing to pursue the sale of surplus land and building and equipment,

which is a good thing. I'm not against that but, once again, when those savings

are tallied up, I don't want to see that money at this point in time going to

putting the deficit down. I want it going to help people.

Let's

look at some of the things that happened to people with 2016 and that are being

continued now, Mr. Speaker, being continued in the lives of people. In 2016, we

had eight Advanced Education, Skills and Labour offices closed. These are

offices that help people with income support issues and employment issues.

Mr.

Speaker, noting that our employment is going down and our unemployment is going

up, I would say that more than ever we need AESL offices in this province. Why

wouldn't the government look at that if they're going to have some savings from

the vehicle fleet, for example? Let's get some of these offices opened again.

Bring

back bus passes and transportation benefits to low-income people. Just imagine

that $5.2 million I mentioned that will be the result of cost-saving measures

due to reducing discretionary spending, I bet that $5.2 million could go pretty

far in helping people with bus passes and transportation benefits; low-income

people trying to get to medical appointments, for example, and not able to

afford the bus passes. We're talking about here in the St. John's, Mount Pearl

area obviously when we talk about the bus passes. Low-income people not able to

get to appointments having to walk long distances to appointments because they

don't have bus passes because they can't afford them. Yet, we're saving $5.2

million in discretionary spending in order to bring down our deficit.

Let's

look at something else. What about the grant portion – well, we have the grant

and loans for our students. What we're asking for and what students are asking

for is increase the grant portion and decrease the loan portion for students in

the province. Why not help our students who are in post-secondary education so

they can get a better education and get better jobs, hopefully here in the

province if government had a job creation plan, which it doesn't really have.

They have measures in place that they say is going to create jobs without any

proof that jobs are going to be created. So it's not really a job creation plan.

What

else could savings and discretionary spending – or the hundreds of thousands of

dollars in making a better vehicle, cutting down on the vehicles, the vehicle

fleet, consolidating it. They're saying we'll save hundreds of thousands of

dollars.

Imagine

where that hundreds of thousands of dollars could go for reinstating grants to

the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. It certainly wouldn't take

hundreds of thousands of dollars to give them back their grants. The Heritage

Foundation is something that's so important. Important with regard to our

culture, important with regard to people's knowledge of our history and

important for the tourism industry, for example, because the work they do is

work that could really make our tourism more attractive to people. I keep

talking about this, there are so many ways out there we could be building our

tourism by looking at our history and our geography.

What

else? Oh, the Labrador Air Foodlift Subsidy. Imagine how much they'd be happy up

in Labrador if some of the hundreds of thousands of dollars that are being saved

because of the consolidation of the vehicle fleet, if that were to go towards

the Labrador Air Foodlift Subsidy. Something that's so important, Mr. Speaker,

for Labrador in the winter to have good food, to have fresh food for the

communities on the North Coast, for example –well, that's mainly where it is,

the North Coast – for them to have what they need to be healthy which is

important for health prevention, for making sure that people are healthy, that

they're getting the nutrition they need.

What

about the class sizes for grades four to nine? They raised the class sizes in

2016. Why not lower those class size caps for grades four to nine? Why not do

that? Imagine what that would do. Number one, it would bring the pupil-teacher

ratio down to what is a better ratio for the learning for the children. Number

two, it would mean more teachers hired, and more teachers hired means employment

going up. Employment going up helps the economy. This government doesn't seem to

understand that connection between people being employed and the impact on the

economy if people are not employed.

The

people who work are consumers. The more income they have, the more they put out

as consumers and that helps the economy. It's such a simple economic fact that

this government doesn't seem to get. So just imagine what would happen if we had

more teachers being hired, very important, important for the economy and

important for the education of our children.

The same

way with the original allocation ratio for high school. Let us get back to – we

were moving on a track that was good for the children of our province, good for

the families of those children, good for teachers, good for our whole system and

then it all got shaken up in 2016 with this government's decisions.

The same

thing, we have the combined grades that were put in place to finance full-day

kindergarten. The former minister of Education – I hope the new one is not going

to continue down this track – criticized me, in particular, over and over and

over again when I talked about full-day kindergarten, that I was against it when

it was brought in here.

