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June 18,

2015 HOUSE

OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVII No. 34

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR.

SPEAKER (Verge):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

I would like to welcome to the public gallery today a

group of Grade 4 and 5 students from Twillingate Island Elementary School.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

They are here with their Principal Mr. David Dove; teachers Patti Hicks-Brown,

Many Burton, and Bonnie White; as well as parent, Grant White, and their bus

driver, Edward Luff.

Welcome all to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Just for the record, Mr. Grant White, I remember him as a Grade 5 student up in

Roddickton many years ago.

HON. MEMBER:

Same class?

MR.

SPEAKER:

Yes, the same class, Minister.

Statements by Members

MR.

SPEAKER:

Today we will hear members' statements from the members representing the

Districts of Bay of Islands, St. John's East, Baie Verte Springdale, St.

John's South, Burgeo La Poile, and Bonavista South.

The hon. the Member for the District of Bay of Islands.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

JOYCE:

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to recognize Jennifer Boland of

Frenchman's Cove and Mandy Hynes of Benoit's Cove.

Both Jennifer and Mandy are in Grade 6 and attend St. Peter's Academy in

Benoit's Cove. This year, the girls

wanted to do something for the Janeway Telethon and support the children,

especially since Mandy spent time at the Janeway when she was younger.

With the support of her family and friends, the girls

did a bake sale, a yard sale, collected recyclables and with other donations,

they raised over $1,575 which was presented during the telethon in Corner Brook.

They were very pleased and excited to be able to raise money and have

committed next year to do the same.

This is not the first fundraiser that Jennifer and

Mandy have organized. Last year,

they wanted to help raise funds for the local SPCA and through their fundraising

efforts, they donated $319.55.

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

appreciation to Jennifer and Mandy for their desire and dedication in wanting to

help other children who sometimes have to face many challenges in their young

lives. Great job, girls.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Mr.

Speaker, on Sunday past I had the honour of cutting the ribbon for this year's

Walk for ALS around Mundy Pond here in St. John's.

I asked Mr. O'Connell, a former Mines and Energy employee, to help he

is also living with ALS. We did it

together, the 200 participants released balloons in memory of loved ones, and

the event, one of ninety held across Canada this year, was launched.

The ALS Society of Newfoundland holds the annual Walk

for ALS to help provide equipment, support services, and education for the ALS

community and to fund research to find a cure.

The cure for this progressive, eventually fatal neuromuscular disorder is

a very laudable goal.

The rain held off on Sunday, and the fundraising event

went ahead. They had raised $17,000

by this morning, when we checked, and the money is still coming in.

We learned on Sunday, by the way, that the Ice Bucket

Challenge from last year raised $435,000 in Newfoundland and Labrador alone; 70

per cent of that went to research, with the remainder staying here in the

Province to help ALS patients here.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the hon. House to join me in

thanking the ALS Society of Newfoundland, the 200 walk participants, and

everyone who donated to this great cause.

Keep fighting the good fight.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Baie Verte Springdale.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

POLLARD:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Beatrice Blanche Clarke was born in Springdale on May

20, 1921 to Blanche and Azariah Butt.

On July 10, 1941 she married her loving husband Lloyd

Clarke. Her joys were multiplied

when she gave birth to twelve children, five sons and seven daughters.

For the next seventy-three years, Aunt Beatty, as she

was affectionately known, gave unwavering love and support to her family.

From caring for in-laws, her parents, children, neighbours and friends,

she faithfully cooked, cleaned, baked, sewed, knit, visited, prayed, and wept.

She rose at the crack of dawn to meet daily challenges.

She loved to laugh, entertain, talk on the phone, shop,

and travel. She lived a life of

sacrificially giving to others.

Whether it was a bottle of soup, a loaf of bread, a pair of mittens or socks, a

quilt, or even a few dollars, she exemplified giving.

Her twenty-six grandchildren and thirty-four

great-grandchildren were her crowning glory.

In recent years, she loved to sing, read, listen to the

gospel on her iPad and on TV. She

was dearly loved by her large circle of family and friends who celebrated her

home going service on May 6, 2015.

Honourable colleagues, please join me in honouring a

woman of faith, Beatrice Blanche Clarke, for her life of serving others.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the unveiling

of the name of the new Supportive Living Unit at St. Luke's.

The new name honours the long commitment of the Late Cannon Babb and

Lillian Babb to the St. Luke's organization.

Cannon Babb was involved with the opening of St. Luke's and both he and

his wife Lillian spent their final days being cared for by the staff of St.

Luke's.

The Cannon Randell R. Babb and Mrs Lillian A. Babb

Manor is a fitting name indeed.

Yesterday was also a day of celebration for St. Luke's

because it was fifty years to the day that St. Luke's officially opened.

We celebrated with a beautiful church service as well as the unveiling of

the name plaque for the Manor.

I would like to commend the board and management of St.

Luke's, as well as the staff of the home, for fifty years of dedicated service.

It is always a pleasure to celebrate with the residents.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize the Port aux Basques and area

2015 Relay for Life which raised $49,868.98.

I was honoured to be included in this celebration of survival and

memorial of loved ones.

The relay included fourteen teams and was the largest

relay on the West Coast. Ms Cara

Leamon was named Survivor Ambassador and her husband, Colin and their children,

Lucas and Leah, were Caregiver Ambassadors.

The twelve-hour event began with team members starting

their continuous walk. At 4:00,

there was a dinner for survivors and caregivers, where Cara told of her battle

with cancer. The dinner was followed

by the survivors' victory lap, which ended with the survivors releasing yellow

balloons, a symbol of hope.

Later a very touching luminary ceremony took place,

where everyone affected in anyway by cancer was called to the floor.

The numbers were staggering.

This ceremony was followed by an address from Mr. Sam Chaulk, who is living with

cancer. His speech was encouraging

and uplifting.

Co-chairs Lorna Coffin and Sylvia Savoury and their

ten-member organizing team are to be commended for putting together a fantastic

event.

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

congratulations to the 2015 Port aux Basques Relay for Life Committee on another

successful relay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Bonavista South.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

LITTLE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize all the

volunteer fire departments brave, dedicated firefighters and firettes in the

District of Bonavista South.

Volunteer fire departments are central to representing

the ideals of a community, while also maintaining their safety.

They respond to emergency situations and protect people, their

properties, and the environment from all types of accidents and emergency

situations. The departments work

closely with the local communities to raise the level of fire safety in order to

help prevent fires and accidents from happening.

