Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 14 June 2007 (45th General Assembly, 4th Session, Vol. XLV No. 30)
2007-06-14
Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
June 14, 2007 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
PROCEEDINGS Vol. XLV No. 30
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Hodder): Order, please!
Admit strangers.
This afternoon we are very pleased to welcome twenty Grade 5 students from
Twillingate Island Elementary School, in the District of Twillingate & Fogo.
The students are accompanied by their teachers, Ms Karen Dove, Ms Patricia
Vincent, Mr. Jody Cooper, as well as their principal, Mr. David Dove, and their
bus driver, Mr. Eric Bourdan.
Welcome to the House of Assembly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
Statements by Members
MR. SPEAKER: This afternoon we have members' statements as follows: the
hon. the Member for the District of Terra Nova; the hon. the Member for the
District of Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair; the hon. the Member for the District
of Conception Bay South; the hon. the Member for the District of Humber Valley;
the hon. the Member for the District of Trinity-Bay de Verde; and, the hon. the
Member for the District of Carbonear-Harbour Grace.
The Chair recognizes the Member for the District of Terra Nova.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. ORAM: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the organizers and participants in
this year's "Help a Village Effort" walk for water. Mr. Speaker,
Help a Village Effort, or HAVE, has raised money to drill sixty water wells in
India that will provide safe drinking water and life to 30,000 men, women and
children in India.
Mr. Speaker, this year it was my privilege to be a participant in this walk.
The walk took place in Glovertown, with participants from Glovertown, Traytown,
Gambo and the Eastport Peninsula. This venture has raised over $4,000 this year,
and that is in addition to other donations that will continue to come in over
the next three to four months.
Mr. Speaker, one may well wonder if there are similar size towns anywhere in
North America or even in the world which can make a similar claim to show such a
concern for the well being of fellow mankind.
We must never forget that this effort would not be possible without the
volunteers who work so diligently to make this program a success; more
specifically, the event organizers, Gerard Feltham, wife Yuvadee and son Geravad,
and Mr. Stanley Sparkes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join with me in congratulating the
participating communities for their efforts in providing safe water for the
people of India.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Cartwright-L'Anse
au Clair.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise in the House today to extend congratulations to a constituent from my
district, Wayne Russell of William's Harbour, who was awarded the St. John
Ambulance Gold Life Saving Award on Tuesday, June 12, in an investiture ceremony
at the Anglican Cathedral in St. John's. Mr. Speaker, this is an award that
honours citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador for their contributions and acts
of bravery.
On January 2, 2007, Wayne Russell was travelling with some family members
across the ice along the South Coast of Labrador in a place called Winter
Tickle, a waterway that separates the community of William's Harbour from the
mainland. They suddenly realized that Trevor Larkham, who was travelling with
them, had gone through the ice. Mr. Russell, without thought for his own life,
travelled back across the ice to a point of land. Once there, he threw a rope to
Mr. Larkham and pulled him to safety. Mr. Russell stayed with Mr. Larkham until
help arrived.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Russell is to be recognized for his courage and heroic
efforts in saving the life of a friend.
I ask all my hon. colleagues in this House to join me today in extending
congratulations to Wayne Russell of William's Harbour, for receiving the St.
John Ambulance Gold Life Saving Award.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. FRENCH: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
On May 26, I had the privilege of attending the Annual Ceremonial Review of
the 2562 Queen Elizabeth Cadets. The cadets upheld the traditions of 2562 with a
phenomenal display of talent at their fifty-first annual inspection.
The Corps Commanding Officer, Mr. Rodney Priddle, and all of the officers of
the cadets are to be congratulated for the commitment they make to our young
adults. They take our children from boys and girls to men and women at a time
when proper guidance is essential in today's world.
The inspecting officer was Deputy Chief of Police, Mr, Robert Johnston, who
echoed the sentiments of the many people in attendance by congratulating the
cadets on their dedication to discipline and training.
There were many awards given out at the annual inspection covering everything
from public speaking to outstanding rifle shooter. I cannot name all of the
award winners, but some of the multiple winners include: Warrant Officer,
Jessica Alyward, Lord Strathacona Medal, Excellance in Drill Award, and Best
Shot Level III; Chief Warrant Officer, Brad Power, the Leadership Award and
Contributing Most to the Corp; and Cadet Ashley Bradley, Best Cadet Level II,
and Best Junior Bandsmen. And congratulations certainly to all the other award
winners.
I ask all hon. members to join with me on congratulating 2562 Queen Elizabeth
Cadets on their professionalism and commitment at the fifty-first Annual
Ceremonial Review.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this House today to recognize the Deer
Lake Regional Airport Authority. The staff and board of directors are preparing
for the grand opening of the new Air Terminal Building. This new building will
more than double the size of the existing space.
The amazing thing about this project, Mr. Speaker, is that it was
self-financed by the airport authority themselves.
The state-of-the-art facility is due to the tremendous dedication, commitment
and determination of a lot of people including: Mr. Carl Stratton, Chairman of
the Board of the Deer Lake Regional Airport Authority and his fellow directors;
Mr. Jamie Schwartz, airport manager and his fellow staff members.
The Deer Lake Regional Airport has experienced its sixth consecutive year of
record traffic growth. This unique facility has seen a 77 per cent increase in
passenger traffic since 2000 and provides full-time employment for 175 people.
The new Air Terminal Building is now the home of a new arrivals lounge
complete with customs and immigration facilities, a new domestic arrivals area,
a gift shop, five car rental counters, a 250 seat departure lounge, and many
other additional amenities.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join me in extending
congratulations to the Deer Lake Regional Airport Authorities Board of
Directors, management and staff as they prepare for the grand opening of the new
Air Terminal Building.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, today I wish to congratulate Mr. Robert Royal, or Robbie as I
know him, a constituent of mine from Job's Cove, who is one of this year's
recipients of the Order of St. John Award. This award and special vote of thanks
was presented June 12 by St. John Ambulance to Robert and Ms Lisa Heffern for
their life-saving efforts, and Mr. Terry Hart of VOCM for his promotion of St.
John Ambulance.
Mr. Speaker, Robbie and Ms Lisa Heffern of Eastport, from the great District
of Terra Nova, are credited with saving the lives of crew members of the Rebel's
Pride . Last September, four crew members were exposed to dangerous chemicals
which had leaked into the ship's hold. Robbie and Lisa, even though putting
their own lives at risk, rescued and resuscitated them with skills learned
through St. John Ambulance.
Mr. Speaker, I can state from personal experience of the important role that
the St. John Ambulance course has in our day to day lives. It is because of the
teachings of the St. John Ambulance that a life crisis can be overcome.
Mr. Speaker, for their courageous efforts, Robbie and Lisa will be presented
with Gold Life Saving Awards, and I ask that all members join with me today in
congratulating them as well.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SWEENEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today to extend congratulations to the Carbonear Collegiate Sentinels
who took home the male and female banners at the Provincial High School Track
and Field Championships.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace.
MR. SWEENEY: This is a member's statement so I cannot get political,
Mr. Speaker. I will respect that part of it.
Anyway, Mr. Speaker, I will start over again, with your indulgence.
I rise today to extend congratulations to the Carbonear Collegiate Sentinels
who took home the male and female banners at the Provincial High School Track
and Field Championships, May 26.
It was a typical cold, foggy East Coast Saturday morning, as athletes from
all over Newfoundland and Labrador gathered at the Pearlgate Athletic Track in
Mount Pearl for the Provincial High School Track and Field Championships.
Although the Carbonear Collegiate Sentinels participated in regional track
and field competitions throughout the past three years, they never attended a
high school provincial championship. The athletes from Carbonear Collegiate did
not know what to expect going into the competition and their opponents did not
pay must attention to them.
Mr. Speaker, to their surprise, the Sentinels got an early start on Saturday
morning in the 800 metre run and never looked back. The male and female
Sentinels led in points throughout the day and did not relinquish their position
in both running and field events.
Sentinels Coach, Randy Ralph, says: In order to be successful at track and
field, it is vital to train a whole team, not just individuals. A successful
team must have a solid roster from top to bottom. That also adds to team spirit,
as a good coach will encourage an athlete in tenth place as the athlete in first
place, since every point counts towards the team total.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all members of this House to join with me in extending
congratulations to Carbonear Collegiate Sentinels who took home the male and
female banners at the Provincial High School Track and Field Championships.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.
Statements by Ministers
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise in this hon. House today to announce that the Honourable Justice
Margaret A. Cameron will be appointed as Commissioner of the Judicial Commission
of Inquiry on estrogen and progesterone receptor testing for breast cancer
patients.
Mr. Speaker, Justice Cameron is highly qualified to lead this very important
inquiry. She was first appointed to the Trial Division of the Supreme Court in
September of 1983, becoming the Province's first female and youngest ever
Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. Prior to her
appointment to the bench, she worked for the provincial Department of Justice
from 1975, having served as an associate deputy minister for the department for
two years. She served in Unified Family Court Division until 1985 and was
appointed to the Court of Appeal in May of 1992.
Justice Cameron will officially begin her work as Commissioner on July 3,
2007 and will deliver her final report to the Minister of Health and Community
Services on July 30, 2008.
Mr. Speaker, further details, including the Terms of Reference, regarding the
inquiry will be publicly announced in the coming weeks as Justice Cameron takes
on her duties as Commissioner.
I am sure I speak for all hon. members when I say that we are very pleased
that Madam Justice Cameron has agreed to take on this important inquiry and we
look forward to receiving her final report next year. Ultimately, we are
committed, through this process, to ensuring that the public's confidence in
this area is restored and that all necessary details are disclosed in an open
and a transparent manner.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Premier for the advance copy.
We, too, on this side of the House, certainly support this release and are
pleased with the choice of Justice Cameron. Madam Justice Cameron is certainly
well respected in the justice system and widely respected in the public at large
for sure.
We do look forward, too, to seeing the Terms of Reference in the upcoming
weeks. We do recognize this has been a very serious issue affecting a lot of
people throughout the Province, women and families, and we are thankful that the
government has responded to the Opposition's call for this inquiry. We
certainly look forward to the improvements within the health care system itself.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Premier for his advance copy, and obviously welcome the
announcement.
I think that the public out there want as much information as can be gleaned.
I am glad that the government has given the Commissioner a year to do the work
that should assure that she will be able to get at all the details and get to
the bottom of why what happened, happened.
Thank you very much, Mr. Premier.
MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?