I wasn't

against full-day kindergarten. I'm still not. I'm absolutely for it and have

always spoken for it, but at the time that government brought it in, what

happened? In order to finance the full-day kindergarten, other people in the

school system lost out. So you had combined grades that were put together to

come up with allocations for teachers for the full-day kindergarten because,

obviously, you were going to have to have more teachers.

instead of seeing this as an opportunity to hire more new teachers, an

opportunity to have more people in the province employed, an opportunity to have

more of our students coming out of Memorial University with their degrees as

teachers employed here in the province, rather than seeing the full-day

kindergarten as an opportunity for that, full-day kindergarten was literally

used, at this point in time, as a way to help this government with its great

fiscal goal of reducing the deficit. I mean, it's unbelievable.

remember at the time one of my arguments was: If we can't bring in full-day

kindergarten without hurting the rest of the system, then it shouldn't come in

until we're ready to do it, but this is what happened. So why doesn't this

government put a plan in place to undo the damage that was done, hire more

teachers and help the educational system itself as well as the economy?

Some

other things we're still hearing and I'm still hearing in my office for sure is

the loss of the intensive core French throughout the education system, and

parents are not happy about that. Soon, they'll forget that it existed. Give it

a couple of more years and they'll forget that it even existed, the intensive

core French. Why not bring that back?

Again,

it's the short-sightedness of the government that upsets me because having

children who are bilingual in our two official languages gives them better

opportunities down the road when it comes to employment. There are more and more

positions both here in our own province as well as throughout the country that

become open to you if you are bilingual in our two official languages, and the

intensive core French really helped with that whole process.

It's not

just something that's good for an individual child, oh yeah, you can speak

nice; that's not what it's about. It's about that. It's also about helping our

children to be citizens who are aware of the more than one culture that we have.

If they become aware of those two languages, it opens them up to a multicultural

notion, which is so important both in this province and in our country because

of immigrants coming in, for example.

There

are so many nuances to the whole thing of having intensive core French. It so

much more than what this government must have thought it was and then, as I

mentioned already, you have the economic part of it.

What

else? We also had, with regard to the class caps, we had class caps for French

immersion as well through grades four to nine which was a terrible idea.

Something else that could be undone. I'm just imagining none of this takes a lot

of money but the hundreds of thousands of dollars being saved because of

consolidation of the vehicle fleet, how many places could that $100,000 be used,

for the good of the people, for the good of families, for the good of children,

for the good of our children as they move into young adulthood, for the good of

our overall community?

As they

are better off, as they are employed, as they have income coming in, as they are

healthier, we have a stronger economy. Once again, I stand here in frustration

because this government seems to have no understanding of that connection

between the social benefits and economy, something which they've learned a long,

long time ago in Europe and in Scandinavian countries.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of Service

NL.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, our government

continues to make investments which are greatly benefiting the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador. The Five-Year Provincial Roads Plan ensures the best

value for every dollar is invested and the full use of Newfoundland and

Labrador's short construction season is used.

Mr.

Speaker, our government took the politics out of pavement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Again and again we have heard

the Opposition argue against the ranking process in this House of Assembly.

Mr.

Speaker, engineering assessments and thresholds were developed in consultation

with the department's engineers. The ranking involves an assessment of measures

such as reliability, safety and usage. The engineering assessment process is

reviewed annually and improved to account for changes in such things as

technology or user needs.

The

public are also engaged, Mr. Speaker. In November of 2017 more than 470

submissions were received from the general public identifying various

road-related issues. These submissions were considered in the development of

this year's plan.

This

year, Mr. Speaker, 5.5 kilometres of the old Placentia road, also known as the

Nine-Mile Road in the District of Placentia - St. Mary's between Salmonier Line

and Colinet, will be pulverized and paved. This is a multi-year plan that will

continue into 2019 and 2020.

Mr.

Speaker, this is a plan. This is how you take the politics out of pavement. You

use guidelines, safety is assessed and traffic volume is assessed. You do not

pave a road for votes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

There are many roads in my

district in poor condition. If we didn't take the politics out of pavement, Mr.

Speaker, as the Members opposite claim, I wouldn't have the fourth-worst road in

Atlantic Canada by the CAA. In fact, that exists in Markland. We have taken the

politics out of pavement.

We would

have shiny, new black pavement but that's not the situation. However, I, Mr.