Many community services survive because of volunteers

who freely give their time and risk their lives.

I thank those of you who do this.

Your contributions enrich our communities, make us more resilient, and

help define the character of our great Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The fire departments in the district are as follows:

Lethbridge and area Fire Department, Summerville-Princeton-Southern Bay Fire

Department, King's Cove and area Fire Department, Five Coves Fire Department,

Trinity Bay North Fire Department, and the Bonavista Fire Department.

Mr. Speaker, members of the House, please join me in

recognizing the valued volunteer fire departments in the District of Bonavista

South.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Before we do statements by ministers, I also want to welcome to the public

gallery today two staff members from the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers'

Association, the Executive Director Mr. Don Ash and Communications Officer Ms

Lesley-Ann Browne.

Welcome to the House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to recognize National

Brain Injury Awareness Month in Newfoundland and Labrador and across Canada.

With June being National Brain Injury Awareness Month,

it provides an opportunity to stress the importance of learning more about the

impact of brain injuries. Each year,

thousands of Canadians incur a traumatic brain injury and the majority are young

adults.

We are committed to ensuring safe and healthy

communities in Newfoundland and Labrador and as part of this we have made injury

prevention a key component of our Provincial Wellness Plan.

Our government provides annual funding of approximately $22,700 to the

provincial

chapter of the Brain Injury Association and nearly $20,000 to the

Newfoundland and Labrador Injury Prevention Coalition.

Through the Provincial Wellness Plan, we have partnered

with other government departments, regional health authorities, regional

wellness coalitions, and community groups to promote safety and prevent injuries

through public awareness campaigns.

These campaigns have been implemented in partnership with Service Newfoundland

and Labrador and focus on areas such as safe use of booster seats and most

recently, bicycle helmet legislation.

Bike helmets are now mandatory on all public roadways

in our Province. Statistics show

that a properly fitted bicycle helmet can decrease the risk of serious head

injury by as much as 85 per cent.

This amendment has strengthened our legislation, protecting individuals,

children, and families throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

I call on all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to join

me in recognizing National Brain Injury Awareness Month and encourage everyone

to be mindful of safety every day to avoid injuries.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. I am pleased to join my

colleagues in the Official Opposition and in the House of Assembly to recognize

National Brain Injury Awareness Month.

Brain injury happens in an instant and can change one's

life forever. The effects can be

devastating and special care is required for those living with a brain injury.

Advances in medical technology and research can help mitigate the

effects; however, prevention is crucial.

National Brain Injury Awareness Month is an opportunity

to get educated on the facts around brain injury and what you can do to prevent

such an injury. We asked questions

in this House for over a year on implementing bicycle helmet legislation and the

minister continued to provide excuses as to why we did not need the legislation.

So I am very pleased to see that the bicycle helmet legislation was

finally put into effect, as bike helmets are a significant measure in preventing

brain injury so, better late than never.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

statement. I am glad to know that

money does go to the Brain Injury Association and the Injury Prevention

Coalition, because they are so important for raising awareness and advising

government where more preventative measures are needed.

I, myself, buy the Brain Injury Association's calendars.

They worked hard to get bicycle helmet legislation in

this Province, and I hope there are fewer head injuries as a result.

However, experts tell us that ride-on toys, like foot-propelled scooters,

are responsible for a steep increase in toy injuries and they are asking

governments to legislate helmet use in this area as well.

Government also needs to listen to emergency and safety professionals who

want strong enforcement of ATV safety.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

RUSSELL:

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House to recognize all Aboriginal people across

Newfoundland and Labrador as we celebrate National Aboriginal Day this Sunday,

June 21.

I am a proud Inuk of Labrador and I am honoured to be

working with a government that believes in diversity, inclusion, and advocacy as

we move towards reconciliation. We

are fortunate to have many Aboriginal governments and organizations in this

Province including the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation Band, the Miawpukek First

Nation, NunatuKavut Community Council, the Innu Nation, and the Nunatsiavut

Government.

Mr. Speaker, this year National Aboriginal Day is

especially poignant following the release of the Calls to Action from the Truth

and Reconciliation Commission. This

has been an especially emotional couple of weeks as we have heard numerous

courageous survivors relate their heart-breaking stories of their experiences in

the residential schools system. In

this Province, we have done much work towards reconciliation, but we still have

much more to do.

Some of the steps we have taken include negotiating and

settling land claims, publishing our Aboriginal consultation policy, advancing a

land claim and self-government implementation policy and Aboriginal Human

Resource Strategy, as well as undertaking a review of the K-12 curriculum for

Aboriginal content and delivery.

Through these and other initiatives implemented since 2004, we have been

establishing and strengthening our relationships with Aboriginal communities and

people. We have a strong foundation

from which we hope to foster an even stronger relationship with the Aboriginal

people of this Province in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians to take time this weekend to participate in activities bring held

throughout the Province and learn about Aboriginal traditions, languages, and

values. I will be celebrating by

raising the Mi'kmaq flag in Corner Brook and attending celebration events in

Sheshatshiu, as well as the Labrador Friendship Centre in Happy Valley-Goose

Bay.

Aboriginal people have a special connection to the

land. Having a chance to experience

this way of life should not be missed by anyone so please enjoy the celebrations

and take in the tastes, the sounds, and the beautiful woven tapestry of

traditions and practices that are all a part of our Province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR.

EDMUNDS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. Mr. Speaker, we too would

share in government's recognition of National Aboriginal Day this Sunday.

It is encouraging to see the government include

NunatuKavut Community Council as one of the Aboriginal groups in the Province.

Now they should consider following up those words with some meaningful

actions to help NunatuKavut in their quest for true recognition.

I want to personally congratulate the Nunatsiavut

Government on the progress they have made since the formation of

self-government. We need to continue

collaboration with the Innu Nation, Qalipu, and Miawpukek First Nation to

foster, enhance, and build a stronger relationship.

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of recommendations in

the TRC Calls to Action that this government, as well as other provincial and

territorial governments need to address with the federal government to ensure

true reconciliation is achieved with all Aboriginal groups affected by this

terrible

chapter in our history.

There is another holiday on Monday commemorating

Christopher Columbus's discovery of North America.

Guess what, Mr. Speaker? We

were already here.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I too thank the minister for the advance copy of his

statement. I also look forward to

celebrating National Aboriginal Day by attending the activities at the St.

John's Native Friendship Centre at their Water Street location here in St.

John's on Sunday. It is always a

wonderful experience and I encourage anyone who is in the city to come along.

