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March

25, 2014

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 7

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Today, before we start the

proceedings, I want to acknowledge some special guests in the gallery.

Members may recall back in February we had the fiftieth Youth Parliament.

Today we are joined by the Speaker of that Youth Parliament, Jamie Brace,

together with the Deputy Speaker, Natalie Martin, and the Minister of Natural

Resources, Alex Mason.

Welcome to our gallery.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

We will ask you to critique our performance today

based on your experience back in February.

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we will have members' statements from the

Member for the District of The Straits White Bay North; the Member for the

District of St. John's East; the Member for the District of St. John's South;

the Member for the District of Burgeo La Poile; the Member for the District of

Cape St. Francis; and the Member for the District of Bonavista North.

The hon. the Member for the

District of The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize

two individuals who are part of the Grenfell legacy.

Dr. William Fitzgerald and his wife Dr. Mary O'Keefe retired from

Labrador-Grenfell Health in January after each practicing more than forty-five

years within their field.

They met in medical school.

Fitzgerald said: I wonder who would want to go North?

O'Keefe, without hesitation said: I do.

Four children and a home in St. Anthony was the beginning of their

unconditional service to the people of the North.

Both are highly-respected

and admired for their work and community involvement.

Dr. O'Keefe opened the only private practice in St. Anthony to expand the

continuum of care, made regular visits to Labrador, and worked in pediatrics.

Dr. Fitzgerald became the surgeon-in-chief at Curtis Memorial, served as

President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and

received the Order of Canada for his colorectal cancer-screening work.

Fitzgerald, though, seems

most proud of his teaching medical students, residents and interns from Memorial

and around the world, as he stated his love for teaching the next generation of

physicians at St. Anthony.

I ask all members to

congratulate Dr. Fitzgerald and Dr. O'Keefe on behalf of the Province and all

the people they served.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my

congratulations and I hope those of every hon. member here to an

organization of which many of us are alumni.

The Newfoundland and

Labrador Youth Parliament wrapped up its fiftieth session here, in this House of

Assembly on Saturday, February 8, this year.

I can tell you it was, as usual, an excellent session.

Youth Parliament exists to

educate youth about parliamentary debate, and to give them a chance to practice

it. Mr. Speaker, anyone who sat in

on one of those debates could tell you how well they do.

At times, and I do not mind saying it, they could teach us something

about parliamentary debate.

This year's Speaker, Mr.

Jamie Brace, presided over lively and informed debate on electrical supply, fair

elections, national military service and the Family Violence Intervention Court,

which my colleague from St. John's Centre was gratified to see supported.

A lifetime achievement award

was given to Simon Lono and five people including, I humbly point out myself,

were named as Youth Parliament Senators.

I ask all members to join me

in congratulating the Newfoundland and Labrador Youth Parliament on fifty great

years, and to wish them many more to come.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. Johns' South.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to recognize

the Newfoundland and Labrador thirteen and under female East Division Volleyball

Champions for 2014.

The team is from St. John

Bosco in Shea Heights. The Coach is

Brittany Collins. The assistant

coaches are Emma Stansbury and Emily Collins.

Lindsey Benson, Madison Mercer, Brooklyn Bambrick, Gloria Walsh, Kaitlyn Breen,

Brianna Hatcher, Winnie Druken, Faith Barnes, Hayley Earles, Mackenzie Power,

Holly Cantwell and Toni Marie Vinnicombe.

I would like to congratulate

the team on bringing home the gold.

I ask all members to recognize the hard work and team spirit of the St. John

Bosco volleyball team.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize

and congratulate Susanne Ingram on her retirement as Executive Director of the

Gateway Status of Women Council.

In 1984, Susanne became the

first co-ordinator of the women's centre, and held this position until 1990.

From 1990 to 2000, she was a volunteer board member.

In 2000, she returned as Executive Director.

Susanne has been a strong

advocate, not only for women's rights but also for improved health care for our

region. She volunteered with the

Western Regional Health Board, Port aux Basques and Area Chamber of Commerce,

Peaceful Communities Committee, Violence Prevention Initiative, sub-committees

of the Town of Channel-Port aux Basques, and St. Paul's Church.

Susanne was honoured by her

colleagues at the thirty-second Annual Bread and Roses Dinner on March 2.

She ended the evening with a moving and inspirational review of her years

at the centre. She said, What a

journey this has been, and what awesome people I have had the privilege and

honour to work with.

Susanne and her husband,

Hubert, have two children and three grandchildren.

Since retiring, Susanne joined St. Paul's Church Choir and is enjoying

time with her family.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all

members of this House to join with me in thanking Susanne Ingram for her

selfless service to the women of our area and to wish her every happiness on her

retirement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House

today to recognize a young man from my community of Flatrock.

Christopher Coady is a Grade 9 student at Holy Trinity.

He is currently on the principal's list with a ninety-four average.

Christopher is fourteen

years old and is currently the Atlantic Karate Champion in both the Kata and

Kumite divisions. In January 2014,

he competed in his first Karate National Championship where he took home gold in

the Kumite division and that is the fighting division.

Christopher is the first

from this Province to win a gold medal at the Karate Canada National

Championships. Christopher will now

represent Canada in the Junior Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru in

August as a member of the Junior National team.

After that, he will compete in the Junior International Karate

Championships in Las Vegas at the US Karate Open Championships.

Christopher has been a

member of the Avalon Karate Club in Torbay since the age of six.

We are very proud of this young man for his dedication and the time that

he devotes to Karate, while maintaining such a high level of education.

He is a role model to the young people in the area.

I want to ask all hon.

members to join with me in wishing Christopher all the best in his future

competitions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Bonavista North.

MR. CROSS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful

for the ability today to stand here to recognize the accomplishments of the

staff at Elaine's Grocery Store in Musgrave Harbour.

Aside from their friendly greetings and efficient service to their

customers at Elaine's, the ladies have a passion for helping the local volunteer

fire department.

In 2011, Elaine's initiated

a weekly 50-50 draw among customers and residents at the convenience/grocery

store. In a small community of

approximately 1,000, and three short years later, Elaine's Grocery presented the

Musgrave Harbour Volunteer Fire Department cheques to the value of $65,000.

It may not seem like a major

activity, but at Elaine's, Jacinta, Bernadine, Brittany, Judy, Verna, Doris, and

April collectively have made a great impact on the volunteer department.

Actions like these regularly go unnoticed, but they need to be recognized

and they need to be applauded.

This is a phenomenal act of

kindness that enables the purchase of equipment and necessary training for the

very active local volunteer brigade.

At their annual banquet, Chief Grant Pinsent regularly compliments these donors

for their participation and loyal support.

I request that all hon.

members join Chief Grant and I in saluting Elaine's Grocery and other such

supportive groups around our Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and

Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this hon. House to

provide an update on how the provincial government is supporting the communities

and employees impacted by the idling of the Wabush Scully Iron Ore Mine in

Labrador West.

When a town loses a major

employer, it can have far-reaching and long-lasting impact on workers, families,

and the whole community. It is

unfortunate that Cliffs Natural Resources has idled its mining and processing

operations in Wabush. I am certain

it was a decision the company did not make lightly.

Recognizing that people want to stay and work in Labrador, this

government immediately began developing a co-ordinated and proactive approach to

ease the impact on the region.

Premier Marshall, and many

of our Cabinet colleagues, and I were on the ground in Labrador West in the days

following the announcement. The MHA

for the area and the Minister for Transportation and Works has been on the

ground continually, Mr. Speaker, meeting with area mayors, unions, and community

groups to offer our support and see how the provincial government could assist.

Additional staff from the

Department of Advanced Education and Skills have been in the region offering

information sessions and meeting individually with displaced workers to discuss

supports and training options. A

full employee and skills assessment inventory of the impacted workers has been

compiled. This information is being

used to tailor the services and support to the specific needs of the workers.

Staff have also met with other employers to discuss current and planned

hiring activities so individuals can be matched to new positions.

The College of the North

Atlantic is fully engaged, and their President and Dean of Industrial Trades

have been in Labrador West to assess needs and set out a plan to add or modify

programs to support workers in their transition to new employment.

I am pleased to report that last week seven displaced workers started

training in the field of high-pressure welding.

Other workers have already found jobs, and some have received wage

subsidies to help complete apprenticeships and become journeypersons.

Mr. Speaker, Labrador

remains a region of tremendous potential and we are optimistic that displaced

mine workers will find other employment.

I have asked staff to ensure that the former Cliffs employees receive a

timely response to retraining options, skills transfer, and funding

availability. We remain committed to

doing everything we can to help people get the training and assistance they need

to find a job and establish successful careers in Lab West, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an

advance copy of his statement. Mr.

Speaker, the sudden idling of Wabush Mines by Cleveland Cliffs is a significant

blow to Labrador West. Sixty per

cent of the workers at Wabush Mines have less than ten years seniority, a very

young workforce. This young

workforce consists of people from all regions of Labrador who have moved here

with their families to start a new career many from my district, I might add.

Member of our caucus and

staff, including our leader, visited Labrador West and met with both towns,

unions, company officials and the Chamber of Commerce.

We are pleased to see that IOC has made some moves to hire some of the

displaced employees, but it will take more than IOC to compensate for the loss

of over 400 unionized and non-unionized workers.

Tradespeople need help in getting their block training in Lab West.

It is great to see the College of the North Atlantic have stepped up to

the plate.

Mr. Speaker, this government

must ensure that the Wabush Mines asset remains intact and attractive to any new

potential owner. The economy of

Labrador West has gone through a significant growth stage causing housing and

other costs to skyrocket. We must

all ensure that nobody falls through the cracks and are left behind because of

this setback.

The bridging period between

the idling of Wabush Mines and the opening of any new mining development will be

crucial to retain the skilled workforce that is being affected.

Training and skills upgrading is very important to ensure that this

workforce is available for any new developer or, hopefully, a new owner of

Wabush Mines.

Thank you.

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

of an advance copy of his statement.

I note the only numbers offered by the minister were for seven hires in high

pressure welding. I am glad for

those workers and their families, but they represent a minuscule percentage of

the almost 500 workers who are laid off.

