December

8, 2009

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVI No. 36

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: The following members' statements will be heard: the hon.

the Member for the District of Mount Pearl North; the hon. the Member for the

District of Kilbride; and by leave, the hon. the Member for the District of

Conception Bay South.

Does the hon. Member for Conception Bay South have leave to participate in

members' statements - the hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

The hon. the Member for the District of Kilbride.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. DINN: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate

Mrs. Elizabeth Connolly on the occasion of her 100th birthday.

There are few people who have witnessed the historical events of the

twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Mrs. Elizabeth Connolly is one of those

individuals as she turned 100 years old on December 1, 2009.

She was born on December 1, 1909 to Michael and Elizabeth Connors of Pouch

Cove, Newfoundland. Elizabeth and her nine brothers and two sisters were raised

in rural Newfoundland and endured two World Wars, the Great Depression,

Confederation and countless historical discoveries.

Elizabeth married Thomas Frederick Connolly on October 15, 1934, and they

were blessed with two children. Elizabeth and Fred celebrated their golden

wedding anniversary in 1984, prior to his death the following year.

She has lived with her daughter and son-in-law in Kilbride for the past

twenty-five years. She has five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and many

other friends and family members who love her dearly.

Elizabeth is a remarkable woman who loves to share stories of days gone by.

She has shaped and touched many lives over her remarkable years, and we wish her

good health and happiness as she celebrates this incredible milestone.

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

congratulating Mrs. Connolly on this happy occasion.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENT: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize the Mount Pearl Lions Club for

its commitment and years of service to the City of Mount Pearl and its

residents.

The Lions Club organization is the largest service organization in the world,

with over 1.3 million members. In Newfoundland and Labrador alone, there are

fifty-three clubs in N4 Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, thirty-nine clubs in

N3 Western Newfoundland and Labrador, which includes over 2,000 members.

The Mount Pearl Lions Club is very active in our community, offering its

services to many programs that serve our residents. Club members run youth

speak-offs, the annual Santa Claus parade, and numerous annual fundraisers to

ensure that those in need receive the assistance they require.

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

Mount Pearl Lions Club on the good work they have been doing in Mount Pearl and

wish them continued success in the future. I believe that the Mount Pearl Lions

Club is committed to building a strong community, and they have helped

significantly in achieving this goal in Mount Pearl.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Conception Bay

South.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. FRENCH: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate

Master Corporal Michael Bursey, formerly of CBS, now residing in Brandon,

Manitoba.

On November 13, 2009 the Governor General, the Hon. Michaelle Jean awarded

the Medal of Military Valour to Master Corporal Michael Bursey for displaying

courage and decisive leadership when exposed to enemy fire. Master Corporal

Bursey repeatedly returned to a burning vehicle to help the injured and tend to

causalities while being ambushed by the Taliban. Due to his efforts, five people

were saved; however, three of his comrades were killed.

I would like to recognize the tremendous contribution he has made and is

making on behalf of our country. None of us can truly understand the environment

that our Canadian Forces work in, but yet we do know that without people like

Master Corporal Bursey and his comrades, we cannot continue to enjoy the

freedoms we enjoy today.

I have known Michael and his family my whole life and I am truly honoured to

speak to his accomplishments here today.

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

Corporal Michael Bursey on being recognized for his outstanding service to our

country and wish him God's speed in all future assignments.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

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

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the provincial government delivers a suite of financial and

non-financial programs focused on helping local businesses address labour market

conditions, explore avenues to maximize productivity, and to open doors to new

opportunities.

As a government, we have introduced more than $87 million in programs that

provide local businesses and organizations with greater access to financial

resources that help get projects off the ground.

Equally important, is the broad spectrum of non-financial programs that

provide participants with direct access to sector and trade specialists who can

help connect them to available resources, along with information and networking

opportunities designed to help them realize success.

To date, Mr. Speaker, workshops on manufacturing, business development,

export readiness, and large scale procurement have proven beneficial for

individuals and businesses across all regions of our Province.

In particular, workshops aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises

enhance their understanding of the benefits of effective intellectual property

protection have been positively received. The diverse mix of the more than 200

attendees of five sessions in St. John's, Corner Brook, and Gander reflects

the progressive nature of the local business community and their keenness to

acquire knowledge as part of improving their competitiveness.

Sessions cover the various types of intellectual property protection and that

includes trademarks, patents, trade secrets, and copyrights. More importantly,

Mr. Speaker, it emphasizes the importance of these measures and provides

valuable advice about how and when to apply them.

Mr. Pat King, the owner of King's Enterprises in Springdale, reported that

the intellectual property session in Corner Brook was extremely informative.

Since the session, he is applying information gathered to prepare a business

plan and commercialize his patented idea.

Mr. Roger Power, the CEO of Versus Technologies in St. John's said,

"We are now better able to license our television software applications to

customers throughout the world. Our markets have expanded to include a dozen

countries including the United States, Portugal, Greece and China. The

Intellectual Property Workshops connect the experts in the field to innovative

small businesses like ours. It is invaluable."

That is just a snapshot of some of the value that has been communicated in

response to the workshops. These free workshops ensure that businesses can

explore all matters relating to protecting their valuable assets. It is an issue

that should be heavily considered by all businesses when commercializing their

products and seeking to improve their competitiveness. Early in the new year,

workshops will be held on the Northern Peninsula and in Labrador.

I encourage all interested businesses and individuals to contact the

Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development for more information.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits &

White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to thank the minister for an advance copy of this statement, and

acknowledge that it is great to do whatever government can to support small

business across the Province.

Entrepreneurs need more capital, more information and certainly a reliable

labour supply. It is well known that the rural labour supply is tight and

getting tighter all the time. So, intellectual property information, while it is

complex and can be difficult for the small business person to access, any

efforts in those areas are useful for those who need it. Certainly, to see it

going further out into rural Newfoundland is encouraging.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi.

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

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

him, actually, for following up on responding to a question I asked earlier this

year with regard to uptake on the workshops that the department was doing. So it

is good to get this information. Being able to access money for development

certainly helps small to medium-sized business indeed.

I notice that the minister, in his statement, encourages, at the end, all

interested businesses and individuals to contact the department, and I would be

interested in knowing how proactive the communication is to get small and

medium-sized businesses involved. Is there contact besides just advertising in

the media? That would be interesting to know from the minister as well.

I am delighted to know that these workshops are going on, not just for the

learning of the small to medium businesses, but I am sure that during the

workshops, the department probably also gets an opportunity to learn more from

the businesses what they need from the department.

So thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. F. COLLINS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, December 4, I had the privilege of attending the

graduation of correctional officer recruits at the Canadian Forces Station St.

John's Drill Hall. This ceremony was afforded the pomp and circumstance

appropriate for the graduation of such a distinguished class.

Twenty-seven recruits, Mr. Speaker, graduated from an intensive twenty-week

training program, which includes two weeks instruction, fourteen weeks work

placement, followed by an additional four weeks of instruction. This

comprehensive program covers important topics such as mental health awareness,

suicide prevention, and substance abuse, use of force and arrest and control.

The training regiment of our correctional officers now includes them as some of

the best trained and prepared in the country.

We have taken a progressive step forward, Mr. Speaker, and hired correctional

officers from regions of the Province where correctional facilities are located

and these officers will work at those facilities. It is also noteworthy that

these twenty-seven correctional officers join twenty-seven other officers

already trained and working in corrections since January 2009.

Mr. Speaker, this program is a direct result of the efforts put forth by our

government to address the recommendations of Decades of Darkness: Moving Towards

the Light, the independent review of adult corrections. Following a

recommendation of that review, the current graduating class consists of

one-third female officers. This initiative supplements our creation of an

additional six female designate correctional officer positions.

Mr. Speaker, our government has invested heavily in adult corrections,

including an additional $7 million since receipt of the review. Budget 2009

increased funding to over $37 million. These new officers will be working in a

much improved environment as seventy-three of the review's seventy-seven

recommendations have either been implemented or are in progress. This can

largely be attributed to improved leadership in corrections, and thus improved

staff relations and morale. Evidence of this is the fact that this year for the

first time in twenty-five years, Mr. Speaker, we signed the first collective

agreement with correctional officers without resorting to arbitration.

Mr. Speaker, psychological services are now present at all facilities, and an

additional 1,600 square feet of space for programming, medical services and

offices at Her Majesty's Penitentiary have been added. A full-time

psychologist and a second nurse are now present at this facility. We are also

re-establishing the land-based program at the Labrador Correctional Centre, and

we have increased partnerships at Her Majesty's Penitentiary with stakeholder

groups such as the Canadian Mental Health Association, Turnings and the John

Howard Society. Similarly, Stella Burry Community Services are providing

counselling and support to inmates at the Newfoundland and Labrador Correctional

Centre for Women in Clarenville.

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

congratulations to the twenty-seven new correctional officers who have joined

the ranks of our corrections service and I wish them well in a rewarding career.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

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

like to congratulate these new correctional officers; they have certainly

entered upon a worthy and worthwhile career. It is one of the very stressful

environments to work in, of course, when you work in corrections, but we know

these initiatives of government have indeed enhanced the morale of those persons

who are involved in that particular area of employment.

As well, a lot of these initiatives that have been undertaken, of course,

give the correctional officers some appropriate intervention options when it

comes to dealing with the complex needs that arise from time to time in the

institution.

Also, of course, with more staff you can do things that sometimes you do not

get time for such as recreational opportunities and so on. So I understand that

is on a better par than it was.

There were a couple of things, as the minister alluded to, that are not

completed yet, and I raised some questions about that earlier the week. One

being the pretrial detention centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and hopefully

that will proceed in a timely fashion, because I do believe that was a very

important part of the proposals and recommendations that were put forward, as

well as the hiring of the addictions counsellor. I think the sooner that

happens, the better of course for all concerned.