I too want to use this opportunity to remind the

government that there are still outstanding land claims in this Province which

must be resolved. Government must

ensure it is doing whatever it can to ensure a favourable resolution of these

claims. Celebrating the day is

great, but the Aboriginal people of the Province need action.

I also ask again this government if they will

unequivocally support the ninety-four interrelated recommendations of the

national Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and work with the federal and

Aboriginal governments to ensure all recommendations are put in place.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In February, government signed a deal with Vale

allowing them to ship an additional 94,000 tons of nickel concentrate out of the

Province over the next five years.

Vale agreed to pay $200 million in compensation and another $30 million in a

community investment fund. There

were no details released about the fund and we have heard nothing from

government since.

I ask the Premier: It has been four months, when will

you let the people of the Province know how this $30 million will be spent?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DALLEY:

Mr.

Speaker, the member opposite is correct, that when the agreement was made to

allow to export further concentrate, a part of the agreement there was a $30

million fund that was going to be paid by Vale that could be used within the

Province. There has been no decision

on the fund. It is secured, there is

no issue with that.

We continue to have discussions.

We wanted to get through the Budget process, Mr. Speaker, but the $30

million fund is there, and there has been no decision as to where it is going to

be spent.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, often we hear the Premier, we hear the minister

talk about the importance of prospecting and the important role they play; our

prospectors and the important role they play in future mining developments.

Groups like the Newfoundland and Labrador Prospectors Association have

requested money from this fund in a pre-Budget submission.

Now it has been four months, as I said, there have been no details on

this.

I ask the minister: What is the deadline for this

process that you just talked about?

Is there a committee in place, and if so, who is actually on the committee?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DALLEY:

Mr.

Speaker, I gladly echo the importance of our prospectors in this Province.

I have met with the prospectors, a very important group in future

exploration, future opportunities in the mining industry in this Province.

We do have funding that we help support the prospectors group in the

Province.

With respect to the $30 million, it is within

government and it will be a Cabinet decision as to what happens with the $30

million. There is no time frame on

it, but I can assure the member opposite that it is an important part of an

agreement. It will be important

investments that we can make in communities in the Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, the minister just mentioned that we talked about

how little details are. Now he tells

us that, well, indeed the details are already in place, because this is going to

be a Cabinet decision, I just heard from the minister.

So, if the minister is determined that this is a going to be a Cabinet

decision $30 million in the Community Investment Fund there

must be criteria around how this fund would be spent.

So I ask the

minister: Will he table the criteria for this investment fund?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DALLEY:

Mr.

Speaker, I know the Leader of the Opposition has never been in government, but

he should understand that important decisions, important for the Province, are

made through the Cabinet process.

This is no different.

As for the details, we have worked with the company,

Vale, an outstanding company that is making significant investment in the

Province. They have certain criteria

around one-time funding. This is not

operational money. It is one-time

funding. One of the areas, for

example, they have invested in already is in health care.

That is very important for the people of the Province, Mr. Speaker.

Those are the kinds of considerations we will take when

we eventually make the decision that will be supported by Cabinet, but it will

also be supported by Vale as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I remind the minister, no, I have not been in

government. I do know there are

processes in place. All we need to

do it ask the Minister of Transportation about that and what he left out of the

consultants when he hired those without going to Treasury Board for being able

to do that.

Mr. Speaker, without proper processes and

accountability, this $30 million could be used as a slush fund for a general

election. Who will make the final

decision? Is there a committee in

place to make the determination on how this $30 million will be spent?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

DALLEY:

Mr.

Speaker, I knew if we waited long enough, we would get to the bottom of this.

They are afraid of what is happening what we are doing.

We are doing good things in the Province, Mr. Speaker.

They continue to stand here and challenge, question, and criticize.

The concern is that we are going to be able to do something good for

communities.

We are five months to an election.

I can assure the people of the Province we are not going to stop

governing. We are not going to stop

doing good things for the people of the Province.

We are firmly committed.

I can reassure the member opposite, when we make a

decision on the $30 million; we will make sure he has all the details, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister did not have to wait long.

As a matter of fact, if you go back through the news releases, the day

this was announced, it was the exact comment that I made back then, I say to the

minister.

Mr. Speaker, the Agnes Cowan Hostel at the Health

Sciences Centre, which houses cancer patients and families of children receiving

care at the Janeway, is reported to be in deplorable condition.

We have mouse traps, droppings, horribly stained carpet, rusty shower

stalls, paint that is peeling, and a dysfunctional plumbing system.

The hostel actually provides, as many members here

would know, a crucial service at an affordable rate for people who come from all

parts of the Province to receive health care.

I ask the minister: Why is this facility in such a

deplorable condition?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KENT:

Mr.

Speaker, when it comes to health care infrastructure in this Province, we have

lots of challenges. For just 500,000

people, we have fifteen hospitals, twenty-three community health centres, 119

community clinics, and twenty-three long-term care facilities.

The good news, Mr. Speaker, is that since 2004, we have invested $1.4

billion in health care infrastructure in Newfoundland and Labrador, and we are

going to continue that work.

If there are specific issues at any one of our

facilities, we do work closely with our regional health authorities to identify

and address those needs. In fact,

there will be more money for maintenance and more money for equipment spent in

the coming months, and there will be announcements this summer related to some

of those investments, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR.

BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In this Budget 2015 we have heard the Minister of

Finance, the Premier, and of course the Minister of Health and Community

Services often say that it is about finding balance and making difficult

choices, I would say. One choice

that you were able to do was find money for an ad campaign.

You could find money for renovations in the Premier's Office.

This hostel is nearly at capacity every night.

It is in deplorable condition.

We have heard from people all across this Province.

The staff indeed works very hard, and clearly, that is not the issue.

I ask the Premier: Why do you think it is acceptable

for this hostel to be a home for cancer patients in a hostel where mice are

running rampant and there is not even a simple shower is difficult to find?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KENT:

Mr.

Speaker, let me be clear, the conditions that the Leader of the Opposition is

describing, they are not acceptable.

They are not acceptable to me and I am sure they are not acceptable to anybody

in this Province.

We will follow up with Eastern Health about those

issues at the Agnes Cowan Hostel.

There are deficiencies and Eastern Health is working on those deficiencies.

I will be holding Eastern Health accountable to ensure that those issues

are addressed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR.

SLADE:

Mr.

Speaker, three proud fish harvesters lost their lives yesterday.