The minister's statement

does not reflect the anguish families in Wabush are going through, which was

expressed to me when I visited there last month.

I certainly hope that all of the displaced workers find jobs in Labrador

West, as they own homes in the area.

If they are forced to move, they will be faced with selling homes on which they

hold huge mortgages in an area with low demand because of the closing of the

mine.

Mr. Speaker, I thank him for

the statement, but his statement brings small comfort.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and

Recreation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH:

Mr. Speaker, Special Olympics Canada is dedicated

to enriching the lives of Canadians with an intellectual disability through

sport. For more than forty years,

they have delivered a very important message society is enriched when

everyone's talents and gifts are recognized.

In March 2016, Corner Brook

will host the Special Olympics National Games a first for our Province.

The games will involve 1,000 athletes, coaches, and mission staff

participating in seven sporting competitions: snowshoeing, curling, floor

hockey, figure skating, speed skating, alpine skiing, and cross-country skiing.

This is truly a great opportunity for our Province and our special

Olympians, Mr. Speaker, and I was absolutely delighted to announce recently in

Corner Brook that our government is providing $500,000 to support these games in

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH:

Currently, there are more than 34,000 Special

Olympic athletes in Canada. In our

Province, Special Olympics Newfoundland and Labrador serves more than 600 people

with intellectual disabilities and provides them with the opportunity to engage

in many sporting activities that include provincial and Canada Games.

Our government is proud to provide annual funding to help support Special

Olympic programs and services. Their

mandate helps us achieve one of the key objectives of our recreation and sport

strategy, Active, Healthy Newfoundland and Labrador to increase

opportunities for participation, particularly for people in under-represented

groups.

The Special Olympics

organization encourages people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to

come together and share goals that foster personal growth.

It also provides athletes and their families, coaches, volunteers,

community groups, and corporate sponsors with a wonderful sense of involvement

and achievement. This sense of

achievement shines through on the face of every participant, from the first-time

athlete participating in the roll of a bowling ball, to the seasoned athlete

representing Canada at the Special Olympics International Games.

Mr. Speaker, I recently read

a quote from Special Olympics Canada that has stayed with me, Special Olympics

is humanity's greatest classroom, where lessons of ability, acceptance and

inclusion are taught on the fields of competition by our greatest teachers the

athletes.

I know I echo the sentiments

of everyone here today when I say we are looking forward to the Special Olympics

Canada Winter Games in Corner Brook in 2016.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of

Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an

advance copy of his statement. I,

too, was at the announcement and I welcome the involvement of the government.

I know the Member for Humber West is heavily involved also and I know the

Premier is very enthused about having the Special Olympics come to Corner Brook

in 2016. It is a great event for

Special Olympians.

Mr. Speaker, in my past

volunteer work, I was Chair of the Spinal Cord Injury Canada.

One of the big things that we had as a

group was inclusion. With the

Special Olympics, this allows everybody to be included no matter what level.

It brings great pride to a lot of the families, a lot of the athletes,

and a lot of the coaches and trainers.

Congratulations to all the

volunteers who are helping to put off this event in 2016.

It is a huge endeavour.

Congratulations to a lot of corporate sponsors that are out now, Mr. Speaker,

and are jumping on to bring this in.

I say congratulations to the government; it is money well spent.

It is money that we are going to improve our society on.

I am speaking on behalf of

the Member for Humber East and the Premier that we welcome all athletes from all

across Canada to the Corner Brook, Bay of Islands region, Mr. Speaker.

We look to put off the best Special Olympic Games ever.

As a group, we all come

together at certain times. This is

one of the times that we support the government.

We think it is great. I say

congratulations and do whatever we can to make sure that these are prosperous

and very enjoyable games, mainly for the athletes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an

advance copy of his statement. It is

so wonderful that Corner Brook, in fact my town of birth, will host the national

Special Olympics. I fully support

the financial support of this great event that involves the whole community.

The sense of achievement and

inclusion gained from sports carries over into other aspects of these

participants' lives. People with

intellectual disabilities also need adequate government support to live in

decent, independent housing with appropriate supports, and have the opportunity

to contribute to society through real, meaningful work opportunities.

I thank in advance all the

sponsors and volunteers in Corner Brook and throughout the Province who are all

working so hard to help make these games a success. The Special Olympics bravo

to all the athletes as they train in anticipation.

I can hardly wait.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister Responsible for the Status

of Women.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SHEA:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House of Assembly

today to announce that Respect Aging ,

a new training program under the provincial government's Violence Prevention

Initiative, was unveiled at a recent provincial stakeholders' conference on the

topic of prevention and violence against older persons.

Over the last four years,

the Women's Policy Office, through the Violence Prevention Initiative, has

worked in partnership with the Office for Aging and Seniors, a Provincial

Advisory Committee of government and community representatives, and an Advisory

Committee of Aboriginal governments and organizations to develop, deliver, and

evaluate training and education materials to assist in the recognition,

prevention, and intervention of violence against older persons in Newfoundland

and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, the

Respect Aging training program is a

comprehensive resource package for those who work in the area of violence

prevention against older persons.

Resources include a sixteen-module education participant manual, an accompanying

trainer's guide, as well as a second trainer's guide for law enforcement

agencies. PowerPoint slides have

also been developed to accompany both training guides, and all resources are

featured on a new Web site. These

resources are available to those who work with older persons, as well as anyone

in the public interested in the prevention of violence against older persons.

Since October 2013, the

Violence Prevention Initiative has held train-the-trainer sessions with staff of

the four regional health authorities, the RNC, and the RCMP in preparation for

the unveiling of the program. A

session for the Violence Prevention Initiative partners and stakeholders was

held on Wednesday, March 19, after the program was unveiled.

Additional training sessions are taking place with community partners and

other audiences in the coming year.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage

everyone to visit www.respectaging.ca

to learn more about our new training program, and how each and every one of us

can play a

part in preventing all forms of violence against older persons.

Older persons, and all vulnerable populations in our society, Mr.

Speaker, deserve to live in violence-free and safe communities.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the

advance copy of her statement.

Seniors face their own vulnerabilities to violence.

As in all populations, isolation plays a role in making one more

vulnerable to being taken advantage of.

We have read stories about seniors suffering financial abuse, as well as

other types of abuse from strangers as well as those known to them.

Helping stakeholders understand the particular vulnerabilities to

violence that seniors face is key to preventing or at least mitigating violence.

I would go one step further

than the minister, Mr. Speaker, in her statement that all vulnerable populations

deserve to live in violence-free and safe communities.

I feel everyone should be able to live without fear of violence.

Phase I of the Violence

Prevention Initiative has concluded.

When we asked for a copy of the evaluation report, we were denied, citing the

infamous Bill 29. In this

self-proclaimed, open and transparent government that committed to making every

report public within thirty days of receiving it, we can only hope that this

report will be made available in its entirety.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an

advance copy of her statement.

Violence against the elderly is a growing problem, especially among older women.

I welcome the new training program, Respect Aging.

It encourages people to report elder abuse to a social worker; however,

most social workers are overworked with huge caseloads, and many communities do

not even have social workers. In

order for this program to work, the resources must be put in place in order to

support it; otherwise it is just words on paper.

This government has been

negligent in attending to some of the key determinants for health and safety for

the elderly, especially affordable housing and a publicly funded and managed

home care program. Without these,

our elderly are increasingly vulnerable and at risk.

I thank the community

committee, the Women's Policy, the Office for Aging, and all those departments

that were involved in coming up with this strategy, and I thank them for their

work and their dedication on this initiative.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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.

Newfoundland Power's report

on DarkNL, or the power outages in January, says that 80 per cent of the

blackouts were caused by major electrical system disruptions, 15 per cent by

rotating outages, and only 5 per cent due to the blizzard or stormy weather.

That indicates that 95 per cent of the power outages during DarkNL were

caused because of problems with Nalcor's system.

I ask the Premier: Do you

agree that 95 per cent of DarkNL was Nalcor's fault and not caused by the stormy

or cold weather in January?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, when we throw the switch, we expect

the lights to come on. We expect the

power to be there. Mr. Speaker, that

responsibility, a huge responsibility, rests with Newfoundland and Labrador

Hydro, Newfoundland Power, and the Public Utilities Board.

It is a tremendous

responsibility to manage 15,000 kilometres of transmission line, hydro assets

which include hydro, thermal, wind, diesel, gas, Mr. Speaker, and there are

times when things go wrong like it did in January.

It was very unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, it was a difficult time, but we all

know that all of that is under clear review from the Public Utilities Board.

Our government clearly supports that, Mr. Speaker.

There are reports being done

and compiled by Newfoundland Power, Newfoundland Hydro, and the PUB.

All of that will be looked at, and we look forward to the report, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Nalcor and government has

said that unprecedented power demands were to blame for DarkNL; however,

Newfoundland Power's report says that the power demand was only 2.2 per cent

higher than their peak forecast during and commencing of the rolling blackouts.

I ask the Premier: Why did

you leave people of Newfoundland and Labrador to believe that DarkNL was caused

by unprecedented power demand when clearly this was not the case?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, it was obviously a difficult time in

January and we are having a close look at that situation and certainly look

forward to the PUB report. I think

it has also been clear back in January, as it is clear with the recent reports

that highlight there are a number of events, in many cases unrelated events,

that contributed to this. Around all

of that there are a lot of questions.

We have questions. Once

again, we are firmly committed to working with the PUB with what is needed.

More importantly, Mr.

Speaker, it is not about politics.

This is about ensuring the people of the Province, the entire Province, has

confidence in our utility system that it is reliable and dependable.

That is what we are working towards.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I agree with the minister,

it is not about politics, but 2.2 per cent is not an unprecedented amount.

That is not a large enough increase to create this problem back in

January. Part of the problem,

however, started over a year ago in January 2013, and throughout the year Nalcor

continued to miss deadlines for repairs to Holyrood, to Stephenville, and to

Hardwoods.

I ask the Premier: When were

you made aware that Nalcor was missing these deadlines and that these facilities

were not available?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

Mr. Speaker, the operations and the management of

our utility system in this Province rests with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro,

Newfoundland Power, and the Public Utilities Board.