Ultimately, of course, we look forward to seeing the replacement of Her

Majesty's Penitentiary, because I do firmly believe, as do a lot of others in

the legal profession and so on who deal with this, that unless we ultimately

replace HMP, a lot of these well worth and worthwhile initiatives may not come

to their true fruition.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement, and I happy

to join in congratulating the graduates on completing their twenty-week training

program. I am also very glad that the minister noted that one-third of the

graduates are female officers. That is a really good step in that direction.

It is good news that seventy-three of the seventy-seven recommendations have

been put in place, as has already been noted by my colleague, but unfortunately,

we do know the state of the penitentiary here in St. John's, HMP. I fully

understand the discussion that is going on between the Province and the federal

government, but I would urge the minister to recognize that the Province does

have a responsibility to the inmates of HMP, and even if it means that we have

to say we are moving forward to build a provincial facility only, maybe that, in

itself, would force the federal government to do something, but we cannot

continue to have both inmates and staff down there for much longer.

It is going to take time to build it. The sooner we get a decision to build a

new penitentiary, the better. Having been there, having toured in recent times

in the late summer, I cannot say how appalled I am that we do have people living

and working in that situation. The programs are being affected; the staff and

inmates told me that the success of some of the programs is actually being

affected by the facility itself.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers.

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, last spring we raised the issue of asbestos problems at St. Pat's

nursing home in St. John's after hearing from workers concerned for their

health. We recently obtained, under the access to information act, occupational

health and safety reports regarding the asbestos exposure at this facility. They

confirmed that the building's asbestos management plan was not followed prior

to 2007.

I ask the minister today: Why wasn't an asbestos management plan being

followed, and have any changes been made since to protect the health of workers,

patients and families at this facility?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can indicate to the member opposite, we obviously are concerned about the

safety and well-being of all residents in long-term care facilities in this

Province. I am not aware of that specific study; it is certainly I will look at

and have a view of and see what steps have been taken. I can report to the

Leader of the Opposition on that.

Also, Mr. Speaker, I can indicate that earlier today I was going through a

number of documents in relation to the Budget, and there are a lot of proposals

for repairs to long-term care facilities in this Province. So not only are we

spending money, Mr. Speaker, in terms of building new long-term care facilities,

but we are also doing our best to ensure that the facilities that we do have are

kept up-to-date.

As soon as I find the answer, I will report back to the Opposition Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Documentation and e-mail correspondence was exchanged within government on

this issue. One departmental official of Government Services stressed the need

for a medical surveillance program to be implemented to assess any adverse

health impacts on staff and patients who may have been exposed to asbestos.

I ask the minister: Why did you not follow this advice and why was the

monitoring program not implemented?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate what the Minister of Health

has said, each and every one of the residents of our long-term care facilities

are the utmost in our minds and certainly in regard to their safety.

We all understand that various buildings built in the past have had various

asbestos problems, so we moved through that in a strategic way in regard to

addressing those problems. From our occupational health and safety side of it,

we set up a plan and then we moved forward with that plan and we continue to do

that on a continual basis. We cannot move it in such a way that it corrects all

the problems today, but certainly we correct them as we go through with the plan

in the future.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The recommendation was for a medical surveillance plan or program to be put

in place. Obviously, this would be for the protection of the workers and the

residents.

The report also stated that the employer had not fulfilled the

responsibilities for effective asbestos management, and as such, the same

deficiencies in workplace controls that were noted in the past continue to exist

today.

I ask the minister: In light of this information, are you prepared now to

commit to implementing the monitoring program that was recognized and

recommended by officials in your department?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Each and every one of our reports by our occupational health

and safety officers are taken very, very seriously by myself and my officials. I

have every intention of having a look at that report, making sure that we have

implemented whatever needs to be implemented, and to make sure that maybe the

actual corrective action has taken place already and it do not need to be

implemented. Certainly, if anything has to be put in place in regard to the

protection of the employees and the residents themselves, I will have a look at

that in the very, very near future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Registry of Deeds, which is located in the basement of Confederation

Building, and is accessed by the general public on a daily basis, legal title

searchers employed with various law firms throughout the Province work in a

vault of the registry where older property titles are kept. These workers have

expressed concerns about potential asbestos exposure in this area of the

registry, especially after fourteen out of thirty-five of these workers have now

been diagnosed with cancer over the last five years.

I ask the minister: Have you completed an intrusive asbestos inspection of

the Registry of Deeds, and if so, what were the findings?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, there have been studies done on various

buildings, including this one, itself, in regard to any asbestos content in any

building throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, including the East Block and West

Block, or wherever it may be. Also, the Registry of Deeds is in the process of

moving down to Elizabeth Avenue to a new location, which should happen very,

very soon a matter of fact, probably by the end of the new year, or early

into the new year. So they will have a new place of residence and conduct their

business which will be actually more beneficial to all concerned.

Certainly, we have done all kinds of studies and investigations with regard

to asbestos. Asbestos has been a huge problem for this government and past

governments, in regard to the life of our buildings that we find throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador. So we will move forward and have a look at all those

types of things.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the minister confirming that there was some testing done. I ask

if he could release the findings of that testing so that those employees could

see what was contained in the report.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I have no problem of identifying the

actual investigation that may have taken place over in the East Block in that

particular area. If there is a report, I shall certainly release it to the

public.

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Over the summer a provincial working group was formed with a goal of banning

the cosmetic use of pesticides in the Province. The coalition, which was

comprised of a number of professional groups, raised a public awareness over the

use of pesticides and the potential health impacts.

I am aware that the minister met with her Atlantic counterparts to discuss

this issue, and I ask her today: What analysis has your department done since

that time and what timelines and assurances can you give to the public that your

department will take action on that request?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, earlier on, I made a commitment to meet with all of the

stakeholders that would be involved in the issue of cosmetic pesticide use. I

have met with the Canadian Cancer Society and the Lung Association. I have met

with people involved in the industry itself in terms of applying the pesticides.

The Minister of Health and Community Services and myself has also made a

commitment, now that there is a new minister in that department, to meet with

the Canadian Cancer Society and the medical association again in the future.

As you said, we continuously do a review of the various regulations in other

provinces, and we will make a commitment to ensure that this issue is first and

foremost here as well.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The coalition, which is made up of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical

Association, the Newfoundland Nurses' Union, the Canadian Cancer Society and

the Lung Association, along with many others, has also been working with

Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador to have a resolution passed, which

recently did at their convention. It was calling for a province-wide ban on

cosmetic pesticide use.

I ask the minister: What action is planned to address the resolution that was

just passed at their convention and endorsed by all of the municipalities in the

Province?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, we are aware of that resolution. In fact, I have been in touch with

Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador. I also would like to add to that, I

believe the City of St. John's has also passed such a similar motion as well.

Again, we will continue to work toward the issue. There are some things that we

are looking at. You have to look at, in the case of Ontario or Quebec, I am not

sure at the moment, but there is an outstanding lawsuit now against one of those

provinces for banning a particular pesticide. So we want to be careful if we do

anything that we certainly do it right and we do not end up in a lawsuit. I

would certainly welcome the comments of the member opposite as to where your

position is on the pesticides use as well.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Under the Municipalities Act, communities cannot enact by-laws banning the

cosmetic use of pesticides, as this piece of legislation does not provide local

jurisdiction over safety or general welfare powers. That is what I understand

from dealing with the Federation of Municipalities. Without a directive from the

department or an amendment to the Municipalities Act, local leaders can do very

little to act on this issue without the provincial government bringing forward

some kind of legislation.

I ask: If you will commit at the minimum to make amendments to the act to

allow these municipalities to have more control and autonomy to enforce these

kinds of regulations?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Yes, Mr. Speaker. In response to the question from the

member opposite, obviously when concerns are raised - as we have seen concerns

raised in this House on any number of issues we will work with

Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador. We will work with the groups to make

sure, and within departments, to try and ensure that we take the right course of

action.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Now that the Minister of Transportation and Works is up, I have a couple of

questions for him. I am waiting to see if he has an early Christmas gift, Mr.

Speaker, for the people of Labrador. As we know, work is continuing on the

Trans-Labrador Highway between Cartwright and Goose Bay, and many people are

hoping that this road will be connected prior to Christmas.

I ask the minister: If he can give the people of Labrador and the people of

the Province an update on this highway connection and when it is expected to be

open to the general public?

He is so excited, Mr. Speaker, he cannot wait for me to finish my question.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: I say, Mr. Speaker, I do not want to look like a scrooge

or anything, I want to look like a Santa Claus in this one.

In response to the member opposite, this is a commitment this government made

that Phase III, the piece of highway, the Trans-Labrador Highway between

Cartwright Junction and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, 287 kilometres. We indicated

that we would do everything possible to get it done in this time period of 2009.

I say to the member opposite, we are very, very close in the sense that the

crews have indeed connected up both sides.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: That is the Santa part. The other

part is that of course

in coming together there is still a fair amount of work to make sure that that

highway

section is up to the standards for safety wise. So the crews are working

extremely, extremely hard. They have to put down a larger culvert and do some

other work but we are very, very hopeful that yes, we can get that open as soon

as possible.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the great Christmas present but it is certainly an

historic event and a lot of excitement in Labrador around it.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to ask the minister today, because as you know, with

regard to the ferry operations between the Island and Labrador, there are

periods of the year where we have some problems in terms of navigating that

particular service because of ice.