They were trying to make a living on the waters in Newfoundland and

Labrador. They were fishing in a

twenty-three-foot boat because DFO regulations kept them from using a bigger

vessel. One of the men had a much

larger boat tied up to the wharf.

I ask the minister: Have you addressed this issue with

your federal counterpart? Have you

even tried to get this policy changed?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

GRANTER:

Mr.

Speaker, our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends, and the

communities of those harvesters who lost their lives yesterday.

We as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians extend our deepest sympathy to all

the families and communities directly involved.

It is a federal government regulation, Mr. Speaker.

We have had numerous conversations.

I know the FFAW, harvesters, our officials in our department, any

opportunity we get we voice our concerns with regard to size of ships, licences,

and how our harvesters in the Province fish our fisheries off our coast.

Again, our deepest sympathies to the families involved, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR.

SLADE:

Mr.

Speaker, members of this caucus, along with the harvesters from the Northern

Peninsula, asked for a meeting to discuss vessel size with the provincial

Minister of Fisheries last October.

The minister ignored the request.

Mr. Speaker, families in our Province are grieving today for these lost lives.

Harvesters should be allowed to use the size of vessel they need to keep

them safe.

I ask the minister: Will you insist DFO reconsider this

policy on vessel size, and will you fight for that change at DFO?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

GRANTER:

Mr.

Speaker, again, our sympathies go out to the families of the men who lost their

lives.

Any opportunity we get as a government where there is

an opportunity to change regulations that will make it safer for harvesters on

the ocean in Newfoundland and Labrador, we will take every opportunity.

Every meeting, every opportunity that I would have with my federal

counterpart, we will address those issues and raise the concerns of harvesters

in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Carbonear Harbour Grace.

MR.

SLADE:

Mr.

Speaker, actions speak louder than words.

Harvesters of our Province are not working in the calm waters off the BC

coast or the inland waters of the Great Lakes.

Fishing is a dangerous profession, and our fish harvesters work in the

most dangerous of waters.

I ask the minister: Will you establish a committee

primarily made up of fish harvesters to go to Ottawa, if necessary, to make the

case that regulations regarding vessel size must be changed?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

GRANTER:

Mr.

Speaker, the fishery in the Province is a very complex industry.

We all know about the dangers of harvesting on the ocean and are all too

aware down through the years and down through the centuries of the many lives

lost on the ocean.

Anything that we can do, whether it be meeting with the

harvesters, working in consultation with the FFAW, working with the harvesters,

working with industry, if we can make it better for the harvesters of the ocean

of Newfoundland and Labrador and voice those concerns with Ottawa, we will

indeed do that, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR.

EDMUNDS:

Mr.

Speaker, the Mayor of Wabush is expressing his disappointment that the Minister

of Environment and Conservation is not responding to their concerns regarding

extremely dusty conditions on the dormant Wabush tailing site.

We also understand that they were meeting with the Premier today in

Labrador West on the very issue.

I ask the minister: Why are you ignoring calls from the

residents of Labrador West regarding action on this important health and safety

concern?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we certainly are not ignoring anything

that is going on there. We are in

touch with Cliffs. They are aware of

their responsibilities. Even though

they are in bankruptcy protection they still have responsibilities from an

environmental point of view to look after the land and, of course, to look after

the health and safety of the people in Lab West.

A contract has just been let through Cliffs Resources

to revegetate the tailings area, Mr. Speaker, so they are moving forward on

that. That contractor will be on

site within the coming days.

Mr. Speaker, we are working very closely with Natural

Resources. We are working very

closely with the proponent up there, Cliffs.

We are going to make sure that situation is rectified as soon as

possible.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR.

EDMUNDS:

Mr.

Speaker, it does not answer my question on why he has not responded to the

mayor.

Our leader has asked questions in this House regarding

the Wabush Mines closure plan which is intended to address the Wabush tailings

dusty conditions. We understand that

the closure of the plant is delayed because of the environmental assessment

process.

I ask the minister: Why are you not expediting the

environmental assessment process so this health hazard can be addressed and

residents do not have to walk around town wearing masks?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

CRUMMELL:

Mr.

Speaker, the environmental assessment regulations are in place.

Cliffs are very aware of what the regulations are.

They have not filed yet. We

are in contact with the company. We

have asked them to file. If they do

not do so in short order, we will be taking other measures.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

MR.

A. PARSONS:

Mr.

Speaker, in the Justice budget Estimates on May 13, I asked a number of

questions of the minister and his staff regarding positions being eliminated,

the cost of outside counsel, including Jerome Kennedy, and the amount of

overtime being paid. I have since

made two further requests for this basic information, but I still have not

received it.

I ask the minister: After three requests and over a

month later, why hasn't your department provided this information regarding how

taxpayers' money was spent?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I said to my hon. colleague about two days ago in an

email when he wrote me, I acknowledged that I had the letter, I acknowledged

information was being compiled, and I told him then that he would have it within

a couple of days. I went through

part of the request this morning. I

will finish reviewing it over the next day or so and sign off on it, and he will

have the information.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Mr.

Speaker, the world continues to confront climate change with G7 leaders

committing to a low-carbon strategy, and now the Pope is calling for real

action. Government's 2011 plan

committed to giving sector-by-sector greenhouse gas reduction targets.

It is four years later, so I ask the minister: Why is

industry still waiting to learn about their specific targets with only five

years to meet a 2020 deadline?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

CRUMMELL:

Mr.

Speaker, industry is very aware of where we are with regard to setting

greenhouse targets for emissions for their operations in this Province.

We have had four, going on five rounds of consultations now with large

industry. They know exactly where we

are as a government. They know

exactly where we are going. We are

getting very close to the final decisions in terms of where we are going to be

and setting those targets. Mr.

Speaker, a lot of good work has been done over the last number of years.

We have a small shop in climate change and energy

efficiency. They are doing a

tremendous amount of work. They are

very smart and very intelligent, and they are engaged in making sure that what

needs to be done is getting done.

So, we are very close to making that announcement, and I am looking forward to

that day.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR.

MITCHELMORE:

Five years away, and still no target set.

Mr. Speaker, this government seems to be counting on

its own poor economic track record to reduce greenhouse gases.

Large scale industry accounts for almost 50 per cent of the Province's

total emissions, and the people in industry want to know what their sector

reduction targets are.

I ask the minister: When will government show a

greenhouse gas reduction strategy that ensures industrial development is both

good for the economy and is in line with greenhouse gas commitments?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

CRUMMELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, our track record actually is very good

when you look at the numbers. We had

a reduction target to return greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010.

