Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements — 26 May 2014 (47th General Assembly, 3rd Session, Vol. XLVII No. 32)

2014-05-26

Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)

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May 26,

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 32

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR.

SPEAKER (Wiseman):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Before we start today's proceedings, I want to

acknowledge some special guests in our galleries.

Today, from the Town of Bishop's Falls we have the Mayor, Bob Hobbs,

together with the Deputy Mayor, Doreen Tremblett, Councillor Brian King, and

Town Manager Randy Drover.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR.

SPEAKER:

Today we will have members' statements from the Member for the District of

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair, the Member for the District of Exploits, the

Member for the District of Humber West, the Member for the District of Harbour

Main, the Member for the District of Lewisporte, the Member for the District of

Bay of Islands.

The hon. the Member for the District of Cartwright

L'Anse au Clair.

DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

recognize the Charlottetown Relay for Life, which will take place this weekend

in my hometown of Charlottetown.

This is the ninth year for this annual event that includes teams from Mary's

Harbour to Cartwright. To date,

$165,000 has been raised for cancer research and assistance, an astronomical

amount when you consider the small coastal communities in Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to especially recognize the

Charlottetown Relay Committee and the Town of Charlottetown, a community of 300

people. They put their heart and

soul into organizing this event year after year.

Tragically affected by the death of one of its residents, Ray Turnbull,

after losing his battle with cancer, the residents of Charlottetown have worked

tirelessly to keep his memory alive through the annual Relay for Life.

Like Charlottetown, many communities around our

Province hold Relay for Life and I want to thank them for their efforts in

assisting cancer victims and their families.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. members to join me in

recognizing the Charlottetown Relay for Life and all the neighbouring towns who

show strong support for this event.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Exploits.

MR.

FORSEY:

Mr.

Speaker, for the second year in a row, teacher Deanne Barker's Grade 5 and 6

classes at Point Leamington Academy took

part in the Canadian Geographic

Classroom Energy Diet Challenge, a K-12 initiative aimed at helping increase

energy consumption awareness in students through a series of fun challenges.

Mr. Speaker, the challenges focused around reducing

energy consumption and included things like learning about carbon footprints and

ways to live greener life at school and home.

Out of hundreds of schools across Canada that

participated, Ms Barker's classes came out on top receiving a $4,000 technology

gift card and $1,000 to a charity of their choice, which they donated to the

local volunteer fire department to put towards their share of a new fire truck.

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

in congratulating Deanne Barker's Grade 5 and 6 classes at Point Leamington

Academy of their national award.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Humber West.

MR.

GRANTER:

Mr.

Speaker, I stand in this hon. House to congratulate Mr. Fred Alteen on being

named Corner Brook's Citizen of the Year for 2013 at the ACE Awards ceremony

held recently.

Mr. Alteen has been a businessman and volunteer in the

community for many years. Originally

from Amherst, Nova Scotia, his community involvement goes back to before he came

to Newfoundland when he joined the Kinsmen in North Sydney in 1947.

He served overseas with the Royal Canadian Air Force in

WWII and has been a loyal member of Branch 13 of the Royal Canadian Legion for

more than sixty years. His advocacy

work on behalf of veterans is second to none.

A crowning achievement was his tireless work in establishing a dedicated

space for veterans at the O'Connell Centre through the DVA ward.

Mr. Alteen believes that it is important to give to the

community in order to make it a better place to live for all.

His contribution throughout the years in Corner Brook reinforces that

belief.

I ask all hon. members to join with me in

congratulating Mr. Fred Alteen on his most recent recognition as Corner Brook's

Citizen of the Year for 2013.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Harbour Main.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

HEDDERSON:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today in this hon. House to honour a Korean War

Veteran, Mr. Gilbert Thomas Hillier from Colliers who passed away on April 28,

2014, at the age of 83.

Born in Meadows, Lamaline, Mr. Hillier was orphaned at

a very early age and raised by a family friend.

Leaving home at sixteen, he jobbed around before he answered a call to

duty, joining the Canadian Army in 1952.

He served in Korea from 1953 to 1955 as a Sapper,

tasked with disarming mine fields, a very dangerous and often deadly activity.

Mr. Hillier, like most vets, spoke little of his war experiences, but

honoured his fallen comrades each year at community memorial services, proudly

displaying his service medals, especially, a sixty-year Peace Ambassador Medal

he received in 2013.

Mr. Hillier was discharged in 1955 and married Ms Nell

O'Toole and settled in Colliers, Conception Bay.

He became a respected and well sought-after driller and

shot-firer/blaster. His last project

was repainting the family home at the age of eighty-three, just prior to this

death.

Predeceased by his wife and sons William, Gary, and

Gilbert Jr., he is survived by his children Don, Jason, Paddy, Patsy, Liz,

Linda, Jeannette and, of course, their families.

I certainly ask all members of this hon. House to join

with me in honouring a Korean War Veteran, an extraordinary Newfoundlander and

Labradorian, Mr. Gilbert Thomas Hillier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for the District of Lewisporte.

MR.

VERGE:

Mr.

Speaker, I rise today to recognize a young, talented, and outstanding

fifteen-year-old musician from Lewisporte.

Chloe Gale started taking piano lessons at age four and made her first

public performance a year later.

She has continued to excel as a pianist under the

tutelage of music teacher, Lindy Whitt, and also as a vocalist under the

instruction of her teacher, Maxine Stanley.

Chloe has participated in the Kiwanis Music Festival at Grand

Falls-Windsor for many years and she has received numerous awards.

Her award list includes the Hennessey Rose Bowl Award

for Best Solo Performance in Junior Competition in 2010, 2012, 2013 and again

this year in 2014. In addition to

this prestigious award, she also received the Kelly Family Award for

participating in the Rose Bowl Competition, the Greco Pizza Donair Award for

Best Performance in Junior Piano, and the Cole Award for the Most Outstanding

Performance of the entire festival.

Chloe also finds time to participate in her school band

as an Alto Sax player and to also play volleyball with her school team.

Chloe plans to pursue a career in music.

Honourable colleagues, please join with me in

congratulating this talented young musician, Chloe Gale.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for District of Bay of Islands.

MR.

JOYCE:

Mr.

Speaker, this past Friday evening, I had the privilege of attending the

graduation at St. James All Grade in Lark Harbour.

The eleven graduates, Joshua Childs, Kirklind Childs,

Nicholas Childs, Tyler Darrigan, Jenna Flood, Mitchel Herritt, Ryan Park, Bobbi

Sheppard, Brittany Sheppard, Megan Sheppard and Christopher Strickland, with

their family and friends, had an exceptional night.

The students were so appreciative of their families,

teachers, and each other for helping shape their lives and make them the

individuals they are today. The joy

of their parents, grandparents, siblings, and teachers was evident as they spoke

on how the students bonded at a young age, became best friends, and now are

ready to become our next leaders.

The night was filled with tears as the students and teachers spoke of the years

together and how they have all grown together.

As they did their grand march, all in attendance were

beaming with joy and pride, knowing that these young men and women can

accomplish anything they wish and they can be whatever they aspire to be and are

our future leaders.

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

congratulations to the 2014 graduating class of St. James All Grade and, rest

assured, our future is in safe hands.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister Responsible for Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate the newly elected and

re-elected members of the Nunatsiavut Assembly.

Congratulations are also extended to all those who put themselves forward

as candidates in the May 6 election.

It takes a great amount of hard work and commitment to run in an election and

all twenty-three candidates should be recognized.

The Nunatsiavut Government was established on December

1, 2005. In addition to the

Nunatsiavut Government, there are also five Inuit Community Governments

representing the communities of Nain, Hopedale, Postville, Makkovik, and

Rigolet. Self-government was, and

continues to be, a tremendous accomplishment and has thrived.

Mr. Speaker, since 2005, the provincial government and

the Nunatsiavut Government have continued to make great strides toward a strong,

meaningful, and collaborative relationship.

In May 2013, President Leo and the Nunatsiavut

Executive Council travelled to St. John's to meet with the provincial Cabinet to

discuss priority areas that affect both governments including, among many other

topics, education and housing. As

well, earlier this year President Leo met with a series of provincial government

ministers individually.

Our government continues to work collaboratively with

the Nunatsiavut Government to ensure that a positive working relationship

prevails.

In April of this year, the Minister Responsible for the

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation visited Nain to announce a

partnership between the Nunatsiavut Government and the Newfoundland and Labrador

Housing Corporation to assist low-income private homeowners in Inuit communities

to complete major home renovations.

The Nunatsiavut Government and the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation

each contributed $350,000 to this program for a total investment of $700,000.

Mr. Speaker, this is a positive investment that will

bring benefits to the Inuit and captures the spirit of co-operation and

collaboration that exists between our governments.

Please join me, again, in congratulating Inuit on their

election. As the Minister

Responsible for Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs, I very much look forward to

working with the elected members in the future.

Thank you: Nakkumek.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR.

EDMUNDS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his

statement. It is a pleasure to rise

for the second time to congratulate the Nunatsiavut Government on their recent

election. Along with what the

minister said that the five community governments as well have representation,

the Nunatsiavut Government also has representation at the Canadian constituency

level as well as Upper Lake Melville.

