Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 17 May 2010 (46th General Assembly, 3rd Session, Vol. XLVI No. 22)
2010-05-17
Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
May
17, 2010 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS
Vol. XLVI No. 22
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!
Admit strangers.
Statements by Members
MR. SPEAKER: Today the Chair welcomes the following members' statements:
the hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave; the hon. the Member for
the District of Mount Pearl North; the hon. the Member for the District of
Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune; and the hon. the Member for the District of Baie Verte-Springdale.
The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, May 14, I had the honour to attend the celebrations
with the forty-fifth graduating class of Ascension Collegiate.
The event began with a church service at St. Matthew's Anglican Church - Bay
Roberts - under graduate leaders Jenny Smith and Justin Butler. An inspiring
meditation was delivered by Reverend Amanda Taylor to the capacity crowd of
graduates, parents and friends. The celebration continued with a delicious meal
served to approximately 900 people at the Bay Arena, surrounded with their decor
theme: Midnight in Paris.
Victoria Sheppard and Alex Morgan were chairpersons for the senior prom while
an entertaining valedictorian speech was delivered by Zachary Barrett. All those
who sang and did readings are to be commended. The class of 2010 chose as their
theme: Looking into the Stars. This was very appropriate as 189 graduates were
presented by their teachers, Ms Marjorie Mercer and Mr. Ron Noseworthy.
One of the many highlights for the evening was the crowning of the prom king
and queen. The winners were Catherine Ralph and Ryan Mercer.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating Ascension
Collegiate's class of 2010, and to wish them every success as they continue
their journey to fulfilling their dreams.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Mount Pearl North.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the Provincial Championship
winners for Women's Senior Curling in Newfoundland and Labrador. This team, led
by skip Laura Phillips, includes Diane Ryan, Jeanette Hodder and Marian Dawe. In
March of this year, they competed in the National Championships in Ottawa,
Ontario.
I would like to congratulate Team Phillips on their dedication and commitment
to the sport of curling. I would also like to point out that this is third
consecutive year that Mount Pearl resident Marian Dawe has been part of the
senior ladies team that has represented Newfoundland and Labrador at the
National Championship.
Curling has become a favourite pastime of many Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians. It promotes a healthy and active lifestyle, as well as
incorporates teamwork and great sportsmanship.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating
Team Phillips on yet another successful curling season and wish them all the
best in future tournaments.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Fortune Bay-Cape la
Hune.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS PERRY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise in this hon. House today to deliver accolades to the community of
Conne River as they embrace technology to preserve their traditional Mi'kmaq
culture.
This coming Wednesday, on May 19, the Miawpukek First Nation is launching a
new and exciting Web site entitled: Footsteps that others may Follow. This site
will enable Canadians to access accurate and informative sources to learn about
the Mi'kmaq people of Newfoundland's South Coast, from their earliest days to
contemporary settlement.
These footsteps may be examined from three perspectives that of elders, the
eagle or youth. I encourage everyone to visit their Web site at
www.miawpukekfootsteps.com.
I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge MUN's Distance
Education and Learning Technologies Centre, which has partnered with the
Miawpukek First Nation of Conne River to create a virtual world depicting the
Mi'qmaw where one can fish, paddle a canoe, and learn about healing powers with
their ancestors from the 1800s as told through Chief Joe's book: Mununji'j
Becomes a Man . I invite you to visit this Web site at
www.storiesofconneriver.ca.
I commend the First Nations Trust, the Band Council, the school, community
residents, Chief Misel Joe, Memorial University and Marlene Brooks for their
exemplary accomplishments in preserving the culture of our Mi'qmaw people.
I ask members of this hon. House to join me in congratulating them for a job
well done.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Baie
Verte-Springdale.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. POLLARD: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is indeed a pleasure to rise in this hon. House today to acknowledge the
outstanding achievements of the Table Tennis Team from Indian River High School,
Springdale.
On the weekend of February 20, they captured the gold medal and thus the
high-school championship banner at the 2010 School Sports Provincial
Championships.
Each member displayed considerable poise, skill and sportsmanship as they
embarked upon their quest to capture the title for two years in a row.
Although they received stiff competition, the team prevailed. The team
members are: Hannah Pollard, Nicole Buckle, Kena Stuckless, Katie Mckay, Emily
Edison, Jordan Osmond, Lawrence Downey, Nicholas Buckle, Kyle Pittman, Andrew
Walker and Christian Pelley.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, some of these athletes competed at the Newfoundland
and Labrador Winter Games as members of the Central Team. Hannah Pollard
captured two gold medals along with Nicholas Buckle, with Emily Edison and
Jordan Osmond each picking up a gold and silver.
Their performances propelled the Central Team to a first place at the Winter
Games. Coach Denise Simms and Indian River High School are to be saluted for
fostering a positive climate in which students are able to excel.
Mr. Speaker, I invite all hon. colleagues to join me in applauding Indian
River High School's Table Tennis Team and the Newfoundland and Labrador Winter
Games Central Table Tennis Team members for a stellar performance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.
Statements by Ministers
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today in
recognition of National Public Works Week which runs from May 16 to May 22 and
marks the fiftieth anniversary of National Public Works Week in North America.
This year's theme is, Public Works: Above, Below & All Around You.
National Public Works Week recognizes the tens of thousands of men and women
who contribute to our society by ensuring that the comforts and necessities that
we so readily depend on are working for the benefit of everyone in this Province
and in this nation.
Mr. Speaker, every time we turn on a tap, navigate our transportation
systems, enter a public building or dispose of trash or refuse, we are using
elements of our public works. The contributions made to our society by the
workers in this field are essential for maintaining the services and vital
infrastructure that we all use on a daily basis.
Mr. Speaker, I recently met with Mr. David Moulton, the President of the
Canadian Public Works Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, to sign a
proclamation recognizing National Public Works Week in this Province.
It was a pleasure meeting with Mr. Moulton and I was so impressed to see the
pride and respect he has for the role of public works in our society. This is
the same pride and respect that I am privileged to see every day in all our
provincial government employees working in the field of public works.
Mr. Speaker, the advancement of our society has, in a large part, been
dependent on the efforts of those working in this field, and I feel it is a
continuation of this effort, by this government, and all public works employees,
that will see this Province continue to prosper and to grow.
Our commitment to public works in this Province is unwavering and is evident
in our infrastructure strategy valued at more than $5 billion over the next
several years and which is expected to generate 7,740 person years of employment
in 2010-2011. Initiatives under this strategy include new construction and
maintenance of hospitals, long-term care homes, schools, roads and other
important infrastructure that will leave a legacy of public works projects for
generations to come.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all hon. members and the public to recognize the efforts
of men and women in our public works sector and the essential services that they
provide to everyone in our society.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement and to say
that we are also very proud of the work those individuals do that has been
mentioned by the minister as we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of National
Public Works Week.
Mr. Speaker, whether we drive our highways, whether we operate our homes or
our offices, their services are vital on a daily basis, as the minister has
stated. Mr. Speaker, the national president he mentioned, is very impressed with
the work that they do. We agree with that, Mr. Speaker. As they do our roads,
street maintenance, solid waste collection and disposal, municipal waste water
operations, storm water management, transportation, traffic control and so on,
Mr. Speaker, they do a tremendous job. We want to commend each and every one of
them, but, Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not say sometimes even though
they do a wonderful job, sometimes their hands are tied. I reference the
thirteen highway depots that were closed. I get calls from individuals who work
with the department from time to time saying that we would love to be able to do
more with summer maintenance on our roads and highways.
Mr. Speaker, the funding that the minister has announced is a wonderful
thing. Hopefully, that will continue. I know that the depots that I referred to,
it went through the court system and now it is with the Supreme Court. Mr.
Speaker, not taking away from anything, we want to commend each and every
individual who take
part in the public service and to wish them every success in
the future.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi
Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. I, too, am happy
to stand and congratulate the men and women of our Province, and other
provinces, whose hard work provides us with so many important services. The
services that we do not even think about that maintain our lives on a daily
basis, as the minister points out, even from the turning on of a tap of water
right through to driving on our highways. It is work that often goes unseen and
is often unappreciated until something goes wrong. Then we complain and we do
not think about the times that we should be thanking them for the great work
they do.
It is really good to see a minister of this government giving credit to the
workers for this work rather than asking to be congratulated, themselves, for
putting an infrastructure in place that is essential to the work as government.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?
Oral Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, last week in the House of Assembly the Minister of Environment
stated that within days of receiving information last fall about health and
safety concerns in Buchans she made it public. On page 9 of the CRA report on
the Buchans site, it cites a Human Health Risk Assessment report that was
commissioned in 2007, yet the information was not disclosed by her department
publicly until the fall of 2009.
I ask the minister: When did you receive a copy of that health risk
assessment report that was completed by Jacques Whitford in 2007?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, I really want to thank the member opposite for
her question because it gives me the opportunity to clear up the misinformation
that CBC has put out there this morning.
Back in September 2007, the Town of Buchans did contact the Department of
Environment at the time with an issue. Mr. Speaker, quickly we hired a
consultant to go out and do a Human Health Risk Assessment. That piece of work
was done in literally less than months. The report came to our office in
December 2007, at which time my officials went out to the Town of Buchans, gave
the report to the Town of Buchans in less than days. The Town of Buchans at that
time, Mr. Speaker, asked to have a public meeting. That public meeting was held
and my officials were there. In fact, Mr. Speaker, CBC carried the reports of
that within days after the public meeting.
So, a completely wrong story this morning and I thank the member opposite for
the opportunity to clear it up.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Just to get back to the Jacques Whitford assessment that was done, can the
minister tell us when she received that report?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this report that was done by Jacques Whitford was done on a
specific area, the Mucky Ditch, which was exactly what the town asked for. It
came in December, 2007. I do not have the exact date before me, but within days,
Mr. Speaker, officials from the department went to the Town of Buchans, met with
the mayor and the council. They were very pleased with the work that was done.
We held a public meeting, the public meeting was reported on, and that site was
in fact remediated that very summer.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I understand from the minister that she did hold a public meeting going back
to, I am assuming, 2007 in the community of Buchans.
I ask her to indicate the date that that meeting was held and if it was
indeed a public meeting as opposed to a meeting with the municipality?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, I suspect that the Leader of the Opposition is
doing the same amount of research that CBC did on this, Mr. Speaker, and that is
why I have to clear that up here this morning.
The public meeting was held March 25, 2008 and CBC, as well as many other
media outlets, reported on it that following Monday.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can the minister indicate to me if the Jacques Whitford report was presented
to the town and to the public at that time and the report made available? Can
she also tell me if she provided notification to the town in writing that she
had those reports and what it contained?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, not only did we give them the report, but if she
wants to go into our Web site a lot of the information is up on the Web. So,
that is how open we are, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to clarify, because the facts are important, and I ask the minister
again: If she provided the information to them in writing, and if so, can she
provide a copy of that for me?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, there is one statement that she said that is
certainly true and she should live by that, the facts are important. That is why
I need to put the correct facts out there.