We came within 0.5 per cent of meeting that level.

So that was a remarkable achievement, considering the real GDP expanded

by 67 per cent over the same period.

The most recent report, Mr. Speaker

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR.

CRUMMELL:

from the federal government shows the Province's greenhouse gas emissions in

2013 were 8.8 megatons, which represents the lowest estimate for the Province

since 1996.

So, Mr. Speaker, we are doing good work out there.

Education and awareness is working.

The people of the Province understand what it is to make sure that they

conserve energy. We are reducing

greenhouse gases in this Province as I speak.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, in March 2014, Child, Youth and Family Services awarded $36 million in

contracts over three years for staffed residential placements to ensure greater

stability and improved programming for children and youth with complex needs.

Since then, in one six-month period, government has awarded ten

untendered contracts to these same organizations for a total of $1.5 million for

emergency placements.

I ask the minister: If the new delivery model was meant

to provide greater stability, why did he spend $1.5 million in just six months

for emergency housing for children and youth in care?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will remind the hon. member, that the case which we

are talking about obviously was borne out of the AG report.

That is how we arrived at that decision, but ensuring the safety and

protection of children is our utmost concern.

We understand how important continuity is.

When we have to extend contracts, sometimes we have to go outside to make

sure we are able to continue that service and care for that child, or for that

youth.

With regard to emergency placements, they are exactly

that; they are emergency placements.

We do not have time to sometimes go through the process we would normally go

through if it were a non-emergency.

When we are presented with emergency cases at 3:00 in the morning, we have to

action quickly. That is exactly

where these types of placements come from.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Actually, Mr. Speaker, I was referring to the list of untendered contracts that

are distributed here regularly.

Mr. Speaker, we have been told that days after renewing

a contract for a two-bed staffed, residential placement in the minister's

district, government cancelled the contract and the home is slated to close June

I ask the minister: Can he confirm this contract was

cancelled, and if so, did government incur any cost in cancelling the contract?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

S. COLLINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will say that no additional costs were incurred.

If the member was familiar with the contracts that are up online, he can

go view, he would see that we have the right to cancel such contracts if the

need no longer exists.

So, his first question is talking about spending money

and how we are accountable for that.

The next question he is saying we should keep something open if we do not have

any children or youth to be present in that home.

Obviously, that is not the case.

That is not what we are prepared to do.

We have to be fluid. We have

to be able to move. When an

emergency exists we have to address it.

If there is not a need, we have to address that as well, and that is

exactly what we did.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, the minister said a review indicated that beds were not needed.

Now in spite of spending $36 million over three years and $1.5 million

for ten contracts last year, we are also advised that CYFS is using hotel rooms

to accommodate children in care in Central Newfoundland and Labrador.

I ask the minister: Can he confirm using hotel space

for children and youth in care in Central Newfoundland, and is this included in

the ten untendered contracts?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

S. COLLINS:

Mr.

Speaker, the strategy that the member has spoken about is the old Liberal

strategy about putting children and youth in hotels for long periods of time.

You do not have to look that many years ago when there were up to seventy

children and youth staying in hotel rooms, and sometimes for an extended period

of time. That is not what we are

prepared to do. What did we do?

We changed it.

I can unequivocally say we do not put children and

youth up in hotels; however, we go back to the emergency placement, if a need

was needed that night, if a child or youth had to be provided with staff to go

into a hotel, it would be for the very shortest of time.

Not for an extended period of time, as was done under the former

Administration.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, I suggest the minister check with people in his department who are

trying to hire people to look after children in care in hotels in Gander.

That is our information.

The minister says the service is not needed in his

hometown, yet CYFS has spent $1.5 million on emergency placements for kids in

care and is using hotels in Central Newfoundland for lack of beds.

These untendered contracts and use of hotel rooms clearly say otherwise.

I ask the minister: How can you justify closing a home

for children and youth in his hometown when, clearly, he is unable to keep up

with the demand for these services without using untendered contracts and hotel

stays?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

S. COLLINS:

Mr.

Speaker, it is unfortunate the member tries to make this about my hometown.

I can assure him if there was a need in my hometown, particularly, as the

MHA who represents that district, I would make sure it was met.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

S. COLLINS:

However, we have a responsibility in the department.

I would again plead with the member to please come down

to my office on Elizabeth Avenue. I

would love to be able to fill him in on the details with regard to the levels of

services. We have four levels of

service as it pertains to children and youth.

Different level children need different level homes, and that is exactly

what it is.

If there was a child from the area that needed that

particular level of service, that home was there for that child to go into.

However, if we do not have that child or youth to go into that home for

that level of service, we would not fill it, Mr. Speaker.

Why would we pay for a service we do not particularly need?

We have to adjust based on the needs of the children, and that is exactly

what we do day to day.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Speaker, if the minister is going to renew a contract in his hometown and then

only a few months later cancel that same contract, it speaks of poor planning

and the need may have existed. It

certainly did exist and probably still does exist.

Mr. Speaker, the government's own housing and

homelessness study spoke to the extra cost of emergency responses to housing.

I ask the minister: Wouldn't more effective planning

result in greater stability for staff and families, not to mention lower cost

for taxpayers?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

S. COLLINS:

Mr.

Speaker, I will go back and I will echo the sentiment of the member's first

question. He is talking about

emergency placements. You cannot

plan for an emergency placement.

When you are talking about a child or youth in a vulnerable situation that comes

up at 3:00 a.m. in the morning, you cannot foresee that happening.

A situation could he happening right now as we sit here

in this House. We cannot plan for

that. We have to adjust to it and

that is exactly what we have done, while keeping children and youth out of hotel

rooms and putting them in a home environment.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I am not sure the Minister of Health and Community

Services understood my question yesterday.

Last year he said pharmacists would soon be allowed to vaccinate any

member of the public free of charge.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MICHAEL:

Now

he has told them he does not foresee any expansion of the flu vaccination

program this year.

I ask the minister: Why isn't he expanding the program

by allowing pharmacists to vaccinate anyone for free when it has proven to be so

effective elsewhere?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KENT:

am enjoying this policy shift by the NDP.

They were against any private involvement in health care not that long

ago. Earlier this week the Member

for St. John's East was advocating for private ambulance service, and today the

Acting Leader of the NDP is advocating for private pharmacy.

That is progress, Mr. Speaker, I guess.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KENT:

will explain to the hon. member once again that there is absolutely no change in

the Province's flu vaccine program for this year, 2015-2016.