I ask the minister today: Has any consideration been given by your government

to establish a year-round ferry service between Labrador and the Island now that

we will have a road connection over the next year and be open and operational?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Again, Mr. Speaker, the first priority was indeed to get

the road open, which we are still working on. Of course, consideration must be

given now that that connection is close, that we look at year round. However,

that is under consideration and I would have to report back at some time later

as to whether we are going to go in that direction, but, again, we need to make

sure that we do the proper consultation with the parties involved to see that

there is a need and if indeed, how we can fulfil that particular need.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

My questions are also for the Minister of Transportation and Works.

Mr. Speaker, the MV Gallipoli , which operates from Burgeo to Ramea, is

scheduled for annual refit in the coming weeks. For the first time in the

history of these refits the whole crew is being laid off. These workers have

years and years of service with the department; yet, at this most sensitive time

of year they are being sent home.

My question for the minister is: Why are they being sent home, and is this

really necessary?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, on this particular issue, obviously, I would

like to check with my officials to make sure I have the facts correct and then I

will certainly bring those along to the House at the earliest convenience.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the required maintenance and painting and upkeep of the ferry,

of course, is always done by the crew during their annual refits because it

cannot be done while the vessel is actually in service. Now it appears that for

this attempt to save a few bucks, we have disrupted the lives of these

employees, we have forced them on to unemployment, and we have compromised the

vessel maintenance program.

I ask the minister: If you could check into this and see if this decision,

which appears to be short sighted and not well thought out, could in fact be

halted before it has these negative consequences?

Thank you.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Again, Mr. Speaker, obviously I indicated I would report

back, but in saying that, as well, we have an obligation as a government to make

sure that our ferries that are operating in the various parts of this Province

are in good shape, that they are up to scratch, up to whatever standards are.

Fortunately or unfortunately, they have to come out of service at particular

times in order for to get that work. I suspect that that is the case here, and

unfortunately, in taking out a ferry, that we do have some ramifications. Those

I will check on to make sure that they have been done in a manner that is in the

best interest of all.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits &

White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, during September of this year there were about 200 Memorial

University students who were on a wait-list for on-campus housing in St. John's.

These wait-lists were reported to be the longest the university has seen for

some years. In addition to this shortage of student housing, the vacancy rate

for housing in St. John's was at about 2.2 per cent, which is also an all-time

low. Although there was money allocated for the construction of two new

residences at MUN campus in the 2007 Budget, at the moment that project is at a

standstill and the space originally intended for the new buildings is currently

being used as a parking lot.

I ask the minister: Why has the project been put on hold, and when can we

expect to see construction resume in efforts to alleviate this housing shortage?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I say to the member opposite, probably one of the challenges with the housing

is the result of the lowest tuition in the country that is attracting students

to come to Newfoundland to study.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: The project itself, Mr. Speaker, is not on hold. As a matter of

fact, it is far from being on hold. We have had discussions with officials at

Memorial as early as the day before yesterday. There are a number of challenges

that we face there, that we are trying to work through. If the member opposite

is aware of the issue, he would be fully aware that there are multi-millions of

dollars committed to this project already. We are in the final stages now of

nailing down exactly the number of beds that we are going to build and how much

the project is going to cost. I say, Mr. Speaker, the project is very, very,

very far from on hold. It is actually a lot closer to moving forward than

anything else.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits &

White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We certainly appreciate what low tuition fees can do in the student

population, for sure. Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook is also

experiencing a shortage of student housing which poses many problems for

students trying to find a place to live, and Corner Brook is currently

experiencing a vacancy rate of 0.6 per cent, which is the lowest rental vacancy

rate of any large community in the Province. Back in August it was reported that

the college was still waiting to hear back from government with regard to

additional funding for an expansion of the proposed residence. It was reported

at that time that the college had been waiting for over a year to receive an

answer on the additional funding.

Again, I ask the minister: Has government committed additional funding for

the resident project in Corner Brook, and when is it anticipated that the

residence will be open to address the student housing shortage in that area?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the member opposite for his question. It is always a pleasure to

stand here and talk about Memorial, and of course Memorial's sister on the

West Coast, Grenfell. We are very proud of the programs we offer over there, and

for the same reason we are challenged in St. John's we are challenged in

Corner Brook, because people want to come to Grenfell and they want to study

there. They recognize the quality of the programs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: We recognize, Mr. Speaker, the value in Grenfell College and

what is over there. That is why we have invested in nearly $30 million for a new

academic building within the last three months, Mr. Speaker, for the West Coast.

The answer for the housing for the West Coast is the same as it is for

Memorial because it is a part of the same project, Mr. Speaker. We could move

forward today and we could do half of a job with a project, but we are committed

to do the best we can with the amount of money we have available. Grenfell and

Memorial, and their leadership teams are committed to work with us to ensure

that when we announce that project is moving forward, it is moving forward with

the maximum number of beds we can get and the best dollar value for that

project.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of The Straits &

White Bay North.

MR. DEAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, student housing continues to be an issue, not only for MUN but also

for CONA, the College of the North Atlantic. At its Labrador West campus, as

well as its St. Anthony campus, there are housing shortages. While government

has planned to invest $2 million to expand academic buildings, there is nothing

on the books in terms of addressing the housing shortage in Labrador West.

Again, I would ask the minister: Will the government also provide funding to

address the student housing needs in Western Labrador?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, I am sure that the member opposite is fully aware

that if we do not continue to invest in programs and facilities, there will be

no need for student housing because there will be nothing to study in.

Mr. Speaker, I say, first of all, we have to ensure that we have quality

facilities that are tailored to the program offerings that we have across the

Province, and that is for Memorial University and it is for our public college

system.

Mr. Speaker, the commitments that we made demonstrate our commitment to

post-secondary education in this Province and we will continue to follow the

path we followed for the last six or seven years on that, Mr. Speaker. We will

work with the College of the North Atlantic as they identify priorities that

they have for growing their programs and growing the enrolment in their

programs. If housing is identified, then we will obviously work with them to

address that as well.

Mr. Speaker, we have a plan laid out to follow with the College of the North

Atlantic, as we do with Memorial. It is a strategic plan to grow the programs

and to grow the student enrolment and make sure that the facilities we have

there are safe and secure for students and faculty.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My questions are for the minister of tidings of great joy today. Mr. Speaker,

the provincial government's decision to download operational and maintenance

costs for the planned extension to Team Gushue Highway to the cities of St. John's

and Mount Pearl is creating tension between the two communities.

I ask the minister: Why are you downloading your responsibilities to

municipalities who will be forced to increase taxes or make cuts to afford these

services?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

AN HON. MEMBER: Ho, ho, ho.

MR. HEDDERSON: No; no, ho, ho, ho's for me, Mr. Speaker.

Again, this road was planned way back in the 1970s. It is a road that is

advantageous to St. John's, Mount Pearl and the surrounding area. It was in

the works for as long as I can remember and now it is coming to fulfillment. We

believe that we acted in the best interest of the city, the City of Mount Pearl

and the surrounding areas. We have done what we needed to do. It is there and if

there is tension between those two groups, that is something that they will have

to deal with.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, there are fourteen members of government in the

capital region who are sitting idly by and allowing their government to treat

their constituents in such a heavy-handed manner. This road is a key piece of

infrastructure to the capital region and the provincial government should not

only build, but also maintain the highway as they do with all other provincial

highways in the Province.

I ask the minister: If both St. John's and Mount Pearl refuse to cover the

operational and maintenance costs for the highway, will you continue to build

this highway or is this a way of forcing them into submission?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, again, talking about heavy-handedness; we as

a government have put in, I believe this year, $800 million in infrastructure

throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: If that is heavy-handed - I say to the member opposite, if

that is heavy-handed, yes, we are a heavy-handed government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, creating this type of uncertainty and

downloading additional costs to municipalities who are struggling to balance

their budgets every year is unfortunate. Mount Pearl has already stated they

will not cover any cost of maintaining this highway because it is a provincial

responsibility.

I ask the minister, again: Why are you refusing to take responsibility for

what is certainly a provincial highway?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, again, we see this road as a priority, and as

a priority we are certainly looking at a 50-50 funding with the federal

government to complete this highway. We realize the importance of it. The only

thing that we ask, is that when the highway is built I would see that the - I

think the City of St. John's will take over the maintenance of it. That is

co-operation. That is where we need to be, and that is where we are as a

government. Again, I would say to the member opposite, we have delivered and we

will deliver on this as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Mr. Speaker, this is a question that I had left over the

other day when I asked the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

Mr. Speaker, last year government committed to more than $10 million in its

budget for cleaning up contaminated sites including the New Harbour landfill.

When the department tested the site in 2005-2006, the concentration of PCBs

detected in the soil samples were 66.7 milligrams for one kilogram of soil,

which far exceeds the fifty milligrams per kilowatt of soil.

I ask the minister: How much contaminated soil has been removed from the site

since last year and what are the soil samples of concentration at this time?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, perhaps we will have to start on the Lower

Churchill to get the kilowatts to the landfill.

I will tell the member, last year we did remove 120 tons. Last year we did

remove 120 tons of materials with PCBs in them and further delineation work has

been done so that further removal can be done in the future. So, 120 tons was

removed.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi.

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Finance, in releasing fall update

2009, said he was not happy with the percentage of the GDP taken up by oil

revenues. He spoke about the need for diversification, yet the update document

only talks about large major projects, mainly oil related.

Mr. Speaker, diversification sounds great, but what does it really mean? We

have not heard anything about diversification from the Department of Business,

or Natural Resources, or the Newfoundland and Labrador Research and Development

Council.

So, Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Premier could give us tangible examples of

what his departments and agencies are doing to diversify our economy.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury

Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The basic part of government's plan is so that we can diversify the

economy, so that we are not totally relying on these non-renewable resources.

