March

21, 2012 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol.

XLVII No. 11

The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: Today we have members' statements from the Member for the

District of Exploits; the Member for the District of Bay of Islands; the Member

for the District of Mount Pearl North; the Member for the District of St. John's

North; the Member for the District of Mount Pearl South; and the Member for the

District of Port de Grave.

The hon. the Member for the District of Exploits.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FORSEY: Mr. Speaker, for the second year in a row, Botwood

Collegiate's senior robotics team captured first place at the Provincial Skills

Canada competition held at the College of the North Atlantic in St. John's. In

May of 2011, the team travelled to Quebec City and posted a fifth place finish.

Mr. Speaker, team coaches Mr. Brian Antle and Mr. Brian Ball were

instrumental in the team's success and have been recognized for their efforts.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Ball was offered and accepted a position with the Provincial

Technical Committee, and Mr. Antle accepted a position as the National Technical

Committee Member for Robotics representing the Atlantic Provinces. This position

also means that he is chair of the Provincial Technical Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating Mr.

Brian Ball and Mr. Brian Antle for their contributions and accomplishments in

the Robotics Skills competitions.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the

many volunteers of the Meadows thirty-forth annual Winter Carnival which was

held from March 5 to 11.

This week long event offered many activities for the residents of the town

including a kitchen party, card games and bingo, dart tournament, community

breakfast, a hockey skills competition and many other events. I had the

opportunity to take in some of these events and enjoy the hospitality of the

residents. The carnival was a tremendous success and all the monies raised were

shared between the Meadows Volunteer Fire Department, Holy Trinity ACW group,

and the recreation committee.

Mr. Speaker, in the past few weeks, I also had the opportunity to attend

carnivals in the Town of Cox's Cove, Summerside, Humber Arm South, and Lark

Harbour, York Harbour. Again, each carnival was a tremendous success and each

event was well attended and offered activities for all ages. The volunteers who

came together in these towns to organize these carnivals are to be commended for

their dedication and service. They give freely of their time, doing their part

to make a difference in the towns.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of the House to join me in recognizing these

volunteers and indeed all the volunteers throughout Newfoundland and Labrador

for their tremendous contribution to their communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate the Mount Pearl Sport

Alliance for honouring those who are involved in sporting in Mount Pearl. I

congratulate all those who were inducted into the Mount Pearl Sports Hall of

Fame at a ceremony that was held in January of this year.

Mount Pearl has always been a leader in promoting sports, health and fitness.

The Mount Pearl Sport Alliance maintains a strong working relationship with all

sporting organizations and helps to support and co-ordinate events and

activities that promote positive involvement. The Mount Pearl Sports Hall of

Fame is a great example of this support.

I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Pat O'Keefe Jr., the

family of Nellie Devereaux, the family of Janet Maher, Don Kelly as well as Gary

Martin as this year's inductees. Their dedication to sports and athletics in

Mount Pearl is evident by this honour.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in congratulating all

inductees of the Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame as well as the Mount Pearl

Sport Alliance for their continued commitment to sport and athletics in Mount

Pearl.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Further members' statements?

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

MR. KIRBY: Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the long and happy marriage

of Norman and Phoebe Clarke, who live on Nascopie Crescent in my District of St.

John's North.

Norman and Phoebe have been married for sixty years, celebrating their

anniversary on February 25. They started their life together in the beautiful

town of Dunfield, Trinity Bay, and raised one son, John, a retired Department of

Education employee. Both Phoebe and Norman are also retired public servants.

Norman was a carpenter by trade, and finished his career with the provincial

government. Phoebe was in the public service for thirty years, retiring

eventually from the Department of Finance.

While they have lived in St. John's since 1965, they spent thirteen summers

back in Dunfield after retirement operating a popular bed and breakfast. They

have been doing plenty of celebrating in the last month, Phoebe turned eighty on

March 11, and Norman was eighty-six on March 15.

Mr. Speaker, Phoebe has told us that she watches the House of Assembly

proceedings in the afternoon when she does her knitting, so I ask all hon.

members to join me in enthusiastically celebrating the sixtieth wedding

anniversary of Norman and Phoebe Clarke.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE: Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise in this hon.

House to recognize the accomplishments of four individuals who have given their

time and talents to the sport of soccer in the City of Mount Pearl. Three of

these individuals: Roger Ruttgaizer, Tom McGrath, and Bob Hillier have been

inducted into the Mount Pearl Soccer Hall of Fame in the category of Builder,

and the other, Raeleen (Dunne) Baggs, in the category of Player. Raeleen also

has the distinction of being the first female to be inducted into the hall.

Soccer, like many other sports, provides tremendous benefits to our youth,

not only from a health and wellness perspective, but also in providing lifelong

lessons such as the value of hard work and commitment and of working as part of

a team.

I would therefore ask all members of this hon. House to join me in commending

these individuals for their contribution to this great sport and congratulating

them on being inducted into the Mount Pearl Soccer Hall of Fame.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.

MR. LITTLEJOHN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today, I rise in this hon. House to recognize the Town of Bay Roberts for

sixty years as an incorporated municipality.

Mr. Speaker, at the Annual Christmas and Volunteer Dinner, the town

celebrated sixty years of continued growth and development. The town, now the

largest community in Conception Bay North, took the time to honour and recognize

one of its founding fathers, Mr. Eric Dawe, a former mayor, councillor, and an

hon. Member of the House of Assembly. Now ninety years old, Mr. Dawe spoke to

the gathering of those humble beginnings and how by referendum the people of the

area chose to incorporate as a town. Initially there were only two taxes, Mr.

Speaker, a vehicle tax and a resident tax, with a total budget of $50,000.

As well, that evening the town recognized its longest-serving mayor, Mr.

Wilbur Sparkes, who served in that capacity for twenty-four consecutive years.

Mr. Sparkes, prior to his election as mayor, served six years on the Community

Council of Bay Roberts East and was instrumental in amalgamating Bay Roberts

East with the Town of Bay Roberts.

I ask that all members of this House join me in congratulating these two

gentlemen for their service and foresight in the building of their community.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in Newfoundland and Labrador, women-led businesses are standing

tall. They are at the forefront of any number of industries and driving business

activity in all regions of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As exciting as this progress has been, we as a government firmly believe that

the opportunities on the horizon for women-led businesses are even greater.

With supplier development opportunities attached to large industrial

projects, as well as increasing access to supply chains of larger corporations

and public sector organizations with supplier diversity policies, the prospects

for business success are growing larger.

To help support women entrepreneurs, the provincial government, through the

Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development, has formed a valuable

and outcome-focused partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador Organization

of Women Entrepreneurs.

In recent years, we have jointly led export development initiatives and

hosted supplier development workshops. Together, we are also implementing

Business Connections, which is a program designed to assist women business

owners expand their operations. The program provides entrepreneurs with greater

access to growth industries in this Province, and supplier diversity and export

opportunities in international markets. Our shared goal is to create an

environment where women-led business can excel and certainly flourish.

This partnership achieves that goal. It provides women entrepreneurs and

business professionals with insights into how they can best identify target

audiences and new export markets, as well as build entrepreneurial skills and

market capabilities.

The response among women-led business to Business Connections has been

extremely positive. Recent events throughout Newfoundland and Labrador have

attracted more than seventy women who have left with valuable information and

are taking steps to expand their business interests. Many of these entrepreneurs

will go on to complete the entire training program.

Mr. Speaker, the collective sum of this activity is that women entrepreneurs

will continue to grow and prosper and further contribute to the economic

vibrancy of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement.

Mr. Speaker, it is encouraging to see that the government is encouraging

women entrepreneurs in the Province. I think it is a very good thing to be

encouraging women entrepreneurs or any entrepreneurs in the Province.

The shortcoming that I have, the issues that I have with encouraging women

entrepreneurs or any entrepreneurs in the Province is that this government has

done far too little for small business in this Province. If we do not have a

proper small business climate, how does that encourage any entrepreneurs,

whether they are women entrepreneurs or other entrepreneurs? We have a staffing

crisis, so that if anybody wants to establish a small business, they will find

it almost impossible to find staff to work. We have issues in the apprenticeship

program, so that newcomers to the workforce women or otherwise are unable to

get into the workforce. We have major issues in Workers' Compensation; we have

sky-high Workers' Compensation rates that all businesspeople would have to pay,

including women entrepreneurs. So, while I applaud the minister's initiatives in

supporting women entrepreneurs in the Province, I am not encouraged that the

government has not done more for small business in the Province.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE: I would like to thank the minister for an advance copy

of his statement.

Congratulations to the achievements of NLOWE and the work that they do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE: It is important to continue to foster these strong

relationships with community groups and non-profits; however, having shared

goals does not necessarily mean that women-led businesses will succeed. There

must be more. Government must provide strong support. I would like to see more

hard details on exactly what tangible measures government will provide to

achieve these goals. Simple partnership is not enough.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal

Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. McGRATH: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide an update on the status

of the Northern Strategic Plan for Labrador. This dynamic, multi-faceted,

cross-departmental strategy is considered a living document and has evolved with

the changing needs of Labradorians.

The Northern Strategic Plan for Labrador was launched in 2007. It

demonstrates government's focused commitment to improve the health and

well-being of all Labradorians through expanding infrastructure ,

improving the delivery of programs and services, and encouraging economic

prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, at its inception, the Northern Strategic Plan had an initial

investment of $250 million with 145 commitments; however, our government

continued to build on the plan and as a result, since 2007, approximately $630

million has been invested in Labrador to support 235 commitments.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. McGRATH: There have been several major accomplishments since the

Northern Strategic Plan's inception. The most notable would include a new

hospital and a new College of the North Atlantic campus in Labrador West Coast

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. McGRATH: the opening of Phase III of the Trans-Labrador Highway,

new schools in Port Hope Simpson and L'Anse au Loup, a francophone school in

Happy Valley-Goose Bay, a year-round ferry service between Labrador and the

Island across the Strait of Belle Isle and electricity subsidies for Coastal

Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. McGRATH: Mr. Speaker, government has made Labrador's needs and

opportunities a provincial priority and by the end of this current fiscal year,

we will have spent more than $3 billion overall in Labrador since our first

Budget in 2004.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. McGRATH: The Northern Strategic Plan has been a huge success with

unprecedented spending in Labrador. We will continue to engage the people of

Labrador in meaningful discussions on this plan, Labrador's plan, to strengthen

the social and economic future of all Labradorians.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. First of all, I

would like to say what a difference a day makes because a year ago, Mr. Speaker,

the member opposite would have been sitting back mocking the Labrador Strategic

Plan when his predecessor, Mr. Hickey, would have been standing up in the House

of Assembly giving the statement. Now today he stands up and reads it almost

verbatim of what was in Hansard a year ago, Mr. Speaker almost verbatim. What

a difference a day makes I say to the hon. member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS JONES: A different hat, a different day, I guess.