Mr. Speaker, I was quite pleased to have the

opportunity to attend the swearing-in ceremonies in Hopedale last month with the

new members and to wish the outgoing members well.

I actually took the time to sit down with each of the elected members to

talk about some of our common issues.

I certainly look forward and we, on this side, look forward to keep that

ongoing relationship open. I think

it was just yesterday morning, Mr. Speaker, that I had the privilege of talking

to the Speaker of the Nunatsiavut Government, Mr. Sean Lyall, and he is actually

in Iqaluit as we speak doing training.

On behalf of our side, we, too, would like to extend

our congratulations to the Nunatsiavut Government and look forward to a working

relationship with them as well.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for the advance copy of his

statement. I am delighted to join

with him and my colleague from Torngat Mountains in congratulating the people of

Nunatsiavut on their successful elections to the Nunatsiavut Assembly.

Democracy is alive and well in Labrador.

The people of Nunatsiavut fought long and hard to see their nation

created and the number and calibre of candidates, both successful and not, speak

to the success of their quest for self-government.

It is important that government continue to forge a strong and positive

relationship with the Nunatsiavut Government for the sake of the people they

represent as well as for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Their fight for self-government was a fight to ensure

their concerns were heard and their needs meet, and I know they will keep on

making sure that those needs are met.

They have shown they can represent themselves clearly and forcefully, and

I wish the new Assembly every success as they settle down to the hard work ahead

of them.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KING:

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, last week I had the great privilege of

officially opening the thirty-eighth Provincial Theatre Arts Festival, which

took place here in St. John's over the weekend.

Ten schools and over 130 students throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador took

part in this year's festival.

Productions were held at the LSPU Hall and theatre-related workshops were

held at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Mr. Speaker, the commitment and talent displayed by the

students, teachers, and volunteers onstage and behind the scenes was incredible.

Through events like this, we are developing and nurturing the next

generation of actors, writers, musicians, set designers, technicians, and

directors, for which our Province is becoming increasingly recognized on the

national and international stage.

Our government is committed to helping our students

discover and develop their artistic talent and creative skills.

That is why we provide $50,000 annually to support the Provincial Theatre

Arts Festival, and why we have invested millions in recent years to promoting

the arts within our schools.

Participation in the arts builds confidence and self-esteem, Mr. Speaker, and

contributes to a student's overall personal development.

Mr. Speaker, in 2005, the provincial government

introduced Cultural Connections, a program designed to support and enhance arts

programming in our schools. Since

that time, more than $18.7 million has been invested in musical equipment, art

supplies, books, music festivals, heritage fairs, and other programs and

activities to benefit students and participating artists.

Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues here in the House

of Assembly today to join me in congratulating the organizers, participants,

volunteers, and the audiences who all contributed to making the 2014 Provincial

Theatre Arts Festival a resounding success.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. I, too, would like to

join this hon. House in congratulating volunteers who helped this year's

Provincial Theatre Arts Festival become a success.

We celebrate their hard work and their passion.

The arts in Newfoundland and Labrador are integral to

our culture, thriving and flourishing so much that we have been called a

creative powerhouse. When our

students and schools participate in something as important as the Provincial

Theatre Arts Festival, it ought to be hailed for its contribution that these

activities make to our cultural literacy.

Our culture is rich and creative, and we know that

students performing in the arts in music and theatre in our schools and

communities add to the dynamic force of culture we have here in Newfoundland and

Labrador. The Provincial Theatre

Arts Festival is an ideal outlet to showcase the outstanding work of our

students and their excellent teachers.

It is also to the credit of their parents and their communities as well.

As the minister says, on a personal level, involvement

in theatre arts builds self-esteem and confidence in young artists as they grow

through the creative process. For

many of them, this is preparation for further involvement and work in our

thriving arts community.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The member's time has expired.

MR.

KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Congratulations to all involved.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for the advance copy of his

statement. Once again, I am very

happy to join with my colleagues in congratulating everyone involved in the

thirty-eighth Provincial Theatre Arts Festival.

I note the minister says ten schools participating with

130 students, and that is terrific.

How wonderful it would be if we could see this number even double or triple.

I have no doubt the interest is there

because of what we know exists in our Province here culturally.

So we need to ensure all students in the Province who want to participate

get the opportunity.

A well-rounded education must include the arts.

I know from my own education that every student can benefit from

participating in artistic endeavours.

Participating in school sponsored cultural and artistic events, as well

as community events like the Provincial Theatre Arts Festival, is an important

opportunity for any young person.

A look at the biographies of many of our prominent

artists will show an interest sparked while they were young people in our school

system. Whether they are performing

arts or the visual arts, music, writing, experiences like this for young people

stay with them for life. I think of

an artist myself who is now deceased, I taught him in Baie Verte, and he spent

all of Grade 8 French classes drawing.

Congratulations to everyone.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Before we start Oral Questions today, I want to welcome a couple of other

special guests to our gallery visiting from Victoria, BC, the mother of the

Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair, Ms Glenda Goulding, and her husband

Mark Bradley.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

you came all this way to check on her, she is doing fine but she is a bit

long-winded.

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are days I agree.

Mr. Speaker, incoming Premier Frank Coleman has finally

admitted that he was a guarantor on the Humber Valley Paving contract and that

he personally benefitted from government's decision to release the bonds valued

at $90 million.

I ask the minister: Disclosure is extremely important,

so did Mr. Coleman disclose to government that he was a guarantor on the bonds

before the final decision was made to release them?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in the department, when we put tenders

out, part of our responsibility is to make sure we have all the proper bonds and

stuff in place. We do that, and once

we receive the bonding certificate, we do not know who the guarantors are.

We just make sure that the bonding papers are in place for the particular

job.

I remind the audience listening, Mr. Speaker, that the

bonds are part of a contract. When

we mutually terminated the contract with the conditions that we put forward, we

also terminated the bonds with that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What I am talking about is not awarding the contract,

what I am talking about is when the decision was made to finalize the contract

and release the bonds.

I ask the minister: When did you find out that Mr.

Coleman was indeed a guarantor on those bonds?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, again, the responsibility of the

department is to make sure that the bonds are in place.

Once we receive a certificate saying a bond is in place, we never ask who

the guarantors are as long as the bond is valid and covers that contract.

That is the responsibility of the department.

That is what we made sure of.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question was not about the process.

My question was: When did the minister find out that

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The bottom line is that when the incoming Premier Frank

Coleman personally benefitted from government's decision to release the $19

million in bonds. At the time, the

minister had said there was no conflict of interest.

Given this latest admission and the revelation, as he

said of this last weekend, I ask the minister: Do you now think there was a

conflict of interest when you made the decision to cancel the contract and

release the bonds?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I have stated many times in this House

of Assembly over the last few weeks, we do not deal with individuals when we are

putting contracts in place, we deal with contractors.

As long as we have all of the appropriate materials to go with that

contract for example, the bonds in place that is who we deal with.

We do not deal with personalities or individuals, we

deal with contractors. I still stand

that the decision we made in the department to move forward for the benefit of

the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to get this contract finished on time

and on budget was the best decision that we could make.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: On March 13 when this discussion

started and on March 21 when the contract was cancelled, did he not find it odd

that sometime during that week, with all the reports that were in the media

about the incoming Premier, did you not even ask about a potential conflict of

interest?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, we had everything in

place that was necessary to be there.

The contract was there, the bonds were there to secure the contract, we

reached a mutual agreement, and we have a guarantee for the 60 per cent work

that was done. We have done

everything necessary.

This is before the Auditor General.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister has said that he decided to cancel the

contract and release the bonds because government did not want to jeopardize the

future of the company. Mr. Coleman

said last week that there were other options for Humber Valley Paving if the

contract was not cancelled.

I ask the minister: Since he has now confirmed that

there were other options, why did you choose to cancel the contract and release

the bonds, which was the only option that gave Mr. Coleman personal benefit?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition keeps talking

about personal benefits to Mr. Coleman.

As I said here earlier today to the first question, the department does

not know who the guarantor of the bond is.

Our job is to make sure the bond is in place.

We did that.

During the last three weeks I have quite often said,

through the advice of the department, we looked at what options we had; and the

option that we felt was in the best interest of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians

was the option that we acted upon: mutually terminate a contract, get the job

finished on time and on budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We know who benefited most from that option, but I will

tell you who did not benefit from that.

It was the subcontractors and the people in this Province who supplied

services who are left now still owed money.

It has been brought to our attention that Humber Valley

Paving still has a $7.8 million paving contract in Western Newfoundland, and we

know that they are trying to get out of this contract or either sell it to

another contractor.

So I ask the minister: What is the status of the

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: Has it been confirmed then that

Humber Valley Paving will not be doing that contract?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have a contract signed with Humber

Valley Paving. To the best of my

knowledge right now, that contract will be finished on time and on schedule.

I have no other news that Humber Valley Paving will not being doing it at

the present time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

What we understand is that project or that contract is already behind schedule.

So, Mr. Speaker, the incoming Premier is floating the

idea of privatizing the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, a

corporation that contributes over $150 million a year to the Provincial Treasury

and employs hundreds of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Now Mr. Coleman is on record as saying that this is something that the

Province could look at.