A series of events and an unfortunate event in January, but again, I can

only reiterate the fact that the entire system is under review.

These kinds of questions are going to be asked, issues around scheduling

and maintenance, and certainly issues around capital investments.

Historically, where decisions made around capital investments, whether it

comes from Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro or Newfoundland Power, and the

decisions made around that as reflected by the Public Utilities Board, what kind

of impact all of that may have, and recognizing fully our challenge here is to

ensure we have reliability and balance that with the cost, which obviously the

people of Newfoundland and Labrador have to pay for.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Clearly, in the press

conference yesterday, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro actually said that

communications was a problem. Now, maybe

I did not articulate the question well enough; maybe the minister did not hear

it.

The question was: Were you

aware that Nalcor was missing the deadlines on repairs to those facilities and

that they were not going to be available?

It is a clear question, I ask the minister.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY:

A clear answer, Mr. Speaker.

The responsibility for the management, administration, certainly

management of assets and decisions around utilities in this Province rests with

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, it rests with Newfoundland Power, and it rests

with the Public Utilities Board.

The hon. member references

communications. We are delighted

with the reports that came out yesterday in the sense that the work has been

done. They are taking a close at it.

They recognize things need to change.

There are recommendations coming out of that.

We are looking forward to all of that information being collected by the

Public Utilities Board and providing the Province, government, and particularly

the key players in our utility system with some direction for the future so we

can ensure that we have reliability and we have confidence in our utility system

in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

The only thing that is clear about it is that the

minister was not aware of it obviously.

Mr. Speaker, the

Province-wide review of the ambulance system was completed by government last

August, yet we know there have been no significant improvements to ambulance

operations or the level of care that has been provided.

Today we saw a group of paramedics gather on the steps of Confederation

Building. We are hearing on a daily

basis from ambulance operators and paramedics.

I ask the Premier: When are

you finally going to take the concerns of ambulance operators seriously?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we always take

the concerns of anyone who is involved in health care very, very seriously.

That is especially true for ambulance operators as a result of the

provincial Ambulance Review that had been done.

Mr. Speaker, throughout the

process of that review we certainly learned of many deficiencies within our

current ambulance program. We did

consultations after the review was submitted to us in October, and we met with

stakeholders to ensure they were happy with the recommendations that were coming

forward. The result of that

consultation was actually very positive.

I think ambulance operators,

clients, and people who work in various departments of hospitals reported to us

that they were encouraged by the recommendations that came forward.

Our next process is to put in place and implementing

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will let you know how

serious you are taking this; it is two years without a contract.

Last year there were 462 red alerts at Eastern Health.

That means 462 times that ambulances were not immediately available to

respond to an emergency. More red

alerts mean that response times will no longer be available for emergency

services, and given in an emergency time is of the essence.

I ask the Premier: When will

you take clear actions to eliminate red alerts?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, last year at

Eastern Health they responded to 22,573 calls or there were 22,573 calls.

Ninety-eight per cent of those calls were answered immediately, which

would indicate that for about 2 per cent of the calls they were not able to

respond immediately.

Mr. Speaker, we need to

understand that in terms of red alerts there are two classes.

There is a red alert 1, which indicates a call has come in and no

ambulance is available. There is a

red alert 2, which indicates there has not been any call for an ambulance during

that period when an ambulance may not have been there.

Mr. Speaker, what we do know

is, and we have looked at the last two months I hope I get an opportunity to

continue on then.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This morning's protest was

about red alerts in Eastern Health, but no one is talking about the red alerts

in the rural parts of the Province.

If government's proposed new model goes through for private and community

operators this will increase two and three-hour red alerts that already exist to

even longer times.

I ask the minister: Are you

willing to put patients in rural parts of the Province at greater risk with your

proposal?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, just to

continue on. What we know about the

red alert 1 situation which is the one I would be more concerned about when

there is not an ambulance available is that 80 per cent of the impact of those

red alerts had to do with routine transfers; which begs the question that Fitch,

when they did their review, posed to us as to the efficiency and how we are

using ambulances in the Province, not just in Eastern Health but right

throughout the Province, Mr. Speaker.

If we are finding that the

majority of ambulance calls in that particular period related to non-emergent,

non-urgent routine transfers, then we need to ask the question if we really

ought to be using ambulances for transfers at all.

That is what we are currently exploring, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will ask the same

question, because I obviously did not get an answer to that one.

If your proposed new model

goes through, two and three-hour red alerts, emergency red alerts in rural areas

are going to get even longer.

I ask you again: Are you

willing to put patients in rural parts of the Province at greater risk with your

proposed changes?

MR. SPEAKER:

I ask the member to direct his question to the

Chair the next time, please.

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the business of

operating ambulances is a very complex issue and we are certainly not willing to

put anyone at risk, certainly not somebody who requires the services of an

ambulance. What we need to examine,

however, is whether or not we are using ambulances properly.

That is what Fitch & Associates exposed as they did the work around the

Province.

Many times, Mr. Speaker, we

have people being transferred as a result of needing dialysis.

They are sitting up in the front seat of the ambulance, Mr. Speaker, to

come for a dialysis treatment in certain areas.

What we are examining now is how we can better use ambulances throughout

the Province.

The other aspect of what we

are examining, Mr. Speaker, has to do with whether or not we can look at

jurisdictional issues, because sometimes I appreciate your nod, and I hope I

get another question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, when we talk to ambulance operators they are telling us

that government demands will reduce the level of service currently offered.

The new service model will lead to a reduction in staff, compromise

patient safety and care, and put emergency responders at a greater risk of

fatigue.

I ask the Premier: Is

reducing staffing levels the most effective way to improve ambulance operations

in this Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the issues that

he just outlined are the very issues that we are trying to address, particularly

around fatigue. When we look at

again the number of routine transfers that are happening, do we need that many

people operating and transferring routinely?

Is there a better way to transfer some of those particular patients when

they are coming in for routine testing, routine services, and sometimes just for

a visit with a doctor?

We are certainly trying to

reduce the stress and the fatigue levels on the ambulance operators by seeing

that we can have a much more efficient operation.

We are also trying to reduce the number of night-time transfers, Mr.

Speaker, so that again those fatigue issues can be addressed and adequately

addressed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of

Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, the minister maintains that the

Humber Valley land use committee is not defunct.

Documents tabled in the House yesterday confirm there have been no

meetings booked since 2011, no payments to staff since 2011, the phone

disconnected since 2011, and no rent paid since 2011.

The minister's letter was sent to the defunct committee on February 27,

I ask the minister: How do

you justify spending $650,000 on a committee that became defunct because of your

inaction?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Municipal and

Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, it is rather unfortunate that we

have only been in the House a couple of weeks and I think this is the third, if

not the fourth, time that the member opposite has asked me the same question.

Mr. Speaker, just last month

this government provided a comprehensive response to the Chair of the Humber

Valley regional planning authority outlining what needs to be done next to move

the process forward. The Chair has

reviewed that; he is working with the consultant that is involved, CBCL, to

advance that work. We look forward

to bringing in a modern regional plan for the whole Humber Valley region, and we

remain committed to that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of

Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, the minister produced an e-mail from

former committee Chair, Don Downer, suggesting that he has always been the Chair

and that he never resigned from the committee.

Yet, Mr. Downer told The Western

Star in September of 2013 that he had vacated the position and moved on as

Chair of the Western waste management authority.

He never contacted them to correct this.

I ask the minister: Who is

right? Is Mr. Downer suggesting that

The

Western Star got their facts wrong?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Municipal and

Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite provided

factually incorrect information in this House earlier this week.

He did it last week. He is

doing it again today.

The Chair of the committee

did not resign at any point in time.

I even went as far as to provide written confirmation of that to the hon. member

yesterday, and he still did not believe it.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot

control what the hon. member reads or hears, but I can control my conduct in

this hon. House and he should do the same.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of

Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I cannot control what Mr. Downer

says to The Western Star .

Mr. Speaker, I have another

question for the minister: Who are the current members of the Humber Valley land

use committee and will you table the names in this hon. House today?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Municipal and

Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, we are going to work with all

communities in the Humber Valley region to move this process forward.

I would be happy to provide the information that the hon. member has

requested.

We have had a recent

municipal election. There are some

vacancies on the committee, as I said previously in the House.

The committee is still in place and we are going to continue to move the

work forward. We have been in touch

with Dr. Downer. He will be reaching

to other members of the committee.

We have provided a comprehensive response, the consultant is engaged, and

whether the members opposite like it or not, progress is continuing, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of

Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, speaking of land use plans, the

Northeast Avalon Regional Plan was first initiated in 2009 and was estimated to

cost approximately $500,000 to complete.

We now know the plan also fell on the rails along the way.

I ask the minister: Will you

table all documents related to the Northeast Avalon Regional Plan, including the

total cost of the plan to date?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Municipal and

Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to table whatever

documents the hon. member wishes; I just doubt that he is going to bother to

read them.

Mr. Speaker, work has been

progressing on the Northeast Avalon Regional Plan, as well.

In fact, I have had several meetings with mayors from around the

Northeast Avalon region and we have engaged Municipalities Newfoundland and

Labrador to assist with the work.

The committee is meeting on a regular basis.

I am pleased with the

progress, Mr. Speaker. It is a high

priority for me. It is a high

priority for this Department of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, it is an accepted fact that children

who complete full-day kindergarten are better prepared for Grade 1 and go on to

be more successful in school.

Unfortunately, our students are deprived of this opportunity, as the minister

continues to be indecisive on this issue.

I ask the minister: When

will you act to correct this deficiency in our education system?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I have stood in this House on

several occasions and answered the question.

I have said on many of those occasions that we continue to explore the

possibility of introducing full-day kindergarten, and, Mr. Speaker, we are still

continuing to explore that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, most provinces now offer full-day

kindergarten, and this government can no longer deny that children and parents

are better off with a full day of kindergarten rather than a half day.

Minister: Will you now act

on the weight of evidence in favour of a full-day program, or will you simply

still stand there and play kindergarten games?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN:

Mr. Speaker, I moved on from kindergarten about

fifty-seven years ago no, a little bit less than that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

AN HON. MEMBER:

They did not teach math.