Speaker, will continue to ensure these roads are assessed and I will advocate

for pavement. Pavement through a process is how you take the politics of

pavement. You don't buy votes with pavement, you assess the roads and you pave

based on the highest need, using the plan that was established by the Department

of Transportation and Works. I understand that this is a new process for the

Opposition, but it's a fair equitable process that works to ensure the safety

and security of the motoring public.

Mr.

Speaker, everyone who has driven over a road in this province knows that we have

been experiencing issues with pavement for years. Unlike the past government,

Mr. Speaker, we are working to arrive at a solution by testing the pavement. An

asphalt testing pilot project began in 2017-18 to examine the asphalt

specifications best suited for our province's climate and environment.

Five

sections of the Trans-Canada Highway between Foxtrap and Holyrood were paved

using different types of liquid asphalt. Each

section is less than one kilometre

in length and will be monitored twice annually, once in the spring and once in

the fall, to determine how well it is performing based on factors such as

traffic volume and weather conditions. The first monitoring is scheduled to take

place in the spring of 2018. When we identify a problem, Mr. Speaker, we fix the

problem. We don't ignore the problem.

Since I

became the Minister of Service NL, the department responsible for the

Highway Traffic Act , our government

introduced Bill 27. It includes a new offence for driving without due care and

attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons causing bodily

harm or death.

Mr.

Speaker, I have stood many times in this House of Assembly and I have spoken to

the importance of constantly reviewing legislation to ensure it is meeting the

needs of the people it serves. Mr. Speaker, that is what we have done and that

is what we, as a government, will continue to do.

Placentia - St. Mary's is steeped in history and tradition and is also renowned

as a great place to do business. It offers tremendous opportunities for growth

and success for businesses large and small. Argentia Gold Corporation is aiming

to complete construction of an 80,000 square foot facility to produce medical

cannabis in Argentia. They hope to begin in the fall.

On May

26, 2017, it was announced that Husky was moving forward with the West White

Rose Project. The 25-year project is estimated to generate $3 billion in

economic benefits for the province in the form of royalties, taxes and equity

payments. Approximately 700 people will be employed at the Argentia site during

the peak construction season. It will create 250 permanent platform jobs and up

to 1,500 more direct and indirect jobs. Mr. Speaker, this government is working

to employ people in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Private business owners and

government-supported organizations are continuing to employ the residents of

Newfoundland and Labrador. Government's commitment to economic development is

evident everywhere you turn in the District of Placentia - St. Mary's. We

continue our commitment to improved outcomes and better services for the people

of our province. These many examples show the progress we, in fact, Mr. Speaker,

are making.

The

benefits of a healthy active lifestyle are well documented. Our government is

committed to supporting and promoting healthy active living for all ages. Since

being elected, Mr. Speaker, I have had the privilege of attending the official

opening ceremonies for two playgrounds in the District of Placentia - St.

Mary's: Hopeall and Southeast. I also assisted Dunne Academy in St. Mary's with

the revitalization of their playground. They now have an accessible playground.

We are investing in our children by ensuring they have a safe and secure place

to grow and a place to play. Recreation for all ages is very important. This

past summer I attended the Placentia Regatta and this winter the Placentia

Winter Carnival.

Mr.

Speaker, it is important that we maintain a strong focus on the fishing industry

which continues to be an important sector not only for my district, but our

province as a whole. The Department of Fisheries and Land Resources continues to

work to revitalize and develop traditional and emerging industries that will

support and sustain a better future for Newfoundland and Labrador.

district received approximately $200,000 under the Seafood Innovation and

Transition Program. This program focuses on technologies and innovations which

help place our province in a position to avail of opportunities on the

international market. Our government will continue to make strategic investments

required to further develop the fishing sector.

Tourism

is a vital industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. From Come Home Year

celebrations that I attended in Fox Harbour, St. Vincent's and Branch, to

entertaining musicals at the Placentia Cultural Arts Centre, the district is and

was alive this past summer with visitors. Mr. Speaker, we have a thriving

tourism industry in the District of Placentia - St. Mary's.

The

numerous antique car shows and whale watching at St. Vincent's beach drew people

from all over the world. The Doctors inn in Green's Harbour, an award-winning

oceanfront inn, spa, fine-dining restaurant, wedding and event venue. It

consists of 100 acres overlooking Trinity Bay, gardens, trails, animal farm and

sunsets over the bay. Mr. Speaker, this government is invested in tourism.