So I ask the minister: Do you support the suggestion of

the incoming Premier?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

JOHNSON:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is incumbent on all of us to

always be open minded and always review any proposal that may come forward.

The department has never done an analysis around the privatization of the

NL Liquor Corporation; but should that come forward as something to analyze,

then we would be happy to do that.

Again, we are open minded and we are open for business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, it is interesting that the incoming Premier is

saying that the Province could look at privatization of the liquor corporation,

given that he owns forty private liquor stores in Alberta.

So I ask the minister: Given the incoming Premier's

investments in private stores, what are you going to do to ensure in this

particular case that there is no conflict of interest?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

JOHNSON:

Mr.

Speaker, let us be clear for the record; it has not been declared that there is

any conflict of interest around the incoming Premier on any business deals or

issues before this House. It is

unfortunate that the Leader of the Opposition is smearing somebody in this

manner.

Of course, we would ensure that if there were any

conflict of interest issues that it would be looked at.

To date, we have not done an analysis of privatizing NL Liquor, but we

would be open to any proposals put forward.

We would give it a fair look and then we would go to Cabinet and make a

decision.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the Minister of Finance: Given the capacity that

you serve in this Province as protecting the finances of this Province, would

you not find it odd that from March 13 to March 21 when the Humber Valley Paving

contract was terminated don't you find it odd that there was no public

MITCHELMORE:

Mr.

Speaker, fish harvesters in the Province, including my district, are still

unable to get to the water because of heavy ice conditions.

They are still suffering from a lack of income for weeks.

The Fisheries Minister says he has placed a request to the federal

government on obtaining ice compensation and has asked for a meeting with the

federal minister.

I ask the minister: Will he tell us if he has received

a response from either of these requests?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this is an issue under federal

jurisdiction. In 1999 and 2007 the

federal government, through the EI fund, made a comparative investment in regard

to ice compensation back then. That

is what we have asked for over the past number of weeks.

We have been in touch with the two departments over the

past number of weeks emphasizing it is of importance definitely in Green Bay,

off the Northern Peninsula, and Labrador.

It is very significant. We

are advocating for them to put this in place now.

It is needed.

I understand some families have two members who draw a

livelihood from the fishing industry.

It is very important and it is incumbent on the federal government to

step in and step in now, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Mr.

Speaker, the minister should provide a response if he has indeed received one.

The state of the federal-provincial relationship on the fishery is

hitting another all-time low. We

cannot get any headway on the shrimp issue, or ice compensation.

Even the Minister of Fisheries admits he cannot get a meeting with the

Minister of Fisheries.

I ask the minister: If you are unable to meet with the

federal counterpart to negotiate an agreement, is your department prepared to

step up and assist the hundreds of fishers impacted by heavy ice?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, our investment in the fishing industry as

a government is unprecedented in terms of what we have done over the past number

of years. The other day I had a

chance to be on the Celtic Explorer , a

$13 million investment that we stepped up in terms of research and science that

we needed in this Province and to drive our industry in groundfish, like cod and

what we are seeing in the return on that.

We have stepped up when we needed to step up; but I say

to the hon. member, this is federal jurisdiction.

The federal government has a role to play here, and we are not letting

them off the hook. They control the

industry outside of us with processing.

They have an EI fund which is certainly robust.

There are lots of funds in it, and we are not going to let them off the

hook. It is time for them to step

in, and they need to step in right now, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR.

LANE:

Mr.

Speaker, the recent update from the Auditor General reads: Service Newfoundland

and Labrador has not implemented recommendations because it is of the opinion

that current processes are satisfactory.

The report further states that Service Newfoundland and Labrador ignores

the Auditor General because it feels current oversight methods are also

satisfactory.

I ask the minister: Since your department has one of

the worst compliance records in the report, how is it acceptable to ignore the

Auditor General's recommendations?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

CRUMMELL:

Mr.

Speaker, nothing is further from the truth.

The Auditor General, we respect immensely.

Anything that he offers to us in terms of what we can do differently, how

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

LANE: -

however, the Auditor General's update reveals the department has not complied

with this recommendation because it does not agree with a standard time frame

for addressing complaints.

I ask the minister: Why isn't resolving complaints in a

timely fashion a priority for your department?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Service NL.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

CRUMMELL:

Again, Mr. Speaker, I can only say that everything the Auditor General brings

forward that discusses what is happening in our department we do what we think

is the right thing and the best thing to do for the people of this Province.

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, long before I was in government but

certainly involved in the communities in Labrador through Combined Councils

Labrador, and as I am sure the hon. member would know, as well as the Member for

Cartwright L'Anse au Clair, there was an agreement between the federal

government and the provincial government when the Trans-Labrador Highway was

being built, that the port in Cartwright would be replaced by the road going up

through.

We have almost 1,200 kilometres of Trans-Labrador

Highway, over $500 million invested in it since we have been here, and I think

that is an adequate replacement. I

work very closely with the Member for Torngat Mountains, so I am a little bit

surprised to hear this request to make sure that the shipping going to the North

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, first of all I will tell you, I am not

ignoring the people on the Coast of Labrador.

I have a very close relationship with the Nunatsiavut Government.

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

MCGRATH:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, quite often when tenders come out, and

this is the first time in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador that a tender

has come out to the magnitude of the tender for the ferry service on the South

Coast and North Coast of Labrador, because it is not just providing the ferry

service; it is the full administration of the reservation system, the traffic,

getting the freight and passengers back and forth.

So it is a fairly complex tender.

On both extensions and extensions are quite normal on

tenders of this magnitude - in both cases there are contractors who are very

The

hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KING:

Mr.

Speaker, we do regular reviews of the curriculum in all areas across the K-12

system, not just mathematics; language arts, social studies, and all other

areas, on occasion, the reviews engage professionals.

It is not me as a minister or politicians from this side of the House

sitting down and writing curriculum; it is professional educators who work in

the system who review curriculum. A

considerable amount of time and energy has gone into implementing the new

mathematics curriculum, and I might add a considerable amount of money.

We recognize, Mr. Speaker, like any change, when you

implement any change, there are going to be challenges and there are going to be

people who have trouble adjusting.

We are committed to resourcing the system.

We are committed to providing the adequate professional development that

teachers require and to supporting them in the classroom to ensure they are

doing the best for our students.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

KIRBY:

Mr.

Speaker, the math currently taught in our schools is based on a curriculum

standards document that was created back in 1988; that is twenty-six years ago

now. That curriculum has largely

abandoned the memorization of times tables and the math drills that were a

staple for previous generations.

This government has had a shockingly nonchalant attitude about the impact of

this curriculum in the face of these declining international test scores.

I ask the minister: Will he do the right thing for our

kids and order an immediate review of this mathematics experiment so that our

students are better prepared for the future?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KING:

Mr.

Speaker, the only thing shocking in this line of questioning is how the member

opposite continues with the support of some of his colleagues to spread false,

misleading, and inaccurate information in the general public in this House of

Assembly. I can talk about the

supports to autism. I can quote

Hansard. The member stood on his

feet over and over and over again talking about inaccurate information, only to

be proven wrong by this government.

I can read you a quote from Open Line last Friday where

he tells people on the public airwaves that we are going to triple class sizes

in Kindergarten. I mean, it is

disgraceful what the member gets on with.

To stand in this House and offer a criticism at teachers to say that they

are not teaching times tables is absolutely ridiculous, I say to the member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's North, for a quick question.

MR.

KIRBY:

This curriculum is twenty-six years old.

MR.

SPEAKER:

quick question, I remind the member, please.

MR.

KIRBY:

When will the minister order a review and correct this problem in the system?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Education, for a quick

response.

MR.

KING:

How

ridiculous a twenty-six year old curriculum.

How ridiculous for the member opposite, who once taught at the university

that trains our teachers, to say that this government or any government brought

in a curriculum that is twenty-six years old.

That would be shameful, Mr. Speaker.

If you want to talk education, stand on your feet and ask questions about

factual information that is based on correct information in the system.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MICHAEL:

This government has had a no-casino policy since 2004, which was reaffirmed

again in 2010 by the Finance Minister at the time, the current Premier.

A 2012 Department of Finance note states that a casino would attract few

additional tourists, and questions whether any economic gains are worth social

policy trade-offs that might occur.

So I ask the Minister of Finance: Why is she suddenly

showing openness to the notion of casinos, when it clearly goes against a

ten-year Cabinet policy?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

JOHNSON:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We still have a no policy around casinos, Mr. Speaker.

That is the current policy and that is how we are guided today.

As a government and we talk all the time about how to be more

efficient, more effective, how to be open, how to be open for business I think

it is only fair that if somebody does a proposal, that we take a look.

Cabinet still has the authority to turn down a casino.

It is obvious where the member stands on this issue.

What I did say is that if the decision is ever made to go down that

route, we would certainly have public consultations; but it is good to have it

on the record where she stands on this.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In my mind, a no-casino policy means a no-casino

policy. It obviously does not mean

that to the minister. A no-casino

policy means you do not even want one.

Obviously, they do not care.

Government has been promising a new VLT strategy for

three years, even though VLTs are clearly still a problem for gambling addicts.

Last March when I asked about the strategy, the minister said she would

be attending a meeting of Atlantic Provinces in May where they would continue

working on it.