Mr. Speaker, let's talk about the Labrador Strategic Plan, because when you

talk about strategic plans you talk about developing industry, you talk about

having vision, you talk about the long-term focus and direction of where you

need to go in a region. That is what the Labrador Strategic Plan is lacking, I

say to my hon. colleague opposite.

You tell me where in the Labrador Strategic Plan it talks about bringing

Muskrat Falls power for industry in Labrador. You tell me what it does to

promote the fishing industry on the North and South Coast of Labrador. Go Google

the plan and see how many times you will find the word (inaudible)

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The member's time has expired.

MS JONES: By leave?

MR. SPEAKER: Does the member have leave?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: A few moments to clue up.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to the Premier for giving me the time today to clue up my remarks,

Mr. Speaker. I want to say that there are very serious issues around industry

development in Labrador that need to be addressed, especially in the areas of

transportation, mining development, and power availability. There are also

infrastructure needs. Today, Mr. Speaker, I have two community centres

MR. SPEAKER: I remind the member, she is on leave.

MS JONES: closed down in my district that need to be replaced. I have a

school, Mr. Speaker, that needs to be replaced. I say to the minister, if you

want to have a good plan for Labrador, start looking at all the needs and

incorporate them into it, and have a vision for where we are going in the

northern region.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I would like

to point out to the minister, Mr. Speaker, that since the Northern Strategic

Plan was announced in 2007, there has been an unforeseen expansion of the

industrial resource sector in Labrador. As of now, we almost have a hospital but

we do not know what is going to go in it. My question to the minister is, or

what I am saying to the minister, will it accommodate the needs of a much larger

industrial workforce that was there in 2007?

There is also a new college with no residence, while you have a housing

crisis across Labrador and especially in Labrador West where the new campus is,

Mr. Speaker. There is almost a Trans-Labrador Highway with no end in sight for

pavement, so it is not a highway until it is paved. I am surprised that the plan

did not foresee any of these issues, Mr. Speaker. I hope that in the future, the

wonderful, meaningful discussion

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: that the minister is talking about is going to lead to real

plans looking at Labrador in the future, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, today we have heard that there is a Cougar helicopter waiting offshore

on the Terra Nova rig to determine why an indicator light has gone off. In terms

of offshore safety, we have not seen any movement from both levels of government

on the implementation of Recommendation 29 of the Wells report for an

independent offshore safety regulator. We have asked repeatedly in the House,

but have failed to get any concrete answers.

So I ask the Premier: Why have we not made any progress on Recommendation 29,

which Justice Wells called his most important?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, offshore safety is extremely important to every person in

Newfoundland and Labrador. There is hardly a community or a family that have not

been affected by the terrible tragedy of the Ocean Ranger or by the Cougar

helicopter crash. My family, Mr. Speaker, earns their living offshore, as many

people do in this House, and all across this Province nothing more

importantly. If we could act independently and set up an independent regulator,

Mr. Speaker, we would move. We cannot; we are bound by the Atlantic Accord Act.

We support it. We are recommending it to the federal government, but they have

to concur, because legislation has to be passed in the Parliament of Canada to

allow it to happen.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In last year's Throne Speech, this government promised to bring forward

amendments to the Atlantic Accord to allow for the establishment of an

independent safety regulator.

So I ask the Premier: Did you forward any proposed amendments to the federal

government, and if so, what were they?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

No, Mr. Speaker, and the Leader of the Opposition ought to know that this is

not how this process works. Mr. Speaker, we are clearly on the record in

supporting an independent regulator. We are asking the federal government to

support the recommendation as well. Once they concur, Mr. Speaker, we will both

prepare the appropriate legislation us for our legislature here in

Newfoundland and Labrador, and they for the Parliament of Canada.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is common for a critical care nurse to be physically monitoring three to

four bedside patients, as well as using a wireless system to monitor several

patients a few floors up. The minister yesterday said that patients were

disconnected from the wireless network for just a few seconds, but we have been

told that on occasions, this connection has disappeared for up to thirty

minutes.

I ask the minister: Are you aware of this thirty-minute lapse, and if not,

does this change your opinion that this is just a Wi-Fi problem?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, what we know about this particular equipment is that this is

very, very safe patient monitoring equipment, and that would be our focus and

always will be our focus. There are 2,600 such monitors in use. You talked

yesterday about a clinical review and the fact that we had skipped the clinical

review. In fact, we did not skip the clinical review. This patient monitoring

system has been tested and it has been approved in Canada, in the United States,

and in Europe, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday the minister indicated that the problem with the patient monitors

was associated with the wireless network. Meanwhile, there are bedside monitors

that are not connected to a wireless network that are still causing problems.

I ask the minister: What is the problem with these bedside monitors?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, these particular monitors and I am just going

to repeat this, because they are not getting it on the other side these

monitors are exceptionally safe. The monitor is still working on the patient.

The part that is not working is the linkage with the Wi-Fi, and it is not

necessarily that it is not working; it is that there are glitches. We are

working through those glitches just as other areas have had to do, but the

benefits, Mr. Speaker, of these particular patient monitors are extraordinary.

They will allow cardiologists in St. John's to monitor patients right throughout

this Province. That is something we are looking forward to. That is something

that we will continue to implement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: I would like to remind the minister that we do know what is

going on; the bedside monitors are not dedicated to a Wi-Fi network. We do

understand exactly what is going on over there, and thirty minutes is not a

glitch. We understand that the staff at Eastern Health have been placed upon a

gag order, and not allowed to speak about the patient monitor issue. I ask the

minister: Why are they being prohibited from speaking out on this issue?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Mr. Speaker, there is no gag order put on anyone over at

Eastern Health in terms of speaking out. Not by my office, and I am certain not

by Eastern Health, is there any gag order, and I really take exception to that

statement, Mr. Speaker.

We talk about working in collaboration with our staff, Mr. Speaker, and that

is precisely what has happened. There were eighty-two people involved in the

clinical review of this particular system, Mr. Speaker, sixty of those were

nurses; 91 per cent of them agreed that this is clinically acceptable

monitoring.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, last month, government indicated an

independent review of the Safe and Caring Schools Policy will be completed this

spring.

I ask the minister: As the leader in education in our Province, can you

report on whether bullying incidents are declining and what do you think are the

shortcomings in this policy?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that questions are being

asked about bullying because if we are ever going to get to a point where we rid

ourselves in society of bullying it is that we have discussions on it. I heard

that this morning on the Open Lines there were talks of it. So the more we talk

about this, Mr. Speaker, the better it is.

In terms of the question being posed, an independent review is being

conducted. Mr. Speaker, we want to look at under our Safe and Caring Schools

Policy what things are working, what things are not working, and we look to

improve that. Mr. Speaker, if they want to take a look at the types of things

that have been carried out in education in terms of bullying, all they need to

do is - I can provide the member with a list of things, Mr. Speaker, from

investments in tuition vouchers for students that more and more of these

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, I have raised the need for government to

take action to improve the availability of cellphone service in rural areas

numerous times in this House. A Ski-doo accident this weekend near the Burgeo

highway again emphasizes the importance of this issue because the lack of

cellphone service was a factor in the rescue.

I ask the minister: When is government going to do something to address the

issue of cellphone service in rural areas of this Province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the hon. member for his question.

Mr. Speaker, this is a highly regulated federal industry. We, as a Province,

and most jurisdictions across the country, are working with partnerships with

the private service providers. We will continue to work with them. We have

invested as a Province since 2003, partnering with the private sector and with

the federal government. We have increased high-speed Internet to communities

across Newfoundland and Labrador by 312 per cent. We will continue to do that.

Recently, I had meetings with my federal counterparts from across the

country. It is an issue that Canada is dealing with, all provinces are dealing

with. We are committed to it. We committed to it in October in our Blue Book to

the people of the Province that we would continue to improve telecommunications.

We are committed to it and we will continue to work towards it, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo - La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, I would remind the minister that there is a

difference between broadband and cellphone service, which was the question I

asked.

Mr. Speaker, it is clear from recent media reports that the Harper government

in Ottawa is not planning any swift action to address issues related to

cellphone service in rural areas.

I again ask the minister: Given that their federal cousins are not doing

anything to address the lack of cellphone service in rural areas, can you tell

us what your plan is and when can we expect to see some results?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Mr. Speaker, I just want to correct the hon. member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Last week, the federal government did make some

announcements in regard to wireless spectrum and making it available like never

before to small service providers with less than 10 per cent of the market. It

also allowed foreign investment into these companies which we hope we do not

know, but certainly reaches of the country when that spectrum goes to auction.

It will be purchased. That will hopefully drive the service providers to access

that spectrum to go into more remote, rural areas to provide cellphone coverage.

With that, the federal government has indicated that with that purchase of

spectrum, the requirements that they would meet that area over five years, not

just hold the spectrum if they get it, but certainly to move forward with

cellphone coverage. It is a possibility. We are hopeful for it and we will

continue to advocate the federal government to play more of a leading role.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today we know there are people from our Province who are in Ottawa lobbying

to keep the sub-centre for search and rescue services in St. John's open.

We also know, Mr. Speaker, that there are mixed reports coming out of Ottawa

today. One says the search and rescue sub-centre in Quebec will stay open

indefinitely, and another one says any closure there will be postponed for at

least one year.