The hon. the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SKINNER: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise this hon. House that
over the course of the next six years the provincial government will increase
its provincial contribution for the Provincial Home Repair Program, the PHRP, by
an additional $24 million.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SKINNER: This doubles the provincial contribution for the program to
a total of $48 million.
The PHRP is administered by Newfoundland and Labrador Housing. This
cost-shared federal-provincial program assists low-income households with
critical home repair needs, or those who require adaptations to permit
program has assisted over 45,000 individuals Province-wide.
The PHRP primarily benefits seniors living in rural areas of the Province.
The average homeowner is sixty-one years old, has an annual income of $13,000,
and occupies a forty-one-year-old home.
Work covered under the program typically ranges from bringing privately owned
dwellings up to minimum fire and safety standards to critical structural
restoration of a house.
The demand for housing repairs in the Province is substantial, and over the
next six years this current funding commitment will help us address the more
than 4,000 applications now on our waiting list. The extra money will allow us
to assist approximately 2,500 applicants this year alone, as compared to
approximately 1,800 applicants annually in past years.
The program will continue to serve individuals on a "first-come,
first-served" basis from the current waiting list. Urgent cases with
special needs will also continue to be addressed on an exceptional basis.
Mr. Speaker, we know and understand that safe affordable housing is a basic
first step in helping people achieve greater self-sufficiency and independence.
PHRP has received broad support within the community at large and is consistent
with government's social policy objective which encourages seniors to live
independently within their own homes as long as they are able, and consequently
is in keeping with the Province's Poverty Reduction Strategy, which is focused
on preventing people from potential homelessness.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, this government has taken up the challenge. We
are committed and we will continue working to improve housing for low-income
households in this Province.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay-Cape la Hune.
MR. LANGDON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.
I am sure, Mr. Speaker, I can speak on behalf of all Members in the House of
Assembly, on both sides, especially for the rural members, that this particular
problem is one that we or our staff face on a daily basis. There is no doubt
about it, housing is a major, major issue.
It is great to see that government has recognized this particular fact and
has increased the amount of money into the Provincial Home Repair Program by an
additional $4 million a year so that it will now be $8 million. It is great also
to see, as I said, that the program has been there for a number of years, since
The minister's statement says that we have looked after 45,000 homes, and
the need is still there. If we look, Mr. Speaker, in the third paragraph of the
minister's statement, we will see that the average person receiving this is
sixty-one years of age, his house is forty-one years old, but his annual income
is $13,000. I am telling you that, without a program like this, it would very,
very difficult for these people - impossible for them - to do the repairs. What
we are seeing more and more in the rural communities, as our younger people
leave, this particular program is needed much, much more to fill the gap.
With the 4,000 applications that are on file, hopefully this year a large
number of them will be looked after. The minister says it is going from 1,800 to
2,500, so there are 700 additional applications that will be approved this year.
Mr. Speaker, we will look forward, I am sure, in the future, where this
amount will be increased so that our constituents in the rural part of the
district especially will have this program to fall back on.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I, too, thank the minister for the advance copy.
This was one of the announcements in the Budget that obviously I applauded
when it first was announced. We cannot do enough for people on low income when
it comes to their housing in particular, and especially for senior citizens.
As I expressed in the Budget discussions, I do wish that we could do this a
little bit more quickly. I know that there is a plan for over the next six years
but it would be really good if, in coming years, we could speed up this process.
Because, with every year that somebody does not get the help, number one, the
house will deteriorate more. Secondly, one of the things that is part of this
home repair is retrofitting -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. member's allotted time has expired.
MS MICHAEL: Just to clue up, please, Mr. Speaker?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.
MS MICHAEL: The main point I want to make is that retrofitting is part of
this program, and that is really excellent, and I do wish that government would
continue to look at the need for a full retrofit program in the Province for all
people who cannot afford to do that themselves.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?
Oral Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, on numerous occasions I have asked the Minister of
Fisheries if it was a done deal that Cooke Aquaculture was going into Fortune.
On every occasion he has assured me that it is and I could, in fact, take it to
the bank.
Today, VOCM is reporting that Cooke is re-evaluating its decision to
establish a farmed salmon processing plant in Fortune. Needless to say, the
people in Fortune are confused by this latest turn of events.
I ask the minister: What is the truth?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. RIDEOUT: The truth, of course, is as I told the hon. member in this
House. I would never tell anything else in the House only the truth, nothing but
the truth, the whole truth.
In terms of what is on the VOCM Web site today, I understand that there have
been discussions ongoing involving the union and Cooke Aquaculture and there are
some issues there. I understand there have been discussions ongoing involving
Cooke Aquaculture and the Citizens' Committee in Fortune and the Town of
Fortune and there are some issues ongoing there.
A quick check with Cooke Aquaculture and at least with the union - I have not
had a chance to speak with Fortune - is that everybody that I have spoken to so
far believe that those issues can be resolved and, in fact, will be resolved.
In terms of the property, the assets being transferred out of FPI to OCI to
Cooke, that is the done deal, and if the business arrangements can be made then
there is no problem with anything else.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, I am sure the minister understands, certainly, the
confusion, and why people are upset with this latest turn of events.
All I would ask him today is: Will you stay personally involved in this file
so that this initiative does not get off the tracks?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There is absolutely no need for confusion. From time to time there may be
matters that have to be finalized in negotiations between various parties,
because it is not only just Cooke and OCI and FPI involved here, as I say; there
is the union and there is the Town of Fortune.
In terms of being involved, Mr. Speaker, I will be involved in this file, and
the government will be involved in this file, until it is brought to a
conclusion, and we firmly believe a successful conclusion.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Environment and
Conservation said that the fees being charged by the call centre in Quebec for
anyone in the Province to make a reservation in our provincial parks was, in
fact, to cover the cost of the contract.
I ask the minister: Are there any additional costs to the Province to cover
the cost of this contract, and how long is the contract for?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. JACKMAN: Yes, Mr. Speaker, indeed it is the cost to cover the
contract. I believe the contract is for five years.
As I said yesterday, this is the first year of that plan, of that contract,
and at the end of the season we will be reviewing it, in its entirety, to see if
there are any adjustments we need to make, but it is for five years.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bellevue.
MR. BARRETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is to the Minister of Education.
Mr. Speaker, the Eastern School Board has an established priority list for
new school construction in their district. The new school for Terrenceville was
assigned first priority on the list and a school in Torbay was assigned number
two. When it is convenient for this government, they make the claim that they
will not interfere with the priorities established by the school board.
I ask the Minister of Education: If there was no political interference, why
do we have the school in Torbay, in the Minister of Municipal Affairs district,
going ahead before the school in Bellevue district, which was higher on the
priority list? Can the minister explain why?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, when we receive capital plans from any of our
school boards we certainly hire consultants to go out and look at the scope of
work that needs to be done.
In the case of Terrenceville, Mr. Speaker, I understand we are waiting for a
final report, but I also understand from the information based on the particular
building down there, that the information we receive will say that we will not
have to replace that building. There will be some work that will need to be
done, but I understand that the space down there will be able to accommodate the
students and will be appropriate accommodations for them.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bellevue.
MR. BARRETT: To the Minister of Education: There was a report prepared by
Grand Le Pierre and these people were promised a new school for the
Terrenceville system. Your colleague next door said the reason that Torbay got
the school was because the Member for Cape St. Francis lobbied harder. Now, the
school board is elected to set its priorities and they promised the people of
I say to the minister: Stop playing political interference and announce today
a new school for Terrenceville.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, when we do get a request for any type of capital
construction, which would include a new building, we certainly do our homework
and due diligence to make sure that if we are going to be investing in new
buildings, that it is the appropriate infrastructure at the time and for that
particular place.
Mr. Speaker, we understand that the school in Terrenceville will be able to
accommodate the students. We will not need to replace the building. Mr. Speaker,
we will take any requests that come in from any school board, we will look at
them and we will be able to proceed with what we feel is work that is
appropriate and needs to be done.
Mr. Speaker, the other point I want to make on this, is this government has
put more money into school construction -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS BURKE: - new schools, renovations and we are trying to bring all the
schools in Newfoundland and Labrador up to an acceptable standard. Because, Mr.
Speaker, in 2003 we were handed a lot of schools that had leaky roofs, that were
not fit to send the students to school in.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask the minister now to complete her answer.
MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, any request that comes into us, we will take
seriously and we will make sure that we have healthy environments for all the
children in Newfoundland and Labrador, and that will be done on a priority basis
and not a political basis.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
I have been asking in the past couple of days, concerning the issue of the
salmon licences and the need and the new requirement for individuals to present
a government photo ID before they are eligible to obtain a licence. The minister
stated that this requirement had been dropped for family licences and this
decision had been communicated to vendors across the Province. Yet, we note in
the media this morning it has been reported that, albeit the change may have
been made on May 22, this requirement, that it is only now, this week, that the
vendors were notified of it; and also the issue of people who paid unnecessarily
for these photo IDs.
My question is: Why did it take you so long to get this out when it was
brought to your attention earlier, and are you prepared to reimburse those
people who paid unnecessarily for your requirement?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, the decision, as soon as it was made, was
reported to the vendors. Now, if in some case some vendor did not get the
information earlier, that may have been, but as soon as the decision was made it
was reported to vendors. Secondly to that, as I said yesterday, in terms of all
youth under seventeen years of age, that will be straightened out as of the end
of next week.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is quite obvious that this program and this new requirement by the
Minister of Environment and Conservation was not very well thought out, and it
has been pretty evident by the number of problems that have been encountered in
the past number of weeks.
I say to the minister, your comment to the media yesterday that you will have
something by the end of next week, not saying you are going to have a solution.
You said: We will be making a statement of some kind by the end of next week.
I say to the minister: Isn't it easier - at least for this year and until
you have put the proper thought processes into place and work this out so that
we do not have this discrimination against people who do not have a driver's
licence - isn't it either scrap the program for this year or allow some
alternate means of identification, such as an MCP card, which people already
have under the new issued MCP card system, so we can get on with this and stop
procrastinating?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. JACKMAN: Mr. Speaker, the reason we moved away from the MCP cards is
there were some issues around confidentiality around health issues.
Secondly, I can assure the member that if I am going to make a decision by
the end of next week it will be clear to him. There will be no questions
afterwards, Mr. Speaker. It will be clear and definitive, and we will find a
solution and it will settle the matter. Mr. Speaker, I can assure him of that.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions are for the Minister of Justice.