So I ask the minister: Has this meeting occurred, and

were VLTs discussed?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

JOHNSON:

Mr.

Speaker, what I would say is that we are open minded.

We will always be open minded for a casino or any other business proposal

that comes before us. We should only

do that due diligence.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, the meeting did occur.

Yes, VLTs did come up.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask the minister: When will we see a new VLT

strategy?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

JOHNSON:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it was very good to see our prevalence

rates in this Province in the last study we did.

Addiction gambling is 1.5 per cent in this Province, which was down from

2005. We did have great discussions

with our counterparts.

A lot of people either do not gamble or do gamble in a

responsible manner, Mr. Speaker, 92 per cent of the population.

It is incumbent upon lawmakers to ensure that gambling is done in a

responsible manner and then the social programs are in place for addictions and

so on.

These discussions continued, they will continue, and I

will continue to work with my colleague, the Minister of Health, as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I point out to the minister that gambling addiction

prevalence study was completed five years ago.

When will we see another study done?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

JOHNSON:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, provinces across the country typically do

them every five years or so. It was

done five years ago. We are having a

look and having discussions about where we go in the future with that.

It is important to note, Mr. Speaker, this is an issue

we take very seriously. We reduced

the number of VLTs by 26.9 per cent in this Province.

It is a serious issue.

Gambling is going to take place.

I think we all need to be very realistic about that.

The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DALLEY:

Mr.

Speaker, I think I have been clear for the people of the Province, and

particularly the people on the West Coast of the Province, where our government

stands with hydraulic fracturing and the process that we are prepared to follow

in terms of internal consideration and information along with not only

geological work, but other jurisdictions as well.

Beyond that, Mr. Speaker, that information would help us determine the

next steps, which would include public consultations.

Mr. Speaker, the reference from the member opposite

whether government would accept what the independent review would determine, I

guess it is likewise, whether the anti-fracking groups would accept what the

study would propose as well, because it is possible it could propose that we

move ahead with it.

That is a balanced question, Mr. Speaker, and certainly

something we will consider at the time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Many people are concerned about the environment on the

West Coast of the Province if we do allow fracking to occur.

The Shoal Point drilling site is listed on the Province's contaminated

sites registry with Environment and Conservation itself asking for further

checks as a result of possible ecological impacts; quote, unquote.

I ask the minister: Has this work been done?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DALLEY:

Mr.

Speaker, I would have to check and see if the specific work has been done.

I think what is important here, what the member is referencing is that

any time we are going to engage, whether it is onshore or offshore drilling, or

particularly any time there is a concern for the environment, and the health and

safety of people, this government will have its priorities right to ensure we

protect the environment and the health and safety of people first and foremost;

go through a due-diligence process where protocols are in place, where we

respect the legislation, Mr. Speaker, and we ensure the environmental

assessments play a key role as we advance and develop the economy in this

Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MURPHY:

Mr.

Speaker, I just asked the minister about the Muskrat Falls recommendations.

They did not follow all the recommendations in that report.

What makes them so sure they will follow ?

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources for a quick

response.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DALLEY:

wish the NDP would support economic development in this Province, Mr. Speaker,

simply put.

All the recommendations, Mr. Speaker, everything to do

with Muskrat Falls had to satisfy an environmental assessment, both provincially

and federally, and it met those requirements.

MR.

KING:

retract the statement.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Mr.

Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 63(3) the PMR just entered by the Member for

St. John's South is the one to be debated on Wednesday.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS current government regulations deny busing

services to students who live closer than 1.6 kilometres to school; and

WHEREAS parents have expressed concern that children

living within 1.6 kilometres of school face dangers in walking to school such as

congested streets and busy intersections, especially in winter weather

conditions; and

WHEREAS the $75,000 review of the school transportation

system completed by Deloitte recommended that the Department of Education

consider reducing the 1.6 kilometre eligibility zone for Kindergarten and

elementary students; and

WHEREAS the $75,000 Deloitte report also noted that

only 10 per cent of those surveyed for the school transportation system review

agree that the current 1.6 kilometre policy is reasonable for students and

families; and

WHEREAS parents are continuing to demand more flexible

policies to meet the current needs of school children;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to change the

outdated 1.6 kilometre school busing eligibility policy in order to ensure safe

travel to school for primary and elementary school children in the Province.

As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, today this petition, people have signed it

from Carbonear, from Victoria, from Salmon Cove and Spaniard's Bay.

We have seen this petition come in this House of Assembly time and time

again. I am sure members opposite

are tired of hearing us repeating ourselves over and over again.

The Member for Mount Pearl South was on Open Line again

last week and raised this very issue again.

He is hearing from his constituents.

I know there are members opposite who are hearing from their

constituents. I know that out in

Paradise there are children who have to go across up to five lanes of traffic

elementary school students to get to school and in inclement weather, in dirty

weather, in freezing rain and snow in the winter here.

Now that the snow and all the winter weather is gone

away, we are not going to give up on this, Mr. Speaker.

We need this $75,000 report implemented.

We want the recommendations of that report implemented.

That was $75,000 of taxpayers' hard-earned dollars spent on this report.

People keep sending these petitions in.

People keep contacting us.

People keep saying they want their small children, the Kindergarten, the

elementary, primary school kids to have safe transportation to school.

They deserve that, Mr. Speaker.

On the Northeast Avalon, with all the growth we have seen, we have more

traffic

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair.

DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the Strait of Belle Isle is a very important

transportation link between Labrador and the Island of Newfoundland; and

WHEREAS both commercial and residential traffic is

continuously increasing because of the opening of the Trans-Labrador Highway and

increased development in Labrador; and

WHEREAS the existing ferry service can no longer

effectively handle the traffic; and

WHEREAS there have been many interruptions in the ferry

service, especially during the 2014 winter season;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland

and Labrador to complete a comprehensive feasibility study for a fixed link

across the Strait of Belle Isle that would include a geological assessment and a

full cost analysis.

Mr. Speaker, I have been on my feet a number of times

petitioning for a feasibility study on a fixed link.

If ever there was a winter that the need was clearly demonstrated for a

fixed link, it was this one. We have

been fortunate over the last number of years that the ferry has run with minimal

disruptions. This year they say we

have had the most ice we have had in three decades.

There is no guarantee, Mr. Speaker, that it will not continue into the

next number of years.

While we sit here today, Mr. Speaker, I can tell you

that many, many lives are disrupted.

We are not talking about a ferry service to one community.

We are talking about a ferry that services the whole of Labrador, the

entire Big Land. Seniors spent

seventeen-and-a-half hours this weekend on a boat that is certainly ill-equipped

for that, when she was put on to do a ninety-minute run, only 3:00 o'clock in

the morning to end up back where you started out.

Seniors who want to fly home, but the cost is $900 one way for a couple;

that is their monthly income.

Then we have people who waited eight, nine months for a

specialist appointment, in power wheelchairs; and where are they left?

I guarantee it, Mr. Speaker, whatever we are saving right now by not

doing this study to look and see what the figures are, we are going to be

spending it in other departments, and Health is just one example.

We are putting a billion dollar subsea cable across the Strait of Belle

Isle. It is very, very sad that the

vision and the planning was not there on the part of this government to have

that running through a tunnel and so much of this problem would be alleviated,

Mr. Speaker.

I will continue to be on my feet every chance I get for

the people, not only of Cartwright L'Anse au Clair but for the people of

Labrador. We had a pre-feasibility

study that was done eight years ago and that showed that it would be over a

billion dollars; we know of many people who have done studies since then and it

has shown to be about $500 million.

So what is it, Mr. Speaker, it is time for somebody to petition we need the

study to see what it is and we need to act on this.

We need to start now.

Everywhere else in the world they are building tunnels

and we are still building ferries.

There is something wrong with that, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

DEMPSTER:

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

A petition to the House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled:

WHEREAS Tordon 101 contains the chemicals 2,4-D and

Picloram; and

WHEREAS the chemical Picloram is a known cancer-causing

carcinogen; and

WHEREAS the provincial government has banned the

cosmetic use of the pesticide 2,4-D; and

WHEREAS safer alternatives are available to the

provincial government for brush clearance such as manual labour, alternative

competitive seeding methods, and/or the mechanical removal of brush; and

WHEREAS the provincial government is responsible for

ensuring the safety and well-being of its citizens;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to cease the use of

chemicals covered under its own cosmetic pesticide ban and begin using safer

methods of brush clearance that will not place its citizens in harm's way.

Mr. Speaker, this is a petition signed by residents in

St. John's, CBS, Avondale and, of course, out in Conception Bay centre, I guess,

you could say. These people are

directly concerned with the use of chemicals in our world today.

It seems like every day we are hearing more about the dangers of

chemicals in our environment, and it is no different here in Newfoundland and

Labrador with the pristine areas that we have.

We also know that Newfoundland and Labrador is

developing and, of course, with development comes roads and the needs for power.

We know where government stands right now on the use of these harmful

chemicals. We know that, for

example, in some cases after brush clearing, these chemicals are put down to

keep the plants and everything down.

We also know that government's proposal right now Nalcor's proposal is to be

using some of these chemicals directly on 1,100 kilometres of the route for the

power cables to come into Soldiers Pond from Labrador.

We know that we are going to be having issues as these chemicals build up

in the environment.