The report, not only was it up on the Web, but, Mr. Speaker, we went and hand
delivered it to the town. I mean, you cannot get more interactive than hand
delivering it to the community.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, officials in my department spoke to the Mayor of
Buchans this morning, because again, when these things are put out in the media
there is a certain amount of alarm that is raised and we do not want that
unnecessary fear and panic out there. Mr. Speaker, the Mayor of Buchans did not
know where this story was coming from. He understood at the time that we went
out, we gave him the report, he asked for a public meeting, we did the public
meeting and the site was remediated. End of story, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Quite simply, I ask the minister again: Did you provide written notice to the
Town of Buchans?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I would assume that hand delivering a copy of the report would
be better than a letter in writing but I can certainly go back to the department
and see if it was put in writing. The main point here is that we gave them the
report, we acted on the report, we did everything that the town wanted to do and
the issue has been remediated, and the Town of Buchans and the Mayor of Buchans,
whom we spoke to today, have absolutely no issue with it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate her doing that and to please provide us with a copy of that
letter, if it exists.
Mr. Speaker, we now know that the minister also had the CRA reports regarding
contaminated Abitibi properties in her possession since last year and that
documentation was filed with the Quebec courts to justify the minister's claim
of recovery of cleanup costs against Abitibi.
I ask the minister: When did you first discuss these CRA reports with the
municipalities of Grand Falls-Windsor, Botwood, and Stephenville, and who did
you speak with regarding them?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I guess she is recycling her questions from last week, but I will gladly give
the answer again this week.
Mr. Speaker, what we did when those reports were being done is that it came
to our attention that there was immediate health and safety concern in the
community of Buchans. That is where we threw all of our attention, that is where
we prioritized, that is where we acted quickly.
Mr. Speaker, in all the other communities, while there are environmental
issues and that they do need to be remediated, they are not of a health and
safety nature, Mr. Speaker. There was one instance in one of the reports I
looked at in Botwood that I thought there may have been an issue, so what we did
is we went out and we met with the Mayor of Botwood and the council of Botwood
and that turned out to be a non issue when it came to immediate health and
safety. Mr. Speaker, the Mayor of Grand Falls himself was in the media last week
and said this is what is to be expected of an industry site and there are no
surprises here.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: I ask the minister again, Mr. Speaker, quite simply, a very
simple question, it does not take a long, complicated answer to provide the
answer.
I ask the minister again: When did you first discuss the CRA reports with the
municipalities of Grand Falls-Windsor, Botwood, and Stephenville, and who did
you speak with minister?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, as part of a Phase I assessment, part of that
involved interviewing people who worked on the site, interviewing the community,
interviewing the town council.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MS JOHNSON: Those pieces of work were done by our consultants. So the
Town of Grand Falls-Windsor, the Town of Stephenville, the Town of Botwood was
certainly interviewed along the way. Discussions were had with those communities
along the way, but in the instance where there was immediate health and safety
concern, we went out to the community in the Town of Buchans. In the Budget this
year, to the tune of $9 million to remediate that site, Mr. Speaker. The tenders
are going out in the near future. If, in any case, as I said last week, there
was an immediate health and safety concern we would have certainly gone out
immediately to those towns, as we did in Buchans, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is obvious that the minister did not undertake to meet with those groups
at that time and if she did, why isn't she disclosing the information to the
House?
Mr. Speaker, the CRA reports clearly identified environmental contamination
at sites in the municipalities of Botwood, Grand Falls-Windsor, Stephenville,
some of which would be dangerous to human health and some of which is harmful to
the environment.
I ask the minister: Did you give written notice to these towns of those
contaminated sites and provide them with copies of these reports?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, it sounds like the Leader of the Opposition
wants us to hold a public meeting, call all the residents in and say there is no
issue for health and safety in your residence. That is not necessary, Mr.
Speaker. Where it was necessary we went out and did that; exactly, that is what
we did in the case in Buchans, Mr. Speaker.
If there had been an issue we would have did the exact same thing. I do not
know how to put it any plainer and simpler to her, that this was an immediate
priority; that is where we focused all of our attention in dealing with that
issue and committing the $9 million to the people of the Town of Buchans so that
the health and safety concerns would be addressed there.
All of these other issues are industrial issues. There was a piece of work
done but there needs to be more work done. A Phase I and a Phase II assessments
were completed on these properties but in order to know what the risk assessment
is of these, that is exactly what we asked Abitibi to do, go do the further
phase assessments and do the risk assessment, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.Speaker, I say to the minister, it is not what we want it is
what you are obligated to do as a minister. Mr. Speaker, under
section 27 of the
Environmental Protection Act it states that the minister shall give notice in
writing to a municipality where the contaminated site is located.
Minister, I ask you again: Did you give notice in writing, once you obtained
this information, and provide it to the Towns of Botwood, Stephenville, and
Grand Falls-Windsor?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, we did exactly what we were supposed to do. In
the case of the Town of Buchans there was an immediate health and safety
concern, Mr. Speaker -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MS JOHNSON: - and we acted quickly.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot tell the member opposite often enough how if this had
come up in any of these other communities, Mr. Speaker, we would have done the
exact same thing.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair is having difficulty hearing the hon. minister and hearing the
questions asked. I ask members for their co-operation.
The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, to leave the impression that there were health and safety
issues, Mr. Speaker, that is totally untrue and unfair of the member opposite,
too. She just mentioned that in the
preamble to her question. That is not the
case. Mr. Speaker, where it was the case we acted.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Under the act that the minister is obligated to follow in her duties in
carrying out the role as Minister of Environment in this Province, Mr. Speaker,
it says that she shall give notice in writing to the municipalities where these
contaminated sites are located.
I ask you again, Minister: Did you give notice, and will you table the copies
of those letters in the House of Assembly today?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, yes, we provided notice where notice was
warranted. Mr. Speaker, notice was certainly warranted in the case of the Town
of Buchans. Mr. Speaker, in these other sites - look at the Grand Falls mill for
instance. Mr. Speaker, that mill has been operating for 100 years, long before
we had a Department of Environment, long before we had an Environmental
Protection Act, Mr. Speaker. So these contaminants have been around a while.
The Leader of the Opposition leaves the impression that we are only doing
this now that Abitibi has pulled out. Mr. Speaker, back in 2006 as part of the
certificate of approval, we required Abitibi at that time to come up with a
decommissioning plan, long before there was any talk of them moving outside the
community. We have been working on this. The Department has been very diligent
in ensuring that the environmental guidelines and quality for the people of
those communities are certainly met.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to remind the minister that there is no distinction in our act between
the environmentally contaminated sites and human health and safety risks.
However, it is very clear what it requires you to do as minister.
I ask you again: Did you provide the written notice of these contaminated
sites to those municipalities as was required of you as a minister?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, the people who live in these communities, the
councils and the mayors themselves I heard the Mayor of Stephenville on, I
heard the Mayor of Grand Falls-Windsor on, we have spoken to the Mayor of
Buchans many times, the Mayor of Botwood. They all know what is in their
communities, Mr. Speaker.
We prioritize; we went out with the Town of Buchans and all of these
communities, Mr. Speaker. There was contact made with the Town of Botwood. I
personally made contact myself with the Mayor of Grand Falls-Windsor. Mr.
Speaker, the Mayor of Stephenville full well knows on an industrial site that
there is going to be environmental contamination.
The point that the member is missing, Mr. Speaker, is that these are not of a
human health and safety concern. If they had been, we would have done the exact
same thing we did in the Town of Buchans. I do not know why the member cannot
get that, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister knows that she failed in carrying out her duties and she has no
information to provide. She did not hold the public sessions in the communities
as she was supposed to, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the ministerial orders that
were issued by the minister related to the Grand Falls-Windsor mill site, she
states that contamination has migrated or unless remediated will migrate off the
Grand Falls-Windsor site.
I ask the minister: If you feel that this contamination is migrating off the
primary mill site, as stated in your ministerial order to the courts, why have
you not disclosed this information to the public so that they can be aware of
this risk?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, speaking of failing in carrying out our duties,
we had a line of questioning here started by the Leader of the Opposition today,
it was completely based on an untrue story, not based on fact, and totally
incorrect information. So, let's not go there.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the Grand Falls mill
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MS JOHNSON: we have security in place. We are continuing with the
environmental effects monitoring on the Exploits River, we are continuing to do
all of the sampling of the discharge that goes into the river, and to date,
there has been no reason for concern there.
That is exactly why we are continuing to monitor it, Mr. Speaker. If
something should come up that is of a human health and safety concern, the mayor
of Grand Falls-Windsor can be rest assured that I will personally contact him
myself.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I ask the minister again: Why would you disclose information of
contaminations and concerns about it in a court case, but not disclose it to the
public in this very community that is affected?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, the contamination on these sites is certainly a
concern
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MS JOHNSON: when it comes to an environmental perspective. They are on
an industrial site. There is arsenic there in the ground from the years of the
coal days.
Mr. Speaker, certainly, that is to be expected. However, if there was
something on these sites that were of a human health and safety concern - they
say if you repeat it often enough, eventually it will sink in. So once again, I
will say that if it was of a human health and safety concern, Mr. Speaker, we
would certainly be in contact with the town of whatever community it is, the
people there, and if need be, public meetings will be held but to call people
into a public meeting, and to call all the residents in and say there is no
issue of residential concern here just does not seem to make sense.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Back in March, we raised the issue of fifteen striking workers on the Burin
Peninsula who were job coaches for people with disabilities. They have been on
strike since November of 2009, and these employees were making anywhere between
$9.37 an hour to $10.63 an hour. At that time, the Minister of Finance said that
both sides remained far apart. Yet, we understand the cost to settle the dispute
is only $17,500 additional income per year.
I ask the government today: Why are you leaving these fifteen workers, these
fourteen disabled clients, out in the street for the sake of $17,500; yet, you
are paying a Child and Youth Advocate $175 an hour and a CEO in this Province
$35,000 a year in housing allowances?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There are twenty employment corporations in the Province that hire job
support workers who in turn work with people with disabilities and help them
perform their jobs in the community. Three of those are represented by NAPE, the
other seventeen are not. Government is not the employer and government is not
the negotiator, except for Burin where government, under the provisions of the
Public Service Collective Bargaining Act, is the negotiator.
Negotiations have been ongoing. There have been lots of discussions between
the parties, but, unfortunately, we remain far apart.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister knows that NAPE is the bargaining agent for these individuals.
