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April

18, 2013 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 7

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Before we start today's proceedings, I want to acknowledge a special guest in

the gallery. We have someone of national notoriety today in our gallery, a young

seven-year-old Ryann Fradsham. She has been acknowledged for her tremendous

effort in having raised the most money in the entire country for Shave for the

Brave. Ryann is accompanied today by her mother, Melissa.

Welcome, and congratulations.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

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

District of Conception Bay East Bell Island; the Member for the District of

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

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

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

The hon. the Member for the District of Conception Bay East Bell Island.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BRAZIL: Mr. Speaker, I stand today to recognize an exceptional young

lady from my district who this past week did something exceptional and

heartwarming for those faced with the challenge of battling cancer.

I speak of seven-year-old Ryann Fradsham, a Grade 1 student from Paradise who

raised an amazing $7,000 during the Shave for the Brave cancer fundraiser. Ryann

raised more money than anyone else in the country during this year's Shave for

the Brave, and drew a crowd at the Avalon Mall to watch this inspiring student

show what caring is all about.

Supported by her parents who have instilled in her the desire to help others,

Ryann made it clear on her seventh birthday that she wanted to take

part in the

annual Shave for the Brave. Her mother at first had some reservations about her

doing this, but Ryann was adamant, and her parents felt they must support her.

Ryann raised money by developing her own fundraising page and asked citizens

of all ages to make pledges. While her long blonde hair may be gone, it has been

replaced with admiration, respect, and applause from all.

I ask all to congratulate Ryann on a great achievement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

member of the Corner Brook Off-Broadway Players. The Corner Brook Off-Broadway

Players recently participated in the sixty-third annual Provincial Drama

Festival held in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The players performed Edward Albee's

play, The Play About the Baby .

Mr. Speaker, Ian Locke of Meadows was awarded the Thompson Trophy for best

actor in any role under the age of twenty-one. Ian, a graduate of Templeton

Academy in Meadows, is no stranger to performing, having been a member of the

Templeton's Pallister Players Drama Club while in high school and a member of

the Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador's youth group.

In addition to Ian's award, he also received two scholarships: the D.A.

Matthews Scholarship and the Walter C. Chambers Memorial Scholarship, both

valued at $1,000. Ian is currently finishing his first year of studies of a Fine

Arts degree at Memorial University, Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to join me in extending congratulations to Ian

on a job well done and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Thank you, 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 rise today to recognize and congratulate a former student of Grandy's River

Collegiate in Burnt Islands, Ms Laura Francis, of Rose Blanche-Harbour Le Cou,

and her classmate, Ms Krystal Hobbs, who recently competed in Canada's Next Top

Ad Exec competition in Ontario.

These young women are marketing students with Memorial University who earned

the right to compete by initially pitching a broad outline of their ideas. In

Phase 2, they presented fifteen pages detailing their ideas, goals and

strategies, and were part of the top ten selected to move on. In Phase 3, the

team presented their campaign ideas to a panel of twenty-two marketing and

business judges from major Canadian firms.

This is the premier marketing competition in Canada and has been running for

seven years. There were a total of 141 submissions, and they were the first team

from Memorial University to ever make it to the final round of competition.

As a result of their presentation, both Laura and Krystal have each landed

internships with General Motors in Oshawa, Ontario.

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

congratulations to these talented women and wish Ms Laura Francis and Ms Krystal

Hobbs well with their careers.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. KENT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise to today to recognize Raeleen (Dunne) Baggs, who has recently been

inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame.

Raeleen has been involved in soccer for decades, playing competitively for

twenty-six years at the local, regional, and national levels. She has won

countless MVP and All-Star accolades at all levels of play, and was also

nominated for excellence in leadership, athletics, and academics while attending

Acadia University.

Some of her highest honours include Female Soccer Player of the Decade for

the 1990s, Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association's senior player of the

year for 1997 and 1999, as well as being inducted into both the Newfoundland and

Labrador Soccer Hall of Fame and the Mount Pearl Soccer Hall of Fame.

She is a role model for aspiring soccer players and Mount Pearl is proud to

say that she is a product of our sports system.

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

Raeleen on this achievement and wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: I rise to congratulate Jane Morgan, a member of the Canadian

Home Builders' Association Newfoundland and Labrador, who last month was given

the prestigious Gordon S. Shipp Award in recognition of her leadership,

dedication, and continuous lengthy service to the CHBA at the national level.

Jane manages Nuport Holdings Limited, the company her father and uncle

founded almost fifty years ago. Nuport is well known in the city and the

Province, but the flagship of their company is Kelly's Brook Apartments. Nuport

opened Kelly's Brook in 1971, and it continues to be a model development as

the company describes it, "A happy, thriving community of active, engaged senior

citizens."

I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that this description is justified. When I

visit Kelly's Brook Apartments, and attend events there, it is clear that the

tenants are enjoying life to its fullest.

The Gordon S. Shipp Award recognizes her contribution to the Canadian

Homebuilders Association. It is considered a special achievement award, so is

presented only at the discretion of the president, and is not necessarily

presented each year.

I am not surprised that Jane Morgan was deemed a worthy recipient this year.

I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating her.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. LANE: Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to stand in this hon. House to

bring attention to an initiative in my community which utilizes technology to

enhance communications and provide for greater transparency and accountability

to its citizens. Webcasting of public council meetings was first implemented in

the City of Mount Pearl in February 2010, and allows citizens the opportunity to

view live council meetings in the comfort of their own home. There is also an

archive feature which allows an individual to view any previous council meetings

at their leisure.

Mr. Speaker, this initiative is yet another example of the innovative and

proactive approach to governance which the City of Mount Pearl is so well-known

for in our Province. I would therefore ask all members of this hon. House to

join me in commending the City of Mount Pearl on this initiative and encourage

them to continue in their pursuit of municipal excellence.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Before we start Ministerial Statements, I just saw in the

gallery we have another guest with us today, Mr. Churence Rogers, who is the

President of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador.

Welcome, Sir, to our Chambers.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Ministerial Statements.

Statements by Ministers

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SHEA: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to acknowledge the

outstanding achievement of seventeen-year-old Tiffany Thistle-Samson of Foxtrap,

who recently earned the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. In addition to

her leadership role as an army cadet, Tiffany has committed much time and effort

into community volunteering and fundraising, contributing to organizations

including the Children's Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, the Terry Fox

Run and the Royal Canadian Legion. Tiffany's altruistic work did not go

unnoticed and led to an award nomination by a member of the army cadets.

On February 18, Tiffany was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee

Medal during a ceremony held at Government House. Tiffany is the only army cadet

in Newfoundland and Labrador to receive this award and she is certainly a

deserving recipient of this prestigious medal.

A very special part of Tiffany's story is that she has been living with a

loving and caring foster family for the past six years. In fact, it was

Tiffany's foster mother who encouraged her to get involved with army cadets.

With the support of foster parents, the social workers who maintain a

collaborative relationship between her birth family and foster parents and

mentor Joan Green within the career movement, Tiffany has excelled.

Mr. Speaker, we believe all children and youth who are temporarily unable to

live with their biological parents deserve the opportunity to thrive in

nurturing and supportive care, such as a foster family. Tiffany's success story

embodies the message of our new Foster A Future Foster A Child Today campaign.

In this campaign we encourage residents of Newfoundland and Labrador to open

their homes and their hearts to children and youth who need a warm and caring

place to stay for a day, a week, or longer. Any person interested in becoming a

foster parent can visit fosterafuture.ca for more information.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Tiffany on her award and acknowledge the wonderful

support of her foster family. With plans to study psychology at Memorial

University and continue her involvement in the cadet movement, Tiffany

demonstrates that she is a bright and ambitious individual with a promising

future, and we wish her all the best.

Congratulations, Tiffany.

Thank you, 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 would like to thank the minister for an advance copy of the statement.

As we all know, this award was created in 2012 to mark the sixtieth

anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. We want to express our sincere

congratulations to Ms Tiffany Thistle-Samson of Foxtrap for her outstanding

achievements and contributions in leadership roles. Certainly, Tiffany is a role

model for young people all over this Province and it is right that we

acknowledge her today.

Tiffany is also a foster child, which certainly added to the challenges she

has faced. However, clearly she was loved and cared for by many within her

family and the child care system. We must continue to strive for improvements in

our child care system. We need to protect our vulnerable and allow them the

opportunity to grow and reach their potential. As we did see in the three

reports that were released by the Child and Youth Advocate, not every child is

given the same opportunity and not every child ends up in a nurturing

environment, through no fault of their own.

Clearly, Tiffany is doing fantastic. On behalf of the Official Opposition, I

want to say congratulations on a job well done. We look forward to hearing of

great things from Tiffany in the future.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. KIRBY: Thanks to the minister for an advance copy of her statement.

Congratulations to Tiffany on her award. Considering her extensive community

involvement, this distinguished recognition is well deserved.

I remember listening to Tiffany and her mother, Tina, on CBC Radio's Morning

Show last month and I was inspired by her energy and her spirit. I think we have

to recognize the important role played by foster parents, but Tiffany's mother

was also quick to point out the support that was provided to their family by

social workers.

I am an alumnus of the Canadian Cadet movement myself and I know how

rewarding that program can be. I encourage Tiffany to stay involved and continue

to take on leadership roles there. Again, I congratulate her and I wish her the

greatest success in her studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as Minister Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement, I

rise today to acknowledge April 21 to 27 as National Volunteer Week. This is an

opportunity to recognize and celebrate the great work of the volunteer and

non-profit sector in our communities and our Province.

This year's theme, Let's Make Some Noise, is not only meant to thank those

who give freely of themselves, it is also a challenge to others to consider how

they can contribute and become active participants in our society.

Throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, the volunteer and non-profit sector is

an important contributor to our social and economic development. These

individuals and organizations bring together all stakeholders to discuss how

they, collectively, can create opportunities with communities and regions. From

municipalities, youth-based groups, chambers of commerce, to co-operative

organizations, these volunteers are on the ground in all regions of Newfoundland

and Labrador, addressing local needs and supporting the growth of communities

and local economies.