We know that they do their job and they do their job

well; but, unfortunately with chemicals, come side effects such as cancer.

We know that these chemicals also kill flora and fauna.

We know as well that they also build up in the environment and kill small

crustaceans, for example, like shrimp.

We know that we are doing damage to our environment.

We also know, Mr. Speaker, that there is a better way of doing things, in

which case we know that we can use competitive seeding methods; for example, we

can be planting lupins where there is ash on the side of the road.

I know some horticulturalists will tell you that lupins

will outgrow ash and actually knock ash out because they suck up nitrogen out of

the soil. We will not have that

problem of roadside brush clearing in the future.

There are challenges here that can be met and there are better ways of

doing things.

We also know, Mr. Speaker, that the time for using

chemicals is gone. We know that

these are old-fashioned methods. We

know that government is putting in initiatives, for example, for farmers to be

growing organically; that is without the use of chemicals.

Mr. Speaker, in summing up I will say this, we can get

away from chemicals. We know that

there are better methods.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

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

ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the provincial government recently announced a

new framework for staffed residential care which included awarding contracts for

three group homes in the Province to the private sector; and

WHEREAS the Bay St. George Youth Assessment Centre in

Stephenville is one of the group homes affected by this decision by government;

and

WHEREAS as a result, forty-five public sector workers

lost their jobs in the Province, including twelve in Stephenville alone, some

with over twenty years of experience and expertise in the field; and

WHEREAS the Bay St. George Youth Assessment Centre has

been offering high-quality care to children with complex needs in the community

for many years; and

WHEREAS the transition of the children in the care at

the home will, in some cases, split these children from their friends and group

home counsellors relationships which have taken years to develop this

transition has the potential to cause undue stress and harm to the children;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to reverse its

decision to privatize the Bay St. George Youth Assessment Centre in

Stephenville.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this is a package of petitions.

In this package alone there are at least 700 signatures, probably more,

just from that area of Stephenville, Bay St. George in the Port au Port

Peninsula. The people of the

community are really concerned. They

are concerned that forty-five public sector jobs have been cut.

These are well-paying jobs.

These are jobs that have benefits that benefit not only the workers, but also

their families. It also benefits

their communities, again, because these are well-paying jobs; and well-paying

jobs they should be, because they are people with expertise in caring for youth.

These youth are not simply youth who are homeless or

youth who are having maybe problems with their parents; these are youth who have

experienced significant trauma, and they are also youth with very complex needs.

Some of them very complex mental health needs, some of the children have

addictions, and some of them have fetal alcohol syndrome disorder, or spectrum.

They are children who have to be cared for by people with a great amount

of expertise, because they are not simply being warehoused.

The purpose of them to be in Level IV residential care which is not

foster care, it is not a type of foster care, and it is not sort of like foster

care as the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services has tried to imply, but

these are kids who really need expert care.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the current road conditions of Route 437 is

deplorable; and

WHEREAS Route 437 to Ship Cove and Cape Onion was first

paved in 1990-1991 and is now riddled with potholes, cracks, bumps and erosion,

similarly the road to Raleigh is in poor condition; and

WHEREAS business operations will suffer in these

communities that includes Pistolet Bay Provincial Park, Burnt Cape Ecological

Reserve, Tickle Inn, Raleigh Historical Society Fishing Village, carving shop,

boat tour, restaurant, cottages, convenience, gas station, walking trails,

museum, numerous fishing enterprises, among other natural attractions; and

WHEREAS it is the government's obligation to provide

basic infrastructure to all Newfoundland and Labradorians; and

WHEREAS an improved paved road would enhance local

business, fishing operations and tourism, which is vital to the health of the

communities affected.

We, the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to

urge the government to allocate funds to resurface Route 437.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this area may have a very small population

when we talk about Raleigh, Ship Cove and Cape Onion, but on the way, when we

look at Route 436, the amount of traffic that actually goes through these areas,

when we look at Route 436 to L'Anse aux Meadows, a world UNESCO site, 30,000

visitors come to this area. There is

section of that road as well that needs to be looked at.

We are seeing a lot of spinoff that go into the Raleigh

and Ship Cove areas. If we look at

Burnt Cape, for example, that ecological reserve has some of the rarest plants,

some that are only found on the Northern Peninsula.

Then we have a provincial park there that is expanding tourism.

We have cultural and experiential and adventure tourism with the Raleigh

Historical Society teaching people the importance of what it is like to live

like a fisherperson, and the past, and how important that is to our culture.

We have a small, independent business community.

It is imperative we look at making the investments that are needed so

that these people can continue to earn a living and build strong, rural

communities. That is exactly what is

needed here. If we talk about the

amount of commuters from Raleigh to St. Anthony, the service area, that area is

not even serviced by cellular coverage it could be.

There is a proposal that has been put forward to look

at that, so we can make our roadways safer.

Right now, with the current condition of the road and the lack of

cellular coverage, it certainly makes it very difficult to grow the economy, and

that is what we really need to do.

We need to grow the economy in Newfoundland and Labrador, especially in our

rural areas, so that we do not see deficit Budgets as it is happening right now.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order please!

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

these are types of things that need to be done.

I put this forward, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of petitioners presented from

Cape Onion, St. John's, Corner Brook, Dildo

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR.

LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there are extreme overcrowding issues in St.

Peter's Elementary and Mount Pearl Senior High, a direct result of poor planning

by the Department of Education; and

Board to deal with this now crisis situation will have a devastating impact on

the many students, families and teachers in Mount Pearl Senior High, Mount Pearl

Intermediate, St. Peter's Elementary, and Newtown Elementary; and

WHEREAS there are other less disruptive solutions which

can be introduced to alleviate this overcrowding issue, including capital

investment as a preferred option, as well as catchment area realignment; and

the financial flexibility by the Minister of Education to explore other more

suitable options; and

WHEREAS the government has intervened in board

decisions in the past such as in 2005 in Bishop's Falls, reversing the closure

of Leo Burke Academy.

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge to the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to intervene in this matter, commit appropriate

options.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I have stood on my feet now several times

presenting this petition, first to the former Minister of Education and he did

not see fit to intervene in what I believe was a very poor decision.

Subsequent to that, we have a new minister.

I have likewise presented to him and as well, asked questions in Question

Period. He has indicated that he is

not prepared to move on the stance that the decision will stand.

This is obviously very disappointing news for sure for

the students, for the families in the Mount Pearl school system who are going to

be impacted quite negatively.

Granted, not everybody will be negatively impacted but there will be many, many

students who will be.

I am certainly disappointed by the fact that this

decision will not be revisited, even though we have a precedent in the past

where it has been; but, that said, I committed to a Grade 4 student of Newton

Elementary, who presented me with a whole load of petitions which he gathered in

his neighbourhood on this important issue, my commitment to him was that I would

continue to present these petitions as long as the House was open.

I am certainly doing so on his behalf and on behalf of the many other

families who are going to be negatively impacted.

It is a shame that the government is not willing to

change its mind on this, but certainly I will continue to work with the

students, the families, and with the minister on any changes that do occur to

make sure it is (inaudible) when possible.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The member's time has expired.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move, seconded by the Member for Port de Grave, as

Board, to ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax

Act, 2000 No. 2., Bill 20, and that the said bill be now read the first time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that the hon. the Minister of Finance shall have leave to

introduce a bill,

An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, 2000 No. 2., Bill 20, and

KING:

Tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 20 read a first time, ordered read a

second time on tomorrow.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this time I would like to call from the Order Paper,

Order 6, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend Various Acts Of The Province

Respecting The Publication Of A

Summary Of A Decision Or Order Of An

is moved and seconded that Bill 8,

An Act To Amend Various Acts Of The Province

Respecting The Publication Of A

Summary Of A Decision Or Order Of An

Adjudication Tribunal, be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend

Various Acts Of The Province Respecting The Publication Of A

Summary Of A

Decision Or Order Of An Adjudication Tribunal.

(Bill 8)

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR.

DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a bill with a

long title.

I will take some time now to explain the meaning of this title and just

to review it again for members of the House and people tuned into this.

It is

An Act To Amend Various Acts so it is

an act that is going to

have implications for a number of acts Of The Province Respecting The

Publication Of A

Summary Of A Decision Or Order Of An Adjudication Tribunal.

Mr. Speaker, this bill consists of two sets of

amendments. The first set of

amendments amends four health profession governing statutes to remove the

discretion of a court to order that a

summary of a decision or order of an

adjudication tribunal not be published.

Those four statutes that contain this amendment are the Chiropractors Act

2009, the Health Professions Act, the Medical Act, 2011, and the Social Workers

Act.

The second set of amendments amends all seventeen

health profession governing statutes to provide a court with the discretion to

order that certain information not be included in the published

summary of a

decision or order of an adjudication tribunal.

These decisions and orders are made as part of a disciplinary process.

Mr. Speaker, health profession governing bodies are

responsible for the regulation of health professions in this Province.

They are responsible for establishing standards of practice and standards

of conduct of their members. They

are also responsible for registering individuals who meet the health professions

educational training and certification requirements.

Only those individuals who meet the registration requirements are

permitted to practice as a regulated health professional.