He also knows that any increase in wages will have to come from the Provincial
Treasury.
So I ask you again, Minister: How can you justify paying out housing
allowances to CEOs, $175 an hour salaries to others in the Province; yet, keep
these fifteen people on the street for the sake of $17,500?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. MARSHALL: As I indicated, Mr. Speaker, negotiations have been
ongoing. We understand each other's position quite clearly. The two sides get
together from time to time. Sometimes different people will talk to different
Members of the House of Assembly, different members of government and when that
happens we would get together but, unfortunately, we do remain far apart.
Mr. Speaker, groups like the Employment Corporation provide a very valuable
service to people of this Province. Government values what they do and
government supports them financially, but that does not mean they are employees
of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. That does not mean they are
entitled to whatever benefits, both financial and otherwise, that the employees
in the Province get. They are employees of the Employment Corporation and not
employees of government.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It was this government who insisted that the same clauses that were in the
last Public Service Commission contract also be in the Burin workers' contract,
which include market adjustment, extended earnings loss and sick leave
entitlement. However, on the other hand, Mr. Speaker, government is not prepared
to leave in the reclassification review clause that the Public Service
Commission employees will receive.
I ask the minister: Why would you treat these employees any different? Why
would you expect them to have some of the same conditions in their contract;
yet, have others left out that they want to have included?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, as I said these employees work for the
Employment Corporation. They are not employees of the government. It is not
appropriate to have employees classified under the government system when they
are not employees of the government. This is the government's classification
system and an outside board cannot commit to pay employees under the
government's classification system. It is very simple.
Government is not the employer. Government, for the most part, is not the
negotiator with the exception of Burin.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Obviously, government is becoming somewhat more choosey these days about what
agreements they decide to get involved in because they had no problem getting
involved with VON out on the West Coast a couple of years ago, which resulted in
a minister in the Cabinet ending up resigning.
I say to you, Minister, the only way that this is going to get resolved is if
the government is prepared to agree to the reclassification and put in the extra
money in a contract for these employees. Are you telling me today that you are
satisfied to leave these fifteen workers out in the street and the fourteen
people with disabilities who need the service at home with no services?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. MARSHALL: I think it is important to note that it was NAPE that took
the employees out. Government did not force the employees out.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated there are twenty of these Employment
Corporations. The seventeen who are not unionized are earning $11 an hour and
Burin is earning just under that, as is Port aux Basques. Mr. Speaker,
government will continue to negotiate. We are prepared to be reasonable, but the
offer that the employer has made in this circumstance is, in our view, fair and
reasonable, especially in these very uncertain economic times.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, we know that the people in Burin today are on
strike. We also know that there are two other groups in a strike position and
they have given a strong mandate to their union, from what I understand, the
people in Stephenville and Port aux Basques. For these people, Minister, you
know it is just about the pay cheque not just about the pay cheque but about
the job, the job they do in providing services to these people.
I ask you, Minister: Will you commit today to do something to resolve this
issue (inaudible)
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
Did the hon. minister hear the question?
I ask members for their co-operation.
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition, if you would be kind enough to repeat
your question.
MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, we know, as I said, that there are two other
groups in the Province, in Stephenville and Port aux Basques, that also have a
mandate to go to a strike, and for all of these employees, Mr. Speaker, it is
about providing services to their clients, to the people they represent. They
earn very low wages.
I ask the minister today: Is he prepared to make this a priority of his
government and put the resources there to get this settled so that these
individuals can go back to work?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. MARSHALL: Mr. Speaker, with respect to Bay St. George and with Port
aux Basques, government has no involvement as employer. We have no involvement -
we are not the negotiator. Government does provide funding to the associations,
because we value the work that they do; and, with respect to Burin, government
will continue to negotiate with NAPE, but government has made a fair offer of 20
per cent over four years I think 21.40 per cent is the actual offer - and
under the circumstances, Mr. Speaker, that is a very fair and generous offer.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi
Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, many concerns have come out as a result of the Wells Inquiry and
the Gulf of Mexico disaster, around offshore worker safety and the environment.
Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister of Natural Resources said she is confident
that the C-NLOPB will protect worker safety and the environment even in untested
deepwater drilling, and mentioned that they have a chief safety and a chief
environmental officer.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Natural Resources to tell the House how
many other personnel are working in health and safety and the environment
portfolios at the C-NLOPB, besides these two officers.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy
Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, there are a number of other officers. I know that there are
three environmental inspectors, and there are several other people involved in
occupational health and safety, Mr. Speaker. I will endeavour to get those exact
numbers and provide them to the Leader of the NDP.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for District of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I had a follow-up question, but I will wait until I hear the full answer on
the numbers before I ask my next question, but I will go on.
Mr. Speaker, since 1989 we have had draft occupational health and safety
regulations for offshore health and safety. They have never been put in place,
and are now out of date and need to be reviewed. Some of the safety problems
that came up during the Wells Inquiry are a result of the federal and provincial
governments contracting out their responsibility for health and safety to the
C-NLOPB. The C-NLOPB reports to the federal and provincial Departments of
Natural Resources, which are primarily concerned with production and
development, not the safety of workers.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: When are occupational health and safety
regulations for the offshore going to be put in place?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, there are occupational health and safety guidelines in draft
form. These form part of the authorization to drill in our offshore, and are
required to be followed by the operators. Mr. Speaker, these OHS Regulations
involved three jurisdictions: ourselves, the Province of Nova Scotia and the
federal government.
These guidelines have been ten years in the making, Mr. Speaker, a
complicated piece of work, but I am happy to report that all Legislatures of the
three jurisdictions will be bringing that forward in the fall sessions of our
respective Parliaments.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi
Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I certainly look forward to seeing that legislation when it comes to the
House.
Mr. Speaker, given that a number of problems surfaced during the Wells
inquiry, and a number of issues have been raised by local scientists that
environmental monitoring has not revealed the extent of oil spills and their
impact on sea birds, fish and other wildlife to the public, I ask the minister
if she could tell us: What is the C-NLOPB's capacity to do research and get that
information out to the public?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, certainly, some of that work will form part of the review that
is ongoing. We have available to the C-NLOPB and to governments the effect of
the wind, the waves, on oil spills on our offshore. Mr. Speaker, there is a
great deal of science around the effect on fish. Up to this point there is not
known to be any effect on fish from oil spills, although there is a significant
effect if there is fishing gear in the area.
The most vulnerable population to oil spill, Mr. Speaker, are birds. There is
significant science available on that piece, but we always look for other
opportunities to increase the information we have and we support the C-NLOPB in
that effort, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The time allotted for questions and answers has expired.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.
Tabling of Documents.
Notices of Motion.
Notices of Motion
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Bonavista North.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HARDING: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Labrador
West, the following private member's resolution:
WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador is home to one of the best undeveloped
clean, green, renewable energy projects in North America at the Lower Churchill
River in Labrador; and
WHEREAS Ontario, the Maritime Provinces, and the North Eastern United States
are in need of affordable, clean energy sources; and
WHEREAS last week's ruling of the Rgis de l'nergie in Quebec on a
transmission service request by Nalcor Energy once again demonstrates that
province's arrogance and discriminatory business practices, in particular their
determination to see the Lower Churchill proceed only on their terms; and
WHEREAS this ruling is deemed by this Province to be completely contrary to
the rules of fair, open and competitive access; and
WHEREAS this government is determined to proceed with this project in the
best interests and for the benefit of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador;
BE IT RESOLVED that the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly affirms
its full support for the approach of Nalcor Energy and the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador to continue plans to develop this extraordinary clean,
renewable energy project, including two alternative routes to market, including
the Labrador-Island Link, the Maritime route, as well as the pursuit of a
separate 724 megawatt transmission service request into the Maritimes and New
England.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
Further notices of motion?
Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure today to stand with yet another
petition on behalf of the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador and, today in
particular, Lark Harbour, Corner Brook, Mount Moriah, Curling, Springdale, South
Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor, Trinity and Badger.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, the petition reads:
WHEREAS the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have always built cabins or
tilts away from our homes for hunting, fishing, berry picking or just spending
time up in the country or places around our shores, sometimes just to get away
from the stress of everyday living, a place to relax and enjoy the great
outdoors; and
WHEREAS your government has come down hard on the thousands of cabin and
trailer owners that are out on our land with eviction notices and forcing them
to move without providing them with an alternative; and
WHEREAS Kruger Inc. has timber rights to approximately one-third of all
forested land on this Island and is refusing the vast majority of applications
for cabin development;
WHEREUPON your petitioners call upon all Members of the House of Assembly to
urge government to have compassion on the citizens of this fair Province and
allow them the right to enjoy what is rightfully ours. We were born on this land
and should have the right to enjoy it.
And as in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, this is just another petition of the many that I do have from
residents throughout this Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. I know recently
there has been some development with regard to the issue with the Whiskey Pit. I
know the minister has stated to the media that there is no problem for anybody
to go there and do camping on a weekend for a short-term period. Mr. Speaker,
that should have been explained to the people back when they were all evicted.
They were all put in the one barrel and -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask members for their co-operation. The member is having a job to hear the
petition presented by the hon. Member for Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, I understand fully because I have a job to hear
myself.
Mr. Speaker, what government did here is just like if you have a box or a
barrel of apples, if there is one or two in it that did something wrong,
everybody was thrown out with the wash, Mr. Speaker. All those people want is a
fair answer and they have been told - on May 10 they were told by officials
within the department: yes, you can go to the Whiskey Pit but you cannot I am
sorry, you cannot go to the Whiskey Pit and camp on the twenty-fourth of May
weekend or any other time and then two days after the minister walks over and
tells us: oh, they can go there but they have to leave after three or four days
and go back to their homes.
Mr. Speaker, believe it or not, those same people have been offered two plots
of land. Coming out of one side of their mouth they are saying you cannot do
this any more and now they are coming up with land for them to do it. I agree
with that. I agree with that, Mr. Speaker. I agree with that because up in Wolf
Pond the people were given an opportunity -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair has recognized the hon. Member for the District of Port de Grave.
The Chair is having difficulty hearing him by shouting across from one side of
the House to the other. The Chair has recognized the member and I ask hon.
members to show the courtesy of the member being allowed to present his
petition.
The hon. member.
MR. BUTLER: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
If the members opposite stood up and shouted with such velocity as what they
are doing now on behalf of their constituents about this issue, it would not be
a problem.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. BUTLER: It would not be a problem, Mr. Speaker. It would not be a
problem.
They have petitions from all over this Island, and the Minister of
Transportation and Works knows full well, he had his constituents taken care of
like I did. Government went in, they plotted out the land, they gave them a
piece of land, they are paying it back over a period of time but something they
could afford. All the people are asking is sit down with us; consult with us so
that we can come to a conclusion that will be applicable to everybody.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?