With the upcoming municipal elections this fall I ask that individuals

consider putting their name forward. Our communities and towns will reap the

benefits and become enriched and stronger when people of different backgrounds,

occupation, age and gender are involved.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, there are approximately 197,000 volunteers.

These giving individuals contribute a total of 35 million hours of valuable

unpaid time to our volunteer and non-profit organizations and their communities.

Additionally, there are almost 23,000 people employed in the volunteer and

non-profit sector in a concerted effort to make our Province stronger.

As a government, together with our partners and stakeholders, we will

continue to work to support the continued growth and development of volunteer

and non-profit groups, that in turn support community and economic development.

I ask that all hon. members join me in making some noise for our volunteers

and non-profit organizations. Thank you for our hard work, commitment and

dedication to your community and Province. Never forget, regardless of its size

or impact, whether you help one or 1,000, your work and contributions are

important and are indeed making a difference.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, indeed, volunteers play a very important role

in our society and our Province, and play a critical role in small communities.

In small communities we have volunteer fire departments, we have volunteer

ambulance attendants, we have volunteer town councils, we have volunteer school

councils, and we have volunteer boards operating development associations.

Clearly, these small communities could not exist as they do and progress without

volunteers. We appreciate and applaud the efforts of volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to volunteers, I wish I could conclude on such a

positive note with this government. This government has just decided to get rid

of three school boards. That is forty-five volunteer trustees. In the past year

they have gotten rid of nineteen Regional Economic Development Boards. That is

over 200 volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, this government on the one hand while applauding volunteers,

they have just given the backs of their hands to 250 volunteers in this

Province. They said, here is the door, goodbye, get lost, we do not want you,

you are not worth the few dollars that we pay to you.

Mr. Speaker, they say that a critic is someone who knows the cost of

everything and the value of nothing, and with volunteers that is exactly where

this government is. They know the cost of volunteers but they do not know the

value of volunteers. It is pure hypocrisy to applaud volunteers while you are

getting rid of them at the same time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

I certainly want to congratulate our volunteers. They are the heart of every

single community. Let's Make Some Noise is a fitting theme. Let's encourage our

non-profits and volunteer groups to speak up about their needs and concerns

without fear of losing their funding, as so many are under resourced. Groups

like Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, Combined Councils of Labrador, and

others should be able to do their advocacy work. Our volunteers deserve better.

Volunteers are incredible people. Their devotion, hard work, and countless

hours given advance the social economy and we all benefit from this type of

contribution.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Does the Member for St. John's South have leave?

MR. OSBORNE: A point of order, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: On a point of order, the hon. the Member for St. John's

South.

MR. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for the role of Speaker,

and, in fact, for the job that you, as an individual, are doing in your role as

Speaker.

I fully understand that a ruling of the Speaker is not open to appeal or

debate

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Given where it appears the member may be going with his point of order, I

think I should remove myself from the Chair and ask the Deputy to take my place.

Mr. Speaker left the Chair.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge): Order, please!

I recognize the hon. the Member for St. John's South, on a point of order.

MR. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I fully understand that a ruling of the Speaker is not open to appeal or

debate. I will quote from Standing Order

section 7(1), "The Speaker shall

preserve order and decorum and shall decide questions of order. No debate shall

be permitted on any such decision and no such decision shall be subject to an

appeal to the House."

Also, in Marleau and Montpetit, I just want to quote that. "Before 1965,

there were several instances where the decision of Speaker was appealed and not

sustained by the House.

"In 1965, as part of a series of amendments to the Standing Orders, the

opportunity to appeal rulings of the Speaker was abolished." The present

Standing Orders prohibit any debate on decisions of the Speaker and prohibit the

appeal of any decisions in the House of Commons.

Legislature have been added to sites without their knowledge or their

permission. The recent ruling is precedent setting, not only in this Province

but the entire country. In fact, we have often used rulings made in other

countries when making a ruling in our Assembly. The ruling can potentially

impact each and every member of this House, as well as legislators in other

jurisdictions.

I wish to quote from Beauchesne as well, which we have often used in this

House. "13. The Speakers' rulings, whether given in public or private,

constitute precedents by which subsequent Speakers, Members and officers are

guided. Such precedents are collected and in course of time may be formulated as

principles or rules of practice. It is largely by this method that the modern

practice of the House of Commons has been developed.

"14. The

interpretation of both the written rules and tradition is in the

hands of the occupants of the Chair, with their rulings forming a fundamental

part of procedure. Some problems attach to these rulings. When the Standing

Orders change, for example, rulings based on old rules must obviously become

obsolete. More important, many rulings must be made with little opportunity for

reflection or consultation. When possible the Speaker may defer a decision to

give time for research and full consideration. Time, however, is not always

available and unsatisfactory rulings may result."

Mr. Speaker, I am not asking for an appeal of the decision because I know

that is not allowed under our Standing Orders. While I understand there is no

appeal to a ruling of the Speaker, I do ask that the Speaker reflect on the

precedence of the recent ruling with regard to media sites.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I have listened to the Member for St. John's South make his point of order.

While you did refer to some other authorities, I would refer you to our own

Standing Orders.

In Standing Order 1.(2), where it says, "In all cases not provided for in

these Standing Orders or by sessional or other orders of the House, the Speaker

shall be guided by the following in the order in which they are stated: (

a) the

usages, customs and precedents of this House; (

b) the Standing Orders and

sessional orders and forms and usages, customs and precedents of the House of

Commons"

The point of order you are raising is actually covered in our own Standing

Orders, so we do not need to refer to any other authorities on the subject.

While you say you are not asking for an appeal, it is my understanding that the

point of order you just put forward is in fact itself an appeal of a decision of

the Speaker made on Tuesday of this week.

I wish to direct members to our Standing Orders. I would further remind

members that the Standing Orders have existed for some time. They have been

agreed upon unanimously over time as a collection of rules to follow in this

House.

Standing Order 7.(1), in which it is stated, "The Speaker shall preserve

order and decorum and" no decision of the Speaker "shall be subject to an

appeal to the House." However, in the event that the member is challenging and

wishes to debate the continuance of the Speaker in his role as Speaker, that

must be done by way of a written notice of a substantive motion stating the

reasons for the motion and the remedy sought. This notice requires a mover and a

seconder.

There is no point of order.

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There seems to be some confusion around the $90 million loan that was

announced to Corner Brook Pulp and Paper yesterday. The Minister of Natural

Resources stated that the money would go to Corner Brook Pulp and Paper,

whereas

his Premier, shortly after that, said that maybe not all of the money would go

to Corner Brook Pulp and Paper.

I ask the Premier if we could get some clarification on what others companies

she was referring to.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman): The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

All, or substantially all, of the $90 million that was referenced in our

Budget, Mr. Speaker, will go to Corner Brook Pulp and Paper if they are able to

successfully conclude their negotiations with their unions. It is conditional on

that piece of work being concluded successfully before we will move forward with

any endowment or loan of funds to Corner Brook Pulp and Paper.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That is all we were looking for was clarification that there was no other

companies that were included, just indeed, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper.

Mr. Speaker, we do realize that this is an extremely sensitive issue and that

many details are yet to be ironed out about the $90 million loan. The details of

this loan, as we all know, will impact the forestry industry right across the

Province.

I ask the Premier: Will the Premier and this government provide some

assurance that some of this money will indeed go to infrastructure upgrades in

the mills so we can have a long, sustainable forestry operation in this

Province?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Leader of the Opposition's concern for the

operations of Corner Brook Pulp and Paper and the impact of the failure of this

company on the forestry industry in this Province. We have challenging

circumstances now, but if Corner Brook Pulp and Paper fails, the industry will

be in dire straits.

of this $90 million until the agreement is successfully negotiated between

Corner Brook Pulp and Paper and the unions. Mr. Speaker, when that is done, we

will gladly share the details of this agreement, not only with the people at

large but with the members of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the list of those

fearing for our education system in the Province is growing. We have already

heard from retired administrators, trustees in Labrador, Western, Central, and,

indeed, Eastern. There is the NLTA that has spoken out; the Federation of

Councils are all concerned about recent Budget cuts.

I ask the Premier, once again: Will you please appoint a special committee to

revisit these cuts, have a sober second thought that protects the best interests

of our students and the education system?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, we are in the process of establishing a

transition team that will be made up of members from the present board. We will

announce that shortly.

Mr. Speaker, I just cannot get upset in debate with the people opposite any

more. We, as a government in this Province, have invested that the quality of

education and our commitment to education in this Province is exemplary, and you

will not find it anywhere else in this country, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

If there is any way to ruin a good investment, it is to make a bad decision.

What we are hearing from many people across this Province today is that there

has not been any consultation in this process, I say, Mr. Speaker. All we are

asking for is sober second thought here.

Mr. Speaker, government is going full steam ahead without a proper plan or an

education strategy. A long-time school board and trustee in Western

Newfoundland, Paul Wilson, has grave concerns. He has been speaking out to the

media that collapsing the school boards is an ill-informed decision; in fact, he

is calling again for a study into the Province-wide education system.

I ask the Premier: Will you do the right thing, order a full study into the

education system before we make mistakes?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I listened to the Member for St. Barbe make a

comment about the trustees. I can assure you that we, as a government, value the

input of trustees. These are people who offer themselves up, Mr. Speaker, for

the sole commitment of education to the Province.

I would ask that these trustees certainly provide their input. This is what

the transition team is about, Mr. Speaker. When we put that team in place, it is

about moving forward. Would the member suggest, as I have said time and time

again, with a decrease of 17 per cent in students, 12 per cent reduction in

schools and an increase in budget, is he suggesting that we take away from our

students and put it into the management of boards? We are not there, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Once again, the Minister of Education really do not want to go and answer the

question. That is not what we are suggesting. What we are suggesting is listen

to those trustees. They have a wealth of information; they have a wealth of

knowledge. All we are saying is speak to those people first. Mr. Speaker, as I

said, our preference is that you would revisit the school board amalgamation.