I ask the government today if they can clarify what the case is with regard

to Quebec. Why is it that Quebec is not closing, yet Newfoundland and Labrador

is still slated to close come April?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have been tasked by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to

lead our party and our government as Premier. I do not make

decisions federally, nor do I answer on behalf of the federal government, so I

respectfully ask you to redirect your question to the federal government as to

what their intentions are. That is what I do on a regular basis on behalf of

this government and on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr.

Speaker.

We have asked the question with regard to Quebec, we have been told that is

not the case. Mr. Speaker, we press this issue on a weekly basis through the

Prime Minister's Office, as well as every opportunity we get with federal MPs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would say nice try but it will not fly here, Premier. This is a very

serious issue on search and rescue in this Province. When the federal government

makes a decision to close down sub-centres for search and rescue in Newfoundland

and Labrador, and in Quebec, and then retracts on that decision to close Quebec,

there is a level of accountability to the people of the Province. You are the

Premier, we expect you to ask the questions, we expect you to lead the issue,

and we expect you to deliver the answers on behalf of the people of this

Province.

I ask the Premier today: What has been the feedback from the federal

government on why they are pushing ahead to close the sub-centre in St. John's

next month, but are prepared to leave open the one in Quebec?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the House Leader for the Opposition should leave her lectures

for the federal government and for her own Liberal MPs who are elected to

advocate on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: These are people who have a duty to represent us in

Ottawa. I do not hear any calls for accountability from the members opposite to

their partisan MPs in Ottawa. We certainly, on this side of the House, would

like to see more action from them, other than speaking to the converted in

Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has an obligation to the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador. They have a responsibility to the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker. This government holds their feet to the

fire. We do not have the means to make them always act the way we want, Mr.

Speaker, but we are always going to make sure they know how they ought to act.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the 2012 George River harvest season has officially closed, and

it has shown a drastic decrease in the population due to the numbers out of last

year's census.

My question is to the Minister of Environment and Conservation: Given the

dangerously low numbers, will the government initiate a new census of the George

River caribou herd within the next year?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!|

MR. FRENCH: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his

question. It gives us a chance as government to highlight some of the concerns

and some of the things that we have been doing when it comes to the George River

caribou herd.

It is of great concern to us as a government, Mr. Speaker, that is why last

year we brought in a number of measures for conservation reasons, and this year

we have expanded on those numbers, Mr. Speaker. We are very much aware that the

herd was at one time a herd of 800,000 or 900,000 animals, and before this year

it looked like around 55,000. We are also doing a $1.9 million study over three

years. We have collared a number of animals. We are going to continue to do a

number of censuses, Mr. Speaker, into the future to do what we can to preserve

the George River herd. I encourage the hon. member, Mr. Speaker, who is a leader

in that community, to do the same.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the government has been contacted by many organizations around

this Province in respect to formation of a co-management board, which is the

only way to address inter-jurisdictional harvesting by the Provinces of Quebec

and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Environment and Conservation:

When will this government begin leading in the formation of this co-management

board that is much needed?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: I just want to say to the hon. member, I believe he actually

attended some of the forums that we have had down there with the general public.

So, I am sure he is aware of the amount of consultation that we have been doing.

He talks about a board, Mr. Speaker. An advisory board is who we have been

meeting with for quite some time now, Mr. Speaker. We have met officials in

Quebec. We have met with the Quebec Innu. We have met with various Aboriginal

groups in Labrador. We have met with the Nunatsiavut Government, which I am sure

the hon. member is aware of. The Torngat Wildlife and Plants Co-Management

Board, Mr. Speaker, we are in regular contact with. NunatuKavut Community

Council, Mr. Speaker, we have met with. The Newfoundland and Labrador

Outfitters, we have met with. The Newfoundland hunting and fishing group, Mr.

Speaker, we have met with.

So, Mr. Speaker, we have covered all bases, and it is important that the

stakeholders get together and discuss our initiatives.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, the coyote population in this Province has

increased so much that people are finding them on their doorsteps. These animals

are becoming more urbanized and brazen, creating a concern. Many believe that

the twenty-five dollar bounty is not enough to effectively reduce coyotes.

I ask the Minister of Environment and Conservation: Will he increase the

bounty to help control the coyote problem?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: The next thing, we are going to have a Coyote Ugly in

Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, let me just say, the coyote population came here in the 1980s,

as we know in the mid-1980s. We believe it crossed on the ice floes, Mr.

Speaker. It is an animal that got here on its own, so it is a native

Newfoundland and Labrador animal. It is a wild animal; it is something like any

wild animal, Mr. Speaker. Just last year, I sat in my office here in

Confederation Building and watched a moose running around the tennis court at

Gonzaga High School in the middle of St. John's, Mr. Speaker. I would have taken

my chances on a coyote over that moose, but nevertheless.

Mr. Speaker, it is very, very important that is why, as part of our caribou

strategy right now, we have tagged fifty coyotes throughout the Province, in

excess of fifty. We collect the $25 bounty for these animals; I will finish on

the next question.

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this morning we became aware of an incident regarding a Cougar

S-92 helicopter as being grounded on the Terra Nova FPSO due to a malfunction.

C-NLOPB also reported that an engineer was being sent to the vessel to

investigate. Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Natural Resources if he can give

this House a more detailed update on what is happening.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can inform the Leader of the Third Party that as these incidents occur,

notification comes to my BlackBerry. It comes to the department where we become

aware of the situation and the seriousness. What I am told about this situation

it is not unusual that a light comes on; it is being checked right now.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of reiterating the Premier's comments on safety, I met

with one of the operators of Terra Nova today, and they went through their

safety record out there on the rig. The offshore industry takes great pride in

its emphasis upon safety, Mr. Speaker, and I can assure the Leader of the Third

Party that so does the C-NLOPB and the government of this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the minister for his update.

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Community

Services. We have heard in the news that parents of a thirteen-year-old boy

cannot get enough funding from the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug

Program to help them pay for their son's diabetes test strips and medications,

which cost $2,900 a year. Diabetes is a heavy financial burden on families who

do not qualify for aid because their incomes are just above the eligibility

cut-off.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Health and Community Services: Will her

government expand the insulin pump program to cover universally the cost of test

strips that must be used with insulin pumps?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to chronic diseases and there are a number of

chronic diseases that we face in Newfoundland and Labrador, and perhaps more so

than any other jurisdiction this government has been very committed. Through

our recent release of the chronic disease strategy, we have highlighted some

areas where we want to continue to pay attention; diabetes is one of those

areas.

In the question that you asked yesterday, I responded by saying that we

currently are, through the NLPDP, spending about $5.7 million annually to

provide test strips for about 16,000 beneficiaries in Newfoundland and Labrador.

For others who need special authorization, then there is a process that can be

followed. There is also a threshold and, Mr. Speaker, I will speak to that in

the next question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It seems it is not going to matter what my question is, she is going to

continue with what she was just saying. My question is dealing with the fact

that last year, the former Minister of Health and Community Services said

government would consider complete coverage of glucose test strips in the 2012

Budget.

I ask the minister, without any flowery language: Will she tell us whether or

not this government is going to completely cover glucose test strips and insulin

for diabetics who have no private insurance?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will try to keep down the flowery language, but I do not find this at all

flowery. It is a very disconcerting concern, or very disconcerting issue, when

we are talking about the health and the safety of people in Newfoundland and

Labrador. I do not try to dress that up in any way. I am telling what the facts

are, Mr. Speaker, of this particular issue.

The facts are that we are at this point in time doing what we can within the

purview of the sustainability of our own budget. To do what the hon. member

opposite wants, Mr. Speaker, would cost an additional $11 million $11 million,

when at the same time, they are talking to us about always being sustainable,

about looking to budgets, about making sure that we have budgets within which we

can work. This is something we take very, very seriously. There is a special

authorization process in place, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will get at some of those points another time, but I want to go back to

something else the minister mentioned a few minutes ago. The long-awaited

chronic disease strategy is only a policy framework for chronic disease

prevention and management. There are no actual commitments by government to do

anything to improve services so that we can do better in treating, managing, and

preventing diabetes across the Province.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Where is the real plan and how is government

actually really going to help people with diabetes?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If I could take a line from across the room today: what a difference a day or

a year makes. I do recall last year when we were told they did not want any more

strategies from us. They did not want any more plans from us. Now we are asked:

What is the plan? Where is the strategy?

There is a strategy in place. There is a framework document in place and it

is dealing with eight of our most serious chronic diseases. We have just

invested $500,000 in the first phase of that, Mr. Speaker. Now, if we are going

to do it, we are going to do it right, so we are going to work through it step

by step, ensuring that we can meet the needs of Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

Step one of that has to do with prevention and management, Mr. Speaker. When

we are talking about these chronic diseases, that has to be the first step. That

is where we have spent our first bit of money.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, the Newfoundland and Labrador tourism campaign

highlights not only our geographical splendour, but our tangible culture, and

invites tourists and our own people to see and experience our cultural events.

Many of these events are produced by under-funded volunteer organizations who

financially are just hanging on by a thread.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation: Because

of the delay of the Budget, when will these arts and culture organizations

receive notification of their funding?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, our government has a great appreciation for the

groups and organizations that contribute greatly to our tourism industry,

particularly in the area of recognition, promotion, and protection of our most

treasured heritage in this Province, both the tangible and intangible. We work

with these groups. We provide funding. They know we are going through a Budget

process. As soon as we are through that exercise, they will be notified of how

much we are able to support them this year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that they know how much funding

they will receive so they can plan, publicize, and staff their events.

Mr. Speaker, will this government guarantee that there will be no cuts to any

arts and culture funding in this upcoming Budget?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, we have a great working relationship with the

many, many volunteers in this Province who are dedicated to the protection and

preservation of our heritage.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, since 2006 and the development of our cultural

plan, we have invested $56 million into culture and heritage in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: We will continue to do so, Mr. Speaker, working with our

groups and continuing to ensure that they are able to achieve the objectives in

partnership with us in the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, we are all proud of our artists and our cultural

organizations and industries. At $400 million annually, they play a significant

role in the economy, particularly in rural areas.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS ROGERS: Present arts and culture funding programs cannot meet the

demand. The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council has among the lowest

per-capita funding in the country.