Orders of the Day.
The hon. the Government House Leader.
MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, before we do Orders of the Day, by leave, I am
wondering if we could return to Tabling of Documents?
MR. SPEAKER: Does the hon. the Government House Leader have leave to
return to Tabling of Documents?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Tabling of Documents.
Tabling of Documents
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Deputy Premier.
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in fulfilling government's commitment of being accountable to
the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is my pleasure to table the 2009
Business and Financial Report for Nalcor Energy and the Consolidated Financial
Statements for Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Orders of the Day.
Orders of the Day
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MS BURKE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
From the Order Paper, Mr. Speaker, we will call Motion 1.
MR. SPEAKER: Motion 1, that this House approves in general the budgetary
policy of the government, the Budget Speech. The Chair will now hear debate on
the Budget Speech.
The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to stand up in this House today and
speak to Budget 2010-2011. Mr. Speaker, a great Budget for the people of the
Province. From young people, from newborns to seniors and every age in between;
for health, for schools, for organizations, for tourism, for culture, for
heritage, an all around really, really good Budget.
Mr. Speaker, there is so much to speak about in all of the departments that
we have in government but, of course, I am going to take the opportunity to
narrow in on some of the things that we are doing in the Department of
Environment and Conservation. Certainly, twenty minutes is not long enough to
talk about all the things that we are doing there in the Budget this year. I
think I will highlight some now and then when we get to Estimates, I will have
an opportunity to speak there.
Mr. Speaker, firstly, I would like to speak about the Budget commitment that
we made to the people of the Town of Buchans; $9 million we have committed to
the Town of Buchans to remediate the tailing spill area in the Mucky Ditch.
Mr. Speaker, this file goes back to about 2007 when the community first
approached us to do a piece of work on the Mucky Ditch. As was incorrectly
reported in the media today and as was incorrectly asked by the member opposite
today, we did act very quickly, Mr. Speaker, when that request came to us in
2007. In fact, Mr. Speaker, by December 2007, a human health risk assessment
report had been completed, public meetings had been held and the site was, in
fact, remediated.
As a result of that risk assessment there were other issues that were
identified, Mr. Speaker. Again, government acted very quickly. Twice, myself, I
was out to the Town of Buchans. The Minister of Health was out, and on several
occasions other than that officials from my department were out and spoke to the
town.
Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased to report that $4 million of this $9 million
will be going into remediating the tailing spill area. The tender documents are
being drafted as we speak, Mr. Speaker, and that work will commence early this
summer, in June, and we hope to have that work complete by the fall.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask members to take their private conversations to the outside.
MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, this is very welcome news for the people of the
Town of Buchans, and I have to compliment the member who is responsible for
Buchans. She tirelessly brought this issue to our attention around the Cabinet
table. There was absolutely no question when it came to putting money into
remediating this site, Mr. Speaker. The Mayor of Buchans and the council in
Buchans, in fact the entire community has been an absolute delight to work with,
Mr. Speaker. They had very legitimate concerns, rightly so, and we have worked
with them through this time, and come this fall, this year, Mr. Speaker, they
are able to put that issue to rest.
Also in the Budget, through the Department of Natural Resources, there is $5
million allocated to remediate the tailings dam area. Mr. Speaker, that is also
an issue of concern from an environmental perspective and a safety perspective,
and certainly the Minister of Natural Resources can speak more in detail to
that, but $9 million, a huge, significant commitment. It just goes to show that
we take contaminated sites and the issues that come with it very seriously in
the Province, Mr. Speaker.
In terms of, you hear a lot of rhetoric put forward by the members of the
Opposition, how there are areas of concern in other communities as well. In
fact, that is exactly why we issued the orders under
section 99 of the
Environmental Protection Act to Abitibi. There was a piece of work done, Mr.
Speaker, but to explain it to the people in the public, this was a preliminary
piece of work. It was a Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessment, and
that involves doing a walk around the site, doing a historical review of
documents, interviewing people who worked at the site, talking to the council,
talking to members in the community. Then to Phase II, it is doing limited tests
in the area to see if there is an area of concern.
Mr. Speaker, when those limited tests were done, that is when we issued the
orders to Abitibi to have the further piece of work done, to have the Phase III
assessments done, to do the risk assessment, to see what the actual concern is
there, what the site specific parameters are when it comes to environmental
regulations and then submit a remediation plan to us. Mr. Speaker, Abitibi has
operated in this Province, particularly in the Grand Falls area for over 100
years. They have reaped and reaped the benefits of using the resources of the
people of this Province, and all that we ask for is that they return the
environment to the state that they found it when they came here. The best move
that this government ever made, Mr. Speaker, was to expropriate those properties
from Abitibi.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Where would we be today, Mr. Speaker, had we not done that?
Abitibi would be gone off, they would be gone with our hydro assets and all the
other assets, and we would still be stuck with the environmental issues today.
Best move ever made by this Premier - and there have been lots of good moves
certainly made by this Premier and this government, but by far, that was a very,
very important issue that was tackled in a very quick time. Just to have the
foresight to do that so that we were not stuck with all of the environmental
issues, by far, one of the best things. Talk to the people of Grand
Falls-Windsor and talk to the people of the other communities and they will
certainly agree with the fact that this was one of the best moves that this
government ever made.
Also in keeping in line with contaminated sites, we committed $1 million to
do work in Hopedale. I have had many conversations with the member responsible
there and also the Minister of Labrador Affairs as well as the Minister of
Aboriginal Affairs. This is the site - it is the former US military site in
Hopedale, and we have been doing a lot of work over the years on that site. In
fact, there was some remediation done last year, but also we commissioned a
consultant to do a Human Health Risk Assessment and also to do a remediation
plan. That is why we committed $1 million to further the work in Hopedale. So
again, Mr. Speaker, it goes to show that we are very committed when it comes to
cleaning up contaminated sites in the Province.
Mr. Speaker, certainly being in the Department of Environment and
Conservation, one of the issues that come up on a daily basis is the issue of
climate change. It is an issue not only for this Province, not only for this
country, but certainly internationally. Here in this Province we are not a big
contributor of greenhouse gases, but we are certainly on the receiving end when
it comes to the impacts of climate change. When it comes to issues like storm
surges, sea level rise and flooding, certainly some of our coastal communities
are going to be vulnerable in that aspect. I am not saying it is not important
to reduce emissions; we are certainly doing that and that is why we committed a
significant amount of money in the Budget to the Office of Climate Change,
Energy Efficiency and Emissions Trading - certainly a mouthful.
Most of our focus is on the adaptation side and that is why we committed over
$1 million dollars in partnership with the other Atlantic Provinces and the
federal government to do a major piece of work on the adaptation piece. So we
will be working with the municipalities, we will be working in Labrador, we will
working with businesses and the university and so on to assist these communities
when it comes to adaptation and look at things like flood risk mapping, look at
things like the size of culverts and infrastructure and things like that that we
need to place in the future to prepare ourselves for what may come with climate
change and the adaptation issues.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions and trying to reduce
them, one of the things that I remember it was really good when it comes to
young people - when you go around to the schools and you talk about environment,
recycling and climate change the school age children really, really get it. They
are to be commended for all of the work that they do in terms of recycling and
composting, but, Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to go to Corner Brook at a
school there for the launch of the Anti-Idling Campaign. Now, as a result the
entire Western School District has gone idle-free. Mr. Speaker, it was a really
neat event in that the students actually prepared tickets where they could
ticket their parents if they left their car idling while waiting for them
outside the school or waiting for them outside a birthday party or what have
you.
So, certainly when it comes to climate change and greening up the environment
our young people in this Province really, really get it. They are certainly the
future of the Province, so it is really important that they be the ones to get
it. It is not to say that those of us who are not in school do not get it, and
we are not doing our part, we certainly are, but it is a real breath of fresh
air when you go out to the schools and talk to these students.
Mr. Speaker, not only do the young people get it, but businesses are really
getting it. As you know, we have in our department a Green Fund. It was $25
million over three years and we have done some really fascinating work with
that. In terms of greenhouse gas reductions, we have really accomplished a lot.
In fact, known to most people in the Province we have committed $1.6 million to
methane recovery at Robin Hood Bay. Mr. Speaker, this is a really interesting
project because it has the potential of reducing greenhouse gases by 50,000 to
60,000 tonnes a year - certainly a significant reduction in greenhouse gases.
Some other really neat projects and there have been numerous projects - and
we are in the process of updating the Web site to list the projects because the
hope is that while one business, one fish plant may be doing it in one area,
certainly fish plants in other areas, or businesses in other areas can look at
the project that was done there and work it into what they are doing at their
particular business so that everybody can reap the benefits in terms of
greenhouse gas reductions. When you reduce greenhouse gas reductions it also
equates into more money for the bottom line of those businesses. If you are
reducing the reliance on fuel consumption and so on, you are certainly reducing
the cost.
Some other really interesting things: We gave over $900,000 to a farming
initiative, and this is for the installation of an anaerobic digester. This is
necessary to capture the methane gas that is emitted by cows, so a really,
really neat system there. Also, we provided over $1 million to Holson Forest
Products on the Northern Peninsula and this is for the production of wood
pellets. This is done in conjunction with a major initiative with the Department
of Natural Resources to assist with the forest industry there.
We put about $250,000 dollars into the Browning Harvey bottling plant in St.
John's, and that will help with their energy requirements and manufacturing
process there, and even smaller amounts of money like $10,000 into fish plants
like Northern Seafoods. This is a really neat system that installs the saltwater
cooling system. Prior to installing this system, they would use about
thirty-four litres of fuel per hour, Mr. Speaker, and because of the investment,
through our department, they are expecting to get that fuel requirement down to
six point eight litres per hour. A huge reduction in greenhouse gases, but
certainly really good for that company in terms of cost reduction. This is
something that could be applicable to other like businesses.
It just goes to show that not only do the young people get it and people who
are not of school age but also the businesses are getting it and we are very
proud to help them in the Department of Environment with our Green Fund.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to turn my attention to parks and natural areas.
This year alone, we committed $3.6 million for the replacement of Crabbes River
bridge. This is a bridge that had some impacts due to ice damage. It is a
significant bridge in terms of tourism on the West Coast of the Province and it
builds upon the investment that we had in our Budget last year of $2 million
where we repaired and replaced over five bridges last year. We know how
important the T'Railway is to the people of the Province from a recreational
perspective, but also from a social perspective and an economic perspective
because the spinoffs that are generated from people using the T'Railway in terms
of using cottages and purchasing things at the store in terms of gas and so on.
It is really a significant contributor into the rural economy.