I ask the Premier: If this government intends on moving ahead with this

decision, when would you introduce legislation to amend the Schools Act; and

will you bring legislation into this House so that we can have public input

before we merge those school boards?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Again, Mr. Speaker, I see the member encouraging us to not

move ahead, despite the lesser numbers in the system, and he is encouraging us

to go on for an extended period with the boards as is.

Mr. Speaker, we, as a government, committed that we were not going to touch

front-line services. We have kept intact our class cap sizes, Mr. Speaker.

Despite what some members opposite have said, we have kept intact our special

education supports. Everyone on our side agreed with the commitment to the

front-line service, that being teachers and students.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister wants to almost frame this up as it is one or the other. What we

are asking for revisit this just like you did in Justice. Now, if you are going

to go ahead with this decision, which it seems you are, well, at least you come

to this House and allow the members here to debate the legislative changes that

you are suggesting.

Will you make that commitment to do that, I ask the minister?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I say to the member opposite, exactly, it is

one or the other. We, Mr. Speaker, decided to put it into our students and our

teachers, as opposed to a hierarchal administration.

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

MR. BALL: Well, it is nice to hear the minister I guess it is

unfortunate, actually, that he says it has to be one or the other. It does not

have to be one or the other, I say, Mr. Speaker.

The Education Minister says a transition team is being formed to guide this

process. I ask the Premier: Will you disclose who the members are and who will

have the final say indeed, will it be the Premier?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I have already said we are going to put the

transition team in place, and I have also said that those names will be made

public very shortly.

Rest assured, the commentary and the input of the trustees these trustees

who are in place now will remain in place until August. Certainly, their input

will be sought. We are about improving the education system in this Province,

Mr. Speaker, and a quality education is our bottom line.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that our education system is

heading in the wrong direction. The latest group to challenge government is the

Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils who came out today to

appeal to government to reverse the cuts.

I ask the minister: Will he show he is willing to listen and call a

round-table meeting with all those showing concerns over his blind cuts to our

school system?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, as a matter of fact, the Federation of School

Councils, I am going to be speaking at their convention, I believe it is next

Friday, in an effort to engage groups.

Mr. Speaker, we are not averse to meeting with any group. I have offered

myself time and time again, and I have met with groups. There is nothing. This

is about the betterment of education.

Mr. Speaker, despite what the member might want to think, we on this side

value the input of our trustees, those who commit their time and energy for the

students and teachers in education in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, the Centre for Distance Learning and

Innovation, CDLI, has also been slashed by this bad-news Budget. CDLI's mandate

is to offer courses to rural and urban schools.

I ask the minister, who claims that CDLI is an important part of the

education system: Why would he cut positions by not filling vacancies in this

important piece of our education system?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, one response. Since 2005, this government has

put $60 million into the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation. We are

extremely proud of it. It is the leading edge in this country.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, last week we heard a senior staff member

displaced from Eastern School the Board has been hired as an ADM in the

minister's executive office at the Department of Education.

I ask the minister: How can he justify adding another fat cat, senior staffer

to his department when he has taken a chainsaw to the school boards in this

Province because he claims they are too top-heavy?

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

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, I will tell the member opposite that in our

core mandate exercise, the area that we looked at first was our own department.

He knows that through Estimates the other day.

Mr. Speaker, this position had been vacant for awhile. It is an

administrative position that is responsible for curriculum. We need that person

in place. The interview process, the proper protocols were gone through, and an

individual hired. It is as simple as that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, one question to the minister: Will this newly

appointed fat cat member of his department be part of his school board

transition team, or did he just fill up a vacancy to cover someone who had a

political favour owed to him?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, to refer to somebody who is going to be serving

in our public service as fat cat I end my statement, Mr. Speaker. I end my

statement.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, the Premier said on numerous occasions that

it costs $9,400 per person to study ABE at the College of the North Atlantic.

She said it in the media on March 27, as well as on Backtalk on April 12. She

says it costs $7,000 more at the college.

I ask the Premier: Do you stand by those numbers?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SHEA: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The ABE program in Newfoundland and Labrador is offered through three

different venues: through the College of the North Atlantic, through non-profit

agencies, and through private institutions. Mr. Speaker, we looked at the cost

to this Province for the three venues in which we offer Adult Basic Education.

We have done a comparison across Canada, and in particular within Atlantic

Canada. Mr. Speaker, this Province spends more per student across the Province

than any other province in Atlantic Canada.

This exercise that we have gone through, Mr. Speaker, is to help this

department and this government do the right thing. The right thing is to be able

to offer ABE to students who need it in the most cost-effective way to this

Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. A. PARSONS: I never received much of an answer to that one, Mr.

Speaker, so I will ask this question to the minister.

The minister has said publicly that it costs about $5,000 more to provide ABE

to a student at the College of the North Atlantic.

I ask the minister: Do you stand by that number?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SHEA: Mr. Speaker, as I said, we offer the ABE program through three

different venues in this Province. It is the same curriculum that is offered,

whether it is through a non-profit agency, whether it is through the College of

the North Atlantic or through a private institution. It is the same

student-teacher ratio. It is the same curriculum, Mr. Speaker.

We feel that when we look at the different venues in which it is offered, we

need to make a decision that is the most effective expenditure of the taxpayers'

dollars in this Province; yet, be able to serve the students of this Province

who require the program and to ensure that the program we will continue to offer

in this Province is consistent with the program that is being offered this year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, the Premier has said $9,400 and $7,000 more.

The minister says it is about $5,000 more. Now we look at the Noseworthy report

and it indicates that it costs $4,800 per person to study ABE at the college.

I ask the Premier: Is it A, B or C?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS SHEA: Mr. Speaker, the numbers that we have to indicate the cost of

Adult Basic Education in Newfoundland and Labrador is $9,413 at the College of

the North Atlantic, $6,086 in a non-profit agency, and $4,339 in a private

institution. If you take the private institution number and you compare it to

the number that we have for the College of the North Atlantic, you will get the

$5,000 difference that the member just mentioned.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

I am glad that the minister is trying to address all the different numbers

out there, especially the ones put out by the Premier.

What I would ask the minister: Are you prepared to the table the numbers and

table the working papers right here in this House of Assembly?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Speaker has acknowledged the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

MS SHEA: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, for the record, as will be recorded in Hansard and will be able,

I will repeat the numbers for the hon. member.

The cost per student to the College of the North Atlantic is $9,413. The cost

per student at a non-profit agency is $6,086. Mr. Speaker, the cost in a private

training institution is $4,339. That will be recorded in Hansard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, I hear the answers that the minister has

given but we have been contacted by a lot of people in this Province, people

involved in the ABE program, people involved in CNA.

I ask the minister again: Are you prepared to table the working papers here

in the House of Assembly?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

MS SHEA: Mr. Speaker, I have indicated the cost that the department uses

and the numbers, and the analysis that was done to indicate. We are not hiding

the numbers, Mr. Speaker. I lay them out. I do not even round them off. I try to

detail, Mr. Speaker, what we offer.

What is important for the people who are doing the Adult Basic Education

program in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador is that as we move forward

and we look at the transition into next year, the students will continue to have

access to the very same program that they are doing this year. Anybody who

completes ABE this year, or starts a new program next year, their curriculum has

not changed. The student-teacher ratio has not changed, Mr. Speaker, and we

value the quality of that education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

Yesterday, the Premier made light of my question about the collateral that

Corner Brook Pulp and Paper brings to the table if it gets a $90 million loan.

This government loves to praise itself for its sound fiscal management, but

even people who know little about fiscal management know that getting a loan

requires providing collateral. In spite of all the help from government, the

Kruger mill could close in five or ten years' time, after receiving hundreds of

thousands of dollars from government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Is she going to demand

nothing less than the Deer Lake power plant as the collateral from Kruger to

cover the $90 million loan?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I find the position of the Leader of the NDP absolutely

incredible. Obviously, she does not understand again the structure, or she

pretends she does not understand, although she claims to represent a significant

portion of the labour movement in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I am sure the people who work in the mill, the hundreds of unionized workers,

would tell her how important it is for Corner Brook Pulp and Paper and the

unions to successfully negotiate a labour agreement between them. They would

have also emphasized to her how important this agreement is to the forestry

industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. We need them to complete their work

before we get into a discussion of criteria of a loan that might never be made.

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

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday the Premier also acknowledged that the Province's forestry industry

teeters on the brink of disaster. By her own admission, the forestry industry in

Newfoundland and Labrador will collapse without the presence of Corner Brook

Pulp and Paper. As much as we all hope the mill will continue for a long time,

we cannot run away from the reality that it probably will not without continued

support.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: What planning is this

government doing to create sustainable forestry-related industries in this

Province in case the worst happens; or will her government again be caught

flat-footed with no plan?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, if there is any flat-footedness in this House, the Leader of the

NDP can claim it. Her need to know comes before anything else, even the success

of a negotiation between Corner Brook Pulp and Paper and their unions. It comes

before the health of the forestry industry in this Province.

We have made a commitment to the people of this Province that none of the

money allocated in this Budget potentially for Corner Brook Pulp and Paper will

be spent or will be released to them without the full details of the agreement

being made public, Mr. Speaker. Then all the questions she has will be answered.

If not, we will be here in the House, hopefully, to answer them.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, given the precariousness of the forestry

industry in this Province, which the Premier has indicated herself, there are

other related industries such as the integrated sawmill, biomass and value-added

industry which needs support.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS MICHAEL: Mr. Speaker, I asked the Premier: Is her government working

on other plans or is she content to throw taxpayers' money at the problem and

hope for the best?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to note who is following the discussion here

in the House of Assembly during the last four years; I do believe you have been

here all of that time.

