PDF Version

March

27, 2017

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 70

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Osborne):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

Please

be seated.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

Mr. Speaker, His Honour the Lieutenant Governor has arrived.

MR. SPEAKER:

Admit His Honour the

Lieutenant Governor.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

All rise.

(Mr.

Speaker leaves the Chair.)

(His

Honour the Lieutenant Governor takes the Chair.)

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

It is the wish of His Honour the Lieutenant Governor that all present be seated.

HIS HONOUR THE LIEUTENANT

GOVERNOR (Frank F. Fagan, CM, ONL, MBA):

Mr. Speaker and Members of

the Honourable House of Assembly:

The

First Session of the Forty-Eighth General Assembly of the Honourable House of

Assembly is about to be prorogued, but before releasing you from your duties, I

wish to express gratitude for the careful and sympathetic attention that you

have given to important matters brought to you by our ministers.

During

this first session, 71 pieces of legislation were debated and passed in this

Honourable House. In our government's inaugural session, our legislation was

guided by the principles of supporting residents and communities, greater fiscal

responsibility, as well as openness, transparency and accountability.

Fiscal Responsibility,

Openness, Transparency and Accountability

The

first Bill our Government introduced was Bill 1, the

Independent Appointments Commission Act ,

creating Newfoundland and Labrador's first merit-based appointment process for

agencies, boards and commissions and an Independent Appointments Commission. The

IAC is the only one of its kind in Canada.

For

years, Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province in Atlantic Canada to pay

an additional salary to Members of the House of Assembly serving as

parliamentary secretaries and parliamentary assistants. In keeping with

government's commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparency, Bill 3,

amended the Parliamentary Assistant Act

and Parliamentary Secretaries Act ,

eliminating compensation for parliamentary secretaries and the parliamentary

assistant to the Premier.

Our

Government is modernizing how public bodies purchase goods and services by

replacing the decades-old Public Tender

Act . Bill 46 introduced the Public

Procurement Act , a piece of legislation that brings greater transparency to

the procurement process and shifts from just getting the best price to getting

the best value.

Bill 61

introduced the Public Sector Compensation

Transparency Act , bringing openness and transparency to government

expenditures through an annual listing of all employees in departments and a

number of agencies, boards, commissions, health care bodies, educational bodies

and Crown corporations who receive total compensation of more than $100,000 a

year.

The

Lands Act was amended in Bill 63. Our

Government is improving access to Crown lands to residents and businesses so

that the true value of these assets can be realized in communities throughout

Crown lands by making much needed improvements to its processes and practices.

enhance the accountability of the provincial government on the management of

fiscal resources, Bill 65 amended the

Financial Administration Act , which requires tabling of public accounts on

or before October 31of the following fiscal year.

Supporting People and

Communities

Our

Government has advanced important legislation to support residents and

communities.

Bill 7

amended the Vital Statistics Act, 2009 ,

ensuring the rights of transgendered individuals by removing the requirement for

a person to undergo sex reassignment surgery prior to changing the gender marker

on the person's birth or marriage registration. Bill 8 amended the

Change of Name Act, 2009 , changing

the definition of child to a person under the age of 16 years, and lowering the

age requirement for applying for a change of name from the age of majority to 16

years of age.

Bill 33

amended the Highway Traffic Act ,

increasing the fines for using a hand-held cellular phone while driving a motor

vehicle.

Our

Government introduced Bill 34, the

Management of Greenhouse Gas Act , protecting the environment through

regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from large industrial facilities.

Amendments introduced in Bill 35 change the

Smoke-Free Environment Act, 2005 , and

the Tobacco Control Act , in order to

further protect the public, in particular children and youth, from the harms of

tobacco products. These amendments will cover the sale, use and promotion of

flavoured tobacco, e-cigarettes and hookah products throughout Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Our

Government introduced Bill 43, the Access

to Abortion Services Act ,

allowing for the creation of safe access zones around health care facilities and

the homes of health professionals and clinic owners providing abortion services

in the province. This Bill balances the rights of individuals to secure,

respectful and private access to legal medical services, with the rights of

others to protest or express dissent.

Bill 52

amended the Consumer Protection and

Business Practices Act , strengthening the protection of individuals who have

difficulty accessing credit through traditional lending institutions by

requiring payday lenders to be licensed, and imposing restrictions and

obligations that protect consumers.

Compassionate Compare Leave provisions were increased from 8 to 28 weeks,

through amendments in Bill 53, relating to the

Labour Standards Act . This allows

family members to care for a gravely ill family member and not have to worry

about job security during this very difficult time in their lives.

Bill 55

introduced the Secure Withdrawal

Management Act , providing parents of children with drug addiction an avenue

to ensure their child receives care. The goal of the legislation is to ensure

those young people who are most at risk of harming themselves or others, can go

through withdrawal in a secure facility. Once withdrawal has occurred, they will

be in a better place to discuss their treatment options.

Our

government amended the Workplace Health,

Safety and Compensation Act with Bill 59, providing presumptive cancer

coverage to the career and volunteer firefighters that help protect the

province's families and communities. Adding a presumptive clause to the

legislation means a firefighter who serves for a specific period of time and

develops a specific form of cancer will be presumed to have developed that

cancer as a result of their work, and can avail of workers' compensation

benefits.

Ensuring that government policies, programs and services meet the needs of

seniors, Bill 64 introduced the Seniors'

Advocate Act . The Office of the Seniors' Advocate will work collaboratively

with seniors, their families, caregivers, policy-makers and front-line service

providers to identify and address systemic issues facing seniors in our

province.

Bill 68

amended the Highway Traffic Act ,

making it mandatory for a police officer to order the vehicle of an impaired

driver to be impounded. This amendment will reduce the ability of impaired

drivers to commit repeat impaired driving offences. The amendments also include

the introduction of a mandatory ignition interlock program as a condition for

driver's licence reinstatement following conviction for impaired driving under

the Criminal Code. Additionally, drivers less than 22 years of age will be

required to maintain a blood alcohol content of zero per cent. The intent of

this amendment is to give young drivers the opportunity to form good driving

habits that separate alcohol consumption from driving.

Reducing and mitigating preventable harm within the health care system, Bill 71

introduced the Patient Safety Act .

This bill ensures patients and families have access to information about their

care, ensures regional health authorities consistently report to the Minister of

Health and Community Services on indicators such as hand washing, and

establishing regional and provincial structures to oversee quality assurance

activities. The legislation will mark the first time that Newfoundland and

Labrador patients and their families will have the statutory right to

recommendations that are the result of a quality assurance activity related to

an adverse health event.

Summary

summary, our legislative initiatives enhanced fiscal responsibility, increased

the level of openness, transparency and accountability, and supported residents

and communities.

I thank

you for the large measure of Supply you have granted. I assure you the

appropriations you have granted have been and will be expended by our Ministers

with care and efficiency.

It is

my pleasure that the First Session of the Forty-Eighth General Assembly now be

prorogued and it is prorogued accordingly.

Thank

you very much.

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:

All rise.

(His

Honour the Lieutenant Governor leaves the Chamber.)

(Mr.

Speaker returns to the Chair.)

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Pursuant to the Speech from His Honour, this House now stands prorogued.