I am

proud to say this government is committed to providing services that are

fundamental to the social and economic well-being of individuals and families.

Budget 2018 continues to provide

support to seniors, women, children and persons with disabilities. We are

committed to inclusive communities, Mr. Speaker, and

Budget 2018 proves that; $400,000 for

accessible transportation options through our accessible taxis and retrofitting

or acquiring accessible vehicles for personal use; $75,000 for inclusion grants

to non-profit community organizations.

Mr.

Speaker, it was this government, in fact, that enhanced benefits for injured

workers. It was this government that took the stat report down off the shelf and

increased the income replacement rate from 80 to 85 per cent. It was this

government that put injured workers first.

Mr.

Speaker, since becoming the minister responsible for Workplace Health, Safety

and Compensation, I noticed that we had a problem at the appeals board. This was

not a new problem, as the previous administration had hired additional

commissioners in an attempt to deal with it. I can honestly say that after

reviewing the issue it was very evident to me, as the minister, that in fact

what the previous administration had done was put a band-aid on the problem.

I am

happy to report to this House that a request has been sent to the Independent

Appointments Commission to hire another full-time review commissioner. This will

allow three full-time commissioners, along with three part-time commissioners,

to focus on the work at hand. I will be paying close attention to the needs of

the appeals board and I will be supporting them to ensure this important work is

completed in a very timely fashion.

Mr.

Speaker, on March 28, I stood in this House of Assembly as the minister

responsible for Occupational Health and Safety, I stated that I would direct my

Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Council to review workplace harassment

and violence in the workplace. In fact, Mr. Speaker, on Friday, April 27, I met

with my committee for the first time and did just that.

This has

been a very difficult two weeks in the House of Assembly, for me personally and

as a female politician, but I am committed to this government, to my colleagues,

to my constituents. Mr. Speaker, this government has proven that we are

committed to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you so much, Mr.

Speaker.

Once

again, it's a privilege and an honour to rise here in my seat in the hon. House

of Assembly on behalf of the people of Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune. Before I get

into my final budget debate – we're on the third phase of the budget debate – I

would like to join my colleagues in extending sincere congratulations to Mr.

Ches Crosbie on becoming the new Leader of the PC Party of Newfoundland and

Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. PERRY:

We had a very inspirational

weekend, Mr. Speaker, and there was great energy in the room. It was a very

positive feeling to see the excitement in the room and the energy as we look

forward to 2019. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Tony

Wakeham as well. Certainly for any person to come forward to put their name

forward to run as a Member of the House of Assembly, it's commendable. I commend

all persons of all parties and all stripes for doing so, because it is

absolutely crucial we have good governance. In order to have good governance, we

need to have good people at the table.

I am

extremely confident that in both Mr. Crosbie and Mr. Wakeham we have true

integrity, true honesty, very keen intellect and they will be two of 40 fabulous

candidates that the PC Party will put forward as an alternative for governance

in 2019, Mr. Speaker. We look forward to having a fabulous party and continuing

to build on all the fabulous people who are already here.

Mr.

Speaker, today I'm going to talk a little bit about some of the challenges that

we encounter in this province but I'm also going to talk about some of the

positive things that are on the horizon for Newfoundland and Labrador. I guess

in the interest of trying to balance the good with the bad, I'll perhaps start

with the Roads Plan. I think I feel comfortable in saying it is nice to hear the

concept of taking politics out of roadwork, but I remain to be convinced that it

actually has been removed, and certainly it can easily be clarified if the

department was willing to share the matrix information, show us how the

evaluation has taken place and actually be true to transparency. Provide the

matrices, Mr. Speaker, and then perhaps we may be a little bit more convinced

that the politics has been removed.

From the

point of view of contractors, knowing what work is on the horizon and from an

efficiency point of view, five-year planning is a good concept, Mr. Speaker.

One of

the areas that the Liberal government, both provincially and federally, are

moving into with respect to the carbon tax is indeed very worrisome. No one at

either the federal or provincial level has been able to answer how another tax

is actually going to decrease the problem of carbon pollution. That's very

concerning, Mr. Speaker, because what will happen – will they use all the money?

Where will it go? Will it go into general revenue and help pay for schools and

roads, or will it go into a special pot of money that will be allocated based on

– we have no idea.

Mr.