First of all, Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Ombudsman for
recognizing and reporting on the situation facing women offenders in Labrador. I
fully support his recommendation to have a secure adult female custodial
building for those low-risk women offenders in Labrador, situated in Happy
Valley-Goose Bay.
Mr. Speaker, the minister knows that the majority of these women offenders
are Aboriginal and face significant language barriers and cultural differences
which have contributed to longer periods of stay in the Island-based
penitentiary.
I ask the minister: In light of this recommendation by the Ombudsman and the
cries for help for these women offenders, will your government now commit to
building this facility in Happy Valley-Goose Bay?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I was asked in a scrum yesterday and answered the question. I
can send over a copy of The Telegram today actually, because that answer
is in The Telegram today. We cannot commit, Mr. Speaker, without a proper
assessment of the viability and practically of a facility in Labrador. The
Citizens Rep had indicated up to five offenders for Labrador. That is the
historical high. The facility in Clarenville holds an average of anywhere from
eight to twelve offenders on a daily basis. So, you are looking at an average of
about ten offenders in Clarenville. To take two or three would compromise not
only Clarenville, perhaps, but you are looking at housing maybe one or two or
three in Labrador.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask the minister to complete his answer.
MR. T. OSBORNE: Having said that, Mr. Speaker, it is more than just a
dollar that we are looking at here, it is the service to individuals and
ensuring that individuals are close to their support networks, close to family,
close to their own culture, close to their own religious beliefs. We need to
look, Mr. Speaker -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
Under our protocol, the Chair must rotate.
The Chair recognizes the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, I am appalled to hear the minister say the
viability of a penitentiary in Clarenville rests on ignoring the needs of the
women offenders in Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to speak to another recommendation that was in the
report. The Ombudsman asked the government to take immediate steps to deal with
citizens who suffer from complex mental health needs. This is something we asked
the government, as an Opposition, to address a year ago in Labrador. This whole
report stemmed from a case, and a case we all forgot, of how a woman was treated
when she was incarcerated in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, in a penitentiary.
Mr. Speaker, we already recognize, and so does the Ombudsman now, that one
room in the Labrador Health Centre to meet this need in Labrador is as
inadequate today as it was a year ago.
I ask the minister: On this particular recommendation, will you and your
government move immediately to increase the space at the Labrador Health Centre
and to recruit additional staff to provide for these mental health patients?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The member opposite will recall back in December 2006 we passed in this House
a new mental health bill, one that had been revised. After some thirty-odd
years, I say, Mr. Speaker, that bill will be proclaimed this coming fall.
As a part of that process of proclaiming that bill, there are a number of
requirements that we need to re-evaluate our ability to be able to accommodate
individuals with mental illness throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, and we are
working with each of our health authorities to look at what that infrastructure
need might be.
We recognize some of the shortcomings that might exist in the Labrador region
of the Province. We are working with that health authority now to identify how
we might address that so we will be prepared, when we proclaim this bill in the
fall, to be able to respond to the infrastructure needs of individuals with
mental health in the Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
My first questions today are for the Minister of Health and Community
Services.
Yesterday in the House, the minister stated that the new health facility that
is being built in Labrador West will reflect the ongoing health needs of the
people in that region. Well, people in Labrador West have been lobbying for
years to get better services for sexual assault victims, such as a nurse
practitioner to serve as part-time sexual assault nurse examiner. As well, women's
health is a whole area of service that needs improvement in Labrador West.
My question for the minister is: Will the new health care facility meet those
needs in Labrador West and include much needed services for sexual assault
victims and women in high-risk pregnancies?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, as I said in the House yesterday, we are, yes,
embarking on the construction of a new health facility in Labrador West. We have
been working diligently with our new member in caucus from Labrador West who has
been able to bring to the table a tremendous insight and a better understanding
of the issues in Labrador West, and we have been able to incorporate that kind
of thinking into the planning for that new centre, I say, Mr. Speaker.
When we move this year to start construction we will then be able to - as I
said yesterday, we will be incorporating into that new facility the needs of
health programing for that region.
The kinds of things that we have been doing to date, I say, Mr. Speaker, in
enhancing health services, community-based programs, particularly in Labrador
West, reflect our government's commitment to the ongoing improvement and
enhancement of health services throughout our Province.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask the hon. minister to complete his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much.
I think the issues that I am rasing today, and have been raising, have been
raised before here in this House by other members for Labrador West and by the
women in Labrador West, but I do have another question for the Minister of
Health and Community Service.
One of the government's recent promises was to build a long-term care home
for seniors in Labrador, specifically Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Currently, there
are no seniors residences in the Labrador West area and seniors are housed in
the hospital, which is a waste of resources and detrimental to their quality of
life and independence.
My question for the minister is: Will a separate facility for the long-term
care of seniors in Labrador West be included in the plans for the relocation and
building of the Labrador West health centre?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the most rapidly aging
populations in this entire country. In fact, this year, I say, Mr. Speaker, we
now have the highest medium age in the entire country, and in some ten years
from now about 20 per cent of the population of this Province will be over the
age of sixty-five.
I say, Mr. Speaker, that is why this government has been involved in the last
year-and-a-half particularly, very intensely, in developing a strategy for an
aging population, and we will be in a position in a very short period of time, I
say, Mr. Speaker, to be able to unroll for the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador a strategy to respond to the rapidly aging population that we have.
We have made some major efforts in the last couple of years. We have invested
significant amounts of money to grow and expand our Home Support Program. We
have invested significant amounts of money into our personal care home system in
the Province.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask the hon. minister now to complete his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As the member has already acknowledged with the Happy Valley-Goose Bay
facility, we have made some major investments in starting construction on I
think it is four long-term care homes in this Province, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi on a
final supplementary.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
My last question, actually, is for the Minister of Justice.
The Citizens' Representative report released yesterday, or Tuesday, states
that Labrador has only one secure holding room for offenders with mental health
issues located in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The report calls this unacceptable
because it leads to the unnecessary incarceration of women and minors in holding
cells if the secure room is not available.
My question for the minister is: In supplying full judicial services to
Labrador West, will he work with his counterpart in Health and Community
Services to ensure that the new health facility in Labrador West will include a
secure room for offenders with complex mental health issues?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, I am certain the member opposite was listening
to my earlier answer to the question from the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au
Clair but, just in the event that she did not hear it, let me repeat it.
I had indicated at that time we will be proclaiming the new mental health
legislation of this Province. We passed a bill in this House in 2006, but this
fall we will be proclaiming that act, I say, Mr. Speaker, and in readiness for
the proclamation we have been working with each of our health authorities to
identify the infrastructure requirements that we have throughout Newfoundland
and Labrador to respond to the issues raised in that act.
Once again, let me repeat, between now and then we will be working with the
Labrador-Grenfell Authority to identify the infrastructure requirements
throughout the Labrador portion of our Province, I say, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Humber Valley.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, Central Health has just announced that it is
reducing some of its obstetric services for the summer months. Beginning this
weekend, obstetrical services will be provided on an alternating basis between
Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor on weekends for the entire summer. While this
system has been used in the past, what is unusual this year is the period of
time.
I ask the minister: Does he still consider the shortage of health care
professionals to be a challenge, or is he now willing to admit what patients and
doctors are telling him? These shortages are affecting services, and the system
is in crisis.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, what is really important, if you listen to the
member's question, what he did acknowledge was: inasmuch as this has happened
in the past. Because that is key, that this has happened in the past. It
happened on their watch, Mr. Speaker. This is not an unusual event.
What he is now trying to suggest is that the period of time, this time, is a
little bit longer so therefore it is something unique and different to this
year, or unique and different to this government. I say, Mr. Speaker, this is a
practice that has happened in Central Newfoundland for a number of years. It has
happened on a number of occasions.
Right now, today, we have two obstetrician gynecologists in Grand
Falls-Windsor and two in Gander. Throughout the summer months, this year, as in
past years when members opposite sat in government, in order to facilitate the
vacation periods of those obstetricians we have been able to -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask the minister to complete his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The health system has responded this year as it has responded in previous
years, many years in the past, I say, Mr. Speaker, to accommodate those -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes the Member for Humber Valley.
MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, I did acknowledge the fact that it has happened in
the past but I would like it to be acknowledged, that this is unusual and it is
for an extended period of time. That is all I mentioned. We have confirmation
that in order to allow obstetricans or gynecologists to take their vacations
there will be service reductions for the extended period in Central this year.
Can he tell us what extent the shortage of health care professionals is
having on the impact of the delivery of other health care services this summer?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr. Speaker, what is important here - and I would not want
the member opposite, or the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to assume that
the member opposite is suggesting that there will be an impact on the quality of
service being provided in Central Newfoundland this year.
Any individual today who lives in Central Newfoundland and Labrador, who is
expecting to deliver a child sometime during the summer, should assume, Mr.
Speaker, that the quality of service that they get will be no different in July
and August than it was yesterday and back in February, I say, Mr. Speaker. We
have, in Central Newfoundland, two health facilities in particular who provide
top-notch obstetrical services to the residents of that region of the Province.
If an individual today delivers a baby in Grand Falls-Windsor, or they deliver a
baby in Gander, there is no difference in the quality of care, I say, Mr.
Speaker. To suggest that in Central Newfoundland during this summer -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask the hon. minister to complete his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To suggest some time this summer, that anybody delivering a baby in Central
Newfoundland is somehow going to get substandard care, is irresponsible to
suggest, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Humber Valley.
MR. BALL: Being a patient in the back of an ambulance, I would not want
to assume that this service is going to be available, I would like to know for
sure that it is.
Mr. Speaker, other health boards in this Province are experiencing severe
shortages of health care professionals as well. These shortages are already
causing problems.
I ask the minister: Is he aware of similar extended reductions of services in
other boards around this Province over the summer months? Is this crisis
restricted to the Central region or is it Province-wide?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. WISEMAN: That is a long question, Mr. Speaker, and a lot of
information required.