I had the pleasure just recently, Mr. Speaker, of going to CBS and announcing
$140,000 there to undertake design and construction work for the CBS T'Railway.
That has been an issue there for some time because they are trying to find a
balance for the ATV users as well as the people who use the trail for walking
and skiing and so on. The Minister of Tourism was there with me that day, it was
a really welcomed announcement. The new member for CBS - he was not even elected
at the time. I went out to help him out in the campaign and he had already
started on me in terms of trying to get the money and that was even before he
was elected. So, I was very proud to take
part in that.
In keeping with the department of parks, Mr. Speaker, in this year's Budget
we committed $1.6 million to Salmonier Nature Park. Now Salmonier Nature Park,
as all of you know, is an absolute gem in this Province. It is a multi-function
centre. It not only promotes environment and outdoor education but it is also a
site, as you know, for wildlife rehabilitation, research and nature-based
tourism.
Mr. Speaker, this is one of the most visited interpretative facilities that
we have in the Province. Since 1977, the park has hosted more than 1 million
visitors. We have about 30,000 people who visit there on an annual basis. We did
peak, at one point, at 60,000 people; an absolutely fabulous facility, Mr.
Speaker, to see the wildlife, to see how they interact.
When it comes to the education aspect, thousands of students go through there
each year, Mr. Speaker, and learn about the environment. It is really important
to learn at that age what the environment is all about, the animals that live in
it, how they interact with wildlife and people, and the surroundings and so on -
an absolute gem.
This $1.6 million will be going into the design and prep work for a new
wildlife care building there, Mr. Speaker, and also for a new discovery centre.
We are really excited about those new construction activities. We are also going
to be completing a new carpentry workshop. I have been to Salmonier Nature Park
many times and the carpentry workshop and the wildlife rehabilitation centre are
housed under one roof. That is something that we really, really wanted to
change, not only for the animals who are rehabilitating but also for the people
doing carpentry work and so on. It is great to see this investment, Mr. Speaker.
We are also going to be upgrading the park trails and also a number of
exhibits there. You will not believe the number of young people who say to me:
Can you find some money in the Budget, minister, for an enclosure for a coyote?
They are really interested in the coyote and learning about it. So I
specifically asked that this money cover that off this year.
Also, one of the other really important things in the department - and there
are many. We have Crown Lands, we have environmental assessment, Parks and
Natural Areas, water quality, caribou and moose, and the list goes on and on.
One of the things that we have made a key pillar of this government in the past
number of years, Mr. Speaker, is drinking water. We committed $21 million over
three years between the Department of Municipal Affairs and the Department of
Environment and Conservation.
I had the opportunity again this year, in March, to go to Gander for the
Clean and Safe Drinking Water Workshop that they offer out there. It is done on
a yearly basis. This year, in fact, had the highest attendance ever; there were
over 350 delegates who registered. It is an opportunity for owners and operators
to learn about small systems, to learn about emergency situations relating to
the operation and maintenance. At that, we also give out awards, too. A
volunteer of the year award, and an operator of the year award. The submissions
that came in for all of these communities, and I think there were over forty,
were glowing in and of themselves. Every single one of them were certainly
deserving of the award. The two people who won the award, the recommendations
that came in from the community just goes to show how much the people in these
communities take the drinking water quality issue very, very serious for the
people in their community that they represent.
Mr. Speaker, we know that this is the ten year anniversary of Walkerton and
the issues there, and certainly the entire country and the entire North America
has learned a lot from that. I am very pleased to state that the expertise that
we have in this department is just second to none, Mr. Speaker. We get inquiries
from places like Egypt and Nigeria, all over the world. In fact, Mr. Speaker,
Walkerton itself has contacted our department to use some of the applications
that we use in our training, in terms of our mobile training unit. We have a
mobile training unit. Mr. Speaker, all any community has to do is call up the
department and we will take the mobile training unit out to you, because we
understand that some small communities do not always have the resources for the
training. That is why we are willing to take it to them. Last year alone, Mr.
Speaker, the department and staff went to 185 communities to do 185 training
sessions.
Also, at the drinking water session this year, I was really delighted to
launch our new water resources portal. This is the most advanced provincial
water resources portal of its kind in the entire country, Mr. Speaker. We were
just recently contacted by San Diego there is a conference being held in San
Diego, California, and they asked our Province to come down there and show the
work. Now, this is done in conjunction with OCIO and there is a lot of GIS
information. It is a one-stop shop for any piece of information that you want to
know about water quantity, water quality, boil water advisories, THMs, what is
close to the water source and so on. Absolutely, the only one of its kind in the
country, Mr. Speaker, and we are taking it on an international basis. We will be
down in California, or the staff will be down in California highlighting the
importance of such a site and how it can be applicable to other communities.
Mr. Speaker, I guess with the time, with only twenty seconds left, I will
have to take the next opportunity during the Estimates Committee to speak,
because these are just some of the things in the department but I am going to
need a whole other twenty minutes or more to talk about all of the wonderful
things that are being done in the Trinity-Bay de Verde district. When it comes
to municipal capital works, when it comes to roadwork and bridge work and
tourism grants and heritage grants and money put into schools and money put into
health care facilities, and JCPs and CEPs, the list goes on and on. It just goes
to show, Mr. Speaker, the commitment that we put into certainly my district is
very, very rural and it just goes to show the commitment that this government
puts into rural communities in the Province, Mr. Speaker.
I would just like to end with a quote. It is not only relevant to the
department but it is relevant to everything we do in government, Mr. Speaker,
and I believe it is a quote that certainly myself and all the members of caucus
and Cabinet and the Premier himself tries to form our decision making around.
That quote is: We do not inherit the resources from our ancestors; we borrow
them from our children. Mr. Speaker, this is so true. So whether it is in the
Department of Environment or whether it is in the Department of Health or
Business or all of the aspects of government, this is a really important guiding
principle to live by and I believe that we have done so in this Budget. It is a
sustainable Budget, and, Mr. Speaker, it is a Budget that I am very proud to
support.
Thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board, on a point of order.
MR. MARSHALL: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I am wondering if I could have leave of the House just to revert
to routine proceedings. I have a pre-commitment here, one pre-commitment that I
believe has to be filed today, tabled today, so if that is in order, Mr.
Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Does the hon. member have leave to revert to Tabling of
Documents?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the minister, by leave.
MR. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Pursuant to
section 26.(5)(
a) of the Financial Administration Act, I am
tabling one order in council relating to a funding pre-commitment for the
2011-2012 fiscal year.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of St. John's South and
Deputy Speaker, speaking on a point of order?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Speaking on the main motion.
MR. SPEAKER: I do not know if the Chair's information is correct or not,
but it is shown here that the hon. member has already spoken on the main motion
to the Budget.
MR. T. OSBORNE: No.
MR. SPEAKER: The Chair must have incorrect information. I call on and ask
the hon. Member for St. John's South and Deputy Speaker to now make his remarks.
MR. T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I guess we are about a year away from starting the campaign for
2011, and undoubtedly we are going to hear members of the Opposition say that we
should return to that party for government we should return to the Liberal
Party for government. That is the pitch we are going to hear and we will hear
the reasons that we should return to that party.
MR. BUTLER: Loud and clear.
MR. T. OSBORNE: The Member for Port de Grave said we will hear it loud
and clear.
Well, Mr. Speaker, I am going to just look at some of the facts and figures
of the last full year that the Liberal Party were government in this Province,
and the current year that we are now in government, and ask members of this
House if we went to return to Liberal power and, I guess, ask the people who are
viewing if they wish to return to Liberal power, Mr. Speaker, because the
figures here speak for themselves.
We looked at, just as an example, equalization payments that we received back
in 2002-2003 from the federal government, and compare that to the equalization
payments that we are receiving in 2010-2011. Mr. Speaker, if you look at the
equalization payments for 2002-2003 they were $1,000,158,000 or 30 per cent of
the Province's income. Today, Mr. Speaker, when we look at equalization, we are
down to $626,000 or 10 per cent of the Province's income. We are relying less
and less on Ottawa today than we were in 2002. So I will ask - I will ask the
Member for Mount Pearl North - do you want to return to reliance on Ottawa?
MR. KENT: Absolutely not.
MR. T. OSBORNE: No, absolutely not. We are becoming less and less reliant
on Ottawa, Mr. Speaker, and it is because of the policies and the decisions that
this government has made.
Mr. Speaker, you look at other federal sources of income from 2002-2003
versus today. In 2002-2003, 10.6 per cent of other sources of income came from
the federal government, and that is down now, Mr. Speaker, to 10 per cent. Ten
percent of what we receive, of revenue for the Province, now comes from the
federal government. We are becoming less and less reliant. In 2002, no doubt,
there were no offshore royalties recorded in 2002. There is no doubt about that.
MR. BUTLER: (Inaudible) here comes the truth. (Inaudible).
MR. T. OSBORNE: The Member for Port de Grave said: Here comes the truth.
Well, I am going to tell you a lot of truth here while I am speaking. I have
only seventeen minutes left to do it, but I will fit a lot of truth in. I will
fit a lot of truth in while I am speaking, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Let's look at income taxes, personal income taxes. This
year, Mr. Speaker, we are down to 13.5 per cent of our provincial revenue comes
from personal income taxes. Well, let's have a look at 2002-2003: 15.9 per cent.
We have reduced personal income taxes in this Province. We have reduced personal
income taxes year over year over year in this Province.
Now I will ask the Member for Ferryland: Do you want to return to higher
income taxes in this Province?
MR. HUTCHINGS: No.
MR. T. OSBORNE: Absolutely not.
I will ask the Member for Port de Grave: Do you want to pay more income tax?
AN HON. MEMBER: No.
MR. T. OSBORNE: No, absolutely not; absolutely not.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Let's have a look at sales tax: 12.5 per cent of our
revenue generated in this Province now is from sales tax versus 14.6 per cent in
2002-2003. Do you want to return to that? I will ask: Do you want to return to
that? Absolutely not.
I will ask the Finance Minister: Do you want to raise personal taxes? No, he
does not.
I will ask the Member for Port de Grave: Do you want to raises taxes? Because
that is what they were in 2002-2003 versus that what they are today, Mr.
Speaker.
Let's have a look at where the money goes; because in the Estimates it shows
where the money comes from and it also shows where the money goes. Let's look at
social welfare, Mr. Speaker. We have paid out, in benefits and other social
programs, $768 million this year versus $542 million under the Liberal
government in 2002-2003. We are providing better benefits.
Under our Poverty Reduction Strategy, which has been hailed as the best in
the country - many other provinces, Mr. Speaker, are now looking at what this
Province is doing to reduce poverty. Part of what we have done in this Province
was giving greater benefits to those who need them.