Mr. Speaker, I ask: When will there be a new cultural strategy released with

regular, predictable increases to meet the needs in this expanding sector in our

economy?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, the comments are quite interesting, because they

are asking us to spend more and more when everybody in the Province expects us

to be fiscally responsible. Within that framework, Mr. Speaker, and within our

Budget exercise, we will continue to respect and show our appreciation for the

heritage sectors in this Province, and we will continue to ensure that they are

viable and sustainable into the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question is for the Minister of Transportation and Works.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House it was stated that no bridges were left

uninspected for more than a year, while the Auditor General's annual report for

this year states there are some twenty-eight bridges in Labrador that have not

had inspections in more than two years, and one bridge with no inspections for

more than four years.

Can the minister please explain the discrepancy between what was said

yesterday in the House and what is being done to correct the problem of a lack

of bridge inspections in Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, when we took over government in 2003, there

was a terrible infrastructure deficit, including bridges and roads. Since that

time, we have put in place a regiment of inspections to ensure that our bridges

are inspected over a two-year period. Sometimes, we do find especially in

Labrador, where the season is so short that we do have to extend into the next

spring. Again, Mr. Speaker, we do due diligence to make sure that the safety of

these bridges is looked at, and that we are looking after the safety of people

throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This next question is also for the minister. Mr. Speaker, in Budget 2010, the

government announced a fleet replacement strategy for the replacement of the

Province's fleet of ferries.

Can the minister please give us an update as regards to how that strategy is

going to be affected, with regard to talking about the government's next round

of cutbacks and the restraints in the next two years that we are going to face.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: There is time for a very quick answer, Minister.

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, we are continuing on with our ferry

replacement strategy, a key strategy. We have two in the water, one in the works

in Marystown. We have the Winsor replacement under design. We have the

six ferries for the South Coast, one of which is for Labrador. They are in

design. We are moving along as expected, and, Mr. Speaker, that is as short as I

can make it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo - La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have a petition to the hon. House of Assembly in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled. The petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

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

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

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

medical, educational, and social reasons; and

WHEREAS there is no cellphone coverage on Route 480; and

WHEREAS residents and users of Route 480 require cellphone coverage to ensure

their safety and communication abilities; and

WHEREAS the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development recently

announced significant funding to improve broadband services in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador; and

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

Innovation, Business and Rural Development should also invest in cellular phone

coverage for rural Newfoundland and Labrador;

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

House of Assembly to support the users of Route 480 in their request to obtain

cellular phone coverage along Route 480.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

As many people in the House will know, this is my fifth or sixth time rising

now to present a petition for the two roadways in my district that do not have

cellphone coverage. This has been highlighted by the fact over the weekend we

had a very serious accident on the Burgeo highway, where we had two people,

actually from the St. John's area, who went out skidooing and had a very serious

accident. The problem was, when they got hurt they could not call anybody. They

had no cellphone coverage. They were just lucky to be near an area where they

found somebody with a satellite phone. Again, the problem with the satellite

phone is you can make a call out but you cannot make a call back. Thankfully,

this story has a happy ending. These people were airlifted out by Cormorant,

brought to the Health Sciences Centre here in St. John's, and they are doing

well now. Again, we are not always going to have a happy ending. Cellphone

coverage has to happen, it has to happen soon.

Now, I have a letter gone off to the minister. I certainly look forward to

his reply and perhaps even a meeting where we can sit down and maybe it can be

explained to me how the Province has no role to play here. It seems that we are

putting it off on private business or the federal government. I do not think

that is the case, I think the Province can be a leader in this and the Province

can take the lead and make sure that this happens on the roadways here. It

affects us every day, this is not a luxury. We cannot talk about how things were

in 2003, it is 2012. Cellphone service is a necessity, we need it now and I will

continue to rise in this House and present these petitions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, I rise today again to present a petition asking

for high-speed Internet:

WHEREAS with declining enrolment distance education by Internet is now an

accepted way to delivery educational services to students living in small

communities; and

WHEREAS students have little to no say in where they or their families

resident; and

WHEREAS many families do not have the ability to relocate so that their

children can access educational opportunities in larger centres; and

WHEREAS many small businesses rely on Internet to conduct business; and

WHEREAS high-speed Internet permits a business to be more competitive than

the slower dial-up service; and

WHEREAS no high-speed Internet service exists in the communities of

Bellburns, Portland Creek, St. Pauls or Sally's Cove; and

WHEREAS there are no plans to offer high-speed Internet to residents of these

communities;

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

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

with the private sector and offer high-speed Internet service to these

communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE: I present a petition for the removal of the Englee fish

plant, Mr. Speaker. Public safety and environment is a concern.

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

Parliament Assembled, this petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the provincial government has not acknowledged that they have a role

to play in the removal of the condemned Englee fish plant; and

WHEREAS the Town of Englee has exhausted all avenues over the past seven

years, lobbying government for the removal; and

WHEREAS inaction has resulted in economic loss for the town, delay of new

infrastructure and has become a concern of public safety as large debris has

fallen in a major shipping route;

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

immediately order full removal and environmental clean up of this condemned

property which is a former fish plant in order to restore public confidence in

the system, and to settle land issues to permit new wharf development, providing

residents of Englee with a mechanism to revitalize a presently devitalized

economy.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will every pray, sincerely the

undersigned.

Mr. Speaker, the minister and the government is well aware of this issue. It

has been something that has been presented quite a number of times. The Town of

Englee in 2004 lost its key employer. That was because of health and safety

concerns that the plant was closed, and there was a loophole in the system that

allowed the fish plant processor to close up shop and leave and not take on its

own obligations. Now it has been seven years later and counting, and we have a

dilapidated building that is collapsing, the roof is falling, there has been

shingles and things like that. There are lots of measures that need to be taken,

and I am looking for great action from government and I hope that the Minister

of Municipal Affairs is listening to this.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I present a petition on behalf of the undersigned. It is about family

caregiving. The petition reads:

WHEREAS home care allows the elderly and people with disabilities to remain

within the comfort and security of their own homes. Home care also allows people

to be discharged from hospital earlier; and

WHEREAS many families find it difficult to recruit and retain home care

workers for their loved ones; and

WHEREAS the PC Blue Book 2011, as well as the 2012 Speech from the Throne,

committed that government would develop a new model of home care and give people

the option of receiving that care from family members; and

WHEREAS government has given no time commitment for when government plans to

implement paying family caregivers;

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

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to implement a new home care model to

cover family caregivers in the 2012-3013 Budget.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure as I look across the House, and on this side also,

there are a lot of people we know who can use this new home care plan by the

government. This was a commitment that was made by the government in the Blue

Book, and I know the minister stood several times in the House and said it will

be done, but these people are asking that it be done as soon as possible because

it will keep a lot of people in their own homes, keep a lot of elderly people in

their own communities, and it is one proposal that we all can support.

I, personally, dealt with a lot of families who were looking for family

caregivers to help out in their own homes, especially in the smaller rural

Newfoundland and Labrador areas where they cannot get home care workers. The

problem becomes a bit worse because there is no one in the area who can actually

give the care that is needed for the person who needs it.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people here and it is just funny, Mr.

Speaker, one of the people is a senior citizen, Minnie Vallis, who has been a

long-time promoter for home care family caregivers in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador. She is an advocate for a lot of seniors and family

caregivers in Newfoundland and Labrador, especially in the Bay of Islands in the

whole area. I am sure Ms Vallis would be very pleased if the government brought

that in, in the 2012 Budget, as was committed in the Blue Book, because I am

sure there is a policy somewhere and there is a plan, and there is some kind of

policy that we can deliver upon and we can make them speed this up. I ask the

government, and I urge the government to bring it in as quickly as possible to

help the most vulnerable people in this Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to stand today to present a petition on behalf of people from my

district, as well as other regions of Labrador. I think Goose Bay and

Sheshatshiu people have signed this petition, as well as some people in my

colleague's District of Torngat Mountains. Anyway, Mr. Speaker, it is with

regard to search and rescue services. It says:

WHEREAS Labrador is a vast land mass with many isolated communities; and

WHEREAS unfortunately search and rescue assets were not adequately deployed

during the search for Burton Winters; and

WHEREAS it is clear that permanent search and rescue assets are required in

Labrador;

WHEREUPON your petitioners call upon all Members of the House of Assembly to

urge government to do a full investigation into the Burton Winters tragedy and

search and rescue in Labrador, and lobby the federal government to establish

permanent search and rescue capability at 5 Wing Goose Bay.

Mr. Speaker, search and rescue has become a huge issue in Newfoundland and

Labrador, not just for the people of Labrador who have been very significantly

and personally touched by the tragedy of Burton Winters but certainly by many

people throughout Newfoundland and Labrador who have had to make that call, that

call of desperation to search and rescue at one point in their lives, or someone

they love have had to do it. They know how important that response mechanism was

to bringing home their loved one and bring them home safely.

So, Mr. Speaker, they are petitioning the House of Assembly today to improve

the search and rescue services in this Province. They are asking the federal

government to be more attentive to what our needs are, and to ensure that we

have the proper services and the proper infrastructure to do what needs to be

done in search and rescue in the Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Orders of the Day

Private Members' Day

MR. SPEAKER: This being Private Members' Day, I now ask the Member for

St. John's East to introduce the motion that is on the Order Paper in his name.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great pleasure and it is truly an honour to bring forward today's

motion for debate, seconded by the hon. Member for The Straits White Bay

North. I read in the following:

WHEREAS small businesses are the backbone of this Province's economy; and

WHEREAS about 2,000 small businesses operate in the Province today, employing

over 40 per cent of all paid workers; and

WHEREAS small business revenues and profits stay in the communities where

they are generated; and

WHEREAS the present level of taxation can be a barrier to anyone starting a

small business today; and

WHEREAS small businesses in the Province need as much support as possible;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly urge government to

immediately help stimulate the economy in a manner that helps every part of the

Province by reducing the Province's small business tax by 25 per cent, dropping

it from 4 per cent to 3 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure again to speak to this issue. I guess

this is first and foremost, a lot of businesses mind the amount of taxation they

have to deal with. It is really time to recognize where our true economic

strengths of the Province lie. This is one of the important cornerstones in

helping to build and maintain this Province. We know we have various numbers of

large private industries that carry on in the mining, the oil sectors, but it is

not a lot of time that anybody spends in thinking on the actual importance of

small business. We would like to bring this motion forward for debate and we are

hoping to hear lots of input on this one today.