To suggest that we are in crisis, no we are not. To ask the question, are we
doing anything in any other health facility in this Province this summer, what
is happening in health care this summer in Newfoundland and Labrador is the same
that happened last year, the same that happened in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, an
annual event I say, Mr. Speaker. Every single year since we were in government
and members opposite were in government, every single year the health system
makes an adjustment in the level of services in the summer months. It does a
couple of things. Anybody requiring elective surgery do not want to have their
surgery in July and August, I say, Mr. Speaker. Individual patients make choices
on elective procedures.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask the hon. minister to complete his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What is important to realize, I think, is that the quality of care being
provided by health providers in this Province is second to none, regardless of
when they provide it, whether it is July or August, or January or February.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Port de Grave.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, government recently announced that they would be
increasing student assistant hours by a measly 4 per cent. Parents have written
me to say that this is simply not enough and the needs of many students will go
unaddressed. They are telling me that allotments should be made on the basis of
needs which exist and this expenditure should be treated as an essential cost to
education delivery.
I ask the minister: When is she and the department going to realize that
special needs students have an equal right to an education in this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I would like to note, since 2003 the budget for
student assistants has been increasing, as the number of students who require
assistance has been decreasing.
Mr. Speaker, we have not reduced the number of student assistant hours for
this coming year, and over the last couple of years there have been 1,500
students less using student assistants, plus a 4 per cent increase.
Mr. Speaker, what we have been doing is far more than what the Opposition did
when they were in government and we will continue to make sure that the special
needs of students are being met.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, it seems like everything is blamed on the former
Administration. Maybe this one is, too. Maybe this question is, too.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, another problem in our schools is student safety
and bullying. An incident which recently happened in Holy Trinity Elementary in
Torbay, involving elementary students being harassed by two junior high school
students, one of whom had a knife - the incident was serious enough that the
principal locked the school doors and the police were called.
I ask the minister: Given the incidents which happened earlier this year, not
under the former Administration, and this latest incident in Torbay, will the
department be taking any additional measures to ensure students are safe in the
schools around this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, this government has been instrumental in bringing
in safe and caring schools policy. Mr. Speaker, there are incidents and there
are times when students act inappropriately, but when that type of behaviour
goes beyond inappropriate or bullying and goes into criminal behaviour, at any
point when that happens, the police will be called and people will be held
accountable for their behaviour.
Mr. Speaker, it was just yesterday that I was at Gander Academy, and one
thing that we are doing in schools, instead of always focusing on the negatives
- because we have some very good students in Newfoundland and Labrador - we are
actually in the process of rewarding what we call positive behaviour. Yesterday,
Mr. Speaker, we gave out 200 certificates for students who are in this program.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS BURKE: The program is: You got caught caring. Mr. Speaker, we need to
continue to reinforce that behaviour.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
I ask the minister to complete her answer.
MS BURKE: As I said, anytime behaviour or bullying goes into criminal
activity, those individuals will be held accountable.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
My questions are for the Minister of Transportation and Works.
Williams Harbour is a community on the Labrador South Coast that is cut off
from the mainland by a dangerous water crossing. People attempting to get off
the island in the winter to access medical services and other provisions have to
cross over saltwater ice, putting their lives in danger.
Today I read in the House of Assembly a statement about a young man named
Wayne Russell who just received a bravery award for rescuing his friend who went
through the ice while trying to get out of his home community. Mr. Speaker, that
community was slated to be connected to the Trans-Labrador Highway, but the
project was cancelled by the government opposite when they came to power in
I ask the minister today, if his government will agree that this road has to
be built to Williams Harbour and that they should be connected to the
Trans-Labrador Highway, and will they commit to do it, as a government?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and
Labrador Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HICKEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we have been working with the community of Williams Harbour. We
have provided them with lower fares on the ferry services, the Challenge One .
We have provided helicopter services when those types of services to the
mainland were not available.
I will say, Mr. Speaker, we have no plans at this time. Our concentration to
connect Williams Harbour community - our concentration right now is on Phase I,
II and III of the Trans-Labrador Highway and to continue the work there. We have
no plans at this particular time, Mr. Speaker, to build a road to Williams
Harbour.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. member has time for a very brief supplementary.
The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In light of that, I would like to encourage the Premier, at least, to
reconsider it as a life and safety issue.
My next question, Mr. Speaker, is regarding the communities of Williams
Harbour, Norman Bay and Black Tickle. They are all isolated from the
Trans-Labrador Highway but they do have local gravel roads in their communities.
These roads are in a deplorable condition. They have no crushed stone left on
them and they are eroded to the bedrock. There has been no money invested in the
last four years by the government opposite.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the minister today, if he will guarantee to
upgrade those roads in those isolated, rural communities this summer because it
is badly needed?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works, and
Labrador Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HICKEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we have spent unprecedented money, even in the member's
district. This year we will spend $1.5 million in road improvements, some of the
biggest expenditure that district has seen in some time. We have also invested
$1.4 million in the new depot at Chateau Bay. We put seven new employees in the
member's district.
I will say, for those particular communities, I will take the member's
request under consideration and we will evaluate that to see if there is
something we can do in that regard.
Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The time allocated for Question Period has expired.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Special Committees.
Tabling of Documents.
Tabling of Documents
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in accordance with government's commitment to transparency and
accountability, I have two annual reports to table before this House today.
I am pleased to submit the 2005-2006 Annual Report for the Department of
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. This report addresses the department's
activities and outcomes from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, I am also tabling the 2005-2006 Annual Report of
the Business Investment Corporation, a Crown corporation which reports to the
Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Further tabling of documents?
Notices of Motion.
Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bellevue is standing. The Chair
recognizes him on a petition.
MR. BARRETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today, again - the petitions are coming in fast and furious - in
relation to the Burin Peninsula Highway, the bad condition of the Burin
Peninsula Highway, and the situation that exists on the
section of the
Terrenceville Road.
As a matter of fact, to impress on Members of the House of Assembly, I have a
petition here signed by all of the school children who are concerned about the
section of the road that is going down over the hill in Terrenceville where the
school bus has to go on the opposite side of the road so it will not tip over.
I asked the Minister of Education, in Question Period today, not only are
they not getting a new school in the community, which the school board had
promised - and the school board said it is a number one priority in the whole
district. Believe it or not, the Terrenceville school was put as a number one
priority in the whole district, and all of a sudden we hear that Torbay is
getting their school. I guess that is what it means to be in rural Newfoundland
and Labrador. You cannot even get roads done within the community.
The minister is well aware of this
section of the road. It is very
treacherous. I hope that nothing will happen this winter. A school bus with
this treacherous road, with all of the money they are saying that they are
spending on road construction - which is inaccurate. There is nothing further
from the truth in terms of, they announce a lot of money but they never, ever
spend it, according to the report that was released recently talking about $60
million and $70 million of roadwork with only $36 million spent in one
particular year when they announced $60 million.
The other
section of the road that I am talking about is the Burin Peninsula
Highway, one of the main highways in Newfoundland and Labrador that connects one
of the main regions of this Province, the Burin Peninsula, the road from Goobies
to Swift Current. They talk about the previous government, but there has not
been any money spent on the Burin Peninsula Highway since this government got
elected.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. BARRETT: The road between Marystown and Swift Current was done under
the previous Liberal Administration. They stopped it in Swift Current and there
hasn't been any money.
When I was Minister of Works, Services and Transportation, the last piece of
road that was done was around the North Harbour area. The reason it was done was
to put in a passing lane, a turning lane there, because the problem is, when the
school buses come out of North Harbour, when it is foggy you cannot see the
school bus. The same situation exists around the Garden Cove intersection, Mr.
Minister. The same situation exists, an accident about to happen with the school
buses.
As you know, it is an area where we have a lot of fog, and there is no
turning lane in that particular part of the road.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. member's allotted time has expired.
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.
MR. BARRETT: I call on the government, Mr. Speaker, to immediately invest
some money on the Burin Peninsula and do what is necessary with the roads.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?
The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I have a petition to present on behalf of residents of my district regarding
cellphone coverage.
Mr. Speaker, there are a number of these petitions, because each community
had circulated, I think, their own petition. So, each time they come in, they
are coming in separately.
Basically, what this petition is asking government to do is to recognize that
there is an issue with regard to no cellphone coverage in areas like this, and
this would be the area extending from L'Anse-au-Loup up to Cartwright in
particular.
Mr. Speaker, these areas do not have cellphone access but yet, as you know,
there are large distances to travel, a lot of it over gravel road, a lot of it
in serious conditions, especially during the winter months. Mr. Speaker, these
people feel that, without adequate communication devices, often they are
travelling and putting their lives at risk in many situations.
Mr. Speaker, I did ask a question of the minister in the House of Assembly
yesterday in terms of government partnering with the private sector to ensure
that cellphone service is provided to regions of the Province like this, simply
because these communication companies do not see it as a viable investment or
profitable investment for them at this particular time. Therefore, they would be
looking for partnership in terms of government funding.
What the minister did tell me yesterday is that he certainly agreed with the
point that I was trying to make, and also indicated to me that the officials in
his department had been instructed to carry out an evaluation of the cost of
putting cellphone services in regions such as those in Labrador, and to try and
identify what options would be available for government in terms of having those
services provided.
Mr. Speaker, I can only say to the minister, I hope that you review will be
concluded shortly. Apparently he indicated to me yesterday that it was ongoing
for the past year, so hopefully it will be concluded very shortly, and I hope
that, in conclusion of their evaluation, they will make available monies to
invest in cellphone coverage in areas like the district that I represent.
Obviously, if this was not a huge concern for the people in that area they
would not be petitioning the House of Assembly and the government to consider
looking at this particular option.
I think, Mr. Speaker, it is a necessity, and I am sure it is not only in my
district and in regions of Labrador. I am sure there are some areas on the
Island as well that may be impacted by a lack of cellphone coverage or improper
communication devices while travelling on certain sections of road that could be
considered a safety risk.
Mr. Speaker, I can only say that, while I am pleased that the government is
evaluating this, I hope the evaluation will be concluded in very short order and
that they will move immediately to make available financing to deal with
situations like this.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. member's allotted time has expired.
MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.
MS FOOTE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I stand in support of a petition from the people in the District of Bellevue
and for all people on the Burin Peninsula who, in fact, have to drive through
that
section of the Burin Peninsula Highway that takes them through Swift
Current, and any of them, in fact, who may even go down to visit the beautiful
community of Terrenceville. It happens to be one of the nicest communities, in
fact, in the Province.
As my colleague from Bellevue said, there is another aspect to this and, of
course, that is the dangerous conditions of the road, especially for our school
students who have to travel by bus. I can tell you that, having driven to
Terrenceville, with the slope on the road and the condition of the road, it is
indeed dangerous. I think anyone who had an opportunity to travel that road
would have to agree that something really does need to be done with that road.