These regulatory bodies do good work every day in

fulfilling their roles for the people of this Province who avail of the services

of a health care professional. One

of the most important duties of a health profession regulatory body in its

protection of the public is to administer the disciplinary process set out in

its governing statute.

Mr. Speaker, each health profession governing statute

contains a detailed disciplinary process that is generally consistent across all

health professionals. Each step of

the disciplinary process is set out in legislation.

The process begins with an allegation made that a health professional has

engaged in conduct deserving of sanction.

The registrar, with the consent of the complainant and the health

professional, may resolve the complaint; however, if it is not resolved, the

complaint is referred to the complaints authorization committee to conduct an

investigation.

Where there are reasonable grounds following the

investigation to believe that the health professional has engaged in conduct

deserving of sanction, the complaint may be referred to an adjudication tribunal

for hearing. All of the health

profession governing statutes require that the hearing be held in public, unless

the adjudication tribunal decides to exclude the public.

In circumstances where the consequences of possible disclosure of

personal matters of a party to the complaint, or to a witness, outweigh the

preference to hold a hearing in public, the adjudication tribunal may decide to

exclude the public from the hearing or part of the hearing.

Where a health professional has been found guilty of

conduct deserving of sanction, the adjudication tribunal has the ability to make

the following types of orders: It may order that the health professional be

suspended for a fixed period of time, and that he or she meet certain conditions

imposed by the adjudication tribunal.

It may order that the health professional surrender his or her

certificate and that his or her name be stricken from the register.

It may order that the health professional pay a fine.

An adjudication tribunal may also require a health professional to obtain

medical treatment, obtain counselling including substance abuse counselling or

treatment, engage in a continuum of education, and permit periodic inspection of

records related to his or her practice.

These orders play an important role in the protection

of the public. Once the adjudication

tribunal has reached a decision the following must occur: The decision is filed

with the registrar of the health profession regulatory body.

A copy of the decision is provided to the complainant, the health

professional, and the health professional's employer. In some cases, a copy must

also be provided to the Minister of Health and Community Services.

This quite often happens in the cases of nurses and physicians in the

Province.

The registrar maintains a copy of the decision for a

minimum period of time, and most statues require the registrar to maintain the

decision for five years but some statutes require that the decision be

maintained for ten years. The

registrar shall, upon request, permit a person to view the disciplinary records

of the health professional being maintained by the registrar.

In some of the health profession governing statutes, the registrar may

also give notice to the adjudication tribunal's decision and information

respecting the decision to other persons to whom the council or board of

regulatory body direct.

Where the decision of the adjudication tribunal imposes

a sanction on the health professional's practice, for example, where the health

professional is suspended from practicing or where restrictions or conditions

are placed on his or her practice, the registrar must publish a

summary of the

decision in a newspaper of general circulation in or nearest to the community in

which the health professional practices.

Where the publication is required, each statute sets

out the specific information that shall be published.

This information is as follows: the name of the health professional and

the address of his or her practice; the date, location and a brief description

of the conduct of the health professional that was found to be deserving of

sanction; the name of the complainant, unless the complainant has requested that

his or her name be withheld; the sanctions imposed and other information that

the adjudication tribunal has specified in the decision to be published.

The health profession governing statutes are not

consistent in their approach to publication of decisions.

The amendments set out in this bill will require the publication of

decisions of adjudication tribunals in all cases.

There will, however, be the ability for an individual to make an

application to the court to seek that certain information be withheld from

publication. It will be up to the

court to weigh the risks and benefits of publishing a particular piece of

information required by the statute.

Mr. Speaker, officials in my department have closely

examined the mandatory publication provisions contained in all of the health

professions governing statutes. The

amendments set out in the bill create a consistent approach across all of the

health profession governing statutes to require that summaries of decisions or

orders be published where a health professional is suspended or his or her right

to practice has been restricted. The

public has a right to be made aware of the suspensions and restrictions,

particularly as individuals make health care provider choices.

Mr. Speaker, while we see mandatory publication as the

appropriate approach, we do acknowledge that there may be extenuating

circumstances where the publication of all of the information required by the

statute may cause undo harm to the complainant, the health professional, a

witness to the adjudication hearing, or another person.

The bill will thus amend four statutes to make a

publication of a

summary of a decision or order of an adjudication tribunal

mandatory by removing the discretion of the court to order that the

summary not

be published. The bill will also

amend all seventeen health profession statutes to include the ability of a

health professional or other party affected by the publication of a decision of

an adjudication tribunal to apply to the court for an order that certain pieces

of information be withheld from the publication of the

summary.

This change will balance the public's right to know with the health

professional or other party's right in not being unduly harmed by the

publication. We believe that the

court is well positioned to determine whether publication of all or some of the

information is appropriate in the circumstances.

Mr. Speaker, the effect of this bill will be that the

publication of summaries of decisions or orders of the adjudication tribunals

must occur in all cases; however, the specific information to be published may

be limited by the courts in extenuating circumstances as I have previously

described. These amendments will

support the role of health professions regulatory bodies to protect the public

interest in ensuring that competent health professionals are providing quality

health care to the people Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the time today to

introduce this bill in second reading, and I ask all hon. members of the House

to join me in supporting this bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER (Verge):

The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am happy to stand today to speak to Bill 8,

An Act to

Amend Various Acts of the Province Respecting the Publication of A

Summary of A

Decision or Order of an Adjudication Tribunal.

Certainly, this is a very long-worded title but it is an important piece

of legislation, as are any that come before us here in the House of Assembly.

Being the Health critic, I had the opportunity to

review this piece of legislation and to understand the purpose of it and what it

is stands for. When you look at the

act itself, it is quite thick but it is because there are so many different

pieces of legislation that are being amended and dealing with so many health

professionals in this Province.

For the sake of making sure that they are all

recognized here, the different pieces of legislation are: the Chiropractors Act,

Dental Act, Denturists Act, Dieticians Act, Dispensing Opticians Act, Health

Professions Act, Hearing Aid Practitioners Act, Licensed Practical Nurses Act,

Massage Therapy Act, Medical Act, Occupational Therapists Act, Optometry Act,

Pharmacy Act, Physiotherapy Act, Psychologists Act, Registered Nurses Act, and

Social Workers Act.

Basically what we have is twofold here.

There are four acts that already have the purpose of this legislation

there. Those four acts will be

amended. What they are going to do

then is add thirteen new ones, take these seventeen and have them so that the

language stays the same; the purpose being to govern health care professionals,

especially when it comes to the publication of decisions against them.

The first thing to understand when it comes to these

professions and there are a number of other professions in this Province is

that when you are self-regulating you have a body, usually called a college or

you have a registrar who administers the body.

We have talked in this House before about the importance of keeping high

standards when it comes to self-regulation of anybody.

I happen to be a member of the Law Society of

Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the

same thing; it is a self-regulating body where you govern yourself.

If you do not maintain the standards, then at some point you will not be

self-regulating and, therefore, you do not have the control.

That is why I do believe that all professionals in this Province take

every attempt they can to make sure that the high standards are there, the high

standards are met because what affects one affects all.

In many ways you could say that us in the House as

Members of the House of Assembly are the same way, what affects one really

affects us all and, therefore, you want everybody to have high standards that

they must adhere to. Most

importantly, if something does happen we want there to be public notice so that

everybody out there in the public who may avail of these services or avail of

these individuals is aware of that.

It is fairly simple but I want to go through sort of a

background. I am going to deal

specifically with health care professionals.

For the sake of ease here, I am just going to say health care

professional when I am talking about all the different professions that are

referenced here. Anybody out there

can make a complaint against a health care professional, anybody whatsoever.

Those complaints are usually referred to as allegations.

I think that is the first part we must remember, is how

important this is, because we live in a very small Province.

We live in very, relatively small communities, therefore, any allegation

to me is quite serious because whether it is proven or not it affects the

credibility and the reputation of the person it is made against, and in many

ways, the person who made it. So

every allegation is, and should be, treated very seriously.

Now many of these and they are all taken in, they are

all handled, every single one. Some,

though, go a certain way, some do not.

Many complainants are dealt with internally.

For example, you may have a doctor, a health care professional who is

providing a service to a patient, the patient does not like something about that

service, that patient makes a complaint.

In a lot of cases it can be of a very minor nature.

In some cases you can resolve these allegations or complaints with a

simple apology.

If somebody feels you did not give them respect or you

may have been rude, they complain about it.

You say, I am sorry about that.

In a lot of cases that can be the end of it and it is done and over with.

I would state that the vast majority of complaints are of that nature.

Now sometimes you have cases where there are very

serious complaints, especially those dealing with malpractice that are made.

These go through a much more formal process.

Most colleges have what is called a Complaints Authorization Committee.

It is usually made up of the registrar, sometimes there is a public

representative, and it has their peers because it is peer based.

We are all held to these standards and we want to make sure all of our

peers are living up to that code.

We have a Complaints Authorization Committee that is

responsible for hearing this, and there is a process put in place to handle this

the entire way. In many cases, for

example, I have been told again, I only have personal knowledge of the Law

Society. We all learn right from the

start how these things are handled and how the Law Society is set up, the

different committees, but most of them are the same way.

You may have two practitioners and a member of the

public. It goes through the process,

and I do not need to belabour the process.

It is investigated, evidence is given, maybe statements, maybe testimony,

whatever it is, but at the end of the day there is an investigation.