That is why this government is committed to the Lower Churchill project.

When we first took office, we brought the Province back to surplus after many

years of deficits. That enabled us to lower our debt, it enabled us to lower our

interest costs, it enabled us to lower taxes so our people would have more money

to pay their bills, and to expand the economy. It also enabled us to make

investments, strategic investments in program spending and in infrastructure for

the very purpose of diversifying the economy, with investments in research and

development, with investments in ocean technology, with investments in

aquaculture, with investments in agriculture the list goes on and on and on.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi.

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

I did not hear anything new in the list that was just thrown out by the

Minister of Finance - nothing new at all.

Mr. Speaker, the economic update talks about the increased activity in the

major capital projects, mostly in the offshore, and an increase of thousands of

employment person hours in 2010 and 2011 related to that activity.

So I ask the minister: What efforts are being made to ensure that we shall

have the workforces for this increased activity in 2010 and 2011?

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

Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SKINNER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member opposite is aware, the Department of

Innovation, Trade and Rural Development has a number of new strategies. An

innovation strategy, which is supporting diversifying our local economies. We

have an ocean tech strategy, Mr. Speaker, that we are using to bring new

companies that are now in an embryonic stage to the point where they able to

have programs that they have, and technology that they have into

commercialization.

These industries are growing, Mr. Speaker; we have seen them grow ten-,

twenty- and thirty-fold in the last number of years. That is the kind of

investment that we are making, based upon the money we are getting from the oil

and gas. That is the kind of investment that we are making into our

knowledge-based industries to make sure that our Province and the companies in

our Province are prepared to deal with the future, and deal with the new

technologies that are out there, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi

Vidi.

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the answer he gave, which was the answer to my first

question but I am still glad to get that information that he just shared.

Mr. Speaker, currently there is a gap between people graduating with a

skilled trade, their ability to find an apprenticeship position and then being

ready to enter the workforce, especially by 2010.

I want to know what the government is doing to get people with basic training

the job experience that will be needed to be ready for the employment in these

new projects that are in fall update, 2009.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, thank you.

I want to speak up a little bit on what my colleague had to say a few minutes

ago. I thank the member for her question. We are very aware of the challenges

that we face in apprenticeship in this Province. We are also very much aware of

the demand that exists now and what it will be for the foreseeable future for

skilled trades in this Province.

That is one of the reasons, as my colleague alluded to, that we made

significant investment. As a matter of fact, I think it was June that I, myself,

announced a suite of programs that our government is investing in for almost

every single campus of College of the North Atlantic across the Province, and

that ranges from Burin, to St. Anthony, to Port aux Basques and all points in

between. Those programs, Mr. Speaker, are designed to provide some general

skills in tourism and fishery-related occupations, but they are also very

targeted to industry specific where we are training, for example, in Burin, for

a particular course to suit the needs of a particular company in the area.

In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, we

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the hon. member to conclude his response.

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have also invested heavily in doubling our spaces in the college system to

focus on the trades, but in addition to that, Mr. Speaker, we are investing to

provide supports to businesses, and enticements, and whatever else we can do to

open up spots to allow apprentices more opportunity to go to work with

businesses in the private sector.

Mr. Speaker, I say to the member opposite that I hope to have something more

to say about that in the coming days.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The time allotted for Oral Questions has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

MR. SPEAKER: As required, under

section 51 of the House of Assembly

Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act, I am pleased to table the

2008-2009 annual report of the House of Assembly Management Commission.

The report includes audited financial information for the House of Assembly

service and its statutory offices, as well as a report of the activities of the

Commission during this reporting period.

Further tabling of documents?

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury

Board.

MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice that I will ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To

Amend The Teachers' Pensions Act. (Bill 57)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Further notices of motion?

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

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

MS BURKE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

From the Order Paper, I would like to call Motion 1. With that, Mr. Speaker,

I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of Finance and the President of

Treasury Board to ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The

Members Of The House Of Assembly Retiring Allowances Act, Bill 53, and I further

move that the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER: It is properly moved and seconded that the hon. the

Government House Leader shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To

Amend The Members Of The House Of Assembly Retiring Allowances Act, Bill 53, and

that Bill 53 be now read a first time.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

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

to introduce a bill, "An Act To Amend The Members Of The House Of Assembly

Retiring Allowances Act", carried. (Bill 53)

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Members Of The House Of Assembly

Retiring Allowances Act. (Bill 53)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 53 has now been read a first time.

When shall Bill 53 be read a second time?

MS BURKE: Tomorrow, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 53 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of

Education to ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Implement Labour

Mobility, Bill 55, and I further move that the said bill be now read a first

time.

MR. SPEAKER: It is properly moved and seconded by the hon. the Government

House Leader to ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Implement

Labour Mobility, Bill 55, and that Bill 55 be now read a first time.

Is it the pleasure of the House that Bill 55 been now read a first time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Education to introduce a bill, "An Act

To Implement Labour Mobility", carried. (Bill 55)

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Implement Labour Mobility. (Bill 55)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 55 has now been read a first time.

When shall the said bill be read a second time?

MS BURKE: Tomorrow, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 55 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of

Finance and the President of Treasury Board, to ask leave to introduce a bill

entitled,

An Act To Amend The Government Money Purchase Pension Plan Act, Bill

56, and I further move that the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded by the hon. the Government House

Leader to ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Government

Money Purchase Pension Plan Act, Bill 56, and that Bill 56 be now read a first

time.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

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

to introduce a bill, "An Act To Amend The Government Money Purchase Pension

Plan Act", carried. (Bill 56)

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Government Money Purchase Pension Plan

Act. (Bill 56)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 56 has now been read a first time.

When shall Bill 56 be read a second time?

MS BURKE: Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 56 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Health

and Community Services, to ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To

Amend The Occupational Therapists Act, 2005, Bill 59, and I further move that

the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that the hon. Government House

Leader shall have leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The

Occupational Therapists Act, 2005, Bill 59, and that Bill 59 be now read first

time.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services to introduce a

bill, "An Act To Amend The Occupational Therapists Act, 2005",

carried. (Bill 59)

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Occupational Therapists Act, 2005.

(Bill 59)

MR. SPEAKER: This bill has now been read a first time.

When shall Bill 59 be read a second time?

MS BURKE: Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 59 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of

Transportation and Works, to ask leave to introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To

Amend The Rail Service Act, 2009, Bill 60, and I further move that the said bill

be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Government House Leader has asked leave to

introduce a bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Rail Service Act, 2009, Bill 60,

and that Bill 60 be now read a first time.

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

Motion, the hon. the Minister of Transportation and Works to introduce a

bill, "An Act To Amend The Rail Service Act, 2009", carried. (Bill 60)

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Rail Service Act, 2009. (Bill 60)

MR. SPEAKER: This bill has now been read a first time.

When shall Bill 60 be read a second time?

MS BURKE: Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER: Tomorrow.

On motion, Bill 60 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of

Education, that Bill 38,

An Act To Amend The Memorial University Pensions Act

No. 2 be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair would like to ask the hon. the Government House

Leader to repeat the bill to be read a third time, please.

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, that was

An Act To Amend The Memorial University

Pensions Act No. 2, Bill 38, which is number three on the Order Paper in our

Orders today.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House that Bill 38,

An Act To

Amend The Memorial University Pensions Act be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Memorial University Pensions Act No.2.

(Bill 38)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 38 has now been read a third time and it is ordered

that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Memorial University Pensions Act

No.2", read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order

Paper. (Bill 38)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of

Government Services, that Bill 39,

An Act To Amend The Private Investigation And

Security Services Act be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House that Bill 39,

An Act To

Amend The Private Investigation And Security Services Act, be now read a third

time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Private Investigation And Security

Services Act. (Bill 39)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 39 has now been read a third time and it is ordered

that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Private Investigation And

Security Services Act", read a third time, ordered passed and its title be

as on the Order Paper. (Bill 39)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of

Justice and Attorney General that Bill 40,

An Act To Remove Anomalies And Errors

In the Statute Law be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House that Bill 40,

An Act To

Remove Anomalies And Errors In The Statute Law be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

Carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Remove Anomalies And Errors In The Statute Law.

(Bill 40)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 40 has now been read a third time and it is ordered

that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Remove Anomalies And Errors In The Statute

Law", read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order

Paper. (Bill 40)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of

Justice and Attorney General that Bill 41,

An Act To Amend The Law With Respect

To The Definition Of Spouse be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill

41,

An Act To Amend The Law With Respect To The Definition Of Spouse be now read

a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Law With Respect To The Definition Of

Spouse. (Bill 41)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 41 has now been read a third time and it is ordered

that Bill 41 do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Law With Respect To The

Definition Of Spouse", read a third time, ordered passed and its title be

as on the Order Paper. (Bill 41)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. the Minister of

Government Services that Bill 42,

An Act To Amend The Vital Statistics Act,

2009, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House that Bill 42,

An Act To

Amend The Vital Statistics Act, 2009, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Vital Statistics Act, 2009. (Bill 42)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 42 has now been read a third time and it is ordered

that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Vital Statistics Act,

2009", read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order

Paper. (Bill 42)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Tourism,

Culture and Recreation that Bill 43,

An Act To Repeal The Newspapers And Books

Act be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt a motion that Bill

43,

An Act To Repeal The Newspapers And Books Act, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Repeal The Newspapers And Books Act. (Bill 43)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 43 has now been read a third time and it is ordered

that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Repeal The Newspapers And Books Act",

read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill

43)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of

Government Services, that Bill 44,

An Act To Amend The Engineers And

Geoscientists Act, 2008, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House that Bill 44,

An Act To

Amend The Engineers And Geoscientists Act, 2008, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Engineers And Geoscientists Act, 2008.