We have had a $28 million forestry diversification strategy at work in this

Province for the last four years. Millions of dollars have been made available

to companies like Sexon and Burton's Cove Logging to bring them into the current

stage of innovation, enabling them to have the tools they need to compete

effectively.

We have not heard you speak anything about that. What we have heard you speak

about, though, is an investment in the Northern Peninsula, a very high-risk

investment in the Northern Peninsula, Mr. Speaker, because high risk is what you

do if you have anything to do with forestry these days.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In this year's Budget government has hundreds of millions of dollars

committed to the pulp and paper industry and to Muskrat Falls, neither of which,

either alone

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Speaker has recognized the Leader of the Third Party.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am speaking about the hundreds of millions of dollars in this year's Budget

committed to the pulp and paper industry and to Muskrat Falls, neither of which,

either alone or together, can match the importance of the fishing industry which

employs tens of thousands of workers and contributes over three-quarters of a

billion dollars to our economy, yet with a department with its budget slashed by

33 per cent.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier why Budget 2013 does not show the same

commitment of energy and resources into the Province's fishing industry.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So, Mr. Speaker, in her

preamble, she condemns an effort to shore up and get

a Sustainability Plan in place for the forestry industry in Newfoundland and

Labrador. Without knowing one word of the detail, she condemns it.

Mr. Speaker, she continues to condemn Muskrat Falls, despite the provincial

support, the support of the people, the support of the unions, a project that

will put $20 billion in the Treasury of Newfoundland and Labrador, enable

development in Labrador, provide the cheapest electricity rates to ratepayers in

this Province, and tries to accuse us of a lack of support for the fishery.

That is not demonstrable; you should be ashamed of yourself.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE: Mr. Speaker, government should be ashamed about their

continued mismanagement of people's money.

In a release yesterday, the Department of IBRD announced it was buying shares

in a company that has more liabilities than actual assets, putting the people's

money at great risk. Buying equity is risky business and warrants higher

returns. A dividend rate of 3 per cent is a sheer embarrassment.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of IBRD: Why did the government not extend a

low interest term loan with first charge on security for the vessel to ensure

protection of our tax dollars?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I have said many times before, our government is leading in

terms of any government in our past history in terms of investments in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador, whether it is the fishery

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HUTCHINGS: Whether it is traditionally in our fishing industry, in

our agricultural industry on the South Coast, $100 million industry employing

1,000 people, or the ICT sector which is growing to $1.6 billion. All over the

Province, we are driving economic development.

We are not going to stop doing that. We believe in it. We just did a retool

of our suite of programs at IBRD in response to those stakeholders out there in

the Province telling us what they needed. We have our programs, over $200

million in programs, tax incentives, to drive economic activity in Newfoundland

and Labrador, driving the member's own district with tremendous investments we

have made in his district.

It is time for you to start recognizing what is being done and clue in to

Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is complete and irresponsible lending by the minister opposite. This company

leases the Province's lucrative quota. Buying a stake in the company exposes the

people to great risk, excessive liabilities, and costs for environmental

cleanup. This is another fisheries giveaway and a gift of corporate welfare.

Mr. Speaker, why do the Minister of IBRD not consider using a more

co-operative model of sharing this quota with fishers, communities, and the

region to provide greater economic benefits to the people of the Province?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, I am not going to stand here today and take a

lecture from the member opposite about our investment and support for the

fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate in terms of job losses, but

the Budget that we have provided for the Province this year is strong and strong

in the fishery to support a billion dollar industry in this Province. Our

support for Icewater Harvesting, just like we did in 2004 when we bought equity

of $3.5 million that is worth today $16 million to $20 million.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DALLEY: You cannot stand and condemn a government that is out there

trying to support companies and support economic development in this Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the Estimates Committee this morning it was noted that massive cuts to

Environment and Conservation are cuts that they have been subject to. Some

sixty-one positions have been eliminated, which vary from wildlife biologists to

staff working with endangered species in the Province.

Question: With the potential for new industry in this Province from mining,

Muskrat Falls, and West Coast oil, how can the Premier justify these cuts to

Environment and Conservation?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: I can see the irony in the question that has come across,

because again, for a party that obviously, in listening to the questions that

they put forth just then in this Question Period, they are against any type of

development.

Really, when you look at it, I say to the hon. member, as I said to you in

Estimates this morning, this government understands what it takes to get this

Province on a sustainable future. We are doing it, and we are doing it right.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. MURPHY: I do not think they have done anything right yet, Mr.

Speaker.

Environment and Conservation also saw a budgetary hit with educational

programming taking a really big one.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: How can we expect to educate our people about

the environment and conservation if the educational aspect is being cut from the

Budget?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Again, I say, Mr. Speaker, when we look at a core mandate

in any particular department, we make sure that we can take care of the needs of

that particular department. My officials came forward with a plan, and a plan

that indicated we could move forward in a way that will satisfy that core

mandate. We are doing it, and as I said, we are doing it right.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

You have time for a quick question without

preamble.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

How can the minister justify cutting back on the study of caribou at this

particular time?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

quick answer.

MR. HEDDERSON: I would say, Mr. Speaker, that $15.2 million later we are

in an excellent position to go forward and do what is necessary to preserve the

very important herds, especially the one in Labrador. I say, Mr. Speaker, we

have done what we had to do, to do it as we are supposed to do.

Again, I say to you, Mr. Speaker, I would be very remiss if I did not mention

the tremendous investment that we have made in environment and conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time for Question Period has expired.

I want to take this time, also, to acknowledge in the gallery a former

minister and member of this House. We have with us today the former Minister of

Aboriginal Affairs and the Member for Torngat Mountains, Ms Patty Pottle.

Welcome to our galleries.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for 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 with declining enrolment, distance education by Internet is now an

accepted way to deliver educational services to students living in small

communities; and

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

reside; and

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

children can access educational opportunities in larger centres; and

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

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

does slower dial-up service; and

WHEREAS no high-speed Internet service exists in the community of Bird Cove;

and

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

of this community;

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

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

with the private sector and offer high-speed Internet service to Bird Cove.

Mr. Speaker, in the case of the petitions primarily from Bird Cove and they

keep coming in. These petitions in Bird Cove were originated by a

sixteen-year-old high school student who I have never met. He contacted me back

in the spring, very concerned about high-speed Internet. When I explained to him

that the plan was that it should come and was expected to come to his area, he

was satisfied but I asked him to check back with me.

Shortly thereafter, when it came to his area and did not include his

community, he was absolutely mortified. He contacted me by Internet and asked if

there was anything that he could do. He had heard I was presenting petitions for

other communities that we knew were going to be bypassed. I explained to him

that a petition is prepared, and he and his friends and his parents could

circulate the petition and anybody who was interested in signing the petition,

that I would present whatever petitions were circulated and signed by people to

this hon. House of Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, this is a voice for the people. They are critically aware of the

need of high-speed Internet. I am certain government is aware of it. This

community has been overlooked. I ask the minister, as does these petitioners, to

strongly consider the very small communities that are left behind. If volunteers

are important in a small community, for sure infrastructure, such as high-speed

Internet, is absolutely critical in their ongoing viability.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MR. MITCHELMORE: 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 the Western School District is considering a multi-year plan to close

the Bayview Regional Collegiate at St. Lunaire-Griquet in June 2013; and

WHEREAS it has been proven from students who have graduated from Bayview

Regional Collegiate they have excelled in their studies to prepare them to move

ahead and achieve their career choices; and

WHEREAS teachers and staff at Bayview Regional Collegiate are qualified and

continue to provide a strong academic program with a full curriculum to all

students attending; and

WHEREAS Bayview Regional Collegiate has developed a playground, library,

drama club, Kids Eat Smart lunch program, school council, and other activities

with exceptional community support; and

WHEREAS Bayview Regional Collegiate has housed a K-12 school in the past with

200-plus students who have had access to science lab, cafeteria, art room,

computer lab, gymnasium, and extracurricular activities; and

WHEREAS the parents, business owners, social groups, concerned citizens, and

students of the municipality of St. Lunaire-Griquet request to rescind this

proposal since Bayview Regional Collegiate has met and exceeded all aspects set

forth for a viable school;

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

ensure that the Western School District is provided with sufficient funding to

keep Bayview Regional Collegiate in St. Lunaire-Griquet open.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

This petition is signed by quite a number of petitioners, constituents in my

district, who are greatly concerned, especially in light of the Minister of

Education talking about the exemplary investments and despite their significant

cuts. This decision was made in 2008, and has been pressed in the House of

Assembly by my predecessor as an MHA. We continue to advocate and to urge others

to get involved because this is a serious matter when it comes to the school and

the community.

Since the last five years, we have actually seen an increase in population in

this region. There is a common-sense solution where we could look at making

vibrant communities where schools are economic drivers and hubs in regions. To

look at all the cutbacks that have been made and the number of schools that have

been closed down, we really do need to look at regions where there is that

opportunity and there are sustainable populations. These are things we should

look at.

This is five years in the making, where people have been asking for a

meeting. They have been asking to re-look at this decision. They will continue

to voice their concerns on this matter.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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 of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS students of the Adult Basic Education program at the College of the

North Atlantic do not wish to attend privatized educational facilities; and

WHEREAS the College of the North Atlantic has the most accredited Adult Basic

Education program in Newfoundland and Labrador; and

WHEREAS students are concerned as to the availability of private institutions

and whether or not they can accommodate additional students;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to reverse this damaging decision to

students and reinstate the Adult Basic Education programming at the College of

the North Atlantic.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand up here again today and enter another

petition on this decision that was made on very short notice by this government

and without any real forethought, if you ask my opinion. The fact is today I

asked a number of questions on the cost of this and there seems to be some

discrepancy, depending on who you ask and when you ask them.

The fact is that we need to have the working papers tabled that help

formulate this decision. We cannot just rely on what is said here. There was a

paper trail that led to this. There was a decision put together by somebody. I

do not know if it was John Noseworthy, I do not know if it was the department,

but we want to have a look at that. We are not the only people who want to have

a look at that. There are a lot of people out there in the College of the North

Atlantic writing to us. In fact, one just wrote to me during this session. I

believe they wrote to every member on the other side of the House as well.