Now, have we solved all the problems? No, not by a long shot, but we are on
the road to having the Province with the least amount of poverty, in
Newfoundland and Labrador, versus what we were in 2002-2003.
Let's have a look at health expenditures. We have now $2,000,181,000 out of
our provincial Budget is being spent on health benefits. What was it in
2002-2003? $1.16 billion; almost doubled in the seven or eight years that we
have been government. That is almost double.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Do you want to return to $1.16 billion spent on health
care? No, absolutely not. Of course, you do not. Now, have we solved all of the
problems in health? No, not by a long shot, but I will tell you what
AN HON. MEMBER: We are on the way.
MR. T. OSBORNE: We are on the way; $2.2 billion this year versus $1.1
billion in 2002-2003. That is the difference. That is the difference; this
government is putting more and more dollars into health care. No, we have not
solved all of the problems. You can double that again and you will not solve all
of the problems, I say, Mr. Speaker, but I will tell you what: We have put twice
as much money into health care as the previous government - in just over seven
years.
Let's have a look at education: $1.14 billion, Mr. Speaker, we are spending
on education. What was it in 2002-2003? It was $728 million. What an increase.
What an increase in education spending in this Province, a tremendous increase,
because we are putting money where money is needed the most.
I will ask the Member for Bonavista North: Would you want to go back to only
spending $728 million on education versus $1.14 billion?
AN HON. MEMBER: No way.
MR. T. OSBORNE: No way. No way, you are absolutely right, because this
government, Mr. Speaker, is putting the money where it is needed most.
Now, we could put twice as much money in education and still need money -
because you need to spend within the financial resources you have available,
absolutely, but this time next year they will be out banging on doors, pounding
the streets, saying why we should vote Liberal. I am telling you right now, the
facts speak for themselves, Mr. Speaker.
You look at protection to persons and property - an increase, Mr. Speaker -
we are now spending $276,800,000 on protection and policing. What was it in
2002-2003? Because facts are important, Mr. Speaker, facts are important, and
the facts speak for themselves: $166 million versus the $276 million we are
spending today. That is the difference, Mr. Speaker. That is the difference in
the government they provided and the government that we are providing.
Mr. Speaker, let's look at a
Summary of Gross Capital Account Expenditures.
You look at transportation projects, Mr. Speaker. This year we have $229 million
in transportation projects. That is pavement, upgrades to infrastructure. What
was it back in 2002-2003? Ninety-seven million dollars; $97 million, versus $229
million today. Now, Mr. Speaker, I will ask the minister for Labrador, do you
want to go back to spending that amount of money that they spent on
transportation?
MR. HICKEY: Never.
MR. T. OSBORNE: Never. That is the answer, never. No, sir, because I will
tell you, the minister for Labrador knows the value in Labrador of
transportation expenditures. He knows the value of transportation expenditures,
Mr. Speaker.
If you look at spending on public buildings; $28.5 million today versus, in
2002-2003, $8 million, and you wonder why we had crumbling infrastructure in
this Province, Mr. Speaker, after fourteen or fifteen years of Liberal rule?
That is the reason, because they did not make the investments where the
investments were needed.
If you look at educational facilities - now this one here, Mr. Speaker, I am
glad you are sitting down - $164 million spent in educational facilities this
year versus $5.5 million under Liberal rule. Let me repeat that because that is
a significant change, and they will argue and say there is mould in the schools.
Well of course there is mould in the schools, because the schools were not
properly looked after. That infrastructure was not properly looked after for
fourteen or fifteen years.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Not only have we found the mould, not only are we fixing
it, Mr. Speaker, but we are looking for other schools that need upgrades and
repairs. I will repeat that number again. They spent $5 million upgrading
educational facilities versus our $164 million in this year's Budget.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: That is why schools were crumbling, Mr. Speaker. That is
why schools were failing apart. That is why we needed the upgrades. That is the
reason we needed the upgrades. I will ask the Minister of Education, would you
want to go back to spending $5 million on school facilities?
MR. KING: Absolutely not!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Absolutely not! Absolutely not, Mr. Speaker, because it
does not make sense; it did not make sense then, it does not make sense now.
When they go pounding on your doors - I will say to the people watching the
House of Assembly proceedings today, when they go pounding on your doors telling
you that you are better off with them, the facts speak for themselves. The facts
speak for themselves; $5 million versus $164 million in keeping your children
safe, safe breathing, safe air quality for your children in protecting that
infrastructure. The facts speak for themselves.
Health care facilities, let's have a look at health care facilities. Mr.
Speaker, there is a reason this book was red, and it was not just because it was
printed by the Liberals. Mr. Speaker, health care facilities. In 2002-2003,
there was $34 million spent on health care facilities. Well, guess what it is
today? Guess what it is today $125,963,000 spent on health care facilities.
Now I will ask the Minister of Health, would he want to return to spending $34
million versus the $125 million we are spending today on health care facilities?
Absolutely not!
MR. KENNEDY: No way.
MR. T. OSBORNE: Absolutely not! That is the reason the hospitals were
falling apart, Mr. Speaker. That is the reason out in Corner Brook - the
Minister of Finance and the Premier are replacing the hospital in Corner Brook
and making arrangements for that, because that hospital is falling apart, the
one that is out there today. Would you want to keep that hospital, I ask the
Minister of Finance?
MR. MARSHALL: No way.
MR. T. OSBORNE: No way. No way is the answer. Do you know why? Because it
is falling apart. They should have spent the money on it; they did not spend the
money on it. We are putting the money into health care facilities.
Let's have a look at municipal infrastructure, $65 million was invested in
municipal infrastructure under Liberal rule in 2002-2003; $65 million. What is
it today? It is $275 million put into municipal infrastructure. That is the
difference, I say. I will ask the Minister of Finance, would you want to return
to that? Having municipalities, mayors, councillors banging on your door begging
for money because they cannot afford to keep their streetlights on? There is
still some of that today, there is no doubt; there is still some of that today.
I will say to the Member for Port de Grave, there is not nearly as much today as
there was back in those days.
If you look at municipal infrastructure programs, it is now 70-30 cost-shared
for the majority of municipalities. What was it in 2002? Fifty-fifty. So
municipalities and it is 90-10 in rural communities. In rural communities it
was 50-50 in 2002-2003. So councils in rural communities in St. John's it is
now 70-30, I am proud to say as the Member for St. John's South; 70-30 versus
50-50 dollars back in 2002-2003, and in rural Newfoundland, Mr. Speaker, it is
now 90-10. Every dollar that a municipality in rural Newfoundland now spends on
municipal infrastructure the provincial government gives them 90 per cent of
that, versus 50 per cent back in 2002-2003.
Now, are all of the municipal infrastructure problems solved? Absolutely not,
but I will tell you what, Mr. Speaker, most of the municipalities in this
Province now have the financial means to carry out the infrastructure on an
annual basis that they wish to do, because they have 90 per cent of the money
coming from the provincial government versus only 50 per cent in 2002-2003. That
is a big difference.
Let's look at resource development, because we are talking about expenditures
here. This is a true investment, Mr. Speaker, because when we spend money on
resource development our children and our grandchildren are going to get it
back. I am going to talk a little bit now on what we are doing for our children
and grandchildren in just a moment.
When we are talking about resource development, Mr. Speaker, we are talking
about an investment that is going to pay back huge dividends down the road. It
is going to keep oil revenues coming; it is going to keep nickel revenues
coming. We are talking about an investment; 3.7 per cent of the provincial
Budget in 2002-2003 was spent on resource development. That is up to 19.2 per
cent today. Do you know why it is up to 19.2 per cent? Because we recognize that
when you invest money in resource development, you are going to get it back down
the road. You will get it back in ten or fifteen year's time probably tenfold.
In 2002-2003 there was $8 million spent on resource development, today it is
$234.7 million. That is what we are investing to protect.
MR. KENT: That is incredible!
MR. T. OSBORNE: That is incredible, I say to the Member for Mount Pearl
North. That is incredible. It is incredible because that is a pure investment in
the future and future generations for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, let's look at the social sector for just a moment. In 2003, 68.9
per cent of funds were put into the social sector. That is up now to over 72 per
cent, Mr. Speaker, because we are putting the money where it is needed the most.
Our Poverty Reduction Strategy in this Province, which is being hailed across
the country, Mr. Speaker, is working. We are seeing reduced numbers of people on
social benefits, we are seeing more people employed; we are seeing people move
from poverty. Our goal is to be the Province we were in 2002-2003. This is
another statistic to keep in mind. In 2002-2003 we were the Province with the
highest level of poverty in the country. That is not the case any more. In fact,
our goal is to be the Province with the lowest level of poverty in the country,
and we are well on our way.
Mr. Speaker, let's have a look now at where this is a
summary of budgetary
financing sources. In 2002-2003, 40 per cent of this Province's money came from
the federal government. Today, it is 25 per cent. We are moving away from
federal reliance. We are moving away from the demand on the federal government
and our reliance on the federal government to be self-sustaining. We are moving
away, Mr. Speaker, from having to rely on the federal government to be able to
operate in this Province. We are finding ways to become self-reliant and it is
working.
Mr. Speaker, let's have a look at some other statistics. One of those
statistics, in 2002-2003, the provincial debt in this Province was $12 billion.
We have reduced that to about $9 billion. So in addition to putting additional
revenues where they are needed, into poverty reduction, into health care, into
education, into health facilities and educational facilities, into municipal
infrastructure, we are also paying off the debt. We are paying off the debt. Do
you know what it means? I will say to the Member for St. Barbe: You know what it
means. I know what it means. We all know what it means. To have a $9 billion
debt, Mr. Speaker, means we are financing our children's future.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER (Kelly): I remind the hon. member that his speaking time has
expired.
MR. T. OSBORNE: By leave, Mr. Speaker, a few comments to clue up?
MR. SPEAKER: By leave?
MR. BUTLER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. member, by leave.
MR. T. OSBORNE: I thank the Member for Port de Grave for the time.
Mr. Speaker, $12 billion, that was an average debt for every man, woman and
child in this Province of $23,000. That is mortgaging your children's and your
grandchildren's and maybe even your great grandchildren's future. That is what
that means. Today, it is less than $18,000 per person, down from $23,000 back in
2002-2003. Our forecast, Mr. Speaker, is that we are going to have that drop to
$16,600 per person by the end of the fiscal year this year. That is what that
means.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: We are helping not only to pay off infrastructure
deficits, Mr. Speaker, but we are trying to pay off the debt that your children
and your grandchildren own. That is what that means, Mr. Speaker. We have moved
away from mortgaging our children's future and our grandchildren's future to
paying it off. That is what that means. That is the answer when people come
banging on your door in 2011, that is where this Province is headed. Do you want
to change that? Do you want to change that I ask the Member for Bay of Islands?