(Bill 44)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 44 has now been read a third time and it is ordered

that this bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Engineers And Geoscientists Act,

2008", read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order

Paper. (Bill 44)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Justice

and Attorney General that Bill 45,

An Act To Amend The Victims Of Crime Services

Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of the House that Bill 45,

An Act To

Amend The Victims Of Crime Services Act, be now read a third time?

All those in favour, 'aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, 'nay'.

The motion is carried.

CLERK: A bill,

An Act To Amend The Victims Of Crime Services Act. (Bill

45)

MR. SPEAKER: Bill 45 has now been read a third time and it is ordered

that the bill do pass and that its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill, "An Act To Amend The Victims Of Crime Services

Act", read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order

Paper. (Bill 45)

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

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, I call Order 13, second reading of Bill 48,

An Act

Respecting Condominiums.

Motion, second reading of a bill, "An Act Respecting Condominiums".

(Bill 48)

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a pleasure to get up in this House today and take a little bit of time

and a few words in regard to the Condominium Act, a new Condominium Act, I might

say as well, because the current Condominium Act was drafted in 1975, and it was

certainly intended to regulate the condominium industry within the Province and

to provide consumer protection. As we all know, back in 1975 there were very,

very few condominiums in the Province, and they have grown substantially since

then. It has become, as a matter of fact, quite common in the St. John's area,

and also across the Province, in that right now. I believe we have over 100

condominiums registered in this Province today.

Also, I will address as I go through, in regard to my thoughts and my

speaking, in regard to the Condominium Act, I will also address that there are

various types of condos now as well. People sometimes believe that a condominium

is a condominium, a place of residence in a building, but you can have various

types of condos as well. The current legislation was a first generation type of

legislation. As I just said before, it does not, at this point in time, reflect

the modernization of that particular industry, and also a way of life and a

place of living that has been introduced in Newfoundland and Labrador back in

the early 1970s.

The intended purpose of the act is to protect the consumer, first and

foremost, the first time condo buyers, the present owners, and also to improve

the day-to-day operation of condominiums and explore other types of condominium

developments that are popular in other regions. Also, as well, I might say on

this matter is that we did not just draft this piece of legislation. It is not

new to the country. We actually looked at the various other condominium acts

across Canada. We took what we thought was pertinent to our own Province, took

the best of each one of theirs and incorporated it in the act.

We also went through a consultation process, in that we travelled across the

Province in September and October of 2008. We had about 150, 160 individuals

attend those consultations and get presentations, ask questions, give

suggestions in regard to what was needed in the new act. We also sent out a

consultation document to various stakeholders, the Newfoundland and Labrador

Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute, who are very, very active in

regard to requesting the current legislation. Also, their participation in the

consultation process was valued by me, as the minister, and my staff. Certainly,

they brought a lot to the table. Certainly, a lot of the things that they talked

about was incorporated into the act and recognized.

We went across the Province, as I said, in regard to our consultations. We

started off in Lab City and ended up in St. John's and across the Island over

the couple of month's period. We had also twenty-seven submissions from a wide

range of groups; everything from the credit unions to just individuals and

condominium corporations itself in regard to their suggestions as well. They

were all very, very good suggestions and a valued piece of work done. It helped

us formulate our thoughts and also formulate the structure of the Condominium

Act itself. As I said, the new act reflects a lot of things that were not

addressed in the old act of 1975, which are certainly needed now that they have

grown to such an extent, as I just referenced, in regard to 100 condominium

corporations that are registered across the Province.

I would like to actually highlight a few of the things that are addressed

within the Condominium Act that was very, very important to the current owners

and also will be very, very important to the future owners in regard to their

protection; in regard to their investment and also their future life. One of the

things that we have in the act is a disclosure statement, in that the act would

require a disclosure statement to be provided to the vendor or to the purchaser

at the time the agreement of purchase and sale is signed. This gives a general

description of the property. It lays out such things as: the location of

development; surveys of the land; plan of the building; the specific boundaries

of each unit; the number of units the developer intends to sell and-or lease;

the estimated completion date for the construction of the amenities; a copy of

the proposed declaration of by-laws which is very, very important to the future

owner; what constitutes actually the common elements versus what constitutes

each unit. That it is very, very clear.

In the past I have experienced, myself, because I do own a condominium here

in St. John's as well that I use to carry out my duties as a minister.

Sometimes in regard to the common elements, they were not defined clearly to the

unit owners. So this sets this provision that they will be very, very clear to

the potential buyer or the owner in regard to that particular corporation. It

will also map out or state the percentage of ownership of each unit and the

percentage each unit has to contribute to common expense fees, and also a copy

of the reserve fund study which is also reflected in the act. The new act will

require an appendix to the purchase and sale agreement, that the purchaser will

acknowledge they have received all the contents required in the disclosure

statement.

Also, additionally, the act will have what is called an estoppel certificate.

It will be provided from the purchaser to the - in regard to the purchase of the

unit, it has to be provided before the actual purchase is finalized. The

estoppel certificate provides information regarding the amount of the

condominium monthly fees, if the unit is in default of fees to the condominium

corporation. In other words, the actual past owner of that particular unit had

not paid up their fees in full. So, that would be disclosed in that estoppel

certificate, the amount of the condominium monthly fees, as I said, and also in

regard to the fees to the condominium corporation. The information regarding the

management of the corporation will be reflected too, in regards to those

by-laws. The common property of the condominium corporation has been mortgaged

or transferred and information about the reserve fund and whether the

corporation is being sued and any special assessments have been levied against

the corporation.

This is all in protection of the consumer in regard to the future unit owner.

In the past, in the 1975 Corporation Act, this was not reflected. So, at times,

not that it has happened often - I do not actually know if it did happen in

Newfoundland and Labrador - in that a person who bought a unit found out a lot

of things about the corporation after the fact when they had the purchase of

sale completed and there was default on monthly fees, the corporation was being

sued or whatever it may be. So this piece will be reflected in the act and

certainly in that regard the consumer is protected.

Also, as well, I might say in regard to the disclosure statement and the

estoppel certificate, it provides the opportunity for the purchaser to take the

information that is contained in those documents and then they can make an

informed decision in regard to if they are going to buy a unit, if they are

going to invest into a unit before they actually complete the purchase of that

particular unit. In the past they were making decisions with regard to their

future investments without that type of important information. So now they have

that information. It will be in the act and will have to be provided, and

certainly that information is very, very valuable information, Mr. Speaker.

There is also a cooling off period in regard to the new act as well. There is

a ten-day cooling off period. That is a period following the signing of the

agreement of the purchase and sale. They would be given a time to review, in

detail, all of the documentation that is provided in the disclosure statement

and if, prior to the expiry date of that ten-day period that the purchaser

decides, for whatever reason, that they are not going to carry forth in regard

to purchase of the condominium, the actual agree will then be null and void, and

the deposit, if any, gets refunded to the purchaser.

In the case of new construction, in regard to the condominium, the

declaration and by-laws were not always available when the purchaser signed the

agreement of purchase of sale, and therefore the new act will provide a cooling

off period that does not start to run until the purchaser receives these

documents.

In regard to that new construction, the company may not be able to provide

those by-laws in that particular time, so the ten-day cooling off period will

start to run after the purchaser receives those documents.

There was a lot of interest in regard to the reserve funds and the reserve

fund study. As I just mentioned previously, I actually have a condo here in St.

John's as well. I certainly recognize the need, number one, of having that

reserve fund. It is very, very important to have it because there are all kinds

of common areas and common issues that may happen in regard to the full

building, the condominium corporation, as they move forward and the building

ages. Such thing as a roof is a common space that has to be addressed. So you

have to be able to have a reserve fund that addresses those type of issues when

they come forward on a rainy day, you do not have to go back to all of the

individual units and ask for an absorbent amount of money in regard to taking

care of that roofing problem.

I know in my own building, in the past year or so, we had such an issue and

we had to address that issue. I think the actual repairs cost us somewhere

between $20,000 and $30,000. So, if we did not have to have a reserve fund in

regard to that issue, the board of directors would have to come to us, it would

have been divided equally and then we would have to pay it upfront, or not we

would have a problem in our condominium.

So, that reserve fund is very, very important. The reserve fund and the

amount are determined, I guess, by the board of directors and by the corporation

itself, but it is also determined by the reserve fund study. What I mean by

reserve fund study is that each one of the corporations, ten units or more,

would have to engage professional advice in regard to having a look at the

structure of the building, be it the roof, be it the windows, or be it whatever

it is in common space, and determine if there are any repairs or renovations in

regard to deteriorating over the years, that would have to be addressed within

that ten-year period. Then, that estimate would come forward from the particular

consultation engineers or whoever they used on a professional basis. That would

determine the projected amount that they would need in regard to addressing all

those issues, and then the corporation would have to put a plan in place in

regard to putting that fund in place for those future uses.

Under ten units, they do not require a reserve fund study if they do not want

to do it, but they can. If they want to, as a corporation, they can decide on

their own to bring in a professional and determine what may be their future

needs in regard to maintenance and renovations and whatever may be needed. They

do not require it under the act, but they have to maintain a reserve fund

balance equal to 100 per cent of their annual operating budget. Also, once that

is determined in regard to the annual operating budget, the act will prescribe

the time period in which the reserve fund must be fully funded as well. I

believe, if I can remember right, that is five years they have to have it

actually fully funded.