What I would suggest is when you get an opportunity, you all have a look at

your BlackBerry, I would say to the Speaker, look at the e-mail just sent and

listen to what this one person had to say. This is just one person who is

writing, but there are a lot more of those people and those situations out there

in the Province.

All we are asking at this point is that we have some reconsideration to make

sure we are making the right decision. I look forward to seeing when RFPs come

out. I look forward to seeing what is going to happen because we cannot

jeopardize these people's opportunities to education, to put them into this

labour market that there is going to be a huge shortage coming up.

Again, I am seeing a lot of difficulties right here. I do not think the plan

is in place. It seems like right now we make a decision and then we figure it

out after, and that is an unfortunate way to treat education in this Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MS ROGERS: 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 with the passage of Bill 29, the Access to Information and Protection

of Privacy (Amendment) Act, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has

weakened citizens' access to information and has reduced government

transparency; and

WHEREAS the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has moved towards greater

secrecy and less openness; and

WHEREAS the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is breaking its own

commitment for greater transparency, accountability, and freedom of information,

which it said at one time was the hallmark of its government;

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

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

the passage of Bill 29.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to stand in the House once again to present this

petition that many people across the Province have signed out of grave concern

for the issue of transparency and accountability by the government, and by

government departments. Now more than ever in our history this is so vital and

crucial to an open, modern, and fair democracy. Particularly now in light of

this austerity Budget which so adversely affects the lives of many, many people

across our Province.

We are talking close to 2,000 job cuts the disappearance of close to 2,000

jobs. This is not just jobs but it is people's lives. In light of this Budget,

in light of the Budget that cut so many social services, it is imperative that

we have access to information about core mandate reviews on which these

decisions were made, that we have access to

MR. KENNEDY: Liar.

MR. SPEAKER: I would ask the Minister of Finance if he would stand and

apologize for his unparliamentary language.

MR. KENNEDY: I withdraw the comment.

MR. SPEAKER: I ask the minister to stand and apologize to the House.

MR. KENNEDY: I apologize.

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

MS ROGERS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In light of the evaluations on which so many programs were cut, it is

imperative that we have access to that information. As well, Mr. Speaker, in

this environment of intimidation of public servants, it is especially important

that we have access to all information and all workings of this government as it

affects the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

This is what the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have been asking of this

government since they introduced this draconian and regressive legislation. Mr.

Speaker, it is imperative that this government finally listen to the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador who are absolutely against this legislation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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 humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador currently has the highest unemployment rate

in Canada; and

WHEREAS the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador anticipate a labour

shortage of 70,000 people by the year 2020; and

WHEREAS eliminating the career practitioner knowledge base is contrary to

attaching people to the labour market; and

WHEREAS Employment Assistance Services agencies are grassroots hubs in

communities providing services like skills development, resume development,

interview skills, facilitating attachment to the labour market and the

community; and

WHEREAS EAS agencies help individuals with complex needs find and maintain

employment in communities throughout the Province; and

WHEREAS EAS agencies have been serving thousands of people for years,

building expertise and rapport; and

WHEREAS loading the workload of 226 employees onto 139 Advanced Education and

Skills employees would be an overwhelming expectation, increasing staff

turnover, and thus decreasing rapport with clients; and

WHEREAS EAS funding comes from the EI fund, built by workers to help them

when and where they need it the most; and

WHEREAS moving services away from people who lack the means to travel long

distances is not in line with the Labour Market Development Agreement's

principle of citizen-centered service;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to reverse the decision to cut funding to

EAS agencies in the Province.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I tried, at some length yesterday, to explain how this

government has mismanaged economic development in the Province. I talked about

the spin, spin, spin, the constant spin cycle, that is indicative of the

complete economic washout that this government has become or has sort of wrought

on the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Unfortunately, because of that complete washout, many of our citizens have

been hung out to dry. Those people who have been hung out to dry are people who

used to work in the fishing industry; I named I think almost a dozen plants

yesterday that have closed. People have had to relocate to Central and Western

Canada as a result of mill closures in the Province. Many workers who could

potentially have worked in the third Hebron module or been working in

shipbuilding on the Burin Peninsula or other areas of the Province, a lot of

those people are displaced, unable to find work in those industries. I think one

of the things that we need to do is ensure that these agencies.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Your time has expired.

The Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE: 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 the Regional Economic Development, RED boards, diversify, grow, and

strengthen economies throughout the Province by providing training

opportunities, marketing advice, proposal writing, leveraging funds,

collaboration, and other means; and

WHEREAS the federal government's decision to cut funding to the Atlantic

Canada Opportunities Agency, ACOA, is resulting in the elimination of funding to

the RED boards and their termination in May, 2013; and

WHEREAS 75 per cent of the operational funding for the RED boards, roughly

$3.6 million, is provided by ACOA, with the additional 25 per cent from the

provincial government; and

WHEREAS the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development, IBRD,

has millions in their suite of programming, some of which has poor uptake; and

WHEREAS just 1.5 per cent of the Business Attraction Fund in the Department

of Innovation, Business and Rural Development was used in 2011, $366,800 of a

$25 million budget;

WHEREUPON we the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to urge the

government to commit to bridge funding in its 2013 Budget, which may come from

the Business Attraction Fund to help preserve the RED boards in Newfoundland and

Labrador that provide support to municipalities, communities, organizations, and

businesses.

And as in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this petition is signed by members from the community of St.

Alban's on the South Coast of the Province. I had the opportunity to visit St.

Alban's and look at the wonderful work that was being done. There was great

concern by the development board there of the loss of this and what it would

mean to the community. They did a lot of great things when it came to the work

that they were doing in the promotion of the aquaculture industry down there.

If I speak to the RED board in my own district, the Nordic Economic

Development Corporation, they levered $13 million in their sixteen years of

existence, administered directly through their office. Now, their funding, what

they received for their whole staff as a budget, in total, was about $225,000.

That is $3.5 million, using provincial and federal funding to operate their

offices for the last sixteen years, but they levered $13 million directly. That

is not counting everything else they did, and what that means to the overall

economy in my district on the Great Northern Peninsula. It is quite significant.

They levered funding from the BRAND initiative through the federal

government, which they put high-speed Internet in twenty-three of the

thirty-five communities in my district. Actually, they served thirty-six

communities on the Northern Peninsula through that initiative. The provincial

government, with Bell Aliant at the time, they only contributed $85,000. It is

quite significant. These types of things are not going to happen in the same

way.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. MITCHELMORE: This is a backwards approach to economic development and

a backwards approach to dealing with business in rural Newfoundland and

Labrador, but I do not think the current government gets it. The petitioners are

urging that the House of Assembly make change and look at how we do regional

economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

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

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Order 7. It is a motion, and I will

read it into the record:

WHEREAS subsection 20(7) of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity

and Administration Act provides that a change to the level of amounts of

allowances and resources provided to members not be made except in accordance

with a rule that has been first laid before the House of Assembly and adopted by

resolution of this House; and

WHEREAS amendments to the Members' Resources and Allowances Rules which, in

part, would change the level of amounts of allowances and resources, have been

laid before this House by the Speaker;

NOW THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that this Honourable House of Assembly adopt the

amendments to the Members' Resources and Allowances Rules as tabled by the

Speaker of this House on March 27, 2013.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is seconded by?

MR. KING: The motion is seconded by the Minister of Advanced Education

and Skills.

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise as a member of the House Management Commission. I have been part of

the discussion, of course, to support the amendments of the Members' Resources

and Allowances Rules in accordance with the House of Assembly Accountability,

Integrity and Administration Act. I believe, Mr. Speaker, this reflects the

discussion we had in the last meeting on March 20, 2013.

I really support this, not only in the scope of the current financial

situation of the government, but indeed, I believe that as members this is

something we should be looking at and analyzing on a regular basis, finding ways

that we can represent our constituents and do the business of government in a

cost-efficient manner.

With that said, Mr. Speaker, I conclude my remarks and we will be supporting

this.

Thank you.

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

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As a member of the Management Commission, as well as House Leader for the

Third Party, I am happy to stand and speak to this motion today. As has been

indicated, it is something that is not directed by the Budget. This is directed

by the Commission that was set up according to our Accountability, Integrity and

Administration Act to look at members' resources.

Just to remind the public who may be listening or here in the room with us,

section 16(1) of the act says that at least once in each General Assembly there

will be a Commission set up, and that Commission will look at the resources of

the members. Of course, we had that Commission set up in 2012 and the

Commissioner, Judge Brazil, made her recommendations.

Some of the motions that are here relate directly to the recommendations from

Judge Brazil and some are a result of making changes because of the fiscal

situation which we are in here in the Province. I think an important one, and it

is good for people to know about, is that we made a decision as a Commission to

allow more for offices around the Province. Simply because of the fact the

amount of money that was in our regulations, in our legislation actually, was so

low that members continually had to come to get permission to pay more for the

rent of their constituency offices. It was becoming really ludicrous, all the

permissions that had to be sought, so one of the changes here reflects to that.

I think it is important to say that this is something that is in the

legislation. It is an ongoing process, and I think it is an important process

that every General Assembly that means in between the two General Elections,

that period of time of a General Assembly. That we will always review how things

are going with regard to the use of the money by the Members of the House of

Assembly, and that the commission that does the study is a commission of people,

up to three, who are outside of the House of Assembly. They are not part of the

system.

It is a growing thing for us. This is all a result of the Green Commission

and the report from that. Every time we do it, we will not do it again now

necessarily until after the next General Election, although we could. We could

call more than one, but at least once every General Assembly we will call one.

Even now, I think there are some things here that I will want to speak to the

next time we have a commission, and I think that is the whole idea. It is an

ongoing process. It is a continuous process, and I look forward to the next

commission. I am happy to support our motion today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just have a couple of brief comments before we bring this to a vote.