MR. JACKMAN:

Math was not one of the strengths, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, look at our

investment in education: the best student-teacher ratio of all the provinces in

Canada; an increase in our per-capita budget totalled, overall, 61 per cent; our

investment of $4.3 million in zero to three.

Research shows us where to put dollars.

Mr. Speaker, we as a government have done that in education for certain.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay

North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, government has proven once again how out of touch it is

with the business and community developers as it launched the Open Government

Initiative. Open data should provide

useable information that helps business and residents make informed decisions.

Why then, are justice offences sorted by health authority?

I ask the minister of OPE to

explain the rationale and admit that the Open Government Initiative is not

focused on providing useable data.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Municipal and

Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, sixty-three countries around the

world have signed onto the Open Government Partnership.

One of the key pillars in our Open Government Initiative is open data.

We have launched an open data portal, but I would point out to the hon.

member, and I would point out to others who are concerned as well, this is just

a starting point.

What we launched last week

was the beginning of a consultation process.

We are going to engage the public over the next number of months to find

out what kinds of data people would like to see available and what kind of

formats they would like to see it available in.

We want to hear from researchers, we want to hear from the business

community, and we want to hear from the academic community so that our open data

portal will ultimately be the best in the country.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay

North.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, data has to be useful and reliable.

The spatial maps in the Open Government portal show the St.

Lunaire-Griquet public library as active, yet government closed it in December.

It appears the government is not concerned with providing up-to-date

information and it is set on taking books away from children and those who need

it most.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

Minister Responsible for OPE: Why are you sharing data that is out of date and

unreliable, or has the Minister of Education had a change of heart?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Municipal and

Intergovernmental Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, we are deeply committed to Open

Government. We are deeply committed

to building an open data portal as part of that strategy, and it is only one

pillar in the strategy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

They are clearly not interested in listening, which is not much surprise.

They were not interested in the answers to the first questions this

afternoon; they are not interested in these ones either.

Mr. Speaker, the open data

portal as it exists today is simply the starting point.

We have taken the data sets that are already available, that were

available prior to launching this initiative, and we have made them available in

one particular place, through our open data portal.

Over the next number of months we are going to go out and find out what

kind of data the public would like to see available for research purposes, for

academic purposes, for business purposes, and we look forward to that input.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile for a

very quick question without

preamble.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Health: What are your plans to

address the growing epidemic of eating disorders and mental health issues in

this Province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services for a quick response.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, through the

Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Council we have within the department, we

are constantly getting feedback with regard to the needs and the issues that are

in community. We take that advice

very seriously. We have moved

forward with a number of initiatives already.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Two years ago government

committed to working on a new five-year VLT strategy.

Last year, the Finance Minister stated they were looking at policies of

other provinces with regard to VLTs.

I ask the Premier: Will we

see a new strategy this year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this government

takes VLTs and gambling very seriously.

That is why in 2005 we announced our VLT action plan.

At that time we had 2,700 VLTs in 600 locations.

We have reduced that to 1,960 in 400 locations, which is a 26.9 per cent

reduction.

We continue to work with ALC

and the other provinces. In fact, I

will be attending a meeting there of Atlantic Provinces in May of next month, so

we will continue with that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I point out to the minister

that they take it so seriously that last month Eastern Health eliminated the

position of gambling addictions counsellor, creating less access to specialized

treatment.

I ask the Premier: What

happened to government's commitment to treating persons with gambling

addictions?

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, within our

overall plan around addictions and any other mental health issues that we have

to address, there are over 950 people working within the Province.

Of those people, we have people who work in terms of gambling, in terms

of addictions issues, and in terms of general mental health.

We have fifty-nine

outpatient counselling areas throughout the Province that are always available

to help out. We work also in

conjunction with any other groups that are doing outreach within the Province to

provide assistance to them as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The June 2009 Gambling

Prevalence Study shows there were close to 3,000 problem VLT gamblers in this

Province.

I ask the Premier: Can he

tell us what percentage of the estimated $80 million annual VLT government

revenue is made off the backs of addicted people?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have great

programs in our Province for gambling and other addictions.

In fact, 1 per cent of all revenue goes towards gambling programs.

It is something we take seriously.

It is an issue that I will be speaking to my counterparts on next month.

It is a serious issue, and it is one we are committed to working towards

as we go forward.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: When are

we going to see a Department of Health and Community Services official appointed

to the Atlantic Lottery Corporation to ensure the welfare of people comes before

VLT profits?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We do have representation on

the ALC board. There is a

representative there from our department.

We certainly meet with the Department of Health and other departments

involved when it comes to gambling and addictions on such serious issues.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL:

For clarification, Mr. Speaker, I think the

minister said there is nobody from the Department of Health and Community

Services on the board. Is that

correct?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, what I said was

we do have a government representative on ALC that is a representative in the

Department of Finance, and I also attend meetings as minister in government and

sit around the Cabinet table and caucus table and speak to my colleagues on an

as-needed basis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Paramedics for Eastern

Health need help; no call is ever routine.

They say there is a shortage of paramedics and they require relief from a

heavy workload.

What is government's plan to

address the shortage of ambulance personnel in Eastern Health?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in the last few

years Eastern Health has doubled the number of ambulances that they have on the

road. They have doubled the number

of paramedics that they have working at Eastern Health as well.

Now there is a complement of fifty-one, Mr. Speaker.

That, together with the thirteen ambulances they have on the road, I

think shows the commitment that Eastern Health has to meeting the needs of the

people in the region.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, we are going to be dealing with some

severe aging problems here in the near future and government is going to have to

address that. The ambulance needs

are going to go up.

Red alert events are when we

find an ambulance is not available whenever the next call for service comes in.

Any shortage of ambulance personnel is certainly indicative as a reason

for a high number of red alert events.

How does government plan to

address the red alert 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, as I said

earlier in this Question Period, red alerts come in two different forms; those

when there is a call for an ambulance and there is no ambulance available, and

then sometimes when we have no ambulance available but there is no call.

We should also understand

that in terms of red alert 1, when we looked at the period of time studied in

Eastern Health, in the 87 per cent that I made reference to earlier, those red

alert periods ranged from three seconds to a minute and forty-seven seconds, Mr.

Speaker.

Having said that, we do not

want to see any red alerts; we have engaged on a process that will help to see

us through to that goal. One of the

things that we are doing is we are looking around the jurisdictions.

We triage first of all so that the most urgent case is called

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. John's East, for a

quick question without

preamble.

MR. MURPHY:

Mr. Speaker, they have had the results of the

ambulance review now for several months, when will the government implement the

recommendations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services, for a quick response.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS SULLIVAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are in the

process now of analyzing all of the recommendations that have come in, as well

as the information that we received from the stakeholders when we consulted them

around those recommendations. The

next process for us will be to do a cost analysis on the implementation of all

of those recommendations, and then to put in place an implementation plan.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

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.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and

Labrador.

MR. CRUMMELL:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave

Bill 10.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS JOHNSON:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I will move the following motion: that the House approve in general the

budgetary policy of the government, the Budget Speech.

Mr. Speaker, I also give

notice that I will move that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the

Whole on Supply to consider a resolution for the granting of Supply to Her

Majesty, Bill 11.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Revenue

Administration Act, Bill 9.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community

Services.

MS SULLIVAN:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave

to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend Various Acts Of The Province

Respecting The Publication Of A

Summary Of A Decision Or Order Of An

Adjudication Tribunal, Bill 8.

I give notice that I will

ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Health Professions

Act, Bill 7.

MR. SPEAKER:

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been

Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS play-based full-day

kindergarten has been proven to give children a stronger start in school and in

life; and

WHEREAS a full day of

learning early in life can help improve children's reading, writing, and math

skills, and provide them with a strong foundation for future learning; and

WHEREAS full-day

kindergarten provides opportunities for children to socialize with others and

develop their academic and social skills necessary for future success; and

WHEREAS children in full-day

kindergarten programs are able to remain in familiar surroundings with staff and

friends all day rather than moving between different locations; and

WHEREAS full-day

kindergarten makes the transition to Grade 1 easier for both parents and

children; and

WHEREAS a province that

invests in full-day kindergarten is seeing a return on investment in terms of

better school achievement and fewer students at risk of falling through the

cracks;

WHEREUPON the undersigned

petition the House of Assembly to urge the government to introduce a full-day

kindergarten program for children and families in Newfoundland and Labrador.

As in duty bound your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, currently, most

kindergarten aged children in Canada attend a full day program rather than the

half day one that we continue to offer in this Province.

In some provinces, such as Ontario, there is actually a full-day program

for four year olds. So a full-day,

government funded, education program that is play based for four year olds, and

one for five year olds as well.

If you look around the rest

of North America if you look in the United States, for example, we have over

75 per cent, or upwards of 75 per cent of children who are kindergarten age in

the US now attend a full day program with play base curriculum.

There was an interesting

story today in the Washington Post

that talked about the problems associated with a half-day program.

We talked about a lot of those here.

The response from the government last year, instead of a full-day

kindergarten program was the Lullaby nappies.

I can barely pronounce it, but basically, Lullaby blankets.

They printed 6,000 lullabies on blankets and sent it out to people.

I do not know if it was a practical joke

or seriously intended to impact early learning, but it was a poor substitution

for what most of the developed Western world have really adopted as standard

practice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of

Islands.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to present a

petition on behalf of the residents in Western Newfoundland concerning the new

regional hospital in Corner Brook.

WHEREAS we wish to raise

concerns regarding recent delays of the construction of the new hospital in

Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador.

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

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

government to commit to the planning and construction of a new hospital in

Corner Brook as previously committed to and in a timely manner as originally

announced without further delay or changes.

Mr. Speaker, this is a

petition that I was asked to present by all the residents from Western

Newfoundland. There are people here

from Pasadena, Corner Brook, Mount Moriah, Frenchman's Cove, and all throughout

the whole Western region.

This hospital had been first

committed in 2007. Now we understand

the construction of the main hospital may start in 2016, as confirmed by the

government, that they are now going to go for RFPs.