Small businesses and co-operatives, Mr. Speaker, have demonstrated over and

over their importance to Newfoundland and Labrador's ongoing economic wealth.

You can tell by the power of a few people, what a few people can do to change

immeasurably the economy in various regions of the Province. For example, we

have the St. Anthony SABRI model and we have the Fogo Island Co-op, which I

guess had to start off basically with nothing, and look where they are today.

They are literally carrying those areas of the Province. The benefits those

areas are actually gaining are immeasurable, not to mention that it is actually

keeping people here in the Province. There is more to a healthy economy than big

profits of corporations and banks, Mr. Speaker. I think that these two,

basically co-op models, are truly representative of that.

During the last election, and indeed before that, we did manage to do a lot

of consulting with small businesses to determine ways to give them the best

break that they could possibly have to their own bottom line in Newfoundland and

Labrador, Mr. Speaker. One of those suggestions was basically a drop in business

taxes overall and to help combat that bottom line that some small businesses

used to face. One of the ways they suggested, of course - next to tackling some

issues when it comes to sales tax, for example - would be through the actual

removal in some cases, or dropping of the small business tax. In this case we

are looking at a 1 per cent drop, which is rather insignificant, I guess, when

it comes to the fiscal amount, the budget that the provincial government is

dealing with. We are talking approximately a $4 million savings to small

businesses. That can have an immeasurable impact on the economy of the Province.

I guess the Province this year is going to be dealing with a budget that is

going to be based in the billions of dollars.

As we note in the motion, small businesses are the backbone of this

Province's economy; and again, if you are a small business owner,

congratulations to you because you are all very intrepid individuals. I know

that it takes an awful lot of your time, a lot of personal time, a lot of

personal sacrifice when it comes to running a small business and keeping an

economy going. In some cases I guess it is a lot of sacrifice when it comes to

keeping family going and everything, too.

Small business revenues and profits stay mostly in the communities where they

are generated, so it is in that essence we can say they are essential for

regional economic development. Again, I will quote the simple fact of the Co-op

on Fogo Island being one of those examples on how much it has led to the overall

growth of Fogo Island and indeed, when it comes to the SABRI case on the

Northern Peninsula, how much it has led to growth, and the growth in revenues

particularly as well, through the various streams of government that are dealing

with small businesses.

The question has to be asked that if we are entering a time of provincial

fiscal uncertainty - I guess these are government's words over the last couple

of months, we have been hearing about cuts, the possibility of cuts and the

possibility that the Province's finances are going to be restrained for the next

two years - then it is incumbent that we make it easier to ensure small

businesses survival to help them carry the load of the Province. In this I mean

that if we are talking roughly about 40 per cent of the businesses in this

Province having to carry the load - if you listened to one of the speakers the

other day who had me absolutely enthralled when it came to the growth that some

of these sectors were showing, I think it was the Member for Humber West who was

talking about the growth. For example, last year in the tourism sector I think

the number was about 17 per cent growth, if I am not mistaken, that he said the

other day they saw in the tourism sector alone last year. Either way, it sounded

to be substantial in the face of some of the economic conditions that were out

there. We have to look at this as saying for a small business that is carrying

such a load in the Province perhaps they should be allowed to carry that load a

little bit easier by seeing this very small tax break to help in some cases

these home operations continue.

We know for some of these regions in the Province exactly how much a

home-operated business, a small business like this, can help when it comes to,

for example, municipal debt loads and everything. We need to attract more people

into that sector; we need to develop more ideas for people in small businesses

so that they can help carry that municipal load, whichever community they are

in.

Let's look at some of the costs that they are facing right now. For example,

one cost that is near and dear to me happens to be fuel costs. This could be a

massive effect, for example, on the tourism sector. High fuel costs may in fact

inhibit any potential increase in tourism this year, basically, if you are

looking at the pump price. We are looking at the potential in some cases, some

media reports are reporting anywhere from $1.50 a litre and upwards for gasoline

prices, which can have a massive effect on incoming motor vehicle traffic into

the Province.

You could be talking about higher diesel prices, which could have the

potential to cause fuel price increases to Marine Atlantic; we do not know how

they are going to be able to deal with that yet. Indeed, it is probably a bit

early to even speculate on how high that price is going to go, except for some

of the media reports out there. We already know that the groundwork has been set

for $1.50 a litre for gasoline. Some of these businesses are going to have

trouble.

I think attracting more people into the Province there are barriers being

set up in some cases when it comes to the attraction of more people in the

Province. At the same time, of course, the small businessman is not only dealing

in the tourism sector here in the Province, Mr. Speaker; he is also the small

business operator, for example, is driving the taxi out there; he is driving the

tractor trailer; or else he is fishing out there in his boat. All these three

operators are being tackled with high fuel costs. As regards to that, Mr.

Speaker, I think that if it is going to be a long time project in order to get

fuel prices addressed and have the HST agreement addressed on the part of the

federal government and get them at the table to talk about it, this is the best

way that the Province can deal with some of these costs on an as-now basis.

This tax reduction, further to that, will help absorb that cost of high

energy costs. It also allows small business owners to return money into

investment in their business ventures, which will help secure their survival. We

all know that I think it is well known in the small business sector that it

can take upwards of five years to ensure a small business's survival, or indeed,

in some cases, to actually show growth. I think that everybody knows that one

well, and I think that we all know somebody who has been into the small business

sector who had to work at it long and hard before they actually started to show

any growth in that business.

So, I think that this is a positive message to be sending to the small

business operator out there, that government would be on their side when it

comes to such a venture, and I can see nothing but positive to those companies'

bottom lines when it comes to investment in other things. When we are talking

about their survival, we are also talking about the simple fact that it is

probably going to allow them to go and do some more hiring into their own

companies. It ensures employment levels in the Province, and indeed provides the

ability for a small business to go out and supply jobs to a demographic that

probably was not there beforehand. For example, the disabled community may have

better access to employment opportunities when it comes to such a venture.

This cut helps more struggling start-ups get through the critical first few

years. I just touched on that, Mr. Speaker, by saying the simple fact that we

are talking about keeping more revenues in these small home businesses any

business that has a sales value below $500,000 in the run of a year. It allows

money to stay in the Province, and allows the strategic investment, and allows

that decision to be made by the important decision-maker there, the owner of the

small business.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business did a study of more than

3,000 businesses and individuals across the country, and said more than 90 per

cent said that they admire small businesses and their products and would like to

see them as key to the future. Of course, I think that we all know that when it

comes to the future of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is not only built on the

strong resource base that we have here, but as well on the simple fact of small

businesses, because small businesses are pretty integral to supporting some of

these larger businesses. Of course, we all know well how many small businesses,

for example, are associated with the offshore oil industries here, and how much

they mean as regards to employment. So, we are talking, again, the possibility

of government here putting an extra, or leaving an extra $4 million in a very

important sector of the economy.

Having said that, we are hoping that this afternoon, the government will not

undervalue the actual value of small businesses here in the Province, and we are

hoping that government will support this motion and that we will see this

important leg-up to small business here in the Province. This tax cut for small

businesses was, in fact, an election commitment, and we would like to be doing

more for small businesses besides just this 1 per cent cut, but I guess in this

particular case every little bit helps. The four key words that we can say to

this one all along are: every little bit helps.

We could be redirecting funds from the Business Attraction Fund to an

investment fund for co-ops and small businesses and use it as a seed capital

fund for social enterprise. We could introduce a new immigrant small business

loan guarantee program to help newcomers obtain credit from Canadian financial

institutions, for example. There are so many things that we could be doing that

we are not. In some cases, while some of the tools are there in the federal

chain, sometimes they are not utilized enough in attracting small business to

this Province.

We need to ensure that all communities have access to reliable, high-quality,

high-speed Internet. This is important as well to small business with regard to

access, and if you are talking about the tourism trade, for people to be able to

do online bookings of tours or something, for example, or bookings for hotels.

It is not only the hotel in St. John's that would be important; it is also the

hotel in the little community of 500 people or the bed and breakfasts operating

there that should have an equal shot and an even playing field. It is probably

one of the more important reasons as well why government should be making those

strategic investments.

We are looking forward to hearing in the future that government will be

making those strategic investments into high-speed Internet access, particularly

in rural areas. We do know how important it is, of course, to maintaining the

economy, and indeed for those small businesses to be tied in with an umbilical

of some sort to the outside world and to keep up what is going on in the

changing world economy.

Mr. Speaker, I will sum up and pass the debate on. The tax cut itself, first

of all: We are proposing to reduce the small business taxes by 25 per cent in

the first year, from 4 per cent to 3 per cent. We are looking to offset what

government collects by only $4 million. It is not a lot of money to be asked

for. This may seem like not very much money, but it is money that would be

invested directly into small businesses back here, of course, in Newfoundland

and Labrador; it would help maintain the economy and give it a little bit of a

stronger backbone right now with tough financial times coming, or at least a

restraint put on our fiscal spending over the next couple of years.

Money that stays in the communities where businesses operate means money that

is going to stay right here at home. It means an awful lot to the small business

owners that they would have support from government in this venture. We are

hoping on getting government support on this particular motion today.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Before the Speaker recognizes the next speaker, I wonder

could the member identify who seconded the motion that he is introducing today?

MR. MURPHY: Sorry, Mr. Speaker, I thought I mentioned at the start that

it was the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. SPEAKER: Thank you.