Certainly, on behalf of government we will be supporting this motion, but maybe

a little bit of context would probably be helpful for Hansard and for those who

may be paying attention.

As the Leader of the NDP mentioned a few moments ago, there was a process put

in place, a process that is outlined in legislation, where every term of office

there has to be a review completed of members' compensation, benefits and

allowances and so on, that each member who sits in this House is entitled to

avail of.

In 2012 there was a Members' Compensation Review Committee put in place and

that committee brought back a number of recommendations for the House to

consider. On behalf of the House, of course, as people may be aware, there is a

Management Commission with representation from all three political parties in

the House.

The recommendations went before the Management Commission for consideration.

We did that. We considered the recommendations brought forth, as well budgetary

implications and other Budget-related decisions which are incorporated into the

document that we are about to vote on here today.

That is sort of the how did we get here piece, Mr. Speaker. From a procedural

perspective, people also need to understand I believe that in order to make any

changes to the compensation and benefits provided to members, it has to come

before the House. The Management Commission can give consideration to

recommendations and offer suggestions to the House of Assembly, but it actually

has to come here before the House and be voted on and ratified by members who

are sitting here in the House of Assembly at that particular point in time.

With the changes and the recommendations approved in principle by the

Management Commission tabled by yourself, the Speaker of the House, several days

ago, today's debate is about those particular recommendations. I want to touch

on just a couple; I will only take a couple of moments. It is important I think

that people get a sense of what we are talking about here in the recommendations

being brought forward.

As people would know, the Province is in a challenging financial position at

this point in time. We have had to make some changes in a number of important

areas in government, a number of government departments. Not to be outside of

any expenditure reductions, the Management Commission, as I said represented by

all three parties, went through the recommendations not only with respect to the

independent recommendations of the Members' Compensation Review Committee, but

also with respect to trying to identify areas where we could make reductions in

members' allowances and benefits to play our

part in supporting the fiscal

situation of the Province and the Budget of the Province.

There are a number here that I will just touch on very quickly. As has been

referenced earlier, there was an annualized amount for constituency offices

located throughout the Province. That has created significant challenges in some

respects. In many areas, the amount identified as a flat amount was simply

insufficient to cover rental space. It has forced members to have to write

letters and make appeal to the Management Commission for exceptions to the rule.

What we have done now, by way of this recommendation, is we have made changes

so that the individual MHAs who are having offices located outside of the

capital region will simply go through the provincial government tendering

process and follow all the rules and guidelines set down. There will be a

provision to pay the actual cost of the tender, whatever that might be. That one

is a good change and will support many members.

As well, Mr. Speaker, there is a couple of others that I think are important.

Under office operations and supplies, which is really the amount of money that

members have to run their district offices, to buy the supplies and the

equipment and those types of things that are required to operate on a daily

basis, there has been a 20 per cent reduction in this particular motion being

brought forward.

Further to that, Mr. Speaker, under the intra-constituency budget, which

would be the budget that members would use when they are working in their

districts for travel or accommodations or other related activities, there has

been a 20 per cent reduction in that category as well.

Mr. Speaker, just two other quick ones; we also made allowances where it was

felt by the Commission, based on input received from the members that I will

note in a few moments, that there was certainly some challenges and restrictions

in a number of districts with respect to helicopter allocations and members'

abilities to perform their duties in instances where there are remote

communities.

Now we have a defined allocation for four districts: Cartwright L'Anse au

Clair, Fortune Bay Cape La Hune, Torngat Mountains, and perhaps the most

challenging one, I believe, before the Budget might have been Burgeo La Poile.

So, allowances are being made in these changes today to allow that member

greater latitude and flexibility in carrying out his duties.

As well, Mr. Speaker, the last one that I will touch on is when the House is

sitting, there was a rule that perhaps many of us felt that might have been a

little bit absurd at some points in time, but when the House is sitting there

are a number of MHAs who live within commuting distance of Confederation

Building. The previous rules required that once a member came in here to attend

a sitting of the House they had to stay at a hotel, even if they lived within a

thirty-five or forty-minute drive, there was no provision to simply pay them

travel expenses, which by the way would have been much cheaper on the public

Treasury than having them stay at a hotel for $130, $140 a night.

There is now a provision here offering some flexibility. So if members live

within a district that is outside of what is defined as the capital region, but

if they live within a commuting distance and it is recognized to be cheaper to

pay simply travel back and forth, a commuting travel amount versus paying a

hotel rate, they have the option of choosing to do that. For the members who are

going to be affected by that and I think there may be five or six for sure

perhaps I think that they are all pleased with that because at least there is

an option there now if they want to return home at night.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I am going to conclude my comments. On behalf of

government, I want to thank members of the Management Commission from both other

political parties who participated and for their anticipated support, as I have

heard both the leaders offer already. So, with that, I will conclude my remarks

and take my seat.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge): Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With that motion concluded, I would like to call from the Order Paper, Order

1, moved by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, the motion

that this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the government.

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

(Inaudible) was tabled in this House on March 26, so just before Easter. On a

Monday after the House reconvened, I was given the opportunity, as the critic

for Finance, to actually respond to the Budget. That response on Monday was

almost three hours.

Mr. Speaker, near the end of that response, I introduced a non-confidence

motion, which was seconded by the Member for Burgeo La Poile. Of course, the

issue around the non-confidence motion for Budget 2013 and I will just read it

in again so we actually pick up on the debate, where we were as of Monday of

this week: That this House condemns the government for its failure to present a

fiscally responsible program that addresses the immediate economic problems for

rural areas of the Province, as well as serious social needs that exist in the

Province, and its failure to create a climate of sustainable economic growth in

the Province.

So, Mr. Speaker, we introduced this non-confidence motion, and with that in

mind I will speak to that motion, I will speak in support of that motion right

now. The reason why we do this is that we have seen a number of decisions that

we would consider will actually set the economy of this Province back,

especially in the short term.

Before I get to that, Mr. Speaker, I want to talk to the Budget. I guess what

we need to do is sometimes we kind of lose sight of what the Budget actually

spoke about before Easter of this year. So, Mr. Speaker, I will just go back to

the Budget document. On Budget day, there is a lot of information that gets out

into the public. One of the things, of course, is the Budget Speech that the

Minister of Finance would read into this House of Assembly, and with that then

becomes a very extensive document, which is the Estimates, which contains a lot

of the details relating to the Budget.

The other thing, really there is a recap. In the Budget Speech the minister

gave on March 26, which is entitled A Sound Plan, A Secure Future , there

is a Budget Outlook. In that, it raises what it is as you forecast over the next

three years.

The Budget Outlook, in revenue for this year, it is around the $7 billion

mark. In expenses, in terms of debt servicing expenses and program expenses, we

expect to expend about $7.6 billion or $7.57 billion, which would leave a

shortfall or a deficit in Budget 2013 of about $563 million, Mr. Speaker.

If we look at the forecast for next year, it is important for us to do that

even though the history of the forecast for this government has not been very

good over the last number of years, Mr. Speaker. We know it is difficult when

you consider the volatility of oil pricing, production, and of course our

currency rates. It is very difficult to forecast under those conditions.

The Budget Outlook for 2014 and 2015, the forecast for next year would be

$6.9 billion; leaving with program expenses of about $6.7 billion and about $880

million for debt servicing. That would leave next year's shortfall of about $650

million.

In the third year of this Budget Outlook, Mr. Speaker, we are anticipating

revenue of about $7.8 billion, program expenses of about $6.6 billion, and debt

servicing of about $931 million. Net expenses in the third year this government

is forecasting about $7.6 billion, which would leave a surplus of $230 million.

Of course, this revenue is all contingent on the revenue increasing from year

two of this forecast to year three of about an extra $1.1 billion. It is

anticipated the revenue would come future oil production.

Mr. Speaker, this is where we raise some concerns and a reason why we

introduced a non-confidence motion about how this Budget really does not address

the social and economic needs of the people in this Province. By that, I say

this really started when you go back as far as last year with the Employment

Assistance offices when we saw the closure. I think it was disturbing, and I

mentioned this on Monday.

What was really disturbing about that decision was that we saw the

announcement from the federal government saying they were going to close up

those offices. We were really expecting, like some other provincial governments

did that were affected by this decision by the federal government, which was

responsible for 75 per cent of the funding and 25 per cent from our provincial

government.

What would have happened, and I believe what happened in Nova Scotia, is they

responded by coming in and trying to find measures where we could keep those

Employment Assistance offices open, because they provide a very valuable service

to the areas where they operate. Indeed, what happened here is we found that our

provincial government stepped out first and did not even take full advantage of

the one year that was given to them by the federal government to look for other

ways to offer those services.

AN HON. MEMBER: What offices are you talking about?

MR. BALL: The EAS offices, I say to the minister.

Mr. Speaker, this really comes on the Employment Assistance offices of

course, I had better go back to that because this is actually June of this year.

The RED Boards is what I am talking about, Mr. Speaker. When we look at some of

the decisions that have been around the Rural Economic Development Boards, we

have seen, of course, many of those boards have already closed up now.

The other decision we seen, and we have had to question, would be around the

school board amalgamation, Mr. Speaker. We asked some questions today in this

House about how the school board amalgamation took place. Mr. Speaker, these

decisions were made without consultation for the people who have been involved

in this process for a number of years. When you look at school board

amalgamation, we have had a history of downsizing from our school boards.

In this particular case, I think what most people found, and it was really

difficult to believe, Mr. Speaker, because this decision was made by government

without any consultation at all from the groups that were directly involved. We

heard from many school board trustees. We heard from many of the people who have

been involved with the school boards. They have provided a very valuable

service, Mr. Speaker, over many, many years now.

What we have seen here, the government is proposing to put in a transition

receiving now is a response from many people who have been directly involved.

They really do not like the direction here. Many people are saying this will set

back the investment that has already been made in the education system.