Speaker, there are some really big concerns about this being just a grab to get

extra money in the till for politicians to spend and that's of great concern,

especially when the taxation burden on Canadians and Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians is excessive. It's too excessive, Mr. Speaker, and certainly in our

province it's driving people away.

When the

full impact of the federal changes come into play, each and every one of us will

be hit with an additional $2,200 in taxation, not including the carbon tax by

the federal government, Mr. Speaker. We need a government that's going to stand

up to Ottawa and say no, no, hang on, this Province of Newfoundland and Labrador

is actually contributing to reducing carbon emissions and pollution by

establishing clean green energy.

deserve credit for that, Mr. Speaker, and we deserve to have a break, in my

opinion, on the carbon tax that the federal government is saying they're going

to impose in January. We need strong leadership to say to Ottawa we are not

going to stand by and allow you to impose another burdensome tax on our economy,

especially at a time when we are facing economic challenges and we need as much

support as we possibly can get from Ottawa in terms of trying to get through

these challenging times.

I am

certainly not a proponent of carbon tax and not a proponent of the fact that the

Liberal provincial government refuses to stand up to Ottawa and say no. These

are some of the issues, Mr. Speaker, that are certainly of grave concern to many

of us who live here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

There

are good things happening in Newfoundland and Labrador. I was very pleased; I

had a discussion, actually, with the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and

Innovation just yesterday about a new prospecting opportunity that's happening

near Bishop's Falls and along the Bay d'Espoir Highway when it comes to

prospecting for gold. We were very pleased to see that.

It's

certainly going to be a project that will take many, many years. But should it

come to fruition, Mr. Speaker, it's going to create significant employment in

Newfoundland and Labrador. Because of the vision of the Progressive

Conservatives in identifying that if we are going to attract businesses to

Newfoundland and Labrador, if we are going to improve the amount of mining

activity that happens in Newfoundland and Labrador, we needed the power to be

able to provide to these companies. Muskrat Falls is going to provide us with

that power, so hopefully these prospecting opportunities turn into mines and we,

as a province, will have the infrastructure in place to support these mining

companies.

I recall

when I was in university some 20-odd years ago, closer to 30 now, it really

struck me in one of my classes when a professor said – and he was actually from

Ontario. He told our class about the Churchill Falls deal and the grave

injustice that was done to Newfoundland and Labrador at the time back in the

'70s. He said too bad for you, Newfoundland and Labrador, but thank you for us

from Ontario because we got all your power and we got all the companies and

businesses to go with it.

Muskrat

Falls is going to allow us to attract those companies and businesses to our fine

province, Mr. Speaker. The good days are coming once again for Newfoundland and

Labrador based on a renewable resource. As we all know, oil is a non-renewable

resource. There will come a day when there is no oil left to drill, but as long

as the water flows, we can have clean, green renewable energy. This is a very

viable industry which can provide billions and billions and billions of dollars

for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador for decades and decades to come,

similar to how Quebec has enjoyed the wealth of our resources for the past 40

years.

That day

is coming for Newfoundland and Labrador. It's on the horizon, with the right

leadership. Certainly, I know I, for one, would be vehemently opposed to any

type of sale of our clean, green assets to any other province or any other

private sector company. This is the people's company. It is the people's

resource, and the wealth that will come belongs to the people of Newfoundland

and Labrador. I remain committed and supportive of Muskrat Falls and I remain

convinced that it will, in years to come, bring us great wealth.

Now, Mr.

Speaker, another fabulous opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador is tourism.

In my particular part of the province, down in the Coast of Bays, we have

significant untapped tourism potential. Many people who do take the time to

travel off the beaten path, as they say, marvel at what they see when they

arrive in the Coast of Bays region. Many compare it to the beauty of the West

Coast. We have similar fords to Gros Morne. In fact, we have mountains that

don't quite rival Gros Morne but they are close.

There's

a reason I'm bringing that up in particular, Mr. Speaker. I've had the privilege

of actually climbing Gros Morne Mountain twice, once when I was completing my

gold Duke of Edinburgh Award and another time when I was going as an adult

volunteer to assist other youth who were pursuing their gold Duke of Edinburgh

Award. A very, very grilling climb, and I got a T-shirt at the time that said: I

survived Gros Morne Mountain. I think when I finish politics I'm going to get

another one that says: I survived politics in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Gros

Morne Mountain is certainly a fabulous place. We have a mountain that is similar

in the Coast of Bays region and we call it Iron Skull. I also had the pleasure

and privilege of climbing that mountain too, Mr. Speaker, but why I wanted to

mention in particular Iron Skull today – and I'm going to link it back again as

well to our potential for mining right here in the province.