What we are dealing with is the case where there is a finding of say,

wrongdoing or something that is deserving of sanction.

I cannot get past the fact that every allegation we

live in a society where it is innocent until proven guilty, but we all know that

in many cases once an allegation is made it is very serious and it can affect

that person's livelihood, their reputation, their standing in the community.

That is why I know how serious these are, especially when you are

discussing individuals with a health care background.

These are people who we rely on, so it is treated serious.

You have the hearing.

If you are found not guilty, it is dismissed, it is done.

It is over with. If you are

found guilty of conduct deserving sanction or it may be some other formal

language, there are a number of actions that can take place.

You can be suspended, there are conditions can be put on your employment,

there are fines. In some cases you

may have to give up your licence to practice, you may require counselling, a

number of measures all of which are very serious that can be taken.

Here is where I get to the crux of the matter.

If a professional is found guilty, these acts require that the registrar

of the college must publish a

summary of a decision or order of an adjudication

tribunal in a newspaper of general circulation in or nearest to the community in

which the respondent practises within 14 days of the expiry of the appeal

period unless a court orders otherwise. That

is the bold ink part here, unless a court orders otherwise.

We all know the purpose of this and the reason we would

have this. If any professional is

found guilty of conduct deserving sanction then the individuals in that

community have a right to know, they have a right to see this.

That is part of sanctioning yourself, of being self-regulating.

That has to be done within a very reasonable period of time.

The published

summary must include: the name of the

respondent or the individual found guilty of the conduct; their address of their

practice; the date, location and a brief description of the conduct found to be

deserving of sanction; the name of the complainant, unless the complainant

themselves state that they do not wish for that to be public; the contents of

the order in relation to the actions, so what were the penalties that were

found; and any other information specified for publication in the decision or

order.

In a lot of cases it is as they say, it is who, what,

where, when, or why. Who is being

sanctioned? Why are they being

sanctioned? Where is it that they

are practicing? What is the decision

that was made? How are they being

punished? In many cases you can have

the other individual if they wish to be found.

Obviously, in many cases they do not wish to.

It takes a lot to come forward, and in many cases they want their

information or their name withheld.

What is this bill doing?

This bill is taking language out of four acts and putting the same

language in seventeen through a number of simultaneous amendments to these

various health professionals acts.

We are making the language the same with regard to the publication of the

summary information.

Four statutes, the Chiropractors Act, the Health

Professions Act, the Medical Act, and the Social Workers Act already had

sections that gave the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador the discretion

to order that prescribed information not be included in the published

summary.

That is the part that they wanted removed here.

There was four acts that said a judge, upon going to court, can say: No,

you do not need to put that information out there.

That is being removed. We are

taking the language from those four, standardizing the language, and putting it

back in these seventeen.

The courts had the discretion to order that certain

information not be included. I guess

what it did was recognize that sometimes there are circumstances that allow for,

if the posting of the information were to happen, harm would come to certain

people. So, individuals had a right

to go to court and let a judge decide whether that should be there or not.

In our briefing with the officials of the department

and again, we all know that but for these individuals in the department and the

people that the legislation affects, many of us would have no idea that this was

going on, or why it was going on or issues with the legislation.

In many cases, the legislation is driven by the individuals that it

affects. Sometimes it can be driven

by the public; but, in many cases, with these acts it is the groups themselves

that express concerns to the department, the conversations take place, and then

the negotiation, I am sure. Then we

figure out: Should we change the legislation; if we do, what is the result going

to be?

The officials at the briefing have told us this is an

attempt to find a balance between wanting information published and ensuring

that information that could cause harm not be published.

The statutes themselves when it comes to these professionals are all

found to be good; that is not an issue.

What we want is clear, concise, and across-the-board legislation that

affects everybody in the same way.

To reiterate, we are changing the legislation and now

people still have the ability to go to court and they can talk to a judge and

the judge will figure out whether it should go there or not.

We all know that going to a court is not an easy process, it is not a

cheap process and it is not a fast process, but that is just the nature of how

it is. The people who make this

application are going to incur time and money.

If they want this information not published, again they are going to be

taking the responsibility of doing that.

I know I am going to get an opportunity to put this

forward in Committee, but I think my experience in the legislative agenda

suggests that if I put an issue forward in second reading, in many cases, the

minister's staff have an opportunity to address that; and even by the time the

minister stands to close the debate, he may have the answers to these questions,

rather than waiting. Then, by

Committee, I have an opportunity, if I do not like the answer or need further

clarification, I can stand again.

I have noticed that in my short period of time here it

seems like a constructive way to ask questions; you get the information back.

Because at the end of the day here a lot of this legislation is not

contentious, per se; it is not something that people notice day to day.

It is not something they are dealing with, but it is our job to ask these

questions; because there is nothing worse than coming back here and amending an

act that you just amended, when you could have put the question forward and had

it done right the first time.

One of the things we do as an Opposition is, in many

cases, we hear from individuals who are affected by pieces of legislation.

It is not that they are affected in a bad way.

In many cases, they are affected and they just want to know how it

affects us.

So, the question that I do have for the minister and

the department is: Has each of these seventeen groups and maybe it is not

seventeen groups; it maybe more than that because I know there is the Health

Professions Group. Has any group

that has been affected been consulted?

Has every single one that has been affected consulted?

I am not just going to say consulted; I am going to say consulted at

least in a meaningful way in that we say: Look, this is what we are planning on

doing.

Now, I have no doubt that a number of groups were

consulted. My issue is: Has every

group been consulted? Because there

is nothing worse than an individual group, or person having legislation put

forward that affects them not have an opportunity to address it or speak to it.

In many cases, people do not pay attention, but I think that is our job,

and my job, as the Health critic, is to put this forward.

I am hoping that we will get the answer to that either in the conclusion

of second reading, or during the Committee phase.

I am wondering I have had concerns put forward to me

by groups. They have taking the

opportunity to contact me. I know

that they have contacted the minister's staff.

One of the things that I am hearing is: On a greater scale, we do not

have a problem with Bill 8. Bill 8

on its face is productive, it makes sense, and we do not have an issue with it;

however, what they are concerned with is the financial implication their group

may have in responding to allegations pertaining to the publication of

decisions.

So again, coming back to what I was saying.

There was a piece of legislation we talked a couple of years ago where we

said: There is nothing wrong with the court; but if we force people to go to

court all the time, it costs money.

Not everybody has government lawyers to do this.

What I am saying is this group, in particular, and

other groups have said to me: Look, I have no problem with the legislation, it

makes sense; but if I have to go to court on behalf of our members on a regular

basis and I do not think it is going to be regular because I do not think

there is a long history of the usage of this.

Were they consulted and did they have an opportunity to discuss this?

I think there is nothing better than a piece of legislation that when it

is passed, there is nobody complaining about it because they said we had every

opportunity to speak, be spoken to, ask questions, and have answers given.

There are groups out there that I do not believe were

consulted prior to this bill coming forward.

I still think there is time that if they have not, that the consultation

should happen. I think that it would

be a better way for this to happen.

I have no doubt that the minister, who is fairly new in

his role this legislation was drafted well before he got there.

I am just putting this forward in that a lot of the department would have

stayed probably the same. Did they

go out and speak to these people, at least to talk to them?

Not just speak so that you are checking off a box because sometimes there

is too much of that goes on; but a case of speaking, hearing the concerns,

trying to address them, and going from there.

I do put that forward.

I am sure the minister will get back to me either at some point today,

tomorrow, whenever we get an opportunity.

I may have some more questions.

I did have a note made here.

The last question is: It is one thing to talk about the legislation, the last

part is that this legislation has a significant effect on every member of that

particular organization. Using my

own example if there was a change to the Law Society Act that affects me, I

would want to know. I would want to

know what happened and how it affects me.

Should I prepare for it? How

do I prepare for it?

What I am wondering is after the passage of this

legislation, will there be a notice provided to each of these colleges to make

sure they are fully aware of it, the discussion that happened, when this bill

we know that this bill is going to get passed.

I plan on supporting the bill in principle; it is a sensible piece of

legislation. Will these groups all

get an opportunity to have their say and then after it happens, be notified so

that they can notify their membership?

That is quite simply the only way to do it.

That is the best way to handle these things.

I think I have had ample opportunity to speak to this.

I probably will stand up again in the Committee stage.

I appreciate the opportunity to have the department speak to us about

this bill, as I have on other bills.

I appreciate the opportunity to maybe illustrate a bit about how these processes

work, because they are a very serious process.

When you have somebody who makes an allegation against you and it could

affect your livelihood, then that is important.

It is also important to the person who may have had wrongdoing upon them,

having that opportunity to make a complaint, to make sure that the same thing

does not happen to somebody else.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this bill, Mr.

Speaker, and I look forward to the Committee stage.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Humber West.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

GRANTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Indeed it is a pleasure this afternoon to stand up for

a few minutes to speak to Bill 8,

An Act to Amend Various Acts of the Province

Respecting the Publication of a

Summary of a Decision or Order of an

Adjudication Tribunal.

The first set of amendments, as outlined by the

minister, is to amend the four health professions governing statutes to remove

the discretion of a court to order that a

summary of a decision or order of an

adjudication tribunal not be published.