Would you want to go back to that, mortgaging your children's future? Would you
want to go back to that?
MR. LODER: Definitely not!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Absolutely not!
Mr. Speaker, let's have a look at migration. Let's have a look at the
migration numbers. In 2002-2003, there were 1,683 people more left this Province
than came into the Province. That is a staggering number. That is a staggering
number. What was it last year? Mr. Speaker, 2,332 more people came into the
Province from interprovincial migration than left. So, not only have we turned
it around from 1,683 left more than came in but we have 2,332 people more coming
in from other provinces to live here
No, Mr. Speaker, they are not going to Fort McMurray any more and packing up
their U-Haul trucks and packing up their children's clothes in suitcases to go
there to try to eke out a living. No doubt, some are still doing it, but there
is more people coming from Fort McMurray today to live here than there are
coming from here to live there, and that is the difference. That is the
difference, Mr. Speaker, and it is a huge difference. It is a difference of over
4,000 people when you add up the numbers.
Mr. Speaker, let's look at Income Support because that is a key determinant.
In 2002, we had 28,454 families, not individuals, families relying on Income
Support. That was a total of 50,783 people on Income Support. Well guess what?
In 2004, it went from 50,700 to 49,278. In 2005, it went down again because our
Poverty Reduction Strategy is working. It went down from 49,000 to 47,000 people
on Income Support. In 2006, it went down again why? It is because our Poverty
Reduction Strategy is working. It went down from 47,000 down to 44,000 people on
Income Support. In 2007, it went down again - absolutely. I will ask the
Minister for Human Resources, Labour and Employment: Would you want to go back
to Liberal rule and having 50,000 people on Income Support? Would you want to do
that?
MS SULLIVAN: Absolutely not!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Absolutely not, Mr. Speaker, because we are headed in the
right direction.
In 2008, we went down from 41,000 people on Income Support down to 39,000
people. Why? It is because the Poverty Reduction Strategy is working.
Have we solved all of the problems? No, not yet, but we are headed in the
right direction, Mr. Speaker. Would you want to go back to having 50,000 people
on social benefits? Absolutely not
MR. KENT: Never!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Never! You are correct I say to the Member for Mount
Pearl North, never, because we are headed in the right direction. Do we have the
lowest level of poverty in Canada now? Not yet, but we are headed in the right
direction.
In 2009, where did the numbers go? Down again. Why? It is because our Poverty
Reduction Strategy is working.
I say to the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, it is going
to go down again this year.
MS SULLIVAN: It absolutely will.
MR. T. OSBORNE: Absolutely.
The Poverty Reduction Strategy, it is working. That is the reason the other
provinces are coming here to ask our advice, the advice of this government on
how we solve poverty across the country. Have we solved all of the poverty in
Newfoundland and Labrador? No.
MR. CORNECT: We are on the right track.
MR. T. OSBORNE: We are on the right track. We are on the right track, I
say - you are correct, I say to the Member for Port aux Port, we are on the
right track.
Let's have a look at the labour force characteristics for Newfoundland and
Labrador, Mr. Speaker. In 2002, there were 248,500 people in the labour force.
What is that number today? Now, keep in mind there were 248,000 in the labour
force. Today, it is 254,000, Mr. Speaker. Why is that? The reason that is, is
because we are doing the right things. We are doing the right things in this
Province. We are creating employment and that is despite an economic downturn in
the economy. That is despite a world recession. This Province, Mr. Speaker, has
weathered the storm fairly well. Yes, we have had the closure of two pulp and
paper mills, but the numbers, there are more people now in the workforce in
Newfoundland and Labrador than there were under the previous government despite
the economic downturn.
Mr. Speaker, let's have a look at the number of people full-time employed. In
2002-2003, it was 174,300 people. Today, it is 184,300 people. That is 10,000
people more employed full-time; not part-time, not seasonal, full time,
full-time employees. Over 10,000 more people employed today than there was in
2002-2003. That is significant, I say.
I ask the Member for Terra Nova, would you want to return to that? Would you
want to have 10,000 less people working in the Province today than there are?
MR. S. COLLINS: Absolutely not!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Absolutely not! Absolutely not, Mr. Speaker. The numbers,
they speak for themselves.
Let's have a look, Mr. Speaker, at the provincial and territorial general
government revenues. The total revenue in this Province, Mr. Speaker, in 2002
was $4,000,078,000. Today, Mr. Speaker, because of the leadership of our
Premier, the leadership of our Cabinet and our caucus, today, Mr. Speaker, no,
it is not $4,000,078,000, it is $7,000,545,000. That is incredible!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: That is an incredible number, Mr. Speaker, and it is
because we are doing everything we can to stimulate the economy here, despite
the economic downturn worldwide, to stimulate our economy and to get people
working. To increase exports, to increase housing starts. We have seen
tremendous increases, Mr. Speaker, in housing starts in this Province over the
last number of years, and why? Because people are moving back to Newfoundland
and Labrador to live. It is the best place in the country to live, it is the
best place in the world to live, and people now have opportunity to move back
and to be where they want to be.
Mr. Speaker, we have seen surplus after surplus in this Province under our
government. Now that is not going to be the case this year, I understand that. I
understand that. Because of the economic downturn worldwide, we understand. We
are going to have a deficit this year, but, Mr. Speaker, we are doing everything
we can to keep that as low as we can because we do not want to mortgage our
children's and our grandchildren's future.
Mr. Speaker, let's have a look at some of the other numbers. Let's have a
look at some of the other numbers, Mr. Speaker. Tourism, in 2002 and we are
talking about an investment now. We are talking about something that pays
dividends. We are talking about something that helps the mom and pop operations,
the bed and breakfasts, the restaurants, the tour operators in the Province. We
are talking about something that creates economic stimulus. We are talking about
something that helps the economy. We have seen tourism numbers increase in this
Province year over year, Mr. Speaker, since we have come to government, and
there is a reason for that. It is not just because all of a sudden the people of
Ontario have discovered that Newfoundland is a great place to visit. Now that is
true and they have discovered it, but there is a reason they have discovered it,
Mr. Speaker. There is a reason we are getting more tourists from the United
States. There is a reason we are getting more tourists from Europe.
I will tell you what the reason is; in 2002 we invested $31 million in
tourism. In 2010, it is $63 million; more than double. I will ask the Minister
of Tourism, would you want to have your budget cut in half?
MR. FRENCH: No, sir!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Absolutely not! There is a reason there are more tourists
here, there is a reason the bed and breakfasts are doing better, there is a
reason the tour operators are doing better, there is a reason there are more
tourists in Newfoundland and Labrador this year than there was in 2002-2003.
That is because we have increased the budget for tourism from $31 million to $63
million.
Mr. Speaker, let's look at the safety of our communities. Let's look at the
RNC, for example. With economic improvement, with the oil industry, with more
and more people coming into this Province to live, especially people from around
the world and when you look at the oil industry - there is no doubt it creates a
huge benefit to the economy, it creates a huge benefit socially - there are also
challenges that come with that. We have seen it in Fort McMurray. We have all
seen the programs on television where they talk about drug and substance abuse
in Fort McMurray. There is no doubt that there have been some increases in
substance abuse here, there have been some increases in armed robberies, people
doing what they can to try to get the money to feed that drug abuse habit, but,
Mr. Speaker, there is no way we will wipe it out completely. There is no way we
will eliminate that completely, but we are doing what we can to keep our
neighbourhood safer, to keep our community safer.
In 2002, Mr. Speaker, there was $20 million invested by our government into
the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. Do you know what it is this year?
Forty-five million dollars. I will ask the Minister of Justice - that is more
than doubled - would you want your budget cut in half?
MR. F. COLLINS: No.
MR. T. OSBORNE: No. Would you want to go back to Liberal rule? Would you
want to go back to seeing $20 million spent on the RNC? Absolutely not! We have
gone from $20 million in almost seven years - it is not quite seven yet, it is
six-and-a-half years. We have gone from a budget of $20 million in the RNC up to
$45 million being spent on the RNC. There is a reason there are more drug
seizures and arrests in recent months, and it is because we are putting the
resources into the RNC that they need.
Let's look at the RCMP, $39 million in 2002 invested into the RCMP. Well, Mr.
Speaker, this year we are spending $60 million in the RCMP. An incredible
increase, I say, Mr. Speaker. Now, would you want to go back to only having $39
million? Because those are the questions that every member of this Legislature,
that every person in Newfoundland and Labrador should be asking themselves when
people start banging on their doors a year from now, when people start pounding
the streets saying that we are the best people to represent you.
Well, let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, the facts and the figures, they speak for
themselves. The wise leadership of our Premier, the wise leadership of our
Cabinet and our caucus, Mr. Speaker, it speaks for themselves. Housing starts,
Mr. Speaker, have seen a huge increase in this Province.
Mr. Speaker, I could go on for days here. I know I am on leave. I could go on
for days. I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, if you look at the economic performance
in this Province, if you look at the economic performance in Newfoundland and
Labrador now, no doubt we were not completely sheltered from the recession,
the worldwide recession that hit, and as a result employment fell by 2.5 per
cent. I already spoke about employment, and even though it fell by 2.5 per cent,
our numbers of people employed there are 10,000 more people employed today
than there were in 2002-2003. So, Mr. Speaker, those facts speak for themselves.
Even though there has been an impact and employment fell, we are still
considerably ahead and we have weathered the storm of the global recession.
Mr. Speaker, I will tell you something else, we are going to continue to
weather the storm. We have come out of this we have fared better than any
other province in Canada when it comes to the economy. We have done better than
any other province in Canada. Why, because we are lucky? Well, maybe a little
bit; maybe that is part of it. Maybe that is part of it, but you know the answer
and I know the answer. The Minister of Labrador knows the answer and the
Minister of Justice, he knows the answer.
MR. BUTLER: (Inaudible).
MR. T. OSBORNE: Now, the Member for Port de Grave, he just said he does
not know the answer, but I will tell you something, the Member for St. John's
North he knows the answer. The Member for Mount Pearl North, he knows the
answer. Yes, we have been a little bit lucky. There is no doubt about it, we
have been a little bit lucky, but the reason we have come out better than any
other province in Canada is because of the things we have done over the past
six-and-a-half years, the wise management, the leadership of our Premier, the
decisions that our caucus and our Cabinet have made. Mr. Speaker, those are the
reasons that we have come out of this recession better than any other province
in Canada. Those are the reasons.
Would that have happened under the former government? Absolutely not!
Absolutely not because we saw what happened, we saw -
MR. YOUNG: (Inaudible).
MR. T. OSBORNE: You are absolutely correct, I say to the Member for St.