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is always a pleasure to speak in this House about matters that affect

small business, because we all know how important small business is to the

country. Even though the business is small, what small business does is that it

creates a lot of jobs. That of course is very important.

It is tough being in small business. It is hard for a lot of small businesses

to survive. I understand that 99 per cent of new small businesses fail within

the first five years and that is pretty tough, but we take pride in our small

business community and what they are attempting to do. That is why this

government provides a special tax break, a lower corporate income tax to small

business, than it does to larger businesses who earn over $500,000 a year.

We recognize the importance of small businesses to this Province,

particularly in rural parts of the Province where they are the lifeblood of the

community. That is why we have significantly invested in small business since we

came to power eight years ago. I think when we came into office, the spending on

small business or on economic development was about $2.6 million a year and it

is now $185 million a year. We will continue to make strategic investments to

try to grow our economy and diversify our economy as long as we have the fiscal

capacity and fiscal means to do so.

In terms of the small business tax rate, in 1983 it was set at 5 per cent and

I believe before then, the regular corporate income tax was 14 per cent and the

small business tax rate was 12 per cent. There was not much of a difference a

2 per cent difference. In 1983 it was set at 5 per cent and it remained

unchanged until 2010 when we lowered it to 4 per cent at a cost to the Treasury

of $4.4 million. We currently have, along with Nova Scotia, with the exception

of PEI, the lowest small business tax rate of all provinces east of Manitoba.

PEI is the leader in Atlantic Canada

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MARSHALL: We also have been helping small business in other ways. The

corporate income tax threshold has steadily increased since 2004; it was then

$250,000, but in our years of office we have doubled the threshold to $500,000

as of 2009. We also increased the exemption threshold for payroll taxes. Now,

the small business groups that come to see me the Federation of Independent

Business and so on their major concern is not so much the small business tax

rate. Their concern is more in the payroll taxes they pay. They call them

payroll taxes but we are talking about here the HAPSET, the Health and Post

Secondary Education Tax. What we do there, any business with payroll in excess

of $1.2 million pays a payroll tax of 2 per cent. That is a tax on jobs, and I

am so proud that our government has indicated its intention over time to

ultimately remove that tax from the tax rolls of this Province. Since 2008, this

threshold has more than doubled and currently sits at about $1.2 million per

year as in last year's Budget. Of the approximately 23,000 employers in the

Province, less than 4 per cent now pay the payroll tax.

We have also since 2007, when we brought in the biggest tax cut in the

history of this Province I think the cumulative tax rate to the people of this

Province is that this year people will pay about half a billion dollars less in

taxes than they were paying when we first came into office, and that is a

remarkable, remarkable accomplishment. What it does, it takes government's hands

out of people's pockets, it gives people money in their pockets so they can pay

their bills, it helps us attract skilled workers from other parts of the world

who look at not only what their gross salary is going to be, who look at how

much they are going to have left over in their pockets. Also, certain people

with tax breaks will use that money and they will invest and invest further in

the economy to create jobs.

We have also lowered various fees and various levies. For example, the

commercial electrical permit fees have been reduced, and there has been an

elimination of the liquor licence levy. Also, we removed the Retail Sales Tax on

insurance premiums and that was also a great benefit to business in this

Province. We all remember the hated tax on insurance and we removed that tax. We

have also been helping small business and will continue to do so along with our

fiscal capacity.

Indirectly, our efforts to improve the overall tax regime in the Province

have also had a very positive impact on small business. Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians now pay, as I said, $500 million less in taxes each year compared

to 2007 half a billion dollars less a year coming out of the pockets of

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. By taking our hands out of those pockets, they

are left with more disposable income to help them cope with the rising cost of

living.

Employment is also up, Mr. Speaker. There are more people working in

Newfoundland and Labrador today than in any other point in our history; there

are over 225,000 people working. Also, what is very interesting is that they are

earning more than ever. Personal incomes continue to rise each year at very

robust growth rates, and disposable incomes are rising at the same rate I

think it is about 6.5 per cent this year. That means people are working, it

means they have money in their pockets, and we are seeing the effect of that in

our retail sales, which are growing. We are seeing in car sales, which are

growing. We see it in housing starts, which are very robust throughout the

economy. Our efforts in developing our natural resources, combined with the $5

billion that we intend to spend on infrastructure in this Province, have been

real drivers of growth.

A government raises revenue through taxation. We need taxation in order to

provide the infrastructure that we are providing, the long-term care facilities

and the hospitals. We need the money to fund our progressive social programs

that we want to bring in for the benefit of the people. So, we have to strike an

appropriate balance, an equitable balance, one that is fair to our residents and

fair to the businesses in the country and in the Province, but gives us revenue.

Any tax cut that we make and we have made a lot of them has to be considered

with an eye to what is affordable.

So we now know that over the next two years we certainly know this year

that the Atlantic Accord is coming to an end, which means there is $556 million

we are receiving this year in 2011-2012, we are not going to receive in

2012-2013 or at any time in the future. We now know that the FPSOs for White

Rose and Terra Nova are going to be offline I think is the word one is going

for repairs in Marystown, the other one is going for refit in Belfast, I

understand, in Ireland. That means we will have less revenues coming in;

therefore, like any family, like any small business and like any organization,

we have to adjust our fiscal expenditures to be in line with the fiscal

restraint that we are going to be facing this year, and we have to make sure

that our spending, of course, is sustainable for the future.

So, Mr. Speaker, as I travel extensively each year for pre-Budget

consultations and I listen attentively to the requests that are brought forward,

they fall into two categories. There are those that have to be done, that are

very important, like public health and public safety that has to be done; and,

there are many which are really nice to do, but perhaps we can delay them while

we focus on what are our true priorities. All of them make sense, and while it

would be great to do them all, it is simply just not possible, and we all know

that.

Now, Mr. Speaker, we have to draw the line. The request to lower the small

business tax rate the Third Party, I have heard them in this House. They call

for universal child care, universal pharmacare, and complete cell coverage. They

have identified the housing crisis in the Province and they want 911 throughout

the Province. I believe the Leader of the Third Party said with respect to the

demands of the municipalities: Just give it to them. Just do it. Just give it to

them. You cannot do both. If you want to do all of these wonderful things, you

need revenue and we are very, very conscious of that.

So, Mr. Speaker, I am going now to move an amendment to this legislation. The

amendment is as follows:

I move, seconded by the Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural

Development, that the private member's resolution currently before the House be

amended:

(1) by deleting the fourth recital clause;

(2) by adding a new recital clause that reads: "WHEREAS the government has

already made decisions to reduce business taxes and to invest in measures to

grow businesses small and large throughout Newfoundland and Labrador;" and,

(3) by deleting the resolution clause and replacing it with the following

words so that it reads: "THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly

calls on the government to consider reducing the small business tax rate by 25

per cent, dropping it from 4 per cent to 3 per cent, or by a greater amount,

provided that the province is in fiscal surplus or makes budgetary provisions to

replace the foregone revenues or to reduce expenditures accordingly, as is

fiscally prudent."

MR. SPEAKER (Verge): Order, please!

We have an amendment to the resolution put forward by the hon. the Minister

of Finance. This House will now take a brief recess to consider whether the

amendment is in order.

This House is now in recess.

Recess

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

We have considered the amendment as put forward by the Minister of Finance

and we have deemed that the amendment is in order.

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First of all, it is my privilege today to stand here and speak on behalf of

the many small businesses across Newfoundland and Labrador. Just briefly, as we

review the amendment here it is obviously on my record, I guess, for many

weeks now, speaking about the financial sustainability and viability of our

Province, and it is certainly something that we do support as a Liberal Caucus,

and I personally support it and will continue to do so. For us, it is usually a

matter of priority and that. By looking at the amendment, what I read here is

that we would actually have to find the money somewhere in another program,

which would mean somewhat of a reduction to somebody else.

This is not necessarily something that we could actually support, because in

a lot of ways, as you make investments into small business, you actually do

stimulate growth in many other areas. The original motion put forward by the

Third Party did mention that the small business is the backbone of our

provincial economy. There is no question about that. When you look at what small

business does for instance, a micro-business is defined as being one to four

employees,

whereas a small business is typically seen to be less than fifty

employees. In some cases, it is defined as doing about $30,000 in business a

year, or up to $5 million. It is a broad range of what a small business is able

to do and actually as it contributes to our economy and to the communities where

they actually do their business.

In actual fact, Mr. Speaker, about over 97 per cent of businesses in the

Province as a whole are considered to be small business or medium-sized

business. It really essentially takes up most of the business activity within

the Province.

We have what is considered to be just around 20,000 people who are even

self-employed. What they have done is taken a fair amount of risk, and personal

risk, in actually doing business in our Province. It is also about I think the

original motion says about 40 per cent of our total workforce are employed with

small businesses in the Province.

Small businesses, what they do and one previous member spoke about the

contribution that they make not only to the Province in general, but they make a

significant contribution to the communities where they actually do business. For

instance, we spoke yesterday in this House about the value of fire departments

in our communities. It goes without saying that most of our small businesses in

our Province right now are significant supporters of groups like our fire

departments and our sports programs. What they do and with my own history, I

know small businesses that I am certainly familiar with, and the people that I

know, is that they actually make significant investment right back into their

communities. The profits that they make on an annual basis are indeed

re-injected right back into the communities. In a lot of cases, they actually

support other businesses as they build on and make their own businesses more

successful.

So, in actual fact, the money does stay in the community where they exist. So

that is important, as we integrate the business growth within certain regions or

in the communities themselves. What I know, I find with my own experience, is

that most businesses, when they have the opportunity and when they can when

they do have the opportunity to invest profits back into the business, their

decision is typically made to invest in their employees and into business

development, which actually leads to growth. This is particularly important in

many of our rural areas.

As many of us know, if you ask a young person and I have had the

opportunity to go into many JA classes over the years in high school; even in

elementary school, there are a lot of people, and sometimes they are actually

they want to be a business owner; they want to be an entrepreneur. You can

actually see that in some people at a very young age.