Also, in the act, it will prescribe that the developer is also responsible

for contributing to the reserve fund on units he or she holds, as well as those

that are not yet sold. You could have a situation that there are X number of

condominiums within a corporation that 70 per cent of them, 80 per cent of them,

or 85 per cent of them are sold, but there are 10, 15, or 20 per cent of them

that are not sold. So in that case the developer is responsible for the reserve

fund fees in regard to those units. That means that the actual owners that are

already moved in would not be subject to increased fees because of the ones that

are empty.

I mentioned that the reserve fund studies have to be completed by

professionals, the professionals in the field that have this type of expertise,

and they also have to hold liability insurance, as well, in regard to their

profession.

Also, I might add that the reserve fund has to be filed with the Registrar of

Condominiums, and this will certify, confirming that the reserve fund study has

been completed and has to be filed with the Registrar of Condominiums. It has to

be updated every ten years.

It also would address the every day-to-day functioning of the condominium

corporation. The department received many submissions that highlighted certain

deficiencies in the current act in relation to the operating functions of the

condominium corporation. The new act prescribes the minimum, and I mean the

minimum qualifications, for election as a board member and outline the duties of

the board of directors as well. The old act did not prescribe that, giving clear

direction to directors and their responsibility and also to the minimum

qualifications thereof.

There will be a mediation-arbitration piece too in regard to the new act.

Right now, in regard to resolving any disputes between unit owners - I have not

experienced either one myself, but I am sure there has been in the past that one

unit owner has an issue in regard to another unit owner. The only way to resolve

that right now was within the Trial Division of the Supreme Court. That actually

presented some financial burden to the corporation. So recognizing that, which

is not unique to us - we have seen this right across in regard to other

Provinces that have enacted new condominium acts. I think the newest in Canada -

and do not quote me on this; I know it is going to go into Hansard, but I am not

absolutely sure if it is true or not. I think Nova Scotia is probably one of the

newest ones that have been in place in recent years. I know Ontario has come

with one too in the last three or four years.

Anyway, in regard to the new act, if there is a dispute between unit owners

and that arises, the parties can attend mediation. Certainly, if they cannot

agree at that level, well then they can choose binding arbitration as well. If

that does not resolve it, well then they can apply to the Trial Division of the

Supreme Court. I am sure the issue will be resolved at that level.

In saying that, to clarify that the only resolution mechanism on a dispute

prior to the new act, which we are introducing here today, will be through the

Trial Division, now it gives another means of resolving those issues between

unit owners.

Their liens will be addressed as well in regard to the new act. The current

Condominium Act, I think, allows the condominium corporation a right to lien if

there is a failure of a unit owner to pay their share of fees. So, the

corporation has also the right to register this encumbrance over the unit and

this lien can be enforced in the same way of any registered lien, really.

The new act - in the past mortgages would take precedence over all liens. So,

in other words, if there is a mortgage in place then the mortgage takes first

right, and then if there is anything left over - in most cases there wasn't

anything left over, so the lien was never realized. Now, within the new act,

which is not uncommon in other jurisdictions as well, we will be allowing the

condominium lien for unpaid fees to rank ahead of any mortgage, lien charge

other than the lien for taxes. So taxes would come first and then, in ranking

order, would be the unpaid fees, and then comes the mortgage and any other lien

charge.

As well, we heard in regard to our consultation process, that there were

issues in regard to the board of directors, constituting a board of directors.

In the past act, the only people who could serve on the board of any condominium

were the unit owners themselves. We heard loud and clear from the consultation

process, and also the association itself, that this was kind of outdated in that

most of I should not say most of the people, but a high percentage of the

people in regard to owning condominiums are senior citizens. Sometimes they are

not able to serve on a board. They do not have the interest level to serve on a

board, or actually they are travelling outside the Province for periods of time,

three, four, six months at a time. Then when they are out of the Province, two

and three of them at a time, because that could happen as well, in regard to a

board, then you do not have a quorum to actually have a meeting. We addressed

that in the act as well, in regard to allowing unit owners to designate someone

who would be interested in serving on the board and certainly bringing their

knowledge and their experience to the board. So we have reflected that too in

the act.

We also included in the revision, I did not overlook the termination clause

for this designate should the unit owner cease their ownership. In other words,

if the unit owner has designated someone and then they sell their unit, well

then, there is a termination clause for this designate in regard to carrying out

their duties. So they would no longer be able to serve on the board.

The insurance is clarified within the new act, as well. You have two types of

insurance, I guess. You have the insurance that is required by the corporation

and converse and includes the full building itself and all the common areas but

mainly the main structure and also the standard unit that was built. So, that is

the responsibility of the corporation. They would have to carry insurance that

would cover off all those things in regard to that, the structure, the unit

itself in regard to the common standard or the standard unit.

Now, in regard to the unit holder, they are responsible on their own for the

contents of their condominium. They are also responsible for any upgrades

because some condo owners would go in and the standard countertop might not be

enough, they might install marble or whatever it may be. So, the corporation

would not be responsible for that under their insurance. That would have to be

listed and included under the insurance of the particular individual who owns

that unit. So both of those things are clarified and needed to be clarified in

regard to the new act.

Also, in regard to the types of condominiums, which I referenced when I first

started to speak, Mr. Speaker, because there are many types of condominiums now

which I said that most people refer to a condominium as a condominium in a

building. As a matter of fact, the long version that was first presented to me,

I actually was not in favour of it because that is exactly what it said. A

condominium as it pertained to a building, but there are many, many types of

condominiums now. There are things such as common elements condominium, which

only incorporates under the condominium the common elements of an area.

Vacant land can be used as a condominium. You could buy x-number of acres of

land and then have that split up into various condominiums that people would own

and then a corporation umbrellas that particular unit. You have commercial

condominiums, where there are a bunch of businesses that get together. They form

a corporation, they build a condominium, and then they have the various

commercial operations operating out of that building in a condominium basis. So,

each and every one of them within the building actually owns their own unit, no

differently than an apartment or a unit under a residential condominium.

You have phased-in condominiums, which the legislation now permits a phase

development of units and common elements that are to be added in stages over a

maximum of a ten-year period. In other words, there is a detailed plan in regard

to the expansion and the inclusion of the units within that condominium. That is

a called a phased-in condominium. Certain areas of the actual corporation itself

is outside the condominium for a period of time but phased in over a period of

time.

Last, but not least, is hotel condominiums; you have that as well, in regard

to particular people owning units within a hotel system. It serves as a hotel

but also serves as a condominium as well. All those kind of things are reflected

within the new act. That is, I guess, a fair bit of what was included in the act

and addressed on most of the issues that were brought forward.

I believe, as the Minister of Government Services, that we had a great

consultation process. We had great interaction with the stakeholders. We

recognized back, really in 2007, that the need for a new act - to update that

act. Actually, to update the act was actually out of the question because it

needed so much of an update, it was just as well to rewrite and have a new act

come in place. We went and had a look at that.

I really, really believe that this is probably one of the most important

pieces of work that we will do in the Legislature this fall. It is well needed.

It was well lobbied for and the people who currently reside in condominiums

certainly need it, and all future condominium owners will certainly be protected

by this act. Like it or lump it, I suppose, if you want to put it that way; even

though I enjoy my condo, as a matter of fact, that this is a way of life. Condos

are very, very common now and people are moving forward. I said there was over

100, I believe 101 condo corporations that are actually incorporated and

registered under the Registry of Deeds in my department. That is growing,

because the last time I looked at it prior to coming to the House today it was

at ninety-four. That is the kind of thing that is happening in the Province and

across the Province, especially here in regard to the capital city of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I think I have gone through it in detail. Certainly,

I welcome any comments from my hon. colleagues across the House. As well, I will

be listening intently and also I would hope that they would support this

important piece of legislation because it was we heard loud and clear that

it was well needed in Newfoundland and Labrador at this particular time.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I will take my seat and I will welcome the thoughts

of my hon. colleagues.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. BUTLER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a pleasure today to be able to take a certain amount of time to make a

few comments with regard to Bill 48,

An Act Respecting Condominiums.

First of all I want to thank the minister for giving us the opportunity to

meet with several staff from his department. We met with them this morning and

they gave us a briefing note with regards to Bill 48. I have to say, I guess,

out of the bills that we have had this year through the department, a lot of

them were only housecleaning items, but this is a bill of a considerable

magnitude and the briefing that we received I have to say was very helpful in

being able to go through the piece of legislation and understand some of the

parts of that legislation that has been put forward.

As the minister stated, the Newfoundland Condominium Act was written back in

1975, so no doubt this is a tremendous piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, as the

minister stated it is all about consumer protection. That is very important. Not

only for anyone who is buying a single unit, more so when you get involved with

a condominium where there are many other units, many other individuals involved

and you need to have the, I guess, the proper regulations put forward.

Mr. Speaker, from the information we received, once this bill goes through

the House today, it will probably be mid-2010 by the time all the regulations

are put in place and the actual bill becomes law. We can understand that because

the bill contains some eighty sections and subsections of this new act, and by

the time the regulations are joined to that, no doubt, it is quite a bit of work

for the officials who will be involved.

Not only that, I think rightly so, the minister stated that this bill is not

only something that they came up with. They consulted with many people, they

consulted with the credit unions, the condominium owners and the corporations,

the developers, the real estate agents, lawyers, municipalities and management

companies. So there was an extensive amount of consultation with various

stakeholders and also with previous and present unit owners throughout the

Province. I think there were some 128 individuals. Beyond that, Mr. Speaker,

they also went through other jurisdictions and saw what rules and regulations

were in place in provinces such as Ontario and Nova Scotia.

We know from the legislation, from the notes we received, that consultation

was right throughout this Province, as the minister stated, from Lab City, they

were in Corner Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor, Gander, Clarenville, Mount Pearl and

St. John's. So people had a tremendous opportunity to be able to get involved

and take part with this new piece of legislation.