When I

was the executive director for the Coast of Bays Corporation, which was one of

20 regional economic development boards, there had been some interest at the

time in establishing a rock quarry in Belleoram. The aggregate that would be

produced from this quarry would be shipped to the Eastern Seaboard. The

operation was identified as having the potential to create up to 100 jobs for

about five decades.

Then, of

course, we got into the economic recession and the downturn around 2007-2008 and

things slowed down at that time, but I'm very pleased to say that it looks like

interest has been renewed once again in the Belleoram rock quarry. I hope

everyone stays tuned to future developments that may be arising in that regard.

We certainly believe that all areas of Newfoundland and Labrador have

significant potential with the right leadership in years to come.

Often at

times when we've stood up in this hon. House, Members opposite have challenged

us to provide ideas for how we can grow the economy of Newfoundland and

Labrador. I, for one, was pleased to stand here in my place and identify, as an

economic opportunity, a road to the Burin Peninsula from the Coast of Bays.

Presently, we have a ferry service for an isolated community, Rencontre East.

This ferry service runs from Pool's Cove to Rencontre to Bay L'Argent. At times,

we have challenges with respect to the ferry service because, of course, just

weather alone can sometimes prevent that ferry from operating.

There

are often issues around breakdowns, which are all normal, but if there were a

road the people of Rencontre would never have a problem accessing a doctor in a

time of emergency because they could drive to the Burin Peninsula or they could

drive to Harbour Breton, drive to Grand Falls and avail of the services they

need.

We see

such a road as being of economic benefit as well to tourism because it would

actually create a loop so that people who were travelling the Burin Peninsula or

travelling to Central Newfoundland could come through the Coast of Bays and

drive out by a different route and enable them to see more of our fine province.

believe there's great merit in pursuing this. It is 72 kilometres across. The

route has been mapped by a surveyor, Mr. Bill Wall, who is no longer with us on

this earth, but after he retired he took the time, of his own accord, of his own

expense, to track across the country there and map out the route that could be

utilized to provide a road.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. PERRY:

I would put forth that such a

road would also enhance, not just tourism, not just mining, not just health

care, it would also enhance aquaculture, especially with the industry growing on

both sides of Fortune Bay. Nothing but good could come from a road to the Burin

Peninsula, Mr. Speaker. It's certainly something my constituents would really

like to see happen, and it's something that I believe would create significant

employment for many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Those economic benefits

would continue well beyond the construction phase by enabling other industries

to grow and flourish, Mr. Speaker.

I truly

hope it is something that the Liberal government is willing to look into. I

certainly assure my constituents that in 2019, should we have a Progressive

Conservative government, it is something we will look into, Mr. Speaker. It's

something that I will certainly advocate for and be relentless in my avocation

because I think it at least deserves a feasibility study. If we can do a

feasibility study into a tunnel to Labrador or for a railway, then certainly we

can do a feasibility study into road access versus ferry services for the Coast

of Bays region in this particular portion of our coast. It's a viable study I

think that's worth undertaking and one I would certainly be strongly supportive

of.

Mr.

Speaker, we're winding down the debate here today in terms of we're now back to

the main motion for Budget 2018 . Like

my colleague from St. John's East - Quidi Vidi said, when we are in Estimates

it's actually encouraging to see the ministers point out areas where they have

found cost savings. What's very, very disappointing, though, is those cost

savings aren't being deployed to reduce the deficit and to reduce spending. They

are being actually found and then government is creating new areas of

expenditures and actually increasing spending.

After

telling us for two years we had a spending problem, they continue to increase

day-to-day spending for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. That is

worrisome, Mr. Speaker. If we're finding savings we should be deploying them to

reduce the deficit instead of finding new areas to spend in.

We have

to make choices. There are a lot of things we want. One of the things my husband

always says to me when I talk about things like wanting a new kitchen, he says,

Tracey, wants and needs. It's all about wants and needs. Sure you want it, but

do you need it. That's what we have to ask ourselves as Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians when it comes to the fiscal situation we're in. It's important for

each and every one of us to be prudent in that regard.