We expanded the program last year.

We expanded the scope of practice of pharmacists.

Pharmacists with training can provide flu shots in their pharmacies,

which is real progress, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Last year, the minister said he wanted vaccination

rates to increase by making flu shots more widely available and he will not

expand this year.

Why is cost cutting now a higher priority than

protecting people from the flu?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KENT:

Mr.

Speaker, I want to see our vaccination programs expand.

We are pleased to say in Newfoundland and Labrador we have among the

highest vaccination rates anywhere in Canada because our program is working.

To expand that program last year, we first of all

expanded the scope of practice of pharmacists to allow them to administer

vaccinations. In addition to that,

we went further, Mr. Speaker. We

provided people within the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program

with the ability to go into pharmacies, if the pharmacy has the proper training

and so on. Those folks who avail of

the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program can receive the flu

vaccine free of charge from a pharmacist who is qualified.

In addition to that, we are maintaining our public clinics, and many

family doctors deliver the vaccine as well.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Mr.

Speaker, sources tell me that we will be visited in the coming weeks by a

delegation representing the Turkish government.

I ask the minister: Is the placement of a Caribou

Memorial on the site of where Newfoundlanders and Labradorians made the supreme

sacrifice going to be on that agenda?

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have been very clear here in the House with the

member on any number of occasions about the circumstance we find ourselves in

with respect to the caribou, but I can assure the member that every opportunity

we get whether it is my responsibility as the Minister of Culture, or whether it

is my colleague the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, or whether it is the

Premier, any chance we get to engage with those officials, that will be on our

agenda for discussion.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Mr.

Speaker, other countries such as Australia and New Zealand have memorial sites

to their sacrifices in Gallipoli; they are absolutely beautiful sites.

Why is it we can have nothing larger than a plaque to

remember our fallen in Gallipoli?

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KING:

Mr.

Speaker, the member knows full well our commitment to remembering fallen

soldiers from Newfoundland and Labrador.

It is our government that has made a significant investment this year and

for the coming years to remember those who fought on our behalf and who paid the

supreme sacrifice.

I say to the member opposite, he also knows full well

that any intentions we might have of a monument or a display or any such event

in another country is totally at the discretion of that other country to

determine what they will allow us to do and not to do.

We have been very clear in this House as to what we have been permitted

to do.

We are very proud of the investments we have made and

we are very proud of for example, in a week's time or so we are taking the

largest delegation ever of students and legionnaries and former soldiers into

Beaumont-Hamel for a seven-day period, Mr. Speaker, because we respect what they

have done for our country and for our Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Mr.

Speaker, has the government had contact with its federal counterparts at

Veteran's Affairs on this issue, with the federal government?

I would like to know if there is any progress on that issue on their

part.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KING:

Mr.

Speaker, on this particular issue, again, I will be very clear with the member

opposite. We are not using an

intermediary. We are not looking for

somebody else to step in between us and the Turkish government.

We are dealing directly with Turkish officials ourselves.

Furthermore, it is not only myself or the Minister of

Intergovernmental Affairs, but the Premier himself has taken the lead on that

particular file because we believe in it and we want to make it happen.

To be very clear, Mr. Speaker, we can only do what we are permitted to do

by the Turkish government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to give notice under Standing Order 11, I

shall move that the House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, 2015.

I further give notice under Standing Order 11, I shall

move that the House not adjourn at 10:00 p.m. on excuse me, I am sorry, Mr.

Speaker. I confused the dates the

House not adjourn at 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, 2015.

I further give notice under Standing Order 11, I shall

move that the House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2015, and

further that the House not adjourn at 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2015.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Further notices of motion?

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Trinity Bay de Verde.

MR.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS residents of the District of Trinity Bay de

Verde are not satisfied with the current recreational food fishery system; and

WHEREAS the short season length results in unsafe

fishing practice; and

WHEREAS the recreational ground fishery catch limit is

not equal to other Atlantic Provinces;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

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

Labrador has a recreational cod fishery equal to that of the other Atlantic

Provinces.

As in duty bound, your petitioners ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure this afternoon to enter

that petition on behalf of my constituents in the District of Trinity Bay de

Verde. It is an ongoing issue that

we hear about every summer.

Before Question Period this afternoon, I had the

opportunity to speak to the Minister of Fisheries about this issue.

He does assure me that he brings this up regularly with his counterpart

in Ottawa.

Mr. Speaker, for too long we have allowed this issue to

go on. I just looked at the

Department of Fisheries website yesterday and got some information and looked at

the other Maritime provinces when it comes to the recreational cod fishery.

We look at Nova Scotia, and we have a fishery that runs from April 15

until October 4. We look at Prince

Edward Island and we have a fishery that runs from April 15 to October 4, and

the same in Nova Scotia.

Mr. Speaker, it is time the federal government

recognized this and the importance of the recreational cod fishery to rural

Newfoundland, both as a food fishery and an economic engine.

With respect to the rebounding cod stocks, it is also important that we

do recognize the fact that as cod stocks rebound, inshore fishers with the

adjacency and with the licences, should be the first ones we look at with

respect to the rebounding stocks.

I do encourage the minister to continue to talk to

Ottawa about this ongoing issue throughout the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS violent workplace incidents involving

convenience store clerks and gas station attendants are a serious health and

safety issue; and

WHEREAS many public and private sector employees are

being left in vulnerable situations, especially in the opening and closing of

their buildings and establishments; and

WHEREAS all workers deserve protection from danger and

harm; and

WHEREAS current government regulations are woefully

inadequate in providing even basic protection for these vulnerable workers; and

WHEREAS it is the responsibility of employers to keep

workers safe, and the responsibility of government to ensure employers adhere to

regulations;

We, the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to

urge government to immediately enact legislation and regulations to protect

workers in hazardous workplaces, including late-night shifts in convenience

stores and gas stations. This

legislation must direct employers to have a minimum of two workers on site after

10:00 p.m. and before 6:00 a.m., or have a secure barrier between the worker and

customer in place between these hours.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I am quite happy to stand today and to

present this petition on behalf of people it looks like mainly from the St.

John's area, but also some from the Burin Peninsula.

I am becoming more concerned myself lately.

We seem to have holdups on the rise again.

There seemed to be a period here in the St. John's area in particular

where things seemed to quiet down, but all of a sudden we are getting a lot of

holdups happening again. Every week

now we are getting more than one.