Mr. Speaker, this has been a major concern for a lot of people in Western

Newfoundland and Corner Brook, asking what was going to be put in the new

hospital.

One of the proposals now is

to cut the ultrasound units from six to three.

Mr. Speaker, we hear government people say and I am not going to make

this political today, I am just going to speak the facts.

We hear people say we are going to have a mobile unit to cover it.

Under the freedom of information, Mr. Speaker, I went and asked for the

number of patients who are inpatients and the number who are outpatients for the

ultrasounds.

I say to the Premier, I will

share it with you. The number of

patients this machine is supposed to cover for outpatients is 90 per cent of

all ultrasounds are outpatients. It

is 10 per cent who are inpatients.

This machine is supposed to cover the other 40 per cent to 50 per cent in the

decrease in the number.

Also, the machine itself is

not of the same quality of a standard machine with the mobile unit.

Mr. Speaker, this is major concern.

When you hear officials from the government, mainly the minister, out

saying we have a mobile unit, yet 90 per cent who come from outside the hospital

will never be able to use this unit because they are outpatients.

It is just a minor detail.

The recommended time right

now is 147 days for an ultrasound.

The possibility and this is coming from the experts of going up to 350 days

for an ultrasound, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, and I will

present a petition every day I can.

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MR. MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS in the past, the

Town of Conception Bay South has provided space for the Conception Bay South

Public Library, but will not be providing space for the library in its new town

hall building; and

WHEREAS losing the

provincial library means one of the fastest growing communities in the Province,

with a population of 25,000, will no longer have public library service; and

WHEREAS the library is more

than just books, it is an open community space for Internet access, online

lending, children's reading programs, and community events and services which

improve literacy levels, provide access to information, stimulate creativity and

innovation, and foster the development of strong communities; and

WHEREAS the Town of

Conception Bay South has expressed interest in cost-sharing a new site for the

Conception Bay South Public Library;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

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

government to provide the necessary resources to retain the public library in

Conception Bay South.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I was up on my

feet the other day talking about this issue again as expressed by the residents

of Gander who were concerned about losing libraries.

In this particular case, we have signatories from the Town of Paradise,

Topsail, St. John's, and there are some people from CBS who have also signed

this petition.

As a matter of fact, the

majority of the signatures here are from residents of CBS who were well, my

phone rang once or twice quite surprised, actually, by the reaction from

government as regards this petition as it was presented the other day, even

though it was from Gander. Needless

to say, Mr. Speaker, with their signatures on it, they expressing their view

again, and it gives me pleasure to stand and talk about the issue.

Mr. Speaker, at the same

time, there are certain facts about libraries that we should all know.

We should all remember the fact that government laid off a lot of

librarians last year in the last Budget.

We know the Budget is coming up again, of course, on Thursday.

At the same time, just remember, to the people of the Province, we only

have nine librarians that are left to operate the services the essential

services, I say of ninety-six libraries left in the Province.

The Canadian Library

Association gives us a really startling fact when it comes to the use of

libraries in Newfoundland and Labrador.

They say that about 25 per cent of the population of Newfoundland and

Labrador have a close tie with libraries, and each one on average borrows about

fifteen different objects, different books, for example, from libraries as a

resource that is readily available to people's fingertips.

I just want to make

government aware that besides that, they can also turn libraries into something

a little bit better: a centre for business excellence, for example, for smaller

communities. Again, Mr. Speaker, I

take pleasure in presenting this petition and hopefully government will listen.

Thank you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

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

MS ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS the Family Violence

Intervention Court provided a comprehensive approach to domestic violence in a

court setting that fully understood and dealt with the complex issues of

domestic violence; and

WHEREAS domestic violence

continues to be one of the most serious issues facing our Province today, and

the cost of the impact of domestic violence is great both economically and in

human suffering; and

WHEREAS the Family Violence

Intervention Court was welcomed and endorsed by all aspects of the justice

system, including the police, the courts, prosecutors, defence counsel, Child,

Youth and Family Services, as well as victims, offenders, community agencies,

and women's groups; and

WHEREAS the recidivism rate

for offenders going through the court was 10 per cent compared to 40 per cent

for those who did not; and

WHEREAS the budget for the

court was only 0.2 per cent of the entire budget of the Department of Justice;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

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

government to reinstate the Family Violence Intervention Court.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have, yet

again, petition after petition. I

have more up in my office; there are more coming in.

I am sure probably that people on the other side of the House are tired

of hearing me stand up and talk about the Family Violence Intervention Court.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS ROGERS:

As I stand again today, I am wondering: What else

is there to say about it? We have

said it all. I have said it all

again and again and again.

I know that the Premier and

the Minister of Justice have said that they are listening to the people of the

Province. Well, only two weeks ago a

lot of people from women's organizations, organizations that develop programs

and deliver programs on rehabilitation around the issue of domestic violence,

gathered on the steps of Confederation Building asking the Premier, asking the

Minister of Justice, to come out and speak to them.

They did not.

Perhaps they were busy; perhaps they were not available.

They are begging the Minister of Justice and they are begging the Premier

to listen to them about a program that was so incredibly successful, that is

vital to the safety of the women and children of this Province who are victims

of domestic violence.

Mr. Speaker, both the

Minister Responsible for the Status of Women and the Minister of Justice have

talked about

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I remind the member her time

has expired.

MS ROGERS:

Already?

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A petition to the hon. House

of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament

assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there is a waste

recovery facility being proposed by Eastern Waste Management in the Peak

Pond-Reids Pond area; and

WHEREAS such a site will

drastically impact the pond and general area in a negative way from an

environmental perspective; and

WHEREAS there are many

species of wildlife that will be negatively impacted by such a site, such as

moose, rabbits, loons, ducks, Canada geese; and

WHEREAS such a site will be

result in litter and strong odours in the general area; and

WHEREAS there are a

significant number of cabins and permanent homes in the Peak Pond-Reids Pond

area which will be negatively impacted by the site; and

WHEREAS Eastern Waste

Management has many sites available to them for such a facility, including

former dump sites in the area;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call up on the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to intercede in the matter and advise

Eastern Waste Management to withdraw this proposal and find a more suitable

location for this waste recovery facility.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I presented

this yesterday, I think it was, and I am doing so again today.

It is interesting because, originally, this started out with people who

were living at Peak Pond-Reids Pond, cabin owners.

That is certainly how I got involved initially, because there were a

number of residents from Mount Pearl who actually own properties in those areas.

Since that time, this has

really taken off. We are seeing a

lot of concerns from people in the entire Whitbourne area: Whitbourne,

Blaketown, New Harbour, South Dildo, and so on.

I actually started off with one petition; I think we have at least a

dozen of them now because there are people expressing a lot of concern about

this.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately

this was something which was put forward by Eastern Waste Management, and I

think we all recognize and agree and support the fact that there is a

requirement to have a waste transfer facility for bulk garbage and so on.

We have eight others across the Province; this would be the final one.

The location here is the issue.

There are industrial sites already in the general area, former dump sites

and so on, which would certainly be much more appropriate.

Interestingly, the site they

are actually picking or proposing is actually a piece of private property and

they want to actually expropriate it from someone when we have all kinds of

Crown lands

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The member's time is

expired.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will be speaking about it

again in the future.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, a petition to the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there is no

cellphone service in the Town of Trout River, which is an enclave community in

Gros Morne National Park; and

WHEREAS visitors to Gros

Morne National Park, more than 100,000 annually, expect to communicate by

cellphone when they visit the park; and

WHEREAS cellphone service

has become a very important aspect of everyday living for residents; and

WHEREAS cellphone service is

an essential safety tool for visitors and residents; and

WHEREAS cellphone service is

essential for business development;

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 to

extend cellphone coverage throughout Gros Morne National Park and the enclave

community of Trout River.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, the petitions

keep coming from Trout River, keep coming from Trout River, and keep coming from

Trout River, but you still cannot use cellphones in Trout River.

The thought that a community such as Trout River is going to be without

cellphone service for the foreseeable future is just unacceptable.

I was listening a few days

ago to the government making an announcement on a 911 service, as I mentioned

previously. A 911 service would be a

great step forward for our Province.

Clearly, it is an important safety feature and people expect to be able to use

911 service.

In the introduction, the

minister referred to people being able to use cellphones to dial 911 when they

had emergencies. We heard today of

questions in the House to do with ambulance and ambulance services, and whether

there were red alerts on ambulances if they are unable to attend because of a

shortage of ambulances or ambulances already in use.

Imagine, Mr. Speaker, the

situation where you are in a community of more than 600 people, with a number of

businesses, regular tourist trade, and what is facing you from the time you

leave Trout River until you get into the Bonne Bay area is besides leaving Trout

River, you have to travel all the way through Trout River Gulch which is a world

historic site that is the part of Gros Morne National Park that makes it a

world historic site. It is the type

of geology which has formed the tablelands which causes that.

People from all over the world come to see this and they cannot use their

cellphone.

Mr. Speaker, it would not be

a very substantial investment for government not to pay for the cellphones, not

to install the cellphones, but to partner with the private sector to make it

worthwhile for the private sector to introduce cellphone service into the Town

of Trout River.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair.

MS DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of

Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,

the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS most communities in

the District of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair do not have adequate broadband

service; and

WHEREAS residents,

businesses, students, nurses, and teachers heavily rely on the Internet to

conduct their work and cannot afford to wait until 2016 to access a potential

plan in partnership with the Muskrat Falls development; and

WHEREAS there are a number

of world-class tourism sites in the region, including UNESCO site at Red Bay,

Battle Harbour Historic Site, and the Mealy Mountains National Park;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

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

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to work with the appropriate agencies to

provide adequate broadband service to the communities along the Labrador Coast.

As in duty bound, your

petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have been up

a number of times on this very important issue, and I will continue to do so.

We know that in the Speech from the Throne we heard that 95 per cent of

the communities are connected, and we are asking for a list of the remaining 5

per cent that are not.

I can tell you that in my

district of twenty-two communities in Cartwright L'Anse au Clair, we have ten

communities that are maxed out at capacity and we have a number of communities

that are not connected. This is

causing very serious issues in 2014, in a day of connectivity and media that

people rely on it. We have these

historic sites that I mentioned, Mr. Speaker, Red Bay we hope we will see a

huge influx of traffic this summer with tourists coming in, and here is the

community on a dial-up service, and they have been lobbying for a long time to

get Internet.