Mr.

Speaker, my time is nearly up, and before I conclude today in this Budget Speech

where we are able to speak about anything, I want to take this opportunity to

thank my female colleagues in this House of Assembly for coming forward to try

and embrace – not to try, I think we're going to succeed, Mr. Speaker – change

in how parliaments operate. Not just the Parliament of Newfoundland and

Labrador, not just the Legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador, but all

legislatures.

The old

boys club, I think the day for that has gone. We are in the 21st century; our

workplace needs to reflect that we are in the 21st century.

I thank

my female colleagues for coming forward. I thank all my hon. colleagues here,

both men and women, for their support. I also thank the public of Newfoundland

and Labrador. It is your words of encouragement that give us the strength to

continue. Together we will create a better day.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for Windsor

Lake.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As it

always is, it's a pleasure to stand in this House to speak and represent the

people of the District of Windsor Lake. I know everybody in this House very much

takes a few minutes to recognize their own district when they speak,

particularly when they speak to the budget. I certainly don't want to be an

exception to that.

It's a

real privilege to represent the district that I do because of the diversity and

the multicultural nature of Windsor Lake, whether it's events at the Temple or

events at MacMorran Community Centre, whether it's hanging with the kids up at

Roncalli in Airport Heights. It's a real privilege to be able to represent

constituents who are very passionate about our province, very educated,

enlightened and also, I would say, passionate like every other Member's

constituents are – every other set of constituencies that we represent, that

there is an opportunity for things to be better in our province, Mr. Speaker. I

think that's why we sit in this House of Assembly, to make tomorrow a little bit

better than yesterday.

Mr.

Speaker, I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that today has been a very

difficult day for me. While those comments are ones that I'll keep outside of

the House, I think it's important to recognize that it probably has also been

difficult for my colleagues. I respect the fact that they have been nothing but

courteous and nothing but respectful here in the House today. I appreciate that.

Mr.

Speaker, with regard to Budget 2018 ,

it's a privilege to stand and speak and, I guess, remind the House of some of

the notes that the Finance Minister spoke about in his opening speech when the

budget was introduced.

This

particular fiscal year, the Finance Minister and the government is revising the

deficit for 2017-18 to $812 million, which was an improvement from the mid-year

forecast which is certainly something we're pleased with. This also includes the

severance expenses under the new collective agreement which total about $37

million.

The

deficit for this fiscal year of '18-'19 is projected at $683 million. That

includes $52 million for the remaining one-time severance expenses as those

severance payouts straddle fiscal years. This is an increase from

Budget 2017 forecast of $644 million.

Mr.

Speaker, one of the things, though, I have noticed in the debate from the

Opposition is a continuing reference to spending and their belief that spending

– I wouldn't say believe, their statements in this House that spending increases

are reflected in this year's budget.

challenge them to read the documents maybe a little more closely to understand

exactly where those expenditures are coming from and make sure they understand

that the expenditures are not a reflection of new initiatives. They are a

reflection of prior decisions that have been made by former governments that

result in expenditures that have to be honoured and obligations that have to be

met in this fiscal year, but this is where we debate. Everybody has their own

perspective about what we read, but I'd certainly challenge my hon. colleagues

across the aisle to take a look maybe a little bit deeper into those numbers.

Mr.

Speaker, the revenues for this year, for

Budget 2018 , include revenues of $7.67 billion which is an improvement of

$12 million from Budget 2017 forecast.

I think that's certainly good news.

We've

seen in the last number of months, the risk around oil prices. We've seen a

benefit to the Treasury and we'll continue to see a benefit to the Treasury from

increased oil prices. While I've certainly been on the record and I know many

Members of the caucus on this side of the House and some on the opposite side of

the House have spoken very clearly that oil is not the solution and we need not

be reliant on oil prices as the singular solution to our fiscal challenges, we

will take relief any way we can find it. I think it's certainly helpful this

year that we see those oil prices moving in a direction that's helpful for the

provincial Treasury.

Mr.

Speaker, I do want to zone in a little bit on the borrowing and talk a little

bit about where we are this year with the borrowing forecast that the Finance

Minister has presented to the House. Gross borrowing for

Budget 2018 will be $1.45 billion lower than the