I would encourage the Minister of Transportation and Works to take it upon
himself to actually go there and see the circumstances under which these
children on the buses have to travel and, as well, anyone in the communities
around that area.
When you drive through Swift Current, in particular, and leaving Swift
Current and going further on the Burin Peninsula, the condition of the road is
such that even though there is a speed limit that you can, in fact, travel to,
the issue here is one that it is in your best interest not to for safety
reasons.
Again, I listened to the government talk about how much money they are
spending on roads and it is hard to believe, Mr. Speaker, when you travel
throughout the Province, that what they are saying is, in fact, real, because
there is no evidence of it certainly in some areas of the Province, certainly in
the Burin Peninsula. I can tell you again that in areas in my district, there
are some areas that really - how they can ignore the conditions of the road, I
do not understand.
Of course, here we are now again with a petition from the people in
Terrenceville and Swift Current, and people on Old Mill Road and Arnold's
Cove, Black River. They are all asking for government to acknowledge that there
is a serious issue here, to in fact put their money where their mouth is. If you
are going to stand up and talk about how much money you are putting into roads
in this Province, well, here is a prime example of where you can do some good;
where you can, indeed, make a difference. Yet, we see the way it is going today
with no one acknowledging that it is a serious issue, at least no one in
government, and we stand here and present petitions on behalf of the individuals
who live in the area, who took it upon themselves to come up with this petition
because they are trying to reach the ears of government. Hopefully, if we
present enough petitions on this, you will listen. You will acknowledge that
there is a serious issue here, instead of having people live under these
circumstances, having to travel on the roads, and in fact having to take their
lives in their hands sometimes when they do that.
We all know the weather conditions in this Province is such that you can have
four seasons in one day, and if you are travelling over these roads and it is
raining, I can tell you, it is a dangerous situation. Any part of the -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. member's allotted time has expired.
MS FOOTE: Just time to clue up, Mr. Speaker?
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been requested.
AN HON. MEMBER: Yes.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave is granted.
MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, again, I am imploring the government to
acknowledge that we have a serious issue here and to go and see firsthand what
the conditions are, and I am sure once they have had a chance to do that, they
would have to acknowledge that something needs to be done here, and that
something being to improve the road conditions in that area of the Province.
Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?
The hon. the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace.
MR. SWEENEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today to present this petition on behalf of the undersigned members.
The prayer of the petition basically goes:
WHEREAS the residents of Thicket Road amalgamated in good faith with the Town
of Harbour Grace; and
WHEREAS the Town of Harbour Grace made a commitment as per the amalgamation
agreement that the residents of Thicket Road would have good drinking water; and
WHEREAS the residents of Thicket Road and Harbour Grace have come together in
one united community;
WHEREUPON we the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the
House to urge government to take immediate action to ensure that the residents
of Thicket Road have good drinking water.
Mr. Speaker, it is a serious issue in the area called the Thicket. The
residents up there have, for years, been without proper water. The situation
itself is growing worse. Wells are going dry. The people up there have no access
to water for even doing dishes or for flushing their toilets. They are asking
that the town take responsibility as per the agreement of the amalgamation and
the town tells them that they cannot afford to do it, and I know they cannot
afford to do it because of the continuous cuts in the Municipal Operating Grants
that has taken place to a lot of these towns in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
The tax base is not there to find new funds. As a result of that, things like
this are happening. Communities are doing without the essentials of life, and
drinking water is one of the essentials of life. When we take that away from
people, whoever is to blame, I think it is an unconscionable act.
The people who have signed this petition - I might add, I think almost
everybody in the Thicket have signed this petition. So, it is not an isolated
case of two or three people complaining, or two or three people doing without,
it is a number of people who have no access to water. In this particular case,
it is part of a community. It is the full community, actually, of the Thicket. A
part of the Town of Harbour Grace, now that it is amalgamated.
The people are just not satisfied. They are growing intolerably impatient
with the indifference that is being presented to them. I cannot help but think
how any of us would react if we were to get up tomorrow morning to the same old
situation of no water. Having to go somewhere with buckets to bring water home
to put on your stove to boil and make tea or make cereal for your children in
the morning. I think that day is long gone. This is 2007, Mr. Speaker, and the
government should take action and provide some assistance to the town to enable
them to provide water to this group of people in the Thicket.
Mr. Speaker, I have other communities in my area. I have a
section of
Freshwater who have arsenic in their wells. The impact that this government is
having -
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The time allocated to the hon. member has expired.
MR. SWEENEY: By leave to conclude, Mr. Speaker?
AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.
MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.
MR. SWEENEY: The impact, Mr. Speaker, that this government is having on
the rural parts of this Province is becoming intolerable. People are suffering
and they need things as precious as water. I do not think anybody out there in
rural Newfoundland, or any other part of this Province, should be going without
water.
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for your time this afternoon.
MR. SPEAKER: Further petitions?
Orders of the Day.
MR. BUTLER: A point of order, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Port de Grave on a point of order.
MR. BUTLER: Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Yesterday, when I stood in my place to make a member's statement with
regards to the tremendous rescue that took place off the coast of our Province,
with regards to the Nautical Legacy , I inadvertently made an omission and
I would like to be given the permission to pay tribute to the DFO surveillance
plane. They were the first people who were on the scene, took the videos and
guided the Squadron 303 Search and Rescue people to the scene.
I met those people during the church service in Port de Grave, but I failed
to mention them yesterday. I know it has been mentioned in the media, on a
couple of occasions, that those people were not recognized. I want to apologize
for that, sir, and say congratulations to those people because they made a
tremendous impact in the tremendous rescue that took place at sea.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The member would know, there is no point of order, but I do believe that his
purpose has been achieved.
Orders of the Day.
Orders of the Day
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I do not know if I should be so presumptions as to say it is for the last
time, but anyway, I am going to move Motion 3, that this House not adjourn at
5:30 p.m. today, Thursday, June 14.
MR. SPEAKER: The motion is pursuant to Standing Order 11, that this House
not adjourn today, Thursday, June 14, at 5:30 o'clock.
All those in favour, aye'.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.
MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.
The motion is carried.
Motion carried.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. RIDEOUT: Motion 4, Mr. Speaker, pursuant to - this is really just in
case. This is really stretching the just in case, I hope - that pursuant to
Standing Order 11, that this House not adjourn at 10:00 p.m. today, Thursday,
June 14.
MR. SPEAKER: The motion is pursuant to Standing Order 11, that this House
not adjourn today, Thursday, June 14, at 10:00 p.m.
All those in favour, aye'.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.
MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.
The motion is carried.
Motion carried.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.
MR. RIDEOUT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to call Order 4, second reading of a bill,
An Act Respecting The
Effective Administration Of The House Of Assembly, The Standards Of Conduct Of
Elected Members, And Their Ethical And Accountable Behaviour. (Bill 33)
MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 33,
An Act Respecting The
Effective Administration Of The House Of Assembly, The Standards Of Conduct Of
Elected Members, And Their Ethical And Accountable Behaviour, be now read a
second time.
Motion, second reading of a bill, "An Act Respecting The Effective
Administration Of The House Of Assembly, The Standards Of Conduct Of Elected
Members, And Their Ethical And Accountable Behaviour." (Bill 33)
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury
Board.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege for me to be here today, to stand in my place
to introduce second reading of what is referred to as Bill 33.
The
long title, Mr. Speaker, is,
An Act Respecting The Effective
Administration Of The House Of Assembly, The Standards Of Conduct Of Elected
Members, And Their Ethical And Accountable Behaviour.
The
short title of the legislation, Mr. Speaker, is, the House of Assembly
Accountability, Integrity And Administration Act.
Mr. Speaker, I am a believer that politics is a noble calling. I entered
political life at the urging of my father, who served the people of Western
Newfoundland as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons in Ottawa. He was
elected back in 1968 and he was re-elected on two subsequent occasions. Each
time he was re-elected, he was re-elected with a higher majority than when he
first appeared on the scene. What I always said to him was that he was one of
the few politicians I knew who left politics with a better reputation than when
he first entered politics.
I am proud of that heritage, Mr. Speaker, and I am proud of the legacy that
he passed on to me. He always urged me to consider spending some part of my life
in the public service of this Province or this country, and I felt I had let the
opportunity pass. I always felt that my first responsibility was to my family
and to my children; therefore, it was never convenient for me to enter public
life.
Finally, when the current Premier took over the leadership of the PC Party, I
had an association with the Premier that went back to our time in law school
many years ago. I stayed in contact with him over the years and we maintained an
association in the PC Party. We practiced law. We were involved, as I say, in
the PC Party, and we were also involved in a number of business interests
together. I always encouraged him to, at some point in his life, enter public
service because he was a man of independence, a man of brilliance, and I said a
person like that is what this Province needs. It needs somebody truly
independent to ensure that the interests of this Province are protect, who will
stand for the interests of this Province and will not be undermined by any
offerings or any favours that might be granted by people in Ottawa or business
interests, but would be truly independent and would truly stand for the
interests of the people of this Province.
I was pleased to have the opportunity to follow the Premier and the Members
of the House of Assembly here into public life. I want to say to the people of
this Province who may be watching today that, while there have been very
unfortunate allegations made over the past number of years, I firmly believe
that the vast number of MHAs who offer themselves for service in this Province
are honourable, are sincere, are capable, and are dedicated individuals.
I can tell you that I have discovered that the system here was seriously
flawed, but I can assure the people of this Province that the vast majority of
my colleagues in this House of Assembly are decent individuals who are committed
to the public service of their Province, of their country and of their
community. I think the people of Newfoundland can take comfort in that.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, there have been problems. There have been
problems that we have discovered here in the public Assembly. I may not going to
mention them all, but I will refer to some.
The first one appears to have been the removal of the Auditor General from
auditing the books of this House, of this very House. Coming out of that was the
knowledge that was disclosed by Chief Justice Green, at least to me - that was
the first I heard of it - was that audits for certain years had not been
performed.
I think the argument that was made when the Auditor General was removed from
the House of Assembly - and I was not here at the time so I am going on
knowledge of others - was that, because the House of Assembly was truly
independent, it was necessary for an independent auditor; and, because the
Auditor General is an Officer of the House of Assembly, is paid by the House of
Assembly, and gets his or her resources from the House of Assembly, the argument
was made that it may have been more appropriate to get an independent auditor
from an outside firm to come and audit the books of the House of Assembly.