Mr. Speaker, we have

businesses that are really, really frustrated. In

large communities like L'Anse-au-Loup, there are days that they cannot even get

the Interac to work because the Internet is so slow in their community.

We have students who are trying to study and cannot do online classes,

and the money that it is saving them, being able to stay in their own

communities and do the online courses.

Health: People living on the

Coast of Labrador I raise petitions on a regular basis about the medical

transportation program. Well, there

are a number of services, if Internet was in place, that they could avail of

right from their home communities, going into their clinic, sitting in front of

a TV screen and being able to meet with their specialist here in St. John's.

These types of services are not available to them, so government

investment there would actually save tremendously.

What is happening now, with these services not available because the

Internet is not there, is some of these patients are travelling and then they

are claiming the money back through the medical transportation program.

I will continue to petition

on behalf of the people of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair to ensure that adequate

broadband is put into the area.

Thank you.

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 of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents

humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS hundreds of

residents of the South Coast of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador,

including residents of the communities of La Poile, Ramea, Grey River, Franois,

Rencontre East, Pool's Cove, Bay L'Argent, South East Bight, Gaultois, McCallum,

and Hermitage use the provincial ferry system on a regular basis for work,

medical, educational, and social reasons; and

WHEREAS the provincial ferry

system is the main source of transportation for these communities; and

WHEREAS most of the ferries

are old, have ongoing mechanical problems, and are constantly being taken out of

service and replaced with older vessels; and

WHEREAS government, as part

of its provincial ferry strategy, agreed to replace the ferry servicing these

communities and awarded a design contract to Fleetway on January 11, 2011 for

five new ferries for same; and

WHEREAS the residents and

users of these communities are still waiting for these new vessels;

WHEREUPON the undersigned,

your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the House to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to finalize the design and begin construction of the

new vessels for residents of the South Coast.

Mr. Speaker, this is a

petition that I have entered on numerous occasions in this House.

Again, being the representative for a district where I have my own ferry

runs, I have done my best to advocate on their behalf.

You hear from these people when the ferry goes down.

It is troubling when you have to make alternate arrangements, when you

have a late ferry, when you are stuck in your community for days.

I will not get into the

cellphone aspect of this, but I have had communities go down where there is no

transportation in or out, no cellphone service, and I have done my best.

Some of these people say it is funny government did come down and sat

down and talked about the design, and that was a few years back, and they have

never heard anything since. That is

the problem: There was a conversation, but there has been no meaningful

follow-up.

What has been really

interesting, though, is that I put this petition out and the number of people

who are coming to me from outside my district, from other districts, government

districts, saying: Will you go in the House and put this petition in?

Because we have not seen any action.

Actually, as I came in here

on Sunday, I had a call from a community on the South Coast, not in my district,

but I said: Not a problem; I will be happy to stand up and put this petition in

on your behalf so that government will get this done.

I know the minister's

department told me before Christmas: Do not worry; the minister is coming out

early in the new year with something on this.

Well, we are in spring now, and I have not heard anything yet.

I am waiting for it.

I am going to give the

minister the benefit. I am hoping

that he is going to announce something soon.

Who knows? Maybe I should

stay tuned for Thursday. We will see

what comes up, but again I am going to stand and continue on behalf of the

Official Opposition to raise ferry concerns for members of the District of

Burgeo La Poile and members of any district whose constituents want to call me

to make sure that that issue is heard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice and ask leave

to introduce Motion 1, the bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The City Of Corner

Brook Act, The City Of Mount Pearl Act, The City Of St. John's Act And The

Municipalities Act, 1999, Bill 6, seconded by the Minister of Municipal and

Intergovernmental Affairs, and I ask that the said bill be now read the first

time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that the hon. Minister

of Municipal Affairs shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To

Amend The City Of Corner Brook Act, The City Of Mount Pearl Act, The City Of St.

John's Act And The Municipalities Act, 1999, and that the said bill be now read

a first time

Is it the pleasure of the

House that the minister shall have leave to introduce Bill 6 and that the said

bill be now read a first time?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

Motion, the hon. the

Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs to introduce a bill,

An Act

To Amend The City Of Corner Brook Act, The City Of Mount Pearl Act, The City Of

St. John's Act And The Municipalities Act, 1999, carried.

(Bill 6)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The City Of Corner Brook Act, The City Of Mount Pearl

Act, The City Of St. John's Act And The Municipalities Act, 1999.

(Bill 6)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill is now read a first time.

When shall the bill be read

a second time?

MR. KING:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 6 read a

first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move, seconded by the hon.

the Premier, that the House resolve itself now into Committee of the Whole to

consider Bill 2 respecting the granting of Interim Supply to Her Majesty.

MR. SPEAKER:

It has been moved and seconded that the House do

now resolve itself into Committee of the Whole to consider Bill 2 respecting the

granting of Interim Supply to Her Majesty and that I do now leave the Chair.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

On motion, that the House

resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole on Supply, Mr. Speaker left the

Chair.

Committee of the Whole

CHAIR (Verge):

Order, please!

Committee of the Whole will

resume consideration of Bill 2,

An Act For Granting To Her Majesty Certain Sums

Of Money.

The hon. the Member for Port

de Grave.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. LITTLEJOHN:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I am very pleased to speak

to this bill today, Mr. Chair, Bill 2, Interim Supply, and maybe just for the

information of the people watching from home, what Interim Supply is.

Basically, Interim Supply is the granting of monies for government for

approximately three months so they can operate while the Budget is being

debated. We go through this process

every year of granting Interim Supply.

Interim Supply is roughly $2.1 billion for government to operate over the

next three months.

For the people at home, we

are debating today Interim Supply.

When you are debating a money bill of any kind in this House, it allows members

the opportunity to stand up and speak to any topic they desire.

They can talk to their own district, they can talk to a piece of

legislation, or they can bring up a concern.

Basically, it gives members some freedom to talk about anything they want

to talk about here in this House today.

Like always, it is a great

privilege to stand here and represent the fine people in the District of Port de

Grave. The District of Port de Grave

put their faith in me in 2011. It is

always great to get in this House and speak on their behalf.

The first thing I want to

do, too, I want to welcome our new colleague, the hon. the Member for Carbonear

Harbour Grace. I have worked with

the hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace when we were mayors in our

neighbouring communities. I want to

welcome him to this hon. House. I

would like to wish you the best of luck, but not too much luck there hon.

member. It is great to see you and

congratulations.

The last little while, Mr.

Chair, if you have been listening, the Opposition has gone day-to-day and

basically it has talked about the fact that this government has not taken the

time to listen, and they are not out there talking to the people and all the

rest. I want to just kind of rebut

that a little bit.

This past weekend, Mr.

Chair, we were in my district. It

started on Friday. I was very

pleased on Friday morning; the first thing I did was go into a school in my

district at Holy Redeemer. It is a

K-9 school in Spaniards Bay. I went

in and spoke to the Grade 9 and Grade 3 classes.

They are doing topics in their social studies on government.

I went in and I had the

great opportunity to spend a full period with our Grade 9 students talking about

government, how government works, and how important it is to get involved in

your community and maybe aspire to sit in this hon. House one day.

Mr. Chair, it is amazing what you will hear back from those children and

what they want and what they know.

When you listen to those children, they have some great ideas.

Then, Mr. Chair, I went into

a Grade 3 class, two Grade 3 classes combined.

They have a great sense of being involved in their community, being

involved in the Province, and wanting the Province to do better.

They ask you some great questions.

We have been doing this for a number of years.

In my previous role you would go into Grade 3 classrooms and you would

have a wonderful time.

These Grade 3s ask you some

very important questions. Do you

like your job? Why do you get

involved? Why should I get involved

in my community? You know, Mr.

Chair, they are our future. We need

It is good work we do, it is important work that we do.

They will get a better understanding of why we are here sitting in this

House. We invite them to come and

spend some time with us, see Question Period.

Mr. Chair, that was a great experience on Friday morning.

Then, Mr. Chair, I had the

great privilege to welcome the Minister of Transportation and Works.

We went with town officials in the Town of Bay Roberts.

We have a very busy piece of road, Route 60 Route 70, I am sorry,

through

AN HON. MEMBER:

Route 60 is mine.

MR. LITTLEJOHN:

Route 66 just looked at me to say Route 60.

Anyway, it is Route 70, Mr. Chair.

It is the main highway through the Town of Bay Roberts and it is a

business district. There are some

real challenges along that highway.

We have 20,000 vehicles a day that goes along the main business district in the

Town of Bay Roberts. This was a

follow-up meeting that the minister had with town officials in the town.

He came personally to look at it.

Mr. Chair, while we were

there, one of the things that happened, we were out on the road, it was raining,

pouring rain actually when we were looking at a certain intersection, a very

busy intersection. We have four

businesses on one side, three businesses on the other, and we have nine

entrances. It is a real challenge.

It is a hazard. We have had

people hurt at that intersection and many accidents.

Mr. Chair, the minister came

out and met and saw and wanted to know the concerns and see the concerns

firsthand of what the Town of Bay Roberts officials were talking about.

Mr. Chair, that wasn't the only thing.

The Minister of Transportation and Works also wanted to hear some of the

concerns I had as a member in the other part of the district.

Mr. Chair, like all of us in

this hon. House, we have concerns over our roads and our infrastructure.

We need to improve our infrastructure.

I have been very, very pleased that over the last two years we have paved

over eight kilometres of road, eight kilometres of Route 60 in Cranes Road in

Island Cove. That really does me

proud, and we have improved the infrastructure.

We have also improved ditching and drainage so our pavement does not wash

out. We had some severe areas along

that roadway, as well. These are

things that the Minister of Transportation and Works came and listened, and was

concerned and heard the concerns of the people.

Then, Mr. Chair, on Saturday

I had the privilege to welcome the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

This weekend was a special weekend in my district, Mr. Chair.