What is also standing out is that almost all the time

now they are armed I mean, they are armed with different things, but all the

time they were armed. I remember two

years ago you may have holdups, but you hardly heard about armed holdups and

that is what is starting to happen more, it is on the increase, so all the more

reason for us to have legislation in place.

I know a lot of employers are trying their best.

I know a lot of employers do have things in place, safety measures in

place; but, at the same time, there may be some small businesses, for example,

who cannot afford to put the things in place.

If we had legislation, I think we would then have support and resources

to help small business if they had to put up a barrier, or if they had to have a

second employee on at night, and not just have one employee.

So, for the good of the safety of workers in this

Province, I encourage the government to pay attention to this petition.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS most communities in the District of Cartwright

L'Anse au Clair do not have cellphone coverage; and

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

DEMPSTER:

WHEREAS residents of coastal Labrador require cell coverage to ensure their

safety and communications abilities; and

WHEREAS the opening of the Trans-Labrador Highway has

increased their dependency on mobile communication

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

MR.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

DEMPSTER:

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call up on the

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

with the appropriate agencies to provide cellphone coverage along the

Trans-Labrador Highway and to communities in coastal Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, that is a petition that I have presented a

number of times. It is a difficult

petition. It is not an easy one.

It could be very expensive to put cell coverage throughout the whole

region, I understand that, but we are talking about a stretch of road around

West St. Modeste-Pinware, about 700 kilometres, up to Goose Bay.

It is the main artery that stretches right through Labrador.

It experiences some of the most desolate weather, adverse conditions that

you can have in the entire Province.

We have had situations where people have been stranded

overnight and perhaps more. We have

had cases where there have been fatalities and serious accidents on the road and

they have had to wait for hours and hours and hours, Mr. Speaker.

I would encourage the provincial government to work

with the federal government, to work with the private sector, to at least let

the people know what the plan is in that region, what the plan is on a

go-forward basis, if there are certain sections of the area where they plan on

putting cellphone towers.

We are coming into tourist season.

The tourists who are travelling need certain sections where they can have

cellphone contact. It can save

lives. Surely, in this technological

age, as we advance, it is becoming affordable to do these things.

I believe we should even be having conversations on

things like Wi-Fi repeaters and things like that on towers if we cannot afford

to put cellphone coverage through all of the remote areas.

I look forward to some further dialogue with the

minister on that, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

MURPHY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the

undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS in 2011 the provincial government announced it

would lift the 8 per cent provincial portion of the HST on residential heat and

light by introducing the Residential Energy Rebate; and

WHEREAS heat is a necessity of life and a health

concern, particularly for seniors; and

WHEREAS the provincial government has projected oil

prices to increase in the next five years;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly

pray and call upon the House of Assembly to urge government to stop taxing home

energy and to reverse its decision to abolish the Residential Energy Rebate.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, I was quite pleased to receive these

petitions. I would like to thank the

people of Badger, as well as the people of Makkovik, as some people would call

it, or Maquuvik, in some cases from Labrador who are gravely concerned with

the simple fact that they are going to be paying taxes on heat again.

After a ten, twelve-year fight, it was finally removed by the government

in Budget 2012 and now placed back on there again.

Of course, we are going to have seniors in jeopardy.

We are going to have another cost to people on lower incomes.

We are going to have to be dealing with higher costs, household costs as

a result of tax going back on heat again, a necessity of life.

Mr. Speaker, some people would find it offensive to

find when they woke up the next day that their food would be taxed.

Well, now we are going to be back to a scenario where we are going to

have high energy costs. We have not

seen the price of heating oil back off any over the summer, and I think

everybody knows that I look at that.

I think everybody knows as well, that the price of electricity has not come down

any great deal in the last little while.

I think it came down 6 per cent in March.

That is not a lot.

We do know that the cost for electricity is going to be

going up as well. Mr. Speaker, this

is a necessity, and government reneged on its plan to keep this Residential

Energy Rebate back in consumers' pockets.

They changed their mind on it.

They are also changing their mind on the HST as well.

So, Mr. Speaker, I will leave this, it is a grave concern for the people

of this Province.

Again, I will thank the people of Badger and Makkovik

for allowing me to express their views on this, and I ask government to

reconsider. The Residential Energy

Rebate is an important income. It is

an important way of keeping disposable income in the economy, and most

importantly, Mr. Speaker, particularly for the people in Labrador.

We know what the cost of heat is in Labrador.

I think the people of Labrador would be greatly concerned about this.

I continue to stand on my feet and speak to these

petitions and speak to this cause, and hopefully one of these days, Mr. Speaker,

government is going to reconsider their position and reinstate the Residential

Energy Rebate.

Thank you very much.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Order 2, third reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The Services Charges Act, Bill

So moved by me, seconded by the Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board, that the said bill be now read a third time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that Bill 8 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:

bill,

An Act To Amend The Services Charges Act.

(Bill 8)

MR.

SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a third time and it is ordered that the bill do pass

and its title be as on the Order Paper.

On motion, a bill,

An Act To Amend The Services

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

Paper. (Bill 8)

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to now call from the Order Paper, Order 7,

second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The Teachers' Pensions Act, Bill 15.

So moved by me, seconded by the Minister of Finance and

President of Treasury Board, that the said bill be now read a second time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that Bill 15 be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The

Teachers' Pensions Act. (Bill 15)

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

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

MR.

WISEMAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a real pleasure today, as I stand in this House,

to introduce in second reading Bill 15.

It is an extension, Mr. Speaker, of the work that this government started

a number of years ago in working with all of our public sector unions to make

sure that all of our public sector pension plans were put on a path to

sustainability.

One of the things that we are really challenged with,

and had been challenged with for a number of years, is the unfunded liability

associated with our pension plans.

Over the last, I guess, ten or twelve years we have had the opportunity to put

large sums of money into the pension plan to deal with the unfunded liability,

but that was a patchwork kind of an approach.

It did provide some relief, absolutely, and it did

address some of the outstanding unfunded liability, but fundamentally it did not

deal with the structural issue. When

you start talking about having your pension plans only 60-odd per cent funded,

that is a serious and precarious position for a government to be in.

It is a serious and precarious position for employees of government to be

in and those who are pensioners.

Mr. Speaker, everybody was in a spot.

Government, employees, and pensioners were in a position where their

pension plans were in jeopardy. The

Province's fiscal security was being challenged as a result of the mounting

unfunded liability and the potential of future liabilities of the government as

we were continuing to attract people to the public service.