Those four statutes are: the Chiropractors Act, 2009; the Health

Professions Act; the Medical Act, 2011; and the Social Workers Act.

The second set of amendments amends all seventeen

statutes to provide the court with discretion to order that certain information

not be included in the published

summary of a decision or order of an

adjudication tribunal. As the hon.

member from across the way just spoke, it brings those four and the remaining

thirteen together under one, into one clear, concise act.

Those seventeen will include: the Chiropractors Act,

2009; Dental Act, 2008; the Denturists Act, 2005; the Dietitians Act; Dispensing

Opticians Act, 2005; the Health Professions Act; Hearing Aid Practitioners Act;

Licensed Practical Nurses Act, 2005; Massage Therapy Act, 2005; Medical Act,

2011; Occupational Therapists Act, 2005; Optometry Act, 2012; Pharmacy Act,

2012; Physiotherapy Act, 2006; Psychologists Act, 2005; Registered Nurses Act,

2008; and the Social Workers Act.

Mr. Speaker, if anyone had to take the act up and look,

and my colleagues who are speaking to it and members of the Opposition and Third

Party who will speak to it, they would look at the act and think the act is

quite large in its depth, but it is not as complicated as it looks on paper.

It is really repetitive in nature because it takes all of these seventeen

statutes and brings them together under one.

It is really a repeat as we go through the different statutes.

All the health professionals in Newfoundland fall under

one of these statutes that I just listed in the seventeen, Mr. Speaker.

I just want to take a moment to use an example directly from the act.

I will use the Chiropractors Act, 2009, just to see the changes, what

will be deleted and what will be added.

Again, what I am about to speak to in the next minute or two is for the

Chiropractors Act, 2009, but it is reflective of all the other sixteen statutes

that I just listed off, Mr. Speaker.

It says, Subsections 30(3) and (4) of the

Chiropractors Act, 2009 are repealed and the following substituted:

(3) The

registrar shall publish a

summary of a decision or order of an adjudication

tribunal in a newspaper of general circulation in or nearest to the community in

which the respondent practises within 14 days of the expiry of the appeal period

provided in

section 36, where the decision or order (

a) suspends the respondent;

(

b) allows or directs the respondent to surrender his or her licence; (

c) restricts the respondent's practice; (

d) specifies conditions for the continuing

practice of the respondent; or (

e) requires that a

summary of the decision or

order be published.

Under subsection (4) Unless a court orders otherwise,

the

summary of the decision published under subsection (3) shall include (

a) the

name of the respondent and the address where he or she practises; (

b) the date,

location and a brief description of the conduct of the respondent that was found

to be deserving of sanction; within each of these statutes (

c) the name of

the complainant, unless the complainant has requested that his or her name be

withheld; (

d) the contents of the order in relation to the actions referenced in

paragraphs (3)(

a) to (d); and (

e) other information specified for publication in

the decision or order.

Mr. Speaker, if I had to speak to all of the seventeen

statutes, basically it would be a cut and paste of the Chiropractors Act as it

will show up now in the new statutes.

It will be the same for the Dental Act, the Denturists Act, the

Dieticians Act, et cetera, for all of the seventeen different statutes.

Mr. Speaker, protecting the health of Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians in general is what we are all about.

It is what the people of Newfoundland and Labrador want.

It is what the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador want, and I know

it is what the Opposition and the Third Party want.

That is what the residents want.

This is just one act within the health care system,

throughout the health care system that will bring continuity across all of the

statutes, such that we have a way of knowing how we approach disciplinary

actions, Mr. Speaker, if they so arise.

We have enacted legislation that requires health professionals, and

ensures they follow appropriate conduct and handle themselves in a manner that

is consistent and protects the patient or client.

We have absolutely wonderful and fabulous health care workers right

through all the professions in Newfoundland and Labrador.

That is something we all know as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

There have been cases in our past history in Newfoundland there have

not been many, but there have been cases in the past whereby we have needed

the acts to have to follow.

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member across the way just

spoke, he referenced that we always come up with situations whereby there are

issues by which we need to make a decision on.

We go back to the health care system or in some other system in the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, a lot of these decisions are made and are

dealt with on an internal basis.

There is a big difference, Mr. Speaker, in the health

care system from a medical practitioner or professional not returning a phone

call on time, or taking too long to fill out a form.

Those kinds of complaints may occur, and I am sure they do occur these

kinds of complaints are dealt with on an internal basis and can be dealt with

fairly quickly. When we get into a

malpractice suit or getting into a health care provider not providing the

appropriate care in a timely fashion, those are the kinds of decisions that will

need really the power of the legislation and the power of the statutes in order

to resolve. We see those from time

to time and we have had histories of those in the health care profession and

perhaps in other professions in the Province.

Mr. Speaker, health professionals could be suspended

for a fixed period of time, and that he or she meets certain conditions imposed

by the adjudication tribunal, may order a health professional to surrender his

or her certificate and that his or her name be stricken from the register, or

order a health professional to pay a fine amongst others.

I believe the minister, when he spoke to this earlier this afternoon,

listed off some of the other sanctions that can actually happen.

It is important to remember that these orders play an

important role in the protection of the public.

That is what I want to stress to the people who are listening at home

this afternoon that what this legislation does or the amendments to this

legislation are all about, Mr. Speaker and the people of the Province need to

know it is about protecting the health and care of the residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador who find themselves involved in the health care system in the

Province from time to time.

Mr. Speaker, it is not the intention of the publication

regulation through this act to act as an additional form of punishment for the

individual; however, it is recognized that the unintended emotional trauma

experienced for having the information made public may be too much for certain

individuals and lead to health complications from stress, anxiety, and other

potential mental health issues, not only for the health professional but also

for the client or the patient. This

government is moving forward with amendments to all respective seventeen

statutes which I identified, and the minister identified as well, and the hon.

Member for Burgeo La Poile.

Moving forward with these amendments in the health

profession governing statutes that require publications once an adjudication

tribunal has found an individual deserving of a sanction, these amendments and

this is the crux of what the amendments to the act and the bill do.

The crux of the bill is it will allow for health professionals or the

complainant to appeal to an impartial court process to determine if some of the

information pertaining to the sanction that was just brought down can be

withheld from publication where the publication would be detrimental to the

party's health, and that is detrimental to the health professional, or to the

patient or to the client.

The intent of these amendments, Mr. Speaker, is to

protect health professionals who feel that having this information published

will be damaging to them emotionally and mentally, and will impact their health

negatively. Likewise, complainants

may find that having certain information published may identify them or affect

them emotionally or mentally.

Especially, Mr. Speaker, when a lot of our communities are small communities,

and probably in some of our remote areas it is pretty easy to identify people;

and, in the age of protecting one's identity, a part of this legislation, a part

of this review, and a part of the amendments would be to protect the identity

and protect the individuals and protect their rights under our laws.

We will always aim to have appropriate disclosure of

information, especially concerning health care in the Province; however, there

may be instances where publishing all information may cause greater harm than

the intended good. You would not

want, when you implement a piece of legislation, the practice of the legislation

itself at the end of the day to do more harm than good from the intent of what

the legislation was about. We would

not want a client or a patient to be harmed by a piece of legislation which was

put in place to actually protect them.

I believe this is what this legislation does, Mr. Speaker.

It protects the patient and also protects the medical profession as well.

If a health care professional who appeals to the courts

to have information withheld from publication can appropriately demonstrate and

he or she can appropriately demonstrate that they will be negatively impacted to

the point of emotional and mental trauma, then it will be up to the courts to

make an impartial judgement in the case.

That is where we go in this country we go to the courts to make that

impartial judgment upon these kinds of regulations that we have in our country

and indeed in our Province. I think

that is very important to remember, that at the end of the day, if need be,

something needs to be stricken from what will be published, it will be the

courts of our Province that would make that impartial judgment on the case.

Mr. Speaker, I know there are others who will stand

this afternoon and speak to Bill 8, this act to amend those regulations.

I believe that they are important changes.

There is some housekeeping that is taking place there and bringing them

altogether jointly, bringing them altogether such that they are uniform across

all seventeen statutes.

I think it is a good piece of legislation as the member

from across the way for Burgeo La Poile stood in his place a few moments ago

and also agreed to the legislation.

I would ask for the support of the members of this House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I am glad to be able to stand today and speak to Bill

8, the Publication of Adjudication Tribunal Decisions Amendment Act.

It is a long name and if you do not know what it is related to, you

really would know what that title meant.

We have had quite a bit of explanation going on in the

House here already with regard to this bill.

In actual fact, it is a bill that deals with people in the public who

have complaints against various medical professions.

I think that it is the various professions actually.

We notice that there are seventeen statutes seventeen

different acts regarding complaints and discipline, and sixteen of them are for

stand-alone professions. The bill

names some of those professions it names them all actually.

You have the Chiropractors Act, the Dental Act, Denturists Act,

Dieticians Act, Dispensing Opticians Act; it goes through a whole list of

professions that are related to health care in the Province.

Then sixteen of them are for stand-alone professions

and the seventeent

Document details

Collection	Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	2014-05-26
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	2014-05-26
Language	en
Format	htm
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	40730cdbab907e07b4d42b73c1feebb8d312c4d1

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (htm).