Unfortunately, we discovered, Mr. Speaker, that the audit, for two years, was
not performed, in spite of a responsibility on this House, a statutory duty that
we had, to ensure that audit was done.
Secondly, there are audits done by the Auditor General and he has indicated
allegations that overpayments were made. That raises the question: How can
overpayments be made to members when we are all aware that we have a certain
limit for each district depending on the constituency that you represent? How
could members seek an overpayment?
Then, again, why were there not controls in this House of Assembly, why were
there not controls in the financial end of the House of Assembly, that would
ensure that such overpayments could not take place?
I think, as a new MHA coming in after the last election, the new MHAs were
ensured that procedures were in place and that people were in place to ensure
that we did not make mistakes, and to ensure that if we did send in the wrong
form, or we did not fill the form in properly, or a wrong receipt was sent, that
there were procedures in place to ensure that we were protected. We now know
that was not the case, and the question is: Why not?
We know about the purchase of goods, such as magnets and rings and pins. We
do not know where they are. We do not know who benefitted from them. We do not
know why certain MHAs received them and others did not. We do not know where the
material is. We do not know where the receiving slips are. We do not know if
anybody checked to see if the goods that were ordered were actually received.
The question that the people of this Province have is: Why not?
There are also double-billings. Now, we can certainly understand how the
double-billings took place, because there were so many different pieces of paper
that could be used to back up a claim for reimbursement of expenses. The
problem, of course, is that some of these different receipts were sent in more
than once.
I do not believe that it was done by anyone with the intent to defraud. I do
not believe that at all. I think it was because of inadvertence, it was because
of not having up-to-date records, and it was because the necessary procedures
were not in place to ensure that this did not happen. Internal auditors - there
were no internal auditors here to help the officials to check to make sure that
these mistakes would not happen.
Of course, there is the payment of the $2,500 plus HST which has embarrassed
all of us expect for two members of this House. Why this decision was made, we
still do not know. The reasons given to some of us, when we first heard about
the reason for the payment, was not the reason we were told when this payment
became well known in the public. Why did that happen? Why were the minutes
vague? Who told the officials in the House of Assembly to make the minutes
vague? I know of no one in this House who has done that. These are answers that
the people require.
Why, Mr. Speaker, are there written rules that do not apply to some of us?
Why was I told, as a new MHA, that the rules for MHAs do not apply to me because
I am a minister? Yet, why were there other rules that were unwritten that would
apply to me?
None of this made any sense, Mr. Speaker, and it had to be changed.
Unfortunately, we did not change it ourselves. I have not read all of Mr.
Justice Green's report. It is quite a lengthy report of 1,300 pages, but I am
sure that the answers to some of these questions are there, or many of these
questions are there.
Mr. Speaker, at the end of Judge Green's report - I would like to say that
I have read most of it. I have not read all of it, it is pretty lengthy, but at
the end of the report when he talks about renewal - his team consisted of the
hon. J. Derek Green, the Chief Justice of the Trial Division of Newfoundland and
Labrador. He was assisted by Mr. John Dawson, LL.B. He was assisted by Dr.
Christopher Dunn, a political advisor. I believe Dr. Dunn is a political
scientist at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He was further assisted by
Gail Hamilton, a fellow of the Chartered Accountants of Newfoundland and
Labrador, who is an Audit Advisor. He was assisted by Mr. David Norris, M.B.A as
a Public Policy Advisor. Mr. Norris is a former Deputy Minister of Finance of
the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and also by Beth Whalen, LL.B, an
executive secretary.
At the end of his report, the 1,300 pages, together with an executive
summary
plus appendices, the last chapter,
Chapter 13, is called Renewal. He has made
recommendations throughout the report to allow us to move forward; to allow us
to put behind us this unfortunate
chapter in our history, because that is the
purpose of the commission. The purpose of the commission, like the Green report,
like the Royal Commission that has been announced to deal with the testing, HR
and PR testing, is to find out what went wrong. To find out what the facts were,
to find out the causes of what went wrong and then to make recommendations to us
to bring forward legislation to try to make sure that those problems are
corrected and do not happen again. That is the whole objective. We have the
benefit of this report, which I think will be a model for Houses of Assembly and
Legislatures throughout the world as a way that Members of Parliament and
Members of Legislatures should conduct themselves.
Mr. Speaker, the purpose - I am sorry. Recommendation number eighty,
contained in
Chapter 13, is to bring forward a "...draft bill, styled the
House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act..." and
this is the legislation that is before this House today.
The judge recommended that this bill "...should be presented to the
House of Assembly as soon as possible for debate and, if thought advisable,
enactment." That is what we are doing here today.
He further recommended that once this bill comes into force, into law, that
his draft set of rules - which he has also included in his report entitled the
Members' Resources and Allowances Rules - should be presented forthwith to
what was formally known as the Internal Economy Commission and what will now be
known as the House of Assembly Management Commission, as reconstituted under the
new legislation, for adoption. Under the legislation, it is the House of
Assembly through its House of Assembly Management Commission, that will make the
rules dealing with how members operate pursuant to the legislation. I will have
more to say about this in a few minutes.
Judge Green also recommended that sufficient resources be given to the House
of Assembly and to the new Management Commission to enable the implementation of
the new statutory and the new regulatory regime so that it can be effected in a
timely and efficient manner.
I should say, I think that one of the problems that the Internal Economy
Commission had in the past was a fact that it lacked the resources to do a
number of the things that it had to do. Because we operate under a system, Mr.
Speaker, where we separate the powers of the judiciary and the executive and the
Legislature. The job of the Legislature is to make laws. The job of the
executive is to implement those laws and the job of the judiciary, of course, is
to adjudicate with respect to disputes over those laws. But, it is important
that the House of Assembly, it is important that the executive and, of course,
it is important that the judiciary have the resources they need to carry out the
constitutional functions and the legal functions that they have to carry out.
Judge Green also recommends that "Upon the coming into force of the
House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act..." the
new House of Assembly Management Commission "...should proceed to cause the
appointment of the audit committee..." - and that is a new committee that
will now exist in this House. Furthermore, in accordance with
section 35 of the
act, that the House of Assembly should proceed with the adoption of a new code
for conduct of all members.
Mr. Speaker, this bill, Bill 33, is the first step in Judge Green's
recommendation for renewal. The purposes of the bill are set out in
section 3.
"The purposes of this Act is to (
a) establish an administrative framework
for the House of Assembly that is transparent and accountable." The
Internal Economy Commission that previously existed did represent an
administrative framework of the House, but Judge Green found fault with this,
the fact that it was not open and transparent and accountable enough.
Secondly, the second purpose is to "place responsibility with individual
members to conduct their public and private affairs so as to promote public
confidence in the integrity of each member, while maintaining the dignity and
the independence of the House of Assembly."
Thirdly, the Judge recommended that the purpose of the legislation was to
promote the equitable treatment of every Member of the House of Assembly,
regardless of what party they represent.
Fourthly, to establish clear rules with respect to salary, clear rules with
respect to allowances and resources, clear rules for members and to provide for
a mandatory review of these rules at regular intervals, and the review also to
take place in public.
Another purpose of the legislation is, "provide for clear and timely
disclosure in relation to operations of the House of Assembly and statutory
offices, including members' salaries, pensions, allowances, resources and
severance payments, that is consistent with the public interest".
Also, "create an environment for members in which full-time devotion to
one's duties is encouraged". Although I have to suggest, Mr. Speaker,
that I believe that all members in this House of Assembly do devote their full
time to looking after the interests of their districts and their constituents.
The last purpose as set out in
section 3 is, "establish standards of
conduct for members and for those charged with the responsibility of
administration of operations of the House of Assembly service and the statutory
offices".
So, that is the purpose of the legislation.
I note, with interest, that the Explanatory Note on the inside cover of this
bill says, "The purpose of this Bill is set out in the
Long Title."
Indeed, it is, but I believe
section 3, the purpose section, is very helpful to
telling us what this legislation intends to do.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to refer members to
Part III of the legislation,
which deals initially with the House of Assembly Management Commission. As I
said earlier, the affairs of the House of Assembly have been represented by a
commission called the Internal Economy Commission, and that Internal Economy
Commission is continued but with a new name and with new membership. The new
name is the House of Assembly Management Commission. The membership will be
chaired by the Speaker or, in his or her absence, the Deputy Speaker. The Clerk
of this House of Assembly will act as the secretary, but shall not have a vote.
The Government House Leader and the Opposition House Leader will sit on the
commission. Two members of the government caucus will sit on the commission now,
and that is a change. One shall be a member of the Executive Council, that is
the Cabinet, and one shall not be. One member of the Official Opposition caucus
shall also serve on the commission, and one member, if any, from a third party
that is a registered political party. So now the third party in this House, at
least the third party up to now, I should say, will now be represented on the
Internal Economy Commission. I am sure that all members of this House feel that
is appropriate.
Mr. Speaker, all meetings of the commission will now be open to the public,
except for personnel matters, except for legal matters, except for matters
protected by privacy and data protection, and except for Budget deliberations.
The substance of all decisions of the commission must be recorded, and clearly
recorded, in the minutes and placed on a Web site, placed on the House of
Assembly's Web site.
That will now make the proceedings of the Internal Economy Commission more
transparent, more open and more accountable.
The commission has a number of duties. The commission is there to look after,
and to be responsible for, the operation of this House of Assembly.
Section 20 sets out the duties and the responsibilities of the commission.
The commission is responsible for the financial stewardship of all public money
that may be voted for use in the House of Assembly.
The commission, in particular, is required, in 20.(1) (e), to "make and
to keep current rules respecting the proper administration of allowances for
members and reimbursement and payment of their expenditures in implementation of
subsection 11(2) of..." the legislation, which I will refer to shortly.
There is an interesting clause here, Mr. Speaker, in 20.(3) which says,
"...the financial and management policies of the government shall apply to
the House of Assembly and statutory offices except to the extent that they may
be modified by directive of the commission."
That ensures that there is a set of rules in effect. If the House of Assembly
Management Commission fails to make rules in a certain area, the rules of the
government shall apply until modified and amended by a director from the
commission.
It is also important to note, Mr. Speaker, that a change shall not be made in
the level of amounts of allowances and resources provided to the members of this
House except in accordance with a rule that has been made by the Management
Commission, and that rule shall not be effective, Mr. Speaker - and this is
extremely interesting - the rule that will govern the operation of those of us
in the House of Assembly, a particular rule, will not be effective unless that
rule is first brought before this House of Assembly and a resolution adopting it
by this House of Assembly has, in fact, been passed.