This was the fisherpersons' weekend and, basically, the blessing of the

fleet. I was very pleased to have

the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture with me on Saturday morning as we went

to the fisherpersons' breakfast in Port de Grave.

There were over 160 people at this meeting 160 people involved in the

fishing industry.

The Minister of Fisheries

and Aquaculture was there. He took

the time to listen, Mr. Chair. Not

only did we speak with harvesters during that visit, we took the time to go to

the local harbour authority. We went

to the local harbour authority and we talked about some of the things and some

of the concerns we have over sixty boats, sixty harvesters, in Port de Grave

harbour and the Minister of Fisheries took the time with the local harbour

authority and discuss some of the concerns.

We talked about CETA; we

talked about a new water supply.

They need a new saltwater supply for the unloading of boats and unloading of

catch and how that will improve quality.

The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture took the time to do that.

Mr. Chair, I am leading into

the important part of this. Not only

that, the Minister of Fisheries was also kind enough there was a breakfast at

the Port de Grave fire department.

We went there as well, Mr. Chair, and we met with the local volunteer fire

department and we discussed their issues and concerns.

We discussed their issues and concerns about Port de Grave.

Sometimes when we stand in

this House, Mr. Chair, we think that it is only the Opposition listening to

people. We think that they are the

only people listening, but this happens on a regular basis.

We are all hon. members in this House, we are all out there talking to

our constituents, we are all out there meeting with different groups, and we are

all out there listening. We are

listening because they have things that are important to us as a government, to

us as a Province, and we need to listen better.

This government has been listening and, contrary to popular belief, we

have ministers on the ground listening all the time.

Again, we are out there, we

are talking to people; we are talking to people every day.

I can say without hesitation this goes on just about every weekend in my

district. Just about every weekend,

I am out there talking to our constituents.

Mr. Chair, the Opposition

wants you to believe that is not the case.

They want to make the people believe out there in television land that we

are not listening. There is nothing

further from the truth. We are all

out there listening.

Mr. Chair, when we go out

and we listen and we make change and we make policy change, the first thing the

Opposition wants to do is criticize us.

It is a natural occurrence.

When you go out and you listen to people, you cannot make a change like that.

You have to take time, you have to talk to people, and you have to do the

change in the right way. I am proud

to say that we are effecting change.

We are effecting change and effecting it in a very positive way.

My time is just about up,

but I just want to say, once again, I want to thank the Minister of

Transportation and Works and the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture for

coming to my district and listening to the people.

In closing, we have had many

benefits; we have had many regional and economic benefits from this government.

I am proud to say we have assisted the people, and the business community

in Port de Grave are proud to say that they have benefited from it.

Seeing my time is up, I will

take my seat.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It is certainly a pleasure

to have another opportunity to stand in this hon. House and say a few words.

As I said the first time I spoke in this session, I am certainly

intending on acknowledging when good things are happening, but I am not going to

criticize for the sake of being critical.

I think it is important to

note that when members of the Opposition raise legitimate concerns that are

being presented to them by the people that is who we are all here to serve

when people raise legitimate concerns and the Opposition asks questions, or

questions decisions of government, or does not necessarily paint this bright,

rosy picture that everything is perfect and does not stand up actually thanking

the government and thanking the minister because they actually put down some

asphalt, or thanking the minister because they invested in health care, or

thanking the minister because they invested in education, or thanking the

minister because they invested in fisheries I think, Mr. Chair, we all

recognize that government is charged with the task of taking the tax dollars,

which all of us contribute.

We go to work, we earn

money, we pay taxes, we pay income tax, we pay sales tax, we pay gas tax, we pay

fees for various things, and all that money goes into the government coffers.

I think there is an expectation from the taxpayer that government is

going to take that money and invest in all those things.

I do not know that we

necessarily have to get into this mode of patting ourselves on the back for

actually spending the money that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador are

paying. It is not like the

government is writing the cheque with their own personal bank account going

into their bank account and writing a personal cheque to pave someone's road, or

writing a personal cheque to pay for a health care centre, or writing a personal

cheque to upgrade a school. So, they

are only really doing what they were elected to do; we all are.

That being said, Mr. Chair,

as I indicated, as members of the Opposition we have a role over here to

certainly acknowledge when government makes wise decisions, but also to question

some of the decisions that are being made, particularly when it is having a

negative impact on our districts and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador in

general.

Mr. Chair, one of the issues

that I think we certainly all have that occurred back in January was DarkNL, as

it was referred to. Some people

referred to it as a crisis or not a crisis.

I believe in the Throne Speech it was referred, The disruptions for some

were particularly significant. So

it was a particularly significant disruption.

Mr. Chair, that was an issue

a number of people have concerns about.

There were a number of people certainly in my district, in the City of

Mount Pearl, in the City of St. John's, and all throughout the Province, people

I spoke to in my district, people I spoke to around the metro area, as I said

before, family members, and friends I have around Newfoundland and Labrador.

All members, I think, received those calls and heard those concerns.

As a result, one of the things we want to know on the Opposition side,

for sure, is what went wrong and what can we do to make sure it does not happen

again?

It is interesting.

I saw an

article in the media this morning.

I believe it was on VOCM. In

that particular

article it was quoting Mr. Martin of Newfoundland and Labrador

Hydro. It was interesting, Mr.

Martin's comments as quoted in VOCM.

It says, Martin acknowledges that they have to restore public confidence in the

electrical system no kidding however, he says they are doing all the right

things. It's just that they have to

do some things better. They are

doing everything right, but they need to do it better, so it is kind of a

contradiction in terms.

In terms of some of the

things they said they have to do, he has indicated they have to add 100

megawatts of power for the Avalon.

They have indicated they have to overhaul the gas turbines at Stephenville and

at Hardwoods. They have indicated

they have to keep more spare components in circulation.

They have to replace their 230 breakers, and they are going to give

ratepayers more than a few hours' notice if there are more blackouts.

Mr. Chair, I have to say,

although they are doing everything right, they have listed all of these issues

that have to be addressed. If we

look at the issue, for example, of overhauling the gas turbines at Stephenville

and Hardwoods, now one would have to ask, why is it that after we have had

DarkNL the non-crisis after that has happened now we realize we have to

overhaul the turbines at Stephenville and Hardwoods, particularly given we are

doing everything right. To me the

question that would come to my mind is why wasn't it done to begin with?

I found it really strange at

the time when it happened, they were talking about I believe it was the fuel

lines to both of those gas turbines that basically busted or whatever that had

to be repaired and so on. That

happened at both Stephenville and Hardwoods.

You would have to ask the question, well gee whiz, so that is what

happened. You have to overhaul it

now, why didn't you overhaul it last year?

Why didn't you overhaul it the year before last or the year before that?

What maintenance was being done in the past that caused that to happen?

Then we look at, we have to

replace 230 breakers. Not one

breaker, not ten, not fifteen; 230 breakers have to be replaced.

AN HON. MEMBER:

It sounds like it is broken.

MR. LANE:

Yes, it sounds like the breaker is broken to me.

We have to replace them all.

We are talking about all these things.

You would have to ask yourself: How did it get to that state of disrepair

to begin with?

I have to believe in my own

heart and mind here we have professional people, employees, who are working for

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.

They know what they are doing I am sure.

How could we get to a point where there would be this much maintenance,

that is now all of a sudden required even though we were doing everything right?

Why do we have all this maintenance that is all of a sudden required?

Wouldn't somebody who is

working there, an employee on the ground who has his papers, he is a millwright,

an electrician, or whatever the particular trade might be.

One would think those people would know that these turbines would have to

be overhauled. They would know that

these breakers would have to be replaced.

They would know there were issues.

They would know maintenance would have to be done, which leads me then to

ask a question.

Well, assuming these people

know what they are doing, I certainly believe they do, then perhaps they were

given direction not to do it. That

is some of the questions that come to mind.

Maybe they were given direction not to do it.

Why would they have been given direction not to do it?

I had a person who sort of

raised the issue with me and said; Well, it is kind of like if I am going to buy

a brand new car, and I have an old car, then I let the maintenance go because I

am going to get a new car in the spring anyway.

If something goes wrong, I do not really need to do that.

If something else goes wrong, I can get by with that.

I think it is a case of decisions being made.

I believe we are in a

situation where somebody got caught with their pants down.

That is what happened, they got caught with their pants down.

I know the members across the way do not want to hear that.

The members across the way do not want to hear that.

I know it is embarrassing. I

understand that they would be embarrassed.

I can see there are a lot of red faces over there, but, Mr. Chair, these

are important questions. These are

important questions that have to be asked, and I will continue to ask these

questions, as will the rest of my colleagues on this side of the House, because

that is our role.

CHAIR:

Order, please!

The member's time for

speaking has expired.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CHAIR:

I recognize the hon. Member for Fortune Bay Cape La Hune.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS PERRY:

It is a pleasure for me to rise in the House

today and speak to this very important bill which will keep the affairs of the

Province underway as we debate the Budget, which will be coming down on

Thursday. It is something that we

are all certainly looking forward to.

It is going to be another great year for Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr.

Chair.

I wanted to take advantage

of the opportunity to speak on this money bill about the District of Fortune Bay

Cape La Hune and some of the fantastic things that have been underway and the

investments we have made over the last six years down in my region, which are

really making a difference, Mr. Chair, in the lives of people and in the

communities in my rural remote area that I serve.

I certainly feel very privileged and honoured to serve them.

We have challenges, Mr.

Chair, many challenges. I assure my

residents that they are challenges I will continue to work on until we have them

all solved successfully to the satisfaction of our communities.

Let's start out and take a

look back at what has happened in the last few years.

We had one community youth network, Mr. Chair, when I started back in

2007. It was, and still is an

absolutely super facility that we have in the Coast of Bays region, but being so

geographically dispersed it was a challenge for us to get our young children

from the other communities down over the road to this centre.

We have expanded the centres, Mr. Chair, to each of our sub regions.

We now have one in Harbour Breton.

We have one in Bay d'Espoir, and we have one in Pool's Cove.

I thank the ministers for their support in recognizing the geographic

challenges we have and putting these facilities in place.

These facilities work, Mr.