A particular note is that with a small business, to actually take a small

business and make it successful, there is an awful lot of risk that is

associated with it. As was already said, 50 per cent of businesses, small

businesses in particular, usually do not survive past the five-year mark. So,

needless to say, when you make the personal commitment, and in a lot of cases,

the personal guarantee, you put a lot of your own personal assets on the line to

actually support your business. So that 50 per cent survival rate is actually

something that we see as a deterrent. So, lowering taxes is one way that I think

anybody in business would welcome the fact that you pay less tax. We already

know that we have one Atlantic Province that actually pays less than we do; that

would be PEI, and that is 1 per cent. In actual fact, Manitoba has made a very

significant step in investment where they actually have there is a zero tax

rate on small businesses in Manitoba.

It is not the small business tax rate that most businesses have a problem

with. In most cases it is the actual overall general tax rate, and in our

Province it is at 14 per cent. This is certainly not near the lowest in Canada.

When you do the surveys of businesses and you ask, what is the biggest impact on

their business growth? Typically, a response in particular would be around the

general tax rate.

There are lots of other issues that I know as small businesses they see as

deterrents in their business and something obviously that many, many business

groups have been lobbying for years, be it chambers of commerce or the Canadian

Federation of Independent Business. What constantly comes up is the impact of

Workers Compensation. It is almost unheard of in a lot of jurisdictions, that

people would pay in advance based on an estimate or an assumption of what your

payroll would be that year. There is no question that in difficult months, where

cash flow becomes a problem for many businesses, the Workers Compensation -

those payments can actually be a cash flow killer. It puts many small businesses

at risk in not making other payments because Workers Compensation payments are

due. Even the category itself, where many of our employees get put into a broad

category, this could mean that your Workers Compensation rate is one that is

higher than anticipated.

The big tax that always gets mentioned when it comes to the success and the

impact on business, no question, it is the payroll tax. Even though the

government has made a commitment to get rid of that payroll tax over time, this

indeed is seen by most business owners as a job killer. That 2 per cent tax over

and above the $1.2 million payroll is something that is prohibitive and is

actually seen, as I said, as a job killer. When you take that and you look at

the associated payroll burden costs that go on top of that, things like EI,

things like CPP and the Workers Compensation, as I already mentioned, you can

see they are a significant burden when you come to operating a small business.

On top of that, one thing about business as you try and drive revenue - and

with many small businesses you actually compete in some small markets where we

are seeing population declines and an aging workforce - one of the things is the

operating costs. In order for any business to be successful, they always have to

keep a very constant and diligent look at where the operating cost is. We know

in the next few years we are going to see operating costs, things like

electricity rates will start seeing increases, will add an added burden to small

businesses. Needless to say, we have seen significant debate over the years on

things like credit card costs, debit fees, and those sorts of things. These all

add operating costs to small businesses.

Again, one other thing that is being highlighted, and I know many of the

people I talk to are small business owners, what they see is a shortage of

labour right now. I know on the West Coast, in Central in particular, and on the

Burin Peninsula, I have spoken to many business owners. What they have noticed

is that the shortage of labour has become a very big problem for them and that

we have a very highly competitive market. Some of it is our mobile workforce,

even in Alberta right now. This is becoming more and more of a problem. With the

aging population and the population declines in rural Newfoundland, it is

becoming a problem that is very hard to overcome. We have seen many businesses,

actually, that have decided to actually take the opportunity of moving on

themselves.

In particular, Mr. Speaker, we know in a lot of areas of our Province right

now, and this is information that comes from the Rural Secretariat, from

2003-2011 we have seen business losses in Labrador, we have seen business losses

on the Northern Peninsula, in the St. Anthony and Port au Choix area. We have

seen fewer businesses in 2011 than there was in 2003, in the Corner Brook, in

the Stephenville area, in the Grand Falls-Windsor area, Baie Verte and Harbour

Breton. We actually see fewer businesses in those areas now than there were in

2003. In actual fact, what we are seeing is a decline in the number of small

businesses in our Province; in the Gander, New-Wes-Valley area, a decline.

Clarenville and Bonavista, we are seeing a decline in small business, and on the

Burin Peninsula. The only area where we have seen any growth at all would be on

the Avalon Peninsula. I think the growth there is somewhere in the 2 per cent

range.

As we try to foster and put in mechanisms that would actually support small

business, what we cannot lose sight of is that many small business owners are

indeed getting discouraged right now and actually closing up their businesses.

Why is this happening? What we have seen is that general taxation is considered

to be the major barrier, the biggest barrier that we are seeing in business

growth.

We know right now that in many communities, a lot of the municipalities and

communities have actually increased business taxes as a way to sustain their own

revenue. So businesses often pay a disproportionate amount of taxation. Small

businesses become a tax collector for many communities and for government

agencies. We know that from communities that use poll tax or with HST. Indeed,

what happens is they become the administrator for communities and for indeed, in

this case, the provincial and federal governments, and they get nothing in

return for the work they do. As a matter of fact, we have often seen very strict

demands on small business owners when it comes to the collection of some

community taxes. Mr. Speaker, these are all things that small business owners do

in our Province that actually helps facilitate the growth of the Province as a

whole and our communities; but, indeed, they get nothing back in return for

that.

We also know that throughout the Province that waste management fees are

becoming a cost to do business. These are increasing. We actually, on the West

Coast, have no idea where these amounts will be. Even though small businesses do

support and want to protect their environment, we cannot lose sight of the extra

cost that this is putting on many of our small businesses. It is very tough to

compete when you look at all the pressure that businesses have to face these

days. That is not to say, that is not even to mention what is happening with

Internet shopping and the impact that has had. For instance, I know in our own

situation of recreational stores that have actually had to close up simply

because their major competitor was Internet shopping.

We all know the major challenges that businesses are facing, but one thing

for sure, and I know in particular in many of the rural areas, you keep asking

business owners what it is that they would like to see, things like high-speed

Internet, these things, they always come up because it actually helps facilitate

the way they do business.

Mr. Speaker, before I finish up here, I will say that when you ask about the

future of the Province and where most people, especially from a business point

of view, what their view is on doing business in Newfoundland and Labrador, most

large corporations, most large companies, will actually say that they are

positive and that they do have a positive outlook, but the small business

barometer is one that it is a little different. We have seen a steady decline in

the confidence of actually doing business in our Province from many of the small

business owners, and the reason why they feel this way is because of the extra

competition for workers. They actually refer to Workers' Compensation and,

often, they refer to payroll taxes.

One other thing, Mr. Speaker, as I finish, is that one of the big problems

that is facing small business owners in rural Newfoundland right now and in

small markets is that they feel that there is actually no succession plan for

them; that there is no one really ready to come behind them to step into their

business. Right now the succession planning for small business, especially in

rural Newfoundland, as we deal with an aging population and a decreasing

population, it is a major problem for them.

Mr. Speaker, as I sum up today, even though we are in a situation here that

what we are discussing is a reduction in taxation for small business, any

reduction in taxes, of course, is welcome; but, we do know that there are

significant impediments in doing small business in Newfoundland right now. In

general, the payroll tax, the general taxation rate of 14 per cent, is seen as a

deterrent.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the debate on this small business tax

momentarily.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: I recognize the hon. the Minister of Innovation, Business

and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy to have the opportunity to speak to the motion by the hon. the

Member for St. John's East. As a department, and certainly as an elected

official, all of us know how important small business is to Newfoundland and

Labrador, and certainly rural Newfoundland and Labrador. It plays a key role in

my district and in all districts around the Province, Mr. Speaker.

I know I work with small employers in terms of advancing issues that are

important to them. As was mentioned by someone earlier, we know that small

business makes up 95 per cent plus of all businesses in Newfoundland and

Labrador and is very integral to the economic well-being of all of our

communities, all of our regions, and is key to economic development. It

certainly plays a key role in the prosperity of our Province and how we move

forward and how we have moved forward.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Member for St. John's East, as well, when he made his

comments he talked about small businesses and co-operatives. Certainly, as a

government, we are very engaged with co-operatives, supporting them, supporting

that infrastructure, a lot of them in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. I have a

Petty Harbour co-op in my district. I am quite familiar with it; the importance

that plays in building capacity, assisting with business and driving economic

development very successful.

This year, as we know, is the International Year for Co-operatives and I had

the pleasure awhile ago of declaring this year in Newfoundland and Labrador the

Year of Co-operatives. We have an MOU with the co-operative association here in

this Province that has worked very well. We are going to look again this year to

renew that MOU, and continue the work we are doing with co-operatives and the

work they do for economic development in our Province and certainly continue

that work.

I certainly appreciate the efforts of the co-operatives, the volunteers on

the boards, the work they are doing in terms of generating economic activity,

Mr. Speaker. I certainly wanted to recognize that.

I know the Minister of Finance, in his comments, talked about things we have

done from a financial perspective in terms of significant reduction in the

payroll tax we have seen over the past number of years and how important that

has been for employers and small employers. That threshold now is up to

approximately $1.2 million. That money has gone back into the business owners,

into their companies so that they can reinvest and help them with operating

expenses and growing their business, which is so important. As well, the

corporate tax has been reduced down to 4 per cent. I do believe that is leading

the way east of Manitoba. Maybe PEI is the other exception, doing quite well as

well, in terms of leading the way and doing those things that we need to do to

continue to drive business in all areas of our Province, which is so important.

I think, if I remember correctly, there are only about 845 employers that are

left now which are under that threshold. Certainly, as we move forward, as the

amended motion talks about, within our fiscal framework and what we can do, we

are committed to working with small employers through our programs, through our

taxation system to ensure we do what we need to do to continue to improve as

we have done the business environment, Mr. Speaker.

I wanted to touch on in my department, IBRD; obviously, we are focused on

business, economic development, partnerships. Government is certainly there as a

partner, and we have been in terms of driving all aspects of economic

development, and we continue to do that. I talked about tax incentives, Mr.