That will make these rules certainly transparent and open to the people of
the Province.
Mr. Speaker, the Management Commission of the House of Assembly will be aided
by, for the first time in our history, by an audit committee. The audit
committee shall consist of two members chosen by the commission: one of whom
shall not be a member of the government party, and the two other members of the
commission shall be chosen by the Chief Justice of Newfoundland and Labrador.
These will be people who are residents of the Province but who have a
demonstrated knowledge and experience in financial matters and are suitable to
represent the public interests.
That will bring to the commission an expertise in financial matters, an
expertise in accountability, an expertise in internal controls and audits, that
previously was not necessarily available.
Mr. Speaker, I will now refer to
Part II of the act. The act is divided into
seven parts.
Part I deals with the composition of the House of Assembly, its
officers, the oaths or affirmations that they take.
Part III that I dealt with
is the House of Assembly Management Commission.
Part II deals with payments to
members.
Part IV deals with the House of Assembly's operations.
Part V deals
with ethics and accountability.
Part VI deals with whistle-blower legislation,
disclosure of public interest.
Part VII deals again with rules, giving the
commission the authority to make rules.
Part VIII is a consequential amendments
section, which repeals the House of Assembly Act. I am sorry, it repeals the
Internal Economy Commission Act and other relevant legislation which was
replaced by this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I will just refer briefly to
Part II of the act which talks
about payments to members. This clearly sets out in legislation what the salary
of a Member of the House of Assembly is going to be. That was always a difficult
question. A Member of the House of Assembly, what were they paid? You had to
look at a number of different areas, but now the salaries paid to the MHAs are
set out in the legislation. The salaries paid to the Speaker, the Deputy
Speaker, the Deputy Chair of Committees, are all clearly set out in the
legislation. That means, Mr. Speaker, that if there is going to be a change it
has to come into this House, it has to be debated in this House before the
cameras and in full sight of the people of this Province. Any changes in salary
will have to be justified to the people of this Province. Mr. Speaker, I know we
all agree that is a good thing.
Mr. Speaker, members are required to attend all sittings, and their pay will
be deducted by $200 a day if they do not appear, unless they can provide a very
valid reason. There are exceptions, of course, for ministers and so on.
No adjustment can take place to those salaries, no adjustment can take place
in any additional non-accountable allowance. An additional non-accountable
allowance cannot be created except in response to a member's compensation
review and except in response to an amendment of a bill in the House with the
votes of first, second and third reading taking place on three consecutive days.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation -
AN HON. MEMBER: Wonderful legislation.
MR. T. MARSHALL: This wonderful piece of legislation has been introduced,
has been recommended by the Green report, Chief Justice Green, and I think it is
important that this is a first step in the renewal, to renew public confidence
in the institution of this House of Assembly and in the Members of the House of
Assembly who, as I indicated earlier, the majority of which are dedicated to
their Province, they are dedicated to their communities, they are dedicated to
this House of Assembly and this legislation will help them to perform their
duties and perform their services in a transparent and accountable manner and in
the public interest to the people of this Province.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I will move second reading of this legislation.
Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): The hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate an opportunity to have a few words with respect to Bill 33. The
end product, I should say, or one of the end products of the report that has
been filed by Chief Justice Green and his committee, called Rebuilding
Confidence, which was made public in this Province last Thursday. This, of
course, will set the groundwork and the foundation as to how the House of
Assembly, the Members of the House of Assembly and the staff and so on and the
financial procedures associated with the House of Assembly will be operated on a
go-forward basis.
I would like to begin by thanking Judge Green and his committee for their
extensive - in fact, exhaustive, informative and far-reaching report. It is a
job well done. I am very pleased as well to see that the committee took time to
meet with anyone or any group that wanted to have input into this matter. He
just did not go do, of his own volition, what he felt he wanted to do. He was
very courteous. He made sure that the committee made itself available to
anybody, particularly the MHAs and the various caucuses who wanted to have any
input in any way whatsoever into his committee.
There is no doubt, of course, that we need to have a good foundation. We need
to have good rules, and Judge Green, true to form, of course, has made it very
detailed, has made it very comprehensive for that very reason. That in the
future everything will be absolutely open, transparent and, most importantly I
believe, accountable. There will be accountability here - it is fine to have a
system, but there is no point in a system that you cannot account for it and you
cannot let the people know and the public - particularly in this case, where we
are all servants of the public - know what you are doing, how you are doing it,
what are the rules you play by, and make sure that you do play it by the rules.
That is what this will do on a go-forward basis.
I would also like to take this opportunity, not only to thank the Chief
Justice for what is culminated in Bill 33, but to see some of the things that
were done before the report even came out and was even made public, because I
think the IEC has, in and of its own volition, taken some proper directions. The
former Minister of Health, the Member for Topsail, was on the IEC since the
Administration changed in 2003, as was myself and the current Minister of
Finance has been a member of it, and the Government House Leader. I have seen
some pretty extensive changes in that short time that were taken, even without
the direction of Chief Justice Green, and that was good to see.
For example, the staffing arrangements are quite different. There are, I
would now believe, more staff, more efficient operations in the sense that you
are not shorthanded. There is not one person or two people who are entrusted
with doing everything. There are more people there to do the work that needs to
be done from a staffing perspective.
Also, the financial checks and balances that are needed. They are far more
comprehensive now than they ever were before, and will be even more so now once
Bill 33 becomes law and the controls are there. I think the Speaker and his
staff need to be commended for doing that. They took a lot of self direction in
that regard. Of course, anything they have done will be complemented by what
Chief Justice Green has recommended.
The IEC, I also take pleasure in being a part of it. In fact, I moved the
motion in the IEC - which, I see, Chief Justice Green has included in his report
- some weeks ago that the IEC meetings should be public. If the media want to
come in, if any citizen of this Province or world wants to come into an IEC
meeting and see what is going on and know what the discussions are, know what
the issues are, hear the arguments and the rationale as to why you go in one
direction or another, the public now will be able to do that. That was very good
to see. That recommendation, again, has been adopted by Commissioner Green as
well - and everything will be transcribed.
The Minister of Finance raised the issue of minutes, they probably were more
vague than they ought to have been and did not convey the proper meanings or
ideas and reflect the discussions even. I can say, again of my own experience in
the last two or three years on the IEC, that they are certainly a lot more
comprehensive now. Members insist, of course, if you say something and you want
it recorded, it gets records. That is good to see, so that not only today but
tomorrow, anytime that anyone wants to go back and understand why a decision was
made, it will be properly reflected in those minutes. Now, of course, you still
have to respect privacy rights. People have privacy rights in this Province and
in this county, that, of course, if you are discussing an issue, you sometimes
cannot discuss a person's name openly. It would not be appropriate to do that,
but that does not take away from the need to still have the proper due diligence
done when it comes to discussing the issues. You can discuss the issues, record
it properly, have the accountability properly without, at the same time,
compromising anybody's privacy rights. So, that will be done.
It is good to see as well - and again, propose that everything an MHA claims
for, should be and will be posted on-line. If you are spending public taxpayers'
money and you are going to spend it, why not put it on-line? If I am going to
be, for example, in my own district travelling from Port aux Basques to Burgeo,
it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out what the kilometres are and to
know what the milage rate is that is appropriate. If I have to stay down there
over night or whatever and you charge a hotel, everybody knows where you stay
and submit a bill to properly claim for that. What is the problem if everybody
in this Province or world knows that I stayed at Gillet's Motel for a night
and paid whatever the fee was, as long as I documented it and they know that? It
came out of public funds. They ought to have a right to know. So, it is good to
see that is going to be in there as well, which was proposed by the Opposition
again, and Chief Justice Green has taken that into his recommendations.
It is good to see the access to information act is going to apply. Before,
the House of Assembly operated as a power unto itself. That was one of the
problems, it was separated from normal controls and financial controls and
checks and balances. In future, if anybody wants to get access to the
information, the law of access to freedom and freedom of information will be
applicable to the House of Assembly, the same as it is to anybody else and any
other department of government, and so it should be. I see Chief Justice Green
has accepted that recommendation as well, and put it into his report.
Now, there is no doubt, that even though this House of Assembly - I do not
think there is going to be any opposition from anybody as to the passing of this
piece of legislation today, nor should it be, nor should there be any opposition
to the passing of it. I do not think anybody in this House, or outside of this
House, has any problem with what Chief Justice Green has recommended and feels
that it is necessary.
There is no doubt, as well, that albeit, Bill 33 will pass and become law
today, or in the near future. There is no doubt, as well, that there is still
certain little tweaking, shall we say, that has to be done in terms of
implementation. There are some things that must need to be done. I understand,
again, there has been a good rapport with Chief Justice Green in arriving at
that decision in terms of implementation, and so it should be. It is good to
see. I understand he met, as recently as this morning, with some representatives
of all three caucuses represented in this House and answered any questions and
concerns they had and so on. So, it is good to see that rapport continues,
albeit he has submitted his report, and whatever needs to be done will be done,
must be done and it will be done in such a way that it is proper and that, no
doubt, there will not be anything done that does not meet with the approval and
consent of Chief Justice Green and his committee. It is good to see that we have
reached this point.
We, certainly, in the Official Opposition will be voting in favour of Bill
33. Probably one of the toughest things for anybody to do, no matter what job or
line of work you are in, is to police yourself, and that is exactly what was
missing here. It became quite obvious with some of the revelations that came
into being in the past year or so that the policing with respect to the House of
Assembly matters and MHAs was not sufficient. For that reason we needed Chief
Justice Green's commission into this matter, and his recommendations that he
has brought forward.
We, Mr. Speaker, will be voting in favour of this bill. We realize that it is
going to take a little bit of time in terms of implementation of some things,
but principally most everything, shall we say, the pith and substance of what
the Chief Justice has recommended is here.
I understand, in fact, that even the rules piece that he recommended, we will
be seeing an amendment come forward here today so that even the rules that he
suggested, the very detailed, specific rules as to what you can and cannot do,
and how you record it and so on, that will be introduced here today as well as
part of this bill, a
schedule to this bill, and so it should be.
I can say to the Government House Leader right now that, on the understanding
that amendment is coming forward, we will certainly be in favour of that. As far
as we can see there will not be any need for detailed discussions or whatever in
Committee with respect to enforcing and having those rules become a part of this
bill as well.
It is a good first step. It is a big step. It is a major step. It is
necessary.