I also understand, Mr. Speaker, which is the reason - as we speak in second

reading today, I can assure the minister I have no problems with that. I do not

know if something might arise when we get into committee stages and so on that

might prompt you to ask some other questions. From my understanding, from staff

and the officials, that the consultation process that they had, everyone was in

agreement with this. I do not think there was anything at all, or it was the way

we were told, that did not get in to this piece of legislation, that people

wanted to see there for the protection of the consumer.

As the minister stated, with regard to the disclosure statement and the

estoppel certificates, it is very important, because under the disclosure

statement it outlines quite a few things. It outlines the property, the number

of units, whether there are recreational activities going on, the by-laws, the

budget, and the statements. It is very detailed so that the individual has a

thorough knowledge of what is entailed. The only difference, my understanding,

from the estoppel certificate, is that everything is very similar, but more or

less, there is a management agreement, and if there were any altercations went

on with regard to the act, that would be listed.

One of the things that I think is very important to the consumer is a ten-day

cooling off period, because all too often you probably sign an agreement,

whether you go to the bank, whether it is for a car or a house or whatever, and

once you go in there it is sometimes not explained very clearly to you, and

nobody reads the fine print, or very few, but in this case here, there is a

ten-day cooling off period - without any penalties, by the way. Those people can

go in and sign an agreement, and then they are given ten days, whether they want

to meet with their lawyers or whoever, to go over what is happening, and then

they can determine if they really want to proceed with it or not. All this is

without any penalty.

The reserve funds and the reserve fund studies. Once you get into and have a

piece of legislation explained to you, those individuals are not only just

buying a unit, but they are buying a condominium, because they are responsible

for their own unit, but overall, each and every one of them are the owners of

the condominium. So, that really brings into play many issues. So, with regard

to the reserve fund, as the minister mentioned, that is very important, because

if there were not a reserve fund, and something major like he mentioned

happened, those individuals, they are responsible and they have to come up maybe

with a tremendous amount of money, but if there is a reserve fund there, then

some major or something that may have happened can be taken care of..

The other thing, every ten years the reserve fund must be updated. When this

is updated that could mean, whether it is with regard to the cost of materials,

that would change; contributions to the fund would also change. Once that

reassessment is done maybe the fee that they are paying could either increase or

decrease and this will be reviewed on a ten-year basis.

Also, it is very important to note that they are not just for the ordinary

maintenance of the building. It does not include, say for any snow clearing or

any minor things that would go on. This reserve fund is for any major issues

that may come up which would cost the residents of that condominium a tremendous

amount of burden after any lengthy period of time.

I believe the number is over ten units. If a condominium has over ten units,

then they go into this reserve fund study. Under the ten units, they do not have

to go into the study itself, but they are left with the discretion of the

corporation, but what they usually do is after a period of time they put into

the reserve fund an equal amount of 100 per cent of the corporation's annual

operating budget. Even if a condominium has less than ten units, they still have

to have a reserve fund, but they do not have to go into the study as outlined

for any condominium in excess of ten units; so no study is required there.

The other thing, with regard to budget statement and accountability, it

requires the declarant to develop a budget statement for the first twelve

months. This is very important. The way it was explained to us - and I think it

is good for the consumer - is that many times when a condominium comes on the

market some buyers, they obtain a unit early on because maybe there is a little

bonus or a little advantage by doing that, however, further down the road they

determine and find out that the fee that they were told about initially may have

increased. What happens here under the budget statement accountability, they

hold 10 per cent for the first year. In other words, the unit owners would put

up this 10 per cent. However, this would change because the once the unit is

filled it may not have increased to the point beyond what they were told when

they initially purchased.

Mr. Speaker, the minister also mentioned about the mediation and arbitration.

I think that is very important because as it stands today if there is a dispute

between the unit owners or between the corporation, condominium board and the

unit owners, the only way, if they cannot come to an agreement, it is my

understanding that it is through the courts. This piece of legislation now gives

the opportunity for mediation and arbitration before they go to the court

system.

As was mentioned, this can be very costly for those individuals - some of

them, I guess, are on fixed incomes, but most of them are seniors. No doubt, as

we were told, there are more seniors going into condominiums today than ever

before. It is amazing to know when the minister stated that in this Province

today there are over 100 condominiums that have been registered.

The other issue that is very important is with regard to the liens as the

minister mentioned. Condo corporations can register a lien for failure of a unit

owner to pay the common fees. It is very important for each and every individual

in the unit to pay those fees because they are for the benefit of everybody in

the condo. If several people decide that they are not going to pay, then that

can become a problem. I guess it is discouraging to other people who are putting

their money upfront. As the minister stated, one of the things now is that the

taxes come first, but then ahead of the mortgage is when the liens would come

into play.

Another thing that is very important, knowing that many of the people who

occupy condos today are seniors, is that they can appoint a designate to take

care of their responsibilities. Many of them could be sick individuals who are

unable to care for themselves very much and maybe some of them have home care

coming in to look after them. They can appoint a volunteer and that individual

can be even appointed or elected to the board for that condominium corporation

to run on the board. I think it says that it has to be a relative, but I am not

quite sure of that. It is very important to know those individuals who are

unable to care for themselves now can be represented by a relative or someone

who they can put their faith in. However, if they move on, then the designate

ceases to be a representative within that corporation.

As the minister has stated, and I guess one of the different types of

condominiums with regard to the common element corporation, until that was

explained I can assure you that it was not clear to me. Now I know where they

are coming from because the common element corporation can be, whether it is the

grounds around the building, the parking area or different recreational

facilities, if there was a tennis court, or a boat deck, or a pool, then that

becomes a part of the various types of condominiums and this one, in particular,

would be the common element.

Mr. Speaker, the other one is the phased-in development corporations. That is

where an entrepreneur, I guess, is going to build one, two, three or four units

and eventually it would be registered as the one condominium under the one act.

They might build one this year, another one next year, but at the end of the day

they can be all phased-in and registered as one unit. The other one is listed,

in the information I have here, as the vacant lands corporation. This is where a

unit can be built, but the individual unit owner, they can do their own units,

rather than going into a condominium where it is all built beforehand.

Mr. Speaker, the only other couple of issues that I want to note on is on the

questions I asked about the insurance. How does the insurance work with regard

to the overall use of the condominium and your own particular unit? My

understanding is that the insurance, when it is paid for, it covers the full

condominium and all units involved. The only difference is that if an individual

should go in and upgrade their unit from what would be classified as standard,

then once they do those upgrades, they would have to purchase their own

insurance to take part with that requirement.

Mr. Speaker, we know that there are many issues with regard to Bill 48 that

has been put forward. Personally, we believe that it is a good piece of

legislation. It is a great starting point, not saying that maybe next year or a

year down the road there might have to be amendments to the act and that happens

from time to time. When it comes to consumer protection, we believe this is a

great starting point and not only the corporation, there are various guidelines,

and how they operate, if there are any amendments to any declarations that are

already in place. I think it has to be 80 per cent satisfaction rate by the unit

owners themselves. There are also rules and regulations about quorums with

regard to the boards and so on.

Mr. Speaker, having said that, with regard to Bill 48, I think that is the

only comments that I have to make at this time. The only thing I would say to

the minister when it comes to consumer protection, it is the prime intent of

government, and it should be called to task to provide the same protection to

the following areas. We all hear all too often with regard to home inspectors. I

know we have received calls. Newfoundland home inspectors are trying for

government to regulate their industry. At this present time, they have not been

able to make the grade, but we know that government is concerned by this bill

here, that it is consumer protection. My only comment to the minister,

hopefully, is that the home inspectors can be looked at in the same manner in

the very near future.

So, Mr. Speaker, with that, I want to thank you for the opportunity with

regard to Bill 48, and I will take my place.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER (T. Osborne): The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

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

I am glad to get an opportunity to speak to Bill 48, the Condominium Act,

2009. I am very pleased, actually, to see this act come to the floor. We do

know, and it has been presented by the minister, that condominium housing is

something that is growing fairly quickly in the Province. It is mainly here in

the capital city, but it is also moving into the Western Region and into

Labrador West.

It is an interesting move when you think about it, because we do not have a

lot of apartment living, apartment building living outside of the major urban

centres in Newfoundland and Labrador, and people are very used to owning their

own homes in separate detached units. There is a real pride among people in

Newfoundland and Labrador with regard to owning their homes. In rural

Newfoundland, of course, it is something that can happen a bit more easily than

in the urban centres, because you still have families who own large pieces of

land in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, and people can share land with

families. I know that is certainly happening, even on the fringes of St. John's

in the suburban communities that have developed, because once a time these

suburban communities were actually rural communities, and people owned large

pieces of land and a lot of families have chopped that land up so that other

family members can build homes, and they have sold parcels of land for home

building.

So, it is interesting to see, in a culture like that, people in Newfoundland

and Labrador catching on to the condominium notion. They are catching on to it,

especially, as I have said, here in the capital city, and it is certainly going

to grow. I have heard of some horror stories that have occurred where people who

own condos have had difficulties, have had problems, and legislation was not

adequate to cover situations in which they found themselves.

I am really delighted to see

an act that, while it is certainly integrated

and deals with everything with regard to the condominium movement and the

management of condos et cetera, one of the most important pieces in the act is

the protection of the consumer, the protection of the condo owner. I think that

is so essential, especially here in St. John's, I am not sure about outside.

There seems to be a move for senior citizens to own condos. Very often,

especially if senior citizens have not been used to apartment living, for

example, or have been used to owning their own home, they may not have an

experience of the intricacies of being involved in the whole condo situation;

being involved in owning a condo and being involved in having to deal with other

people with regard to their home, with regard to taking care of their home. It

is a whole new experience for them. There are some significant things in the act

that I think help with that kind of situation.