Speaker. There is approximately $71 million that is provided to businesses in

tax credits and incentives. Such things as: Small Business Tax Credit;

Manufacturing and Processing Profits Tax Credit; Scientific Research and

Experimental Development Tax Credit; Film and Video Tax Credit; Economic

Diversification and Growth Enterprise Program EDGE status that we still

have; Direct Equity Tax Credit; and Resort Property Investment Tax Credit. So

there is a whole range of initiatives that we use as a government to entice

investment, which is so important in the overall business community.

Mr. Speaker, as well, we have Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Fund, SMEs,

in my department. Anybody who is familiar with the business community and

working with their constituents out there in terms of small and medium business,

know how important this is and has been in terms of growth for those small

businesses; $12.8 million is available through this program. That enables local

businesses to strengthen their operation and target new opportunities around the

world.

A lot of times, Mr. Speaker, businesses are out there operating, they are

doing well, but with some help they can get to the export market and get their

services and products to market. We have worked with, and I have visited with a

number of small and medium-sized businesses since being in this portfolio, and

they have demonstrated quite well that they have the ingenuity, they have the

entrepreneurial spirit, and they have engaged in export, because the products

they are developing, the technologies they have are second to none. They are

exporting to parts all over the world. Certainly into the US, which, as we know,

is our biggest export country; I think it is about 85 per cent. I have met with

companies that are exporting into Brazil, into Ireland, into China, especially

in the ocean technology area, and doing great work. It is driving innovation

through research and development and doing quite well.

Ocean technology, I mentioned under that program, driving that industry small

and medium businesses; over $6 million available through our oceans opportunity.

That is a five-year strategy that we distinctly put in place to drive and

diversify our economy. To use the funds from our non-renewable resources to

diversify and build sustainable industries and we are doing that. The ocean

technology cluster now is over fifty small and medium businesses that are

exporting all over the world. Some state-of-the-art, whether it is digital

technology that you hook on to ROVs; that is second to none. It is just amazing

work being done. That industry right now is exporting about half-a-billion

dollars in terms of export sales. It is growing and we are certainly supporting

it. You can see the value in it, and it is doing quite well. We are projecting

by 2015 that we will be up to approximately a billion dollars in terms of

export. Dealing with the industry association, they tell me they expect to be

beyond that. That is another example of our government intervening and assisting

small business.

Mr. Speaker, the other (inaudible) we are quite familiar with is the Regional

Sector Diversification Fund. It is a $5 million fund, which again builds

capacity on the ground. I am sure all members here are quite familiar with it in

terms of non-profit organizations. Again, the work they are doing is building

diversification and sustainability in a lot of areas of the Province. I would

say mostly rural areas of the Province that are creating that environment to

promote industry, whether it is in the tourism sector, manufacturing; a good

spectrum of activity. As a department, we drive that and continue to work with

the stakeholders out there in that regard.

On the oil and gas service development fund, as well, to look at exporting in

terms of the oil and gas industry expertise and continue to grow that industry;

as well, oil and gas manufacturing and services export, looking at export, our

technology and our expertise here and creating new wealth, creating new jobs,

and doing quite well in that area.

I had an opportunity, as I said, to visit a number of areas in terms of small

employers and the work they are doing. I was at sub-sea in Clarenville a little

while back, and a young man, twenty-seven years old, had developed a unique

digital imagery in terms of you could connect to an ROV underwater. Certainly,

second to none anywhere in the world in this technology that he had developed.

He is in the process of going to market now with that. It was sought after in

the industry, the oil and gas industry and any other area where you would send

an ROV down, but the technology was created here and the incubation for it was

here with a young man who is twenty-seven years old. There are many stories like

that. Our programs certainly support that and that is what we continue to want

to do for small businesses in the Province.

Mr. Speaker, Carol Lake Metal Works in Lab West is a company that was started

by a young man as well. The same type of thing we assisted with that, and I

think they are now up to twenty-plus people. So it is a great project, yes,

indeed, innovation moving it along. We were there to assist. A great story, and

there are many of those, Mr. Speaker, right across the Island and through

Labrador, right through our Province, that are doing great things.

I also had an opportunity to visit with another company, NAVSEA, an ocean

technology company which develops software for pilot vessels that they can

connect to and bring vessels into various ports. This can be used around the

world and is being used. It has been done very well. It is very good technology,

but it was here and we swore to provide those supports as well.

Skilled training is so important, Mr. Speaker. We are certainly involved with

that through our Workplace Skills Enhancement Program for employers. It is very

popular with employers, Mr. Speaker. Approximately $4.5 million we have

invested. That allows the workforce in any business to bolster their expertise

and their productivity, and it helps with retention and expansion for all types

of enterprises. It has certainly been a very popular program, Mr. Speaker, and

it continues to be quite successful in terms of employers. We get a lot of

uptake on it and are certainly very interested in it. It could be training, it

could be for industry certification, or other essential skills, but it is all

directed to growth and sustainability and is working quite well, Mr. Speaker. It

is a very good tool indeed. I know the employer community is very pleased with

it.

Examples we have seen where that is being used: the Newfoundland and Labrador

agriculture industry association looked at training in the Coast of Bays in

regard to staff and in terms of new technology with various employers; and the

St. Alban's-based Aqua Service is another area where it is being used in terms

of the upgrading of skills. That is sustaining employers and it is enhancing the

delivery of services they were providing, so it is all positive. Again, in

Labrador West, the Carol Lake Metal Works was another company that used that

program. Industrial Rubber Labrador Ltd. is very good in terms of a program to

assist small business.

So that is driving our economy, Mr. Speaker, as I said ninety-five-plus

small employers. All of these programs which we deliver: we fund, we direct

towards them, and are there for them. My staff around the Province the sixteen

regional offices, the Economic Development officers, and others are there to

assist those, to provide those services, and engage with those small employers

to assist them. We cannot do everything for them, but the programs we have, we

can certainly assist them with it.

Dynamic Air Shelters down in Grand Bank in Fortune, some of the great work is

being done down there in terms of that; a new business, doing quite well,

continuing to grow. Through supports we have, continue to help them to do the

type of things they need to do to sustain, improve. If they need to export and

get it out, help them to do that as well; it is very important.

The other key component that we work with, Mr. Speaker, and it is very

important for small and medium business, is procurements. We look at both

provincial and government procurements in terms of making small and medium-sized

business aware of contractual work, purchased services they could receive from

the provincial government and as well the federal government; there is a huge

pool that is there that different companies can avail of, which is so important.

We have programs to support that, to make that linkage between the employer that

is there and possible services they can provide to the provincial and/or federal

government and promote that supply chain.

We have programs to develop that supply chain. That is working well; we need

to continue to work at it, from the perspective of new projects, projects that

are currently underway in our Province, projects that will come in the future

working with the small and medium-sized business community to make sure they are

aware of what is available to them, to help them in preparatory work to get

ready to engage in that type of activity so they are ready, when the time comes

to go and look for that type of work, that they are able to get it and they can

be successful. They certainly are being successful. Some of the work that is

being done by the entrepreneurs, all our businesses, is outstanding, second to

none in what they are doing. In terms of their technology and different things

they are doing, doing quite well in leading the Province in economic

development, Mr. Speaker.

So with the incentives in terms of taxation, which the finance minister has

referred to, as well as programs we have not only in this department but all

other departments it is a collective approach. We recognize the importance of

small and medium business in Newfoundland and Labrador. The economy, the driver

it is, the driver it has been in the past, it is today and will be in the future

in all industries, whether it is aquaculture, mining, ocean tech I mentioned,

new areas that we diversify our economy, film and television, all of those areas

are so important. It is about our traditional ones, and certainly ones that we

are allowed to use to diversify our economy. In the fisheries, we have our

Fisheries Loan Guarantee Program, again helping fishing enterprises, business

enterprising, access capital when needed to drive their enterprises and to build

as needed.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, speaking to this motion, it is a good motion because

it allows us to talk about -

AN HON. MEMBER: Amendments.

MR. HUTCHINGS: amendments what we are doing in terms of working with

the small business community. We know how important they are; we are going to

continue to work with them. We have had great success to date. Hats off to the

business community for the work they are doing. We are going to continue to work

and expand through research and development, innovation. We are pleased to work

with them. We certainly take the hats off to the business community; a job well

done. As a government, we are certainly looking forward to working with them in

the future for even greater success.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I recognize the Member for the District of The Straits White Bay North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It gives me great pleasure to speak today about an out for small business,

about lowering small business tax. Small to medium businesses in Newfoundland

and Labrador are drivers; they are drivers to diversifying the rural and urban

economies. We need to give further consideration to small business in providing

more incentives to them to set up in these small towns and these rural centres

and really start looking at adding to the local economy and creating jobs there.

It is about taking our tax dollars and investing them very strategically in

areas where we can have further growth. It is not just about giving money to

large-scale oil companies, consortiums, and corporations, we need to look at

small businesses and this small measure, this tax incentive, can greatly assist

them.

There is an abundance of opportunity when we look at small business in

Newfoundland and Labrador, and even on the Great Northern Peninsula. I had the

opportunity to, at the age of sixteen, start up a small business. That was a

museum and a miniature golf course and, from there, we added a summer festival.

From there I looked at small businesses as being a driver and I started

mentoring other youth and other young people to get into starting small

business, and it was quite a success. Over the course of two summers, I helped

encourage sixty-three youth start up businesses. Then, I worked for a Community

Business Development Corporation. The Community Business Development Corporation

services fifteen communities in Newfoundland and Labrador and 269 across Canada,

and this partnership servicing rural areas help supply and start up small

business and help them expand. One of the greatest barriers in my role of

working with small businesses, helping them get in and start up, was looking at

the taxation level, and we do need to have better rates and looking at what they

can do in economies.

If you look at the Great Northern Peninsula, we have the beautiful UNESCO

World Heritage Site, the Tablelands there and L'Anse aux Meadows, and we look at

the national park, Gros Morne, which attracts 180,000 people annually according

to the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. With that, they have an

immense amount of small business in and around that park. There are

accommodators, there are B&Bs, there are grocery stores, and there are all sorts

of things starting up because it is unique. If a place is unique, then they

start building more business and they are able to give back to their local

economy.

I had the great pleasure of helping out a lot of the small businesses get

started up, but we have to