Barbe; we saw what happened under the former government. Out-migration continued
to increase year after year after year. Well, guess what? We have turned that
around. We have in-migration now and we are seeing that happen year after year
after year.
Mr. Speaker, the Province's domestic economy, we have done much better than
any other province in Canada. Labour income increased by 4.2 per cent which was
the second best performance among all provinces. Now, ten years ago, other
provinces in Canada looked at Newfoundland and Labrador as the Province that had
our hand out - we always had our hand out looking for contributions from the
feds. That is the way the rest of Canada looked at us. That is the way we were
seen by the rest of Canada. We were always seen as being on the lam, Mr.
Speaker, always with our hand out. That is not the way they see us any more. Not
only has our Premier instilled a sense of pride in Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians, not only do we have pride in ourselves, nut the rest of the
country is starting to see Newfoundland and Labrador in a different light. Do we
want to go back to the way things were? No, absolutely not!
Why do they see us in a different light? We are making the right decisions
because we are doing the right things, because we are stimulating our economy,
because we are creating employment. We are decreasing the demand on social
benefits. Our Poverty Reduction Strategy, as I say, has been hailed across the
country. Housing starts while down marginally from a nineteen-year high in 2008,
Mr. Speaker, turned out to be the second highest performance in the country.
Why? It is because housing starts are up over what they were seven years ago
considerably up. They were down a little bit because of the world recession, but
they are still considerably higher. If you ask anybody in the real estate
market, housing starts are up considerably over what they were a decade ago.
Is that all luck? Did it fall in our laps? Mr. Speaker, it is because of wise
decisions. It is because of good management. It is because we are doing the
things that need to be done to keep our Province on the economic course that it
needs to be on. We are doing the things to ensure that our children have a
better future than we have had, that our grandchildren have a better future than
our children had.
That is the reason the rest of Canada, Mr. Speaker, is seeing this Province
in a different light today than they did years ago. That is the reason there are
more people moving into Newfoundland and Labrador than moving out of
Newfoundland and Labrador. That is the reason there are 10,000 more people
employed today than there was in 2002-2003 - full-time employed.
Capital investment growth ranked the forth among all provinces in Canada with
Newfoundland and Labrador being one of only four provinces to record positive
investment growth last year. Mr. Speaker, for that to happen in a global
recession, to record positive investment growth in a global recession - we saw
what happened in the United States. They did not see positive investment or
positive growth. We saw what happened in Ontario. No, Mr. Speaker, they did not
see positive investment growth either. We have seen what happened in the United
Kingdom where they did not see positive investment growth, but we did in
Newfoundland and Labrador. We did in Newfoundland and Labrador, and there is a
reason for that. It is because we are doing the right things, and the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador know it as well.
I am going to talk about another statistic when I am finished talking about
these statistics because the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, yes, they know
what this government has done. They know the leadership and the management of
this government compared to previous governments.
Mr. Speaker, although the export sector suffered from the fallout of the
global recession, consumer confidence in Newfoundland and Labrador remained
strong consumer confidence in Newfoundland and Labrador remained very strong,
Mr. Speaker. Retail sales grew. Despite the fact that they fell in most other
jurisdictions, they grew in Newfoundland and Labrador by 2.6 per cent - the
strongest performance in all of the country, the strongest performance in Canada
- one of only two provinces that actually recorded retail sales growth. Like I
say, there is a reason for that. There is a reason, Mr. Speaker.
On this side of the House, we know what that reason is because we sit around
the caucus table and we make the decisions that have led to these statistics. We
have strategically made the right decisions, and the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador are happy with the decisions we are making. That is the reason consumer
confidence is up as well because they know they have a stable government, a
government that is making the right decisions.
Personal income grew by 3.9 per cent while disposable income increased by 4.7
per cent, and that was aided by tax cuts, I say. While many other jurisdictions
are scrambling to find the income that they need to continue providing the
services they provide, we have continued to cut income taxes in this Province.
We have continued to provide benefits to the people of the Province. No, unlike
other jurisdictions, I say to the Member for Bonavista North, we have not just
made the cuts in income taxes to the high income earners. The biggest cuts in
income taxes in this Province you know where they were. You know where they
were, I say to the Member for Bonavista North. You know where they were, I say
to the Member for Mount Pearl North. You know where they were. They were not to
the highest income earners yes, they benefited as well, but the middle income
earners benefited even greater than the high income earners, and the lower
income earners, the working poor in this Province, Mr. Speaker, received the
highest income tax breaks. We have made the biggest cuts in income tax to the
lower income tax earners. That is part of our Poverty Reduction Strategy because
we know that they need a greater level of disposable income - we know that.
Mr. Speaker, net in-migration, as I have already said, increased the
Province's population. The Province's population was estimated to be 508,925,
and that is an increase of 0.5 per cent, or 2,484 people. This was the largest
percentage increase in the Province's population since 1983 since 1983, Mr.
Speaker. That is significant. When you think about it, since the collapse of the
ground fishery in 1983, this is the largest increase in any year in
in-migration. We are seeing a pattern of in-migration now, Mr. Speaker. It is
not just a fluke. It is not just something that happened one year. We are seeing
a pattern of in-migration in this Province and there is a reason for that. There
is a reason for that. There is a reason.
Mr. Speaker, despite the recession
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition is withdrawing leave.
MR. T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I will have another opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to get up and talk about all of
the good things that this government is doing, Mr. Speaker. I could go on for
hours more; there is a lot here. There are volumes of this.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the hon. the Minister of Government
Services and the Minister Responsible for the Government Purchasing Agency.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, it is hard to get up here this afternoon and
follow that act in regard to the knowledge that he talked about in this hon.
House today in regard to the Member for St. John's South. He went over it and
over it. As a matter of fact, he nearly went through the whole Budget. Yes, and
I agree with him, I agree with him fully in regard to investing in our children
and our children's future in regard to where we found this Province back in
2003-2004.
Let's reflect on that just a little bit. We were approximately $12 billion in
debt - $11.8 billion, I believe, in debt at that particular time. Yes, we have
reduced that debt by $3.7 billion over the last few years and I mean only the
last few years, not over the life from 2003-2004 up to today's date. That
actually was reduced over the last three or four years only. That is what tells
me in regard to the path that we are on.
The thing that I wanted to say in regard to finding where we were in 2003 as
compared to where we are today is all about leadership, Mr. Speaker. It is all
about leadership. It is all about taking this Province and having the backbone
to stand up to other jurisdictions, up to the federal government, and the oil
companies, or whatever had to happen, we had the backbone. We had a Premier that
took the lead and the leadership in order to put this Province back on the right
track to prosperity and also a future for our children's children. That is what
it is all about.
Mr. Speaker, we have gone through a number of Budgets over the last number of
years. As a matter of fact, I think this is the seventh Budget that has been
brought down by the Williams government. Each and every one of them has been
hard Budgets. I can only speak for the Budgets that I have been involved in but
I tell you, this Budget of 2010 was probably the hardest one in regard to making
the right decisions for Newfoundland and Labrador. As the hon. Member for St.
John's South referenced in regard to his speaking here in the House of Assembly,
yes, we are projecting a deficit of $194.3 million in this current year.
Why did we make that decision in regard to projecting a deficit, and nine
chances out of ten running that deficit, unless some things changed in regard to
this current year, in regard to the oil prices or whatever may happen in the
future? I do not see that happening because we are only emerging from the
economic downturn and the situation that we find ourselves in with regard to the
global recession, not only here in Canada but particularly in the United States
and particularly Europe. So we are going to probably be around that area of
$194.3 million. The reason why we did that is because we had no other choice. We
also have to reflect that there are nine other provinces and territories that
brought down budgets for 2010 - as well, the federal government brought down a
budget for 2010 - each and every one of them was in a projected deficit
position, each and every one of them.
The key thing was that we had a better position than any of them. We fared
far better in regard to those projected budgets than any other province in
Canada and also if we reflect on to the federal government. That showed good
fiscal management over the last four or five years in regard to how we governed
this Province; how we invested strategically in various infrastructure projects;
how we invested into our programs; how we invested in education; how we invested
in health.
That is what we did; we sat back and carefully spent our money wisely, which
you try to do in your household each and every day. Each and every day that you
get up in the morning in regard to what you are doing in your household, you
have to make sure that you are spending your money in the right way. You have to
make the right decisions; you just cannot spend and spend and spend. You just
cannot do it because it came back. We have seen that in past governments.
As the hon. Member for St. John's South referenced, and referenced many
times, do you want to go back into Liberal rule? No, we would not, absolutely
not. I do not think we are going to go back there any time soon regardless of a
change in leadership, regardless in changes on the other side of the House,
whatever they may do.
They are having their AGM in Gander. I do not know where they are having it
because it certainly will not fill the Gander Hotel for sure. Maybe they are
having it in a phone booth, as I just heard my hon. colleague reference, that
they will have it in a phone booth. Because I do not think there is anybody too
interested when you have the most popular Premier in Canada, the most popular
Premier probably of all time, really when history shows in the future in regard
to where he has taken this Province in 2003-2004 to where we find ourselves
today, which is in a very short period of time, reducing the debt by $3.7
billion, making these investments in regard to the strategies.
I have heard this too, as well, in this House of Assembly; I have heard the
members in the Opposition reference it is all about strategy. Absolutely! As a
matter of fact, this Premier demands a strategy. Before he goes forward he wants
to see a strategy that stretches out where you are today and where you want to
find yourself eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, fifteen years down the road in
regard to the issue and the strategy that they are developing. That is called
planning. That is called planning for the future. That is exactly what it is.
That is exactly what we have to do. We have to plan, and plan, and plan, and
plan.
When we run out and we are getting nearer to the end of that strategic plan,
whatever it may be, then we start planning again and move forward. That is the
reason why I do not see the Liberals or any other party take government any time
soon. Not that we are going to take the voters in this Province for granted. We
are not going to take them for granted because this is their Province, this is
our Province. They gave us the right to govern and we are going to earn that
each and every day in this House of Assembly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: That is what we strive for. I see each and every one of my
colleagues on this side of the House, and the colleagues that sit on the other
side of the House show each and every day that they get the opportunity to get
up in this House of Assembly, be it on legislation, be it on the budget, be it
on whatever it may be, a private member's bill, they show each and every day how
involved they are in regard to this government and for their district. They show
it each and every day. They show it by the knowledge that they have in regard to
they might not be in Cabinet, as I am in Cabinet. So, really I am in tune to
it each and every day.
I see my colleagues, the backbenchers as they are referred to, which I do not
refer to them as backbenchers because they are a part of this government. They
actually interact with me as a minister on any given day, giving me ideas they
are putting forward in regard to my department that I have the honour to be the
minister of this particular day. Well, God knows what it will be tomorrow, but