This government, on a regular basis, stand on their feet and highlight the

investments they have made. The concern here is you make that investment and if

you do not manage that investment appropriately, it will, indeed, set back some

of the good work that has already been done, Mr. Speaker.

There have been many other cuts throughout all of this. What we have done is

over the last number of days we have compiled a list of the number of cuts that

we have seen by this government in this particular Budget 2013. I can assure

you, the list is very extensive.

When you publish little pamphlets like this, Five Things You Need to Know

about Budget 2013, there are so many things this piece of information does not

say. This tells you about the five things you need to know about, according to

government, Budget 2013, but it does not tell the full story. There are so many

things this information does not tell you. Mr. Speaker, a lot of it is around

consultation, as I said.

One of the other areas we have seen around consultation is in the whole area

of the Department of Justice. Of course, the response from the cuts in Justice,

they were quick and they were loud. What we saw here was a government that went

in and reviewed those cuts, and they came back and made some changes.

As an Opposition, we called for a review of those cuts. Therefore, with the

response that was made, we say in some cases here the review was definitely

warranted and the changes were made. However, what we are not seeing, as in many

of the other cuts we have seen, for instance with the College of the North

Atlantic and on and on it goes, with our dental program the many other things

that we have seen, cuts in this particular Budget, we are not seeing the same

kind of review process.

In actual fact, what we have seen, Mr. Speaker, is that the Premier and

members of this government are saying you have to come to us with that

compelling argument. I say, Mr. Speaker, there are people out there making those

compelling arguments and are more than willing to come with those compelling

arguments and sit down with the ministers, and to sit down with the Premier

herself.

What we need to know is when we come knocking on that door, that indeed the

door will be opened, and that is not the case. That is not what these people are

saying is the experience they are finding. What they are saying is it is very

difficult to find a venue to make that compelling argument. We have heard that

from people at the College of the North Atlantic, we have heard it from people

in Wildlife Division. We have heard it from all over, Mr. Speaker.

What we have here, when you look at the Budget process and we know there is

a consultation period that feeds into the decision before the final Budget is

put in place. In actual fact, what a lot of people are finding now is that the

consultation process, in terms of having an impact or making a difference, Mr.

Speaker, into the Budget is really meaningless. Many people engaged in this

process are feeling they are not even though they sit there, they go make a

presentation, what is happening here is that they have no influence at all and

no impact at all on the Budget.

It becomes very much a process of you implement and now you have to make the

compelling argument; so you implement and then you consult after. That is not

the way the Budget process should work. The compelling argument test should be

almost reverse to that so that when someone comes in, you need to look at the

information that has been provided and you look at the cuts that you are trying

to make and then you say: Does this meet the compelling argument test whether we

should cut this or not? In many cases, we believe that if that approach was

taken, that some of those decisions would not have been made.

Now, Mr. Speaker, before I move on into some of those cuts, there is one

thing that I wanted to clarify because we received a number of responses and

questions about the Opposition and where I would be, as Leader of the Official

Opposition in my capacity, on this $90 million line that was in Budget 2013.

I want to make it very clear that we understand the sensitivity around the

negotiations with a company that has been in Province providing many economic

benefits, a lot of jobs to people throughout this Province, not just in Western

Newfoundland but in Central Newfoundland for sure. Right now, what we have seen

over recent years is that we have seen the closure of two Abitibi paper mills.

What we have now is one mill that is left on this Island, which is the pulp and

paper mill, the news print mill in Corner Brook. That mill, of course, has been

around for a long, long time. As I said, it has provided a lot of economic

benefit to the people in Corner Brook, but, indeed, all across the Province.

What we have said along here is there are times when governments must get

involved with industry to support industries that are struggling, and that is

not unusual. What you do in this particular case to protect the public

investment is you go in and you look for things, you look for assets that you

could take back, those assets that would provide the security on the loan. We

have asked those questions and we believe that with all the negotiations that

will take place, we encourage government to make sure that those assets are in

place.

We have already seen in retirees and current employees that they have

provided significant concessions, all in the hope that this mill would be around

for the long term, which is what we all hope for, I say, Mr. Speaker.

So getting the proper security in place, making sure that the negotiations

are completed, then what we look for is the repayment conditions on the loan

because we have to protect public funds. We believe that there is a mechanism

and certainly the ability with proper, meaningful negotiations that this can be

kept intact.

Mr. Speaker, that is the position that we have taken. What we all hope is

that we will see a long-term, viable solution to this so that the retirees, the

current employees we will see a forestry industry in this Province that will

have a long and healthy future.

We also know it is not just about a newsprint mill, that this newsprint mill

is indeed the anchor of the forestry industry. What it does, in providing that

anchor, that foundation for the forestry industry, it gives other people who are

involved in the forestry industry, people like saw millers, logging operators,

who actually provide a lot of employment throughout the Province even our own

forestry management, it is important. Because without a viable forestry to

actually manage, you would even question what would happen here.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we make those strategic type investments

from time to time. That is the reason why right now that we actually look

forward to working with all the stakeholders that are involved in making sure

that there will be a long-term and a viable solution to the forestry industry in

our Province.

Mr. Speaker, some of the other things, when you look at Budget 2013 and the

number of layoffs that we have seen and, of course, we keep hearing every day

of even new layoffs, people who have been displaced from their jobs. One of the

comments that have been made about this so-called economy that has been

white-hot or red-hot and that, therefore, the private sector would be in the

position that it would actually be able to absorb the private sector would be

able to absorb the people who were laid off from our public sector employees.

Mr. Speaker, that is not always the case. That is actually a stretch to say

that people can actually transition from a public sector job into the private

sector. It is not always to do, I say. Mr. Speaker, as an example if you lose

teachers or if you lose people who have been teaching in our education system

for many years, it is not always easy to transition into the private sector.

It is a big difference and a big stretch, Mr. Speaker, that people who are

actually working within the public sector, working with government, providing a

very valuable service, simply to say that the private sector can actually absorb

those people. These are people who have made a decision over their lives; they

have actually taken and they have planned their education to working within an

education system, working within a health care system. Some of them have

actually jumped at the chance, Mr. Speaker, when they were given the chance, to

come to work within a government job.

What they have done is they have actually made decisions, not always because

of the amount of compensation but sometimes about lifestyle, sometimes about

pension. Now, we know that there are many people who have been displaced. We

hear every day many, many stories of people who were actually shocked to find

out they have been displaced.

I can tell you lots of stories. One, in particular, I know of is of an

individual who had over thirty years with government and just made a decision a

few years ago to go into somewhat of a managerial position. Mr. Speaker, of

course, that kept him from the protection of his union. In this case, his job

was displaced and he was really left with nowhere to go.

After thirty years of employment, many years under the organized environment,

he now finds himself without a job. He is out of work. In his case, as I spoke

with him and the story he has told me, what he has to do now is go west and go

to Alberta, where we already know there are many Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians who have gone west because simply they just cannot find work right

here in the Province, I say.

It is fine to say we have an economy that is vibrant right now in some areas

of this Province. I know in my own district I have a large part of my district

that really has an unemployment rate right now of well over 20 per cent, I say,

Mr. Speaker. So, it is not always easy for the private sector to actually absorb

all those people who are working with government. It is not always easy to do.

Mr. Speaker, I spoke earlier about the closure of the EAS offices. I just

need to clarify that because there was some confusion around the EAS and the RED

Boards at the time. The RED Boards is what I was referring to that actually

received the funding that was shared with the federal government. Those offices,

the closures were announced last year, government being the first to step out of

that and not come in, backfill, and actually support those offices.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. BALL: That is true, I say, Mr. Speaker.

Now we have seen those offices are being closed up and the EAS offices being

closed up. The announcement was made on Friday, March 1. People were given a

three-month notice.

Mr. Speaker, I say that I think there is a real misunderstanding of the value

of those EAS offices and what they actually mean in the communities where they

exist. If you go into any community where there was an EAS office, and I am not

just talking about rural areas, too, we have seen very vibrant, very busy EAS

offices in some of our larger centres. They provide a very valuable service. We

know there were about 226 who have been laid off from that.

What they have been able to do is help people transition from where they are

now, many people unemployed, and use those EAS offices to transform into

meaningful employment. All of this when we are told each and every day that this

Province will need about 70,000 jobs over the next few years for skilled people,

Mr. Speaker. Now all of a sudden the very offices those people went to for

support for education, to transform from where they are today in their life into

meaningful employment, those offices no longer exist, I say, at the end of June.

Mr. Speaker, I did speak about school board amalgamation. Of course, this was

one of the cuts that were announced in this Budget and one of the things that

was not included on the five things you need to know about Budget 2013. This is

not on this pamphlet that speaks to five things that you need to know. That

pamphlet does not tell you about the amalgamation of school boards. Those five

school boards in total now are going down to two school boards in the future:

very intimate knowledge of the way our education system is delivered in the

Province.

Mr. Speaker, one of the cuts, too, that was announced and that many people

found out about during the reading of the Budget document itself on March 26 was

the cuts to the College of the North Atlantic. I say, this came as a shock. 2013

is the fiftieth anniversary of the college system in Newfoundland and Labrador.

With the $15 million cut, we have seen $4 million coming from program cuts, $6.6

million from one program that we have heard a lot of feedback on of course,

this is the ABE program and there is about $4.4 million to come from cuts in

management and administration.

The direct layoffs are one thing, Mr. Speaker, and this is having a

tremendous impact across the Province, but I think what people are really,

really speaking about the most, and what we are getting most of the feedback on,

of course, is from the ABE program and the program itself. Now, there is a long

list of cuts to CNA

AN HON. MEMBER: Tell us some.

MR. BALL: Yes, I will tell you. Thank you to the member.

It is in Baie Verte, for instance. At the college campus in Baie Verte, we

are losing the ABE program there and the first-year machinist program. Mr.