One piece has been named by the minister and by my colleague from the

Official Opposition but I would like to highlight it as well, and that is the

ten-day cooling-off period after somebody indicates a desire to buy. There is a

ten day period during which they have an opportunity to really learn the details

because they get quite a package of information. It is really important for them

that they really understand all the details that are there. The legislation

allows for a ten-day cooling-off period during which time, without any penalty,

they could say, no, I am no longer interested. I think that is so extremely

important that that is in the act.

As I said, the whole thing of protection of the consumer is something in this

that is so important. Another thing that helps I think with the condo owners,

which is brand new, it was not in the former act,

an act which was brought into

place in 1975 when condos were not really big in this Province anyway and

an act

which was really not adequate for our current needs. In this new act we have a

mediation and arbitration system called for, that will be made available to unit

holders and to corporations. Previously, all complaints, if there were

complaints within a condo setting either one person complaining or a group

within the condo setting and if it could not be resolved at the board meetings

they would have to go to court to get the issue resolved. That would be very

costly.

Even though people who are in condos have to have the money to live there,

they may not at the same time have thousands of dollars ready to fight something

in court. It would not take much to cost thousands of dollars if you had to

bring something to court. So the fact that the legislation allows for and makes

mandatory a mediation and arbitration system or makes it available, I think that

is extremely important to condo owners. It should help with people who are

wondering whether or not they want to get into a condo situation, both of these

issues, the thing of the ten-day cooling-off period and the availability of

mediation and arbitration if there are problems would be two things, I think,

that would say to them: do not worry, this is okay. You will be safe going into

this situation.

The third thing that does that, as well, is the notion of the reserve funds

that the new act allows for. Again, this is where some people have gotten burned

in the city, where all of a sudden a big expense comes up for the condo complex

and there are no reserve funds and all of a sudden each condo owner is expected

to come up with a large sum of money per unit to help with the cost for which

there was no reserve funding. So making sure that larger condos, above ten

units, have a reserve fund that gets created from monthly payments from all the

unit owners, I think is extremely important. I think it is also important that

even those who are smaller units, ten units and under, even they have to have a

reserve fund equal to one year of an operating budget.

There are a lot of protections in this condo act which I think is extremely

important for people to know. It probably would be good for people in the

Province who are interested in getting into condos to even make the act

something that they learn about. Once the act is passed, once the bill is passed

and the act is

an act, they of course would be able to access it through the

government Web site, and it would be good for them to do it if they decide they

want to get into condos.

As I said a minute ago, condos are really in the high end of the housing

market. In actual fact, they are part of the highest priced housing around. So

we are talking about people who are in the higher economic scale, but that does

not mean they do not need protection as well, because sometimes, especially with

senior citizens, people who are retired and more elderly, sometimes you may get

- and I know of some. You may get somebody who was widowed, for example, and all

of a sudden this person is on her own with a large house and decides I will get

out of that, but maybe does not have a lot of experience dealing with, as I

said, dealing with something as complex as a condominium situation. They do need

help. They do need protection.

The thing that and I am really happy that we have this condominium act,

and people in condos need protection. I would like to point out, though, that we

do need other alternative forms of housing as well in this Province, besides

condominium housing. One thing that we are not very big on in Newfoundland and

Labrador and, again, I know of situations in St. John's where it exists. I

do not know how common it is outside of the city, but one thing that we are not

very big on is co-operative housing. Co-operative housing is quite big,

especially in places like Toronto and some other urban settings. Co-operative

housing is something that I would like to see the government give some

leadership in. Now, I know it has to come from the community and people have to

bring themselves together in groups in order to form co-operative housing. It

would be interesting if the government were to become involved in more education

around what housing possibilities are out there, and co-operative housing is one

that would be very interesting for people to learn about because you have

co-operative ownership while one is part of the co-op. When one leaves, of

course, one does not own the unit that one lived in, but while part of the

co-operative setting, one is living in a situation where you very often have

more affordable housing, because very often the people who come together, that

is their goal, to create housing that fits their pocketbook. That is usually one

of the goals of co-operative housing. Now, you can get co-operative housing

among people who have all kinds of money as well, but I think it is really

something that we should be looking at here in this Province in terms of, as I

said, doing some education about, and giving some leadership in, helping people

realize that there are ways to have comfortable housing; they cannot afford to

buy a house, but they can still have very comfortable housing and have control

over the housing situation. That is one of the things that is really good about

co-operative housing. You have control over your situation, you have a board,

just like with condominium housing, and you meet, you make your decisions

together, but it is something that can really help people who cannot afford to

buy their own place to find a decent place to live.

We have a lot of people requiring housing that fits their pocketbook in this

Province. Newfoundland and Labrador Housing right now has a waiting list which

still ranges annually from 750 to 1,000. They are doing a good job of trying to

keep that list moving, and there have been initiatives over the last couple of

years to do that, but we still have a waiting list that keeps getting added to

as other people get moved off. People do no have to wait as long anymore, but a

waiting list still exists.

A year ago, there were 2,800 people waiting for money from the Provincial

Home Repair Program because they could not afford to pay for essential repairs

on their homes. This is something that, again, is unfortunate, but these are the

type of people, for example, creating co-operative housing might actually work.

They might decide to sell their home, get into co-operative housing and be able

to benefit from the money that they have made on selling their home. The thing

about a condo is you may sell your home to move into the condo, but the money

you saved goes into the buying of the condo. So, it does take some persons who

have a fair amount of money to do that.

We do need to look at helping the people in this Province get affordable

housing. I am sure that there could be condo situations where that housing could

be made affordable as well, and I am sure that they exist; I am not sure that

they exist here so much. I certainly would encourage the minister to also, in

addition to the concern around condo housing, look at how the department might

be able to do work around spreading the word of co-operative housing because,

for those who know about it - and I have never lived in co-operative housing,

but I know people who do and who have and I know the benefits of that housing.

I would like to come back to the act for a minute. I want to thank the

minister for the briefing that was held today; I could not attend it myself, but

two of my researchers were able to attend it and I got a full report from them.

I was interested in the thing that the minister mentioned in outlining the act

and that was the new condominium types.

There are four, I think, of new condominium types. You have the common

elements condominium corporations or phased development condominium corporations

and vacant land condominium corporations; these are three that are spelled out

in the act. What is curious about these that these do not necessarily deal with

buildings - some do, some do not. I have questions that have not been adequately

answered yet for me. I will have more specific questions to put to the minister.

I hope in committee to get a clearer rationale, particularly for the common

elements corporation because the common elements corporation allows for a group

to be called a common elements condominium corporation. That corporation can

exist and can be created and can own land that does not get divided into units,

but can be used for something that they hold in common, for example, for a

tennis court or a golf course or something like that. That piece of land that is

not divided into units does not have to be owned by this common elements

corporation in conjunction with people living in residential condominiums.

I really have a problem with this one, and I know it exists in some places; I

understand that it is certainly in the Ontario legislation. I have questions, as

I said, more specific questions that I will be putting to the minister in

committee and I will be looking forward to trying to get a clearer rationale for

why we would be including this here. I am wondering, if we are talking about a

group of people holding something in common such as buying a piece of land and

building a tennis court or building a golf course or whatever, why that fits

under the notion of condominium. It is common ownership, but condominium is not

the only way to have common ownership. So I will be pursuing that notion a bit

more in committee, and asking for a clearer answer from the minister. My staff

did ask his staff today about that, and the answer was basically, well it does

exist, there are some things that are happening in condo ownership. My response

is, well that is fine, but does it mean we have to do it here, and isn't there

some other way in which corporately a group could buy a piece a land together

and own it together, without calling it condo. I am finding it a bit strange, so

I will be looking forward to being able to be clearer with my questions on that

for the minister when we come to committee.

I just want to close by saying I am delighted to see this act, but I do

encourage the minister to give leadership in looking at what some other options

are in the Province for affordable housing, and social housing. We do have more

money coming for affordable housing from Ottawa's stimulous package that will

have to be spent by 2011, but the provinces need to provide the matching funds.

So I am really hoping that this government will be there to make sure that we

can benefit from as much of that money as we can, so that all of the money,

actually, that is allotted to our Province, I would like to see us getting. It

means the Province putting money back in, but this would be a very, very

important investment. We need thousands of affordable units, and taking

advantage of the cost-sharing with regard to the stimulous package from Ottawa

would be one of the ways to do it.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: If the hon. the Minister of Government Services speaks now,

he shall close debate.

The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

MR. O'BRIEN: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I certainly stand here now to close

debate. I welcome the comments, and listened intently to my hon. colleagues

across the House. I want to refer to the hon. Leader of the NDP that the

minister responsible in regard to such things as affordable housing and

availability of housing in the Province is the Minister of Transportation and

Works who is responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation.

As well, we are putting a lot of money - I will reflect on that too, even

though it has nothing to do really with this act. We have placed a fair bit of

money now in regard to providing affordable housing. Can we do everything today?

No, we cannot. Are we trying to do as much as we possibly can under our budget

requirements and challenges? Yes, we are. Are the feds doing what they should be

doing? No, they are not. We would implore them and advise them that they should

address this issue because this is certainly a national issue as well. I have

heard it and read it many, many times in regard to the papers.

Anyways, back to the Condominium Act. It is a very, very important act. It is

very important to a lot of people. It is very important to the future of the

Province. Certainly, we have tried to bring forward

an act that reflects today's

society and today's needs. Actually, it even reflects on things that might

happen in regard to condominiums in the future. They might not be here today in

regard to the various types of condos but they are elsewhere in the country an