Chair, because of the fantastic volunteers we have on the ground in our

communities, and the youth themselves who participate.

They actually serve on the board of directors.

They participate in the planning activities.

They engage seniors in what they do.

They are doing recreation activities.

They are doing Internet activities, absolutely phenomenal facilities.

Anybody who is ever visiting down our way, I would certainly encourage

them to take the time and drop in to see them.

Health care, too, Mr. Chair,

has come quite a ways in the last six years.

I remember when I started my first year; my phone did not stop ringing in

the wintertime. During the months of

January, February and March it was a real challenge for us to get physicians to

my isolated communities. I am so

happy, Mr. Chair, to report that problem has improved significantly in my

region. We see a vast difference.

Still, weather poses a

challenge from time to time, but for the most part we see a huge improvement in

that regard. I am so honoured that

each and every single one of the clinics and health care facilities in my entire

district has seen some type of improvement in terms of the physical location.

Privacy has been improved.

Services have been improved for both the employees and the residents who use

these facilities.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS PERRY:

Certainly, one of our biggest highlights and I

was really pleased last Saturday when I went home for the weekend to join with

the Joint Mayors of the region and we toured the dialysis facility which is

going to be opening later in May.

What a facility it is, Mr. Chair. It

has the capacity for up to twenty-four users.

Anyone who is really looking

for an idyllic place to live, Harbour Breton is a wonderful place to consider

for dialysis services. In addition

to the dialysis facility that is in place, we are seeing the private sector step

up. They are building new facilities

because they recognize there will be people who will need to reside in Harbour

Breton as a result of being dialysis patients.

There is whole new area of

our region which is being built up, new housing areas.

It is phenomenal to see, Mr. Chair.

We have also done a significant investment in affordable housing, both in

Bay d'Espoir and in the Harbour Breton area.

We are hoping to see that continue and expand throughout the region.

Another thing that we are

really, really pleased to have seen happen, through the investments and

strategic governance of this government, are the MOG increases.

What a difference they are making in my communities.

Each and every single one of my small, rural, remote communities who

really do struggle with their tax basis to provide the types of services and

amenities that people look for are really, really appreciative of the doubling

of MOGs that we have seen in my region.

One community, in

particular, has seen close to a 200 per cent increase.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS PERRY:

So our fire services are better.

We are buying new equipment, Mr. Chair.

We are retaining our staff.

It is absolutely wonderful, and we look forward to continuing to working with

the minister to continue to see improvements in our communities.

We, of course, have seen

investments in fire trucks in the region and new bunker suits.

So we are very, very supportive of the department.

AN HON. MEMBER:

More to come.

MS PERRY:

More to come, absolutely.

Now, we are getting to the

roadwork. We will save the best for

last here, I say to the Member for the District of Exploits.

It is all really good.

Recreation grants: They are

making such a big difference, whether it is $1,000 or $15,000, whether it is

buying a new score clock for the arena or expanding on a playground in the

region. These recreation grants are

making a difference to the children of our communities, and the adults, as well,

most certainly. In Harbour Breton,

we have seen a daycare facility initiated and expanded through the investment of

this government, Mr. Chair.

In terms of industry, with

the new CETA, I am really excited about the potential that our fishery has for

the future. In my region, Mr. Chair,

the main employers are the fishery, aquaculture, and hydroelectricity.

Those three employers have enabled us to sustain a population base of

about 6,500. I believe, that with

continued investment in these sectors, we may even see that population increase.

I am really proud that we do have one community, Conne River, which does,

through every census, see an increase in its population.

For a rural, remote area we are so very proud of that, Mr. Chair.

What are some of our most

recent investments in aquaculture?

Overall, we have the new fish health facility that was built in St. Alban's,

over $7 million, state of the art, and one of the best in North America.

I am really proud of that facility, Mr. Chair.

We have a new hatchery built in the area.

We have new fish plants being built.

We have some challenges at

the moment with respect to our fish plants.

I can assure my residents that it is my goal, and that of the Department

of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and that of the mayors in our communities, that we

will see these fish plants fully operational in the very near future, Mr. Chair.

Plans are underway.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS PERRY:

We have seen investment, of course, in wharves in

Hermitage and Harbour Breton. Most

recently, $3.9 million was announced to upgrade the wharf facility in Milltown,

and another $2 million for a new biosecure net washing facility.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS PERRY:

So, the Coast of Bays certainly has great

potential.

I am hoping one of the

events that I am really looking forward to attending in the near future will be

That will be used by all community groups the youth, the seniors, the

ACW, the Lions Club a benefit for certainly everyone living in the communities

of St. Jacques-Coomb's Cove and all of Fortune Bay, including Pool's Cove and

Belleoram for sure, Mr. Chair.

In St. Alban's, one of the

challenges we have had for quite some time, actually, has been our water.

We have had a very aging water system, and for years and years and years

we tried to get the investment that was required to improve that situation, but

to no avail. I am so proud that this

government has invested and we are addressing that need.

Right now, the water has

been improved so far from what we call the out long shore part of my community

right in through to the post office.

This year, Mr. Chair, the community has applied for phase three, and we are

looking forward to what the Budget will bring for us to look at completing that.

We are upgrading the sewage and lift stations as well.

The roads, Mr. Chair, in

many of my communities have taken a beating, as have most of our communities

throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

As we complete the water upgrades, the roads will be next.

In the meantime, I am so, so pleased and I am going to run out of time,

so I have to get this out twenty-seven kilometres, Mr. Chair, of paving from

Harbour Breton to Hermitage has been announced for my district.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

AN HON. MEMBER:

How many?

MS PERRY:

Twenty-seven, Mr. Chair twenty-seven.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS PERRY:

In addition to that twenty-seven, Mr. Chair, we

are seeing another nine kilometres that will be completed on the Bay d'Espoir

Highway itself, servicing all 6,500 residents.

Mr. Chair, this investment

will take place over the course of the next two years.

I am so pleased to have delivered on this commitment, and I look forward

to working with my communities and delivering on much, much more in the years to

come.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

CHAIR:

The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It is a pleasure again to

rise to talk to Interim Supply. I

just heard the previous speaker talking about roads and highways, Mr. Chair, and

it is certainly good to see improvements all across that side, but I will just

to reference the Trans-Labrador Highway on the South Coast where nothing is

being done. The minister seems to

have forgotten all about Southern Labrador.

Mr. Chair, I would like to

go a few places today, if I may.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure, along with the leader of our party, to tour the

Cougar search and rescue facilities here in St. John's.

I was very much impressed with the whole search and rescue mandate they

have as well as the facilities they have, including a helicopter that is on

standby with a full crew complement ready to go in twenty minutes or less.

It certainly leaves

something to be desired for search and rescue in the rest of our Province, but

it is understandable when you are working for major oil companies or you are

working for the taxpayers of the country there is a difference.

I would recommend anyone in this hon. House to tour that facility and to

look at the technology that is available and the resources that can be applied

to search and rescue.

The reason I mention that,

Mr. Chair, is because every day I listen to my colleagues present petitions to

this hon. House with regard to cellphone capability and Internet capability.

I have presented many a petition in previous sessions that is relative to

what everyone is asking for. I was

glad to hear the government side commend themselves and pat themselves on the

back for having 95 per cent installation of cellphone service, but I am looking

forward to the day when we can have cellphone capability in every area of our

Province.

I would like to bring

everyone's attention to Northern Labrador where there is no such thing as

cellphone capability. I know the

community of Natuashish had worked on their own, Mr. Chair, and it is

intermittent, but they have taken their own initiative in Northern Labrador,

something this government has failed to do.

When you look at the height

of cellphone towers, Mr. Chair, the height certainly dictates the range of

cellphone capability. I know Aliant

has microwave towers that extend from Lab West to Goose Bay, all the way up to

Nain, to bring telephone capability and Internet capability.

In most communities, the

range of overlap between communities is forty miles or less.

The reason I say this, Mr. Chair, is because when we were looking for

young Burton Winters a couple of years ago we went through his personal

belongings and one thing we hauled out of his pocket was a BlackBerry.

He had a BlackBerry in his pocket that he could have accessed.

He could have saved himself by calling someone.

The only thing was, Mr. Chair, we do not have cellphone capability.

I have brought this up in

the House many times. Is it because

we are rural that we are last on the list?

I do not think it works that way.

I think this government has to realize that, Mr. Chair, because rural

parts of this Province are still part of this Province.

I wish the government would recognize that.

I would like to talk about

Internet capability, Mr. Chair. I

brought it to the attention of the Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs

that we are maxed out on Internet.

There can be no more room for expansion.

New businesses that are coming into Nunatsiavut, Natuashish, Mr. Chair,

and there is a lot of it, do not have the capability for Internet.

The Member of Parliament for

Labrador, Mr. Chair, cannot get Internet.

I think it is disgraceful in this day and age that this government can

come up and pat itself on the back but not be able to offer broadband to all

areas of this Province, Mr. Chair.

This past winter was one of

the first winters we did not have power interruptions in Labrador.

I always make the joke, Mr. Chair, when it comes to DarkNL, this year it

was Dark N. The L still had lights

on this winter. It was the first

year, I think in the last five years, that we did not have any major power

outages. Now the people on the

Island portion of our great Province know what we live with on an annual basis,

and it is not pretty when you have a winter like we did.

Up in our area temperatures vary between minus thirty-five and minus

forty-five degrees with a wind chill factor of minus forty-nine to minus

fifty-five degrees, which leads me to my next point, Mr. Chair.

We talk about education and

the need to have safe schools, and schools that can accommodate our students so

we can deliver the best education possible.

The standard for Labrador, in terms of children going to school, is minus

forty-five degrees. At minus

forty-five degrees a student does not have to go out and wait for a bus to pick

them up. They do not have to go out,

it is too cold.

In Nain, at minus forty-four

degrees it is okay for a kindergarten kid to walk 1.4 kilometres to school.

It is okay. I know there are

a lot of tough people up there, Mr. Chair, but we do have to have standards and

we do have to make exceptions.

I know the Minister

Responsible for Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs has been contacted by members of

the Nunatsiavut Government and asked what plans can be made.

The Minister Responsible for