Speaker, in Bay St. George we are losing the ABE program. Visual Arts,

Hospitality Tourism Management, and Community Studies; these are all cuts to the

college system and campuses across the Province. We are seeing cuts in Burin, we

are seeing cuts in Bonavista, and we are seeing cuts in Carbonear, Clarenville,

Corner Brook, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Lab West, and

Placentia.

Speaking of Lab West, for instance, Mr. Speaker, I spoke to a group out of

Lab West. As they spoke about the Adult Basic Education, there are really not a

lot of other options. Now what we have to do is wait for an RFP to come out.

People really need to know where they would continue their studies. Already we

are seeing many e-mails even as late as today where people are saying they will

not be in a position to respond to those RFPs in a timely fashion. There are

still some concerns about where we will be in September.

In Lab West, in Placentia, in Port aux Basques, in Seal Cove, in St. Anthony,

here at the St. John's campus on Prince Philip Drive, and the St. John's campus

on Ridge Road, I say, Mr. Speaker, there are cuts to every single CNA campus.

Mr. Speaker, as MHAs we often hear from people in our districts who have

concerns about this. We could speak at great length to just about every single

program.

I want to speak about a program in Corner Brook right now for just a few

minutes. This is the electronics engineering program in Corner Brook, Mr.

Speaker. Just to let you know, this is a program that has been around for thirty

years, the electronics engineering program, I say to the Member for Humber West.

For thirty years, it has been offered at CNA and has been extremely successful.

I have known many people who have graduated from that particular course. It was

the only site that this course was offered in the Province.

It takes about twenty students a year, and about sixty students in the

program, I say, Mr. Speaker. It is an actual general course that lays the

foundation where people, when they graduate, they go on and they work with NAV

Canada. I see the Member for Gander; many people are working in Gander with NAV

Canada. People are working with Nalcor, I say. They are working in many, many

areas in technology and they provide a great service to the people. They come

out highly skilled at a very foundational level. They go on through professional

development in many, many companies, not only here in Newfoundland but across

the country. It has had great success. This course has been very successful.

There are many, many people who have gone on to work with Bell Aliant.

Mr. Speaker, to go in and close that program without actually speaking to the

companies that the graduates end up with or actually speaking to the college

themselves, the people who are directly involved in this, without even

challenging those people with such a successful program, how can you help us

provide solutions? It is really a very backward approach to finding efficiencies

within the program. That is just one example; there are many, many more

examples, I say.

Mr. Speaker, do you know what really makes this even a little worse? If we

just think about graduates who are coming out of Level III right now, as they

make their plans and as they actually put in their application to continue their

education. I have had calls from people who have actually had applications into

the college to do this electronics engineering course. Now the course is no

longer available. So they are left now wondering, well, where will I go in

September? The course they actually applied for does not exist anymore. This is

what they wanted to do. This was a career choice that they had made.

I say, Mr. Speaker, this is a very shameful approach to this. At least what

they should have done is actually sat down, had a consultation with the college,

and sat down with the instructors who were involved in this to look for

solutions, Mr. Speaker. We can make that same argument for many of the program

cuts.

Mr. Speaker, if I could I will speak to ABE and about the many students who

are left wondering what the future would be. We have heard a lot of discussion

around the cost of ABE in the Province. We have heard numbers around the $9,000

mark. Even in the House of Assembly today the minister was quoting numbers of

$9,000 and $6,000, and we know with the John Noseworthy report just over $4,000.

There seems to be a lot of confusion around what the cost is.

What we would ask, and we ask this today, and we would encourage this

government to do this because in order for groups to get together to put that

compelling argument in, to make that compelling argument so that we can actually

work together to find solutions, we need the information. What we have been

asking for is provide us with the information; provide us with the analysis of

the information that was provided. Why did you make that decision? That is not

too much to ask for, I say, Mr. Speaker. Table that, because we know there was

no consultation with the people involved.

There was no challenge sent to the College of the North Atlantic to actually

challenge them to look and come up with solutions that they could actually

provide the ABE course in a more efficient manner, I say, because it is a good

program, Mr. Speaker. We all have so many success stories about the program that

has been offered at CNA and I could tell you dozens and dozens of them. We get

those success stories on a daily basis. We would ask for this information to be

made available so people can get together and they could actually review the

information to, indeed, provide the compelling argument to keep this ABE at the

College of the North Atlantic.

Mr. Speaker, in Question Period this week, one of the other things I brought

up and we have seen a lot of discussion around is the Justice cuts. One thing we

have not heard a whole lot in the public discourse is about the cuts to the RCMP

officers. We understand there will be RCMP officers who have been asked to leave

this Province. Yet, when I asked the Premier this week about that, she seemed to

try and distance herself from this being related to Budget 2013.

Mr. Speaker, when you look at enforcement in this Province, all you need is

to look back at the number of successful drug busts we have seen on our

highways. We look at the protection of our Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in

the communities they live. It is important that we have well-staffed RCMP

officers and RNC officers. I would say we depend on that.

This is not an area we really should be cutting at all. Enforcement is

important to us; I believe this is another area. We have seen the closure of the

detachment in Buchans. We have heard of RCMP officers who are leaving rural

communities or who have been asked to leave rural communities. This is a

question, and we will continue to be asking questions on this, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as we move on, one of the other things that was not mentioned in

the five things that you need to know about Budget 2013 was indeed some of the

things around the Western Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook.

MR. JOYCE: Don't get me started on that.

MR. BALL: My colleague from the Bay of Islands says, don't get me started

on that, because we know how passionate he is about the Western Memorial

Hospital.

One of the things back when you look at the last campaign in 2011, when you

look at the campaign material and you look at the discussion as we went about

our campaigning, I would say, Mr. Speaker, there certainly was not any

discussion about less acute care beds. I know people will try to make the

argument that a lot of the beds in the hospital right now are being held because

of people who need long-term care.

What is happening now, Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing here with this new

hospital, nobody was saying in 2011 there would be less acute care beds; nobody

was saying in 2011 that the PET scanner would not be an option, I say. In 2011,

what I am saying now, did this government make a commitment to a PET scanner?

Was this in the design? Indeed, now with the rightsizing, we know now this is

not included in Western Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Speaker, when you look at the new hospital that is being proposed at

Western right now to replace the old building at Western Memorial, no one

thought when we were into a campaign on this that we would be getting less acute

care beds. This was not something that was talked about in this pamphlet here,

in Budget 2013.

Mr. Speaker, we move on and we can talk about so many other things. The

ambulance negotiations are an area in which these first responders right now

provide a very valuable service. What we know now is that the negotiations,

really, we are waiting for a review.

Mr. Speaker, if you are into any type of business at all, one of the things

that you need to know is you need to be able to stabilize your revenue. If you

are an ambulance operator right now and you are looking at the purchase of

equipment, it is very difficult to be able to make that purchase if you really

do not know where you are going to be. As we wait for this review to be done,

what it does is it delays improvements. I have heard this from ambulance

operators as they kind of wait for those negotiations to work. It is indeed

delaying investment in the current services.

Those first responders, what they are looking for is a way that they can have

consistent revenue so that they would be able to make those decisions, so that

all of us from time to time - many people we know who unfortunately from time to

time would need the services of those ambulance operators - could depend on a

good service, where there are investments made to make sure that the quality of

service remains in place.

Mr. Speaker, this is not in Budget 2013. This is not about one of things that

this government considers you need to know. It is something I believe that, as

ambulance operators, they should not have to wait. When you are in negotiations,

when your contract expires, there should be expedient negotiations -

AN HON. MEMBER: How long have they been waiting?

MR. BALL: They have been waiting a long time. It has been delayed well

over a year, I say, Mr. Speaker, right now.

Mr. Speaker, another area that we received significant feedback from is the

Wildlife Division. This is another enforcement issue. We already know that many

people who live in our Province, they make a decision to live here, a lot of

people, because of lifestyle. We know of many people who have moved away and

they come back home. They come back home because they enjoy the lifestyle in

Newfoundland and Labrador. They love the outdoors. We all have friends who enjoy

their summers, if it is salmon fishing on the rivers, or in the fall it is up

moose hunting, or just days out in the country. They also enjoy knowing that

there is an abundance of wildlife.

Mr. Speaker, a few years ago there were some decisions that were made by this

government to separate enforcement. That moved into Justice. Then we saw the

wildlife management which was in Environment and Conservation, Natural

Resources, those areas. What we have seen here and what I want to speak about

today, though, is in the enforcement piece.

When the department was set up we had seventy-two positions that were set up.

Fifty-four positions, I understand, Mr. Speaker, had been filled which left

really eighteen positions vacant. What has happened after Budget 2013, we are

now down to about twenty-four positions in this Province. We now have about

twenty-four field officers really out of the seventy-two that were originally

approved.

When you think about this, how do you realistically believe with this amount

of field officers that we can put in any kind of meaningful program? This is

what I am hearing from people. We have heard many people speak about one

wildlife enforcement officer from Rocky Harbour to the Northern Peninsula. It is

not even a safe environment I say, Mr. Speaker, for those wildlife enforcement

officers to be even working. They cannot put a meaningful program in place, and

they are not able to put the type of enforcement measures in place. Who would go

out at night on an enforcement patrol if you had to do it yourself? As a matter

of fact, I am not even sure that workplace health and safety would even allow

that to happen.

Mr. Speaker, yes, it is often referred to as a poacher's paradise. When

people make the decision to come back home because of the abundance in wildlife,

the lifestyle here in the Province, cutting back on our wildlife enforcement and

our wildlife management is not an area we need to go. As a matter of fact, when

you think about the decision that was made even by this government to protect

the inland fishery, they felt that DFO was not doing a good enough job so they

got directly involved in that themselves.

Mr. Speaker, what I also found interesting is when you go back to the Blue

Book in 2007; one of the commitments that Blue Book 2007 made was to enhance

data collection, assessment and management of wildlife resources. If you want to

see better management of wildlife resources, if that is your commitment, how can

you expect to do that with less enforcement officers? It is impossible t