In conclusion, I can just say that we over here will unanimously be
supporting this piece of legislation as well.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I am very pleased to stand today and to speak, obviously, in favour of this
bill. I would like to add my own word of thanks to Chief Justice Green and to
all of those who worked with him in his role as commissioner, for the tremendous
work that they did for this detailed comprehensive report of, I think, 1,300
pages, and for even going to the nth degree of putting together draft
legislation and draft rules and regulations to accompany the legislation.
I think that was much more than any of us expected when Chief Justice Green
was given the task that he was given, but I am sure all of my colleagues in the
House would agree with me that I think he has done a tremendous service to the
House of Assembly and to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador by taking the
time to do what he did.
We have all had time to go through the draft legislation, the draft
regulations and the report. We have had it in our hands - well, as MHAs, we have
had it in our hands for a week. I will not profess to have read every word of
the report yet. I am still making my way through the report. I have read most of
it, but I have read every word of the legislation. I have read the
recommendations, and I have read through the draft regulations. I have to say
that I feel very confident that what the Chief Justice has put together is going
to go about setting us on a good path as parliamentarians in this Province.
When I got elected, which was only the fall of 2006, the House was already
dealing with the issue that made this piece of work something that had to be
done. The report on overspending by Members of the House of Assembly had come
down in June 2006 and I had already, at that point, made my decision, as a
future politician, that I was going to run for a seat in the House because I had
become Leader of the New Democratic Party. I have to say, my heart sunk somewhat
when this issue came to light in June 2006 and I thought, what have I gotten
myself into? I will be quite honest.
Then, when I did become elected as an MHA and went through my orientation
when I first came into the House, I was even more dismayed when I realized, to
put it in layperson's language, how loosely the administration of the House
was conducted. When I went through my orientation, I expected to get things on
paper, especially things around finances and administration. At that point, I
think there finally was a Minute that was produced that could show me what the
decisions were with regard to the money that I was going to get, but I did not
even feel confident with knowing where it came from, and why I was getting what
I was getting.
I think we all acknowledge, and if we read Justice Green's report he says
the same thing, that over the years the House, in some ways, had slipped into, I
guess, again, to put it in layperson's language, sloppy administration. It was
a systemic problem, a serious systemic problem. As with all systemic problems,
individuals get caught up in the systemic mess and things happen simply because
the system is now operating in a certain way. That is not an excuse, for anybody
who is listening from the public, that is not an excuse for me to say that. That
is to say that very often with systemic problems and with systemic issues, you
can't at any one time start blaming individuals for the way things are. You
have to recognize the whole system has to change.
This is the wonderful task that the Chief Justice took on, and the service
that he has rendered to the House of Assembly and to the people of this Province
is that he has created for us the structure and the framework that will give us
systemic change, that will make things change radically in the House of
Assembly. That really does make me feel good, as a member of the House of
Assembly and as somebody, along with my colleagues, who wants everything in this
House to be aboveboard, who wants everything in this House to be open and
transparent. I want everything that I do to show accountability to the people
who elected me and to the people of the Province, whether they elected me or
not. I think that is what we all want in this House of Assembly. This is what
Chief Justice Green is now giving us the opportunity to do.
There is a bit of an irony, and I think we should acknowledge it, that one of
the things Chief Justice Green mentions in his report is the fact that sometimes
legislation may get passed very quickly in the House, and sometimes quick
passage of legislation can lead to things happening inadvertently, decisions
getting made and after the fact recognizing, oh, yeah, well maybe we weren't
on top of that when the decision was made. I have seen some of that in going
through some records with regard to the House.
Here we are today passing, what may seem to the public to be rather quickly,
the new legislation with regard to the House of Assembly. I think what we are
all recognizing here today - and this is what I would like the public to
understand from my perspective - having read carefully what Chief Justice Green
and his team have put together, is that we have a piece of legislation that is
very demanding. We have draft regulations that are going to be appended as a
schedule to this piece of legislation, and these regulations are very demanding.
The difference between this bill and this set of regulations that is in front of
us this afternoon is that none of us in this House of Assembly, none of the
ministers, none of the departments, not one person in this House, has had
responsibility for putting this piece of legislation together. It has been put
together by the commission. I think by our being able today to say that we can
stand and support this legislation, and accept the
schedule that is going to be
attached to the legislation, what we are saying is that we recognize the
ultimate third-party objectivity of the commission in putting the legislation
and the draft regulations together.
For anybody who has had a chance, other than us, to go through the
legislation and the regulations and read it carefully, I think everybody out
there who is watching us, and everybody in here, will have to agree that
nothing, no stone was left unturned by Chief Justice Green and his team. I think
that is what has impressed me. That is why I can stand here confidently before
the people of the Province and say that I think when we pass this piece of
legislation, when we accept the regulations that go with it, and the process
that will be put in place, we are creating something that could become a model
for other legislation across Canada.
From here on in, every time there is a discussion of the House of Assembly
with regard to our finances, anybody in the Province will be able to listen to
what is being said and to understand why a decision is being made. No matter
what we have to say with regard to finances, with regard to how we get
reimbursed with regard to the expenditures, the expenses that we have to expend,
and why we need to be reimbursed for that, all of that will be wide open.
That will do a couple of things, of course. In purely human terms we will
make sure that we are not going to be wanting anything, or doing anything, or
saying anything, that would cause us embarrassment. In pure human terms, we are
not going to want that as MHAs. On a higher, ethical level it means that we are
willing to have everything that we say and think, almost, be out there for
public scrutiny.
I think we all should be proud of the fact that we wanted this type of
report. We should be proud of the fact that we wanted the process to happen.
There was nobody in this House who did not think that we should have a public
inquiry. We all realized that had to happen, that there was nothing else that
could be called for after last June but a public inquiry. I think the fact that
each of the three parties in the House, and every individual in the House,
believed that is proof to people out there that, when it comes right down to it,
we are people who want what is good and what is right.
I do not think we will ever be able to - I don't know how to put it. We can
apologize. Those who have been part of the system can apologize to the public
that things went the way that they went and that we came to the systemic mess
that we came to, but we did, and all we can do now is move forward. With this
tremendous piece of legislation we will be able to move forward and I feel very,
very confident about that as a member of this House.
One of the things that I have done, I do not know if anybody else bothered to
do it, and I have not done it completely, but I have compared the draft
legislation with the legislation that has been presented to us in the House to
see if what we are passing is exactly the same as what Chief Justice Green
recommended.
I have made it through, I think there are a few pages I have not managed to
finish, but, for my sake, I am happy to report, if it means anything to anybody
else, that if there are any changes -there are some word changes, but the
changes that I have found are only clarifications, examples where the phrase
that was used in the draft may not have been quite clear enough or was not quite
accurate and that the new draft has just clarified. In some cases, one sentence
being broken up into two, just to say - the public out there is looking for
this.
As a matter of fact, one of the newspapers, in an editorial, I think it was,
said, when the report came out, that they will be looking at the new legislation
and going through it word for word, comparing it with the draft that Chief
Justice Green put forward, and they will be wanting to see if we are passing
exactly what Chief Justice Green intends us to pass.
I am very happy to say that I can stand here confidently today, as an MHA,
and say to ourselves and to say to the public who are watching us, and to those
who will be reporting on us, that, in my opinion, there is absolutely no intent
from Chief Justice Green's draft legislation that has been changed in the
legislation that is on this Table. I feel absolutely confident of that, and I
feel very good about it
I think people need to have that assurance. They need to know that, and if
there are media outlets out there who are going to do what I did and they come
up with something different I will be very, very surprised; because, as I said,
the edits that were made were edits - in one case, in actual fact, corrections
to what was in Chief Justice Green's draft legislation.
There is one place in his legislation where twice the wrong number is used in
referring to a previous section, and the new legislation corrects that and makes
sure that the correct
section is being referred to.
So, the Department of Finance, in putting together the new legislation,
certainly went through every word of the draft legislation to make sure that it
was absolutely correct and understandable and clear, and I think we should be
very, very proud of that.
There are a couple of things that I would like to talk about, because I think
it is something that is going to cause confusion for people initially. I do not
know if confusion is the word - maybe disappointment - but I do want to talk
about it as an MHA.
One is the fact that MHAs will no longer be able to use constituency
allowance to make charitable donations, as MHAs, from that constituency
allowance. There are adjustments made to the constituency allowances, I think,
recognizing that, and I think it is extremely important that those adjustments
were made.
Now, people have become used to MHAs making those charitable donations. As a
matter of fact, and I do not mind saying this, I actually have had somebody who
asked me for a donation and I was not prepared, either if I were allowed as an
MHA, because I did not think it was appropriate to make a donation, or even as
an individual to make the donation, not to that particular cause. Because the
money was coming out of my own pocket, I think carefully about the money that I
donate. The person actually said to me that the person was extremely
disappointed, that person had voted for me in my by-election and would not vote
for me again.
I had to say to that person: Well, that is the way it is. You do not
understand why I will not donate to this cause. I am sorry. That is the way it
goes.
Some of us may have to go through that. People out there are asking us to be
accountable, so now they must understand that part of that accountability is, we
just do not do this any more. If somebody comes to me now with a request or
comes to anybody else with a request, I can make that donation as an individual,
as Lorraine Michael; not Lorraine Michael MHA, not Lorraine Michael, Leader of
the NDP, but Lorraine Michael, and there can be no public recognition that I, as
MHA or I, as Leader of the NDP, made that donation. You know, people should be
happy about that. They should not beat us up because of it. They are going to
have to accept the fact that we have to make decisions about how we spend our
money. Therefore, we are not going to be able to donate to every single cause
because we are going to be paying out of our own pockets. While the donations
that were being made before from the constituency allowances were worthwhile
donations, that is not the issue. MHAs were permitted - and what they did was
not illegal. They were permitted to make those donations and the donations went
to good causes, but that is not going to happen anymore. People need to
understand that and need to understand the reasoning behind it, and I hope that
they will. It makes all the sense in the world.
Now, one of the things that MHAs used the constituency allowance for, I
think, were sometimes for things that government programs should be covering,
but because government programs were not comprehensive enough, MHAs were helping
out people. Helping out people with medical travel, for example; helping out
family members who needed to travel. I know of MHAs who have done that, using
constituency allowance. On one level that is not a bad thing, but on another
level it begs the question: Is the program for medical travel adequate enough?
Why should an MHA have to come up with money for that? Why should an MHA hav