Many of these people obviously were retiring at the end of their careers

and we needed to deal with it in a serious way.

We undertook a process to sit down with all of our

public sector unions. To their

credit, Mr. Speaker and I am delighted today that we have members from the

NLTA joining us here in the House. I

want to take this opportunity to thank them for the leadership they have shown

in trying to work with government to address this very significant issue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

WISEMAN:

What I am about to introduce here today in Bill 15 would not be possible if we

had not had a good working relationship with our public sector unions.

In this instance here, the NLTA, if we had not had an ability to have

people around that table who were understanding of the critical nature of the

issue at hand, understanding of the need to work collaboratively for a solution,

and the need to recognize that this was everybody's responsibility and there had

to be some give and take and a clear understanding of what the end game was.

The end game is about having a pension plan that is sustainable well into

the future. This is a great moment,

I say, Mr. Speaker, not just for the teachers of Newfoundland and Labrador and

the retired teachers of Newfoundland and Labrador, but for the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador, because it is in our mutual benefit.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

WISEMAN:

what we are about to introduce here now is a reflection of what has been

negotiated between the Province and the NLTA.

We have signed off on an agreement that this would be embedded in the

legislation. So what we are going to

be introducing here today is Bill 15 and through Bill 15 we are making some

amendments, some changes to the Teachers' Pension Plan, and we need to introduce

this bill today to make sure that because some of the changes in the

contribution rates come into effect in September.

We wanted to make sure that we have a legislative framework in place to

make the provision for those increased contributions to occur.

There is another amendment that will be made at a future date that will

result in some changes, when we are position to put together what I will

describe in a moment as a joint trusteeship.

We were not ready to do that, there is still a piece of

work to be done with ourselves as a government, and with the NLTA, but we wanted

to get this in place during this session of the House.

Get it done in this session of the House so it will be positioned for

September 1.

So I just wanted to provide some overview of what is

embedded in this and one of the things I commented a moment ago about how

important it was to have a working relationship with the NLTA that allowed us to

negotiate such an agreement, and the NLTA leadership did a wonderful job in

making sure that their membership understood exactly what is contained in these

reforms and these changes, and the benefits of having these changes made.

In fact, what I understand, they ended up with what was, as I understand,

to be one of the highest turnouts for voting for an issue presented to the

membership, but also, one of the highest rates of approval in a voting process

within the NLTA. So, I think that

speaks volumes to everybody's appreciation and understanding of the value of

these changes, and in fact these changes being just exactly what we need, both

from the membership and from the Province itself.

So what we will end up I will run through some of the

things that are in this bill, Mr. Speaker, to provide an overview.

Many of them are self-explanatory.

So once I have been able to give an overview of what is contained in

them, I do not think there will be any need for me to spend a full hour trying

to speak to them.

Fundamentally and I am just going to go through point

by point the Province, through the use of a promissory note, the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador will be providing a promissory note to the value of

$1.8 billion to the Teachers' Pension Plan and over the next thirty years that

will be repaid. We will make a

contribution of $135 million annually towards that promissory note over a period

of thirty years, and the first payment on that promissory note will be in August

of 2016.

What we are targeting here is we want to ensure that we

end up with a 100 per cent fully funded pension plan.

One of the other provisions that will make sure that happens is there

will be an increase in the contribution rate of 2 per cent.

So effective September 1, 2015, the people who are part of this pension

plan, the members who are in this pension plan will have an increased

contribution of 2 per cent. Now,

that 2 per cent will be matched by the employer.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, as the employer here, will

match that 2 per cent contribution to the plan.

There are also some changes in future benefits.

As of September 1, 2015, service benefits will be based on a best average

eight years instead of the current five years.

People who are currently teaching under the previous arrangement would

have had their pension calculated based on their best average five years.

That has been changing, and for service after September 1, 2015 that

changes to the best average eight.

That change will be effective September 1.

One of the other things that will change, Mr. Speaker,

is sometimes a teacher, particularly near the end of their career, may decide

they want to leave a little bit early and move on to some other vocation or do

something different in their lives and they defer receipt of their pension until

they reach a later age. Under the

old arrangement, that pension could be triggered at age sixty; but now, as a

result of the change, they will wait until they reach age sixty-two instead of

that sixty. After August 31, 2016,

anyone with less than twenty-four-and-a-half years of service will need to be

sixty-two years of age instead of the current sixty to start receiving their

pension benefits.

Mr. Speaker, fundamentally, as I said a moment ago,

this is one of a series of two changes that are going to be occurring to the

Teacher' Pensions Act; one we are making here today and I just laid out the

changes that this Bill 15 deals with.

As I said a second ago as well, there are two other aspects of this

program that we need to bring in at some future date.

That deals with the joint sponsorship arrangement.

We need to work through that continuing with the NLTA.

What this joint sponsorship will do and when the bill

gets introduced at a later date as well, and that needs to be done next year.

When that bill gets introduced I will elaborate on it a little further,

but for now, just to give members some sense of what that really means.

Right now today, the pension plan is any liabilities associated with or

loss associated with the plan, it is the responsibility of the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador that could, I suppose in theory, unilaterally impose

legislation that might, if necessary to have to impose some very draconian

changes on a pension plan, should it find itself in a desperate position.

What this does here now, because of the nature of the

relationship we built with the NLTA around what the future should look like, is

it is a joint benefit. The employer

benefits from having a pension plan like the one we have.

It is a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, which by the way, and I did not

mention this earlier, the defined benefit provisions in the pension plan are

being preserved. That was one of the

fundamental principles as we approach this.

We said there are a number of things we want to try to do in this

exercise. One of them was to

maintain the Defined Benefit Pension Plan the public sector employees have in

the Province. So this preserves

that.

What this does, though, in the future, as we move

forward, with a joint trusteeship and this will be a corporate entity that

will be established that will take the management of the fund out of the hands

of government. It will put it with

this trustee. It is a joint trustee.

The NLTA will make appointments to the board.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will make appointments to the

board. That legal entity will have

the sole responsibility for the management of that pension plan.

They will make sure that actuarial evaluations are done

of the plan periodically. They will

make decisions around what future contributions should be, if the plan needs to

be adjusted. It will make any future

plans with respect to the plan any future changes or decisions with respect to

the plan will be made by this joint body representing the NLTA and the

membership as well as the government.

When we get into those changes in the future, Mr. Speaker, we will

provide a broader overview.

When we start thinking about the Teachers' Pension

Plan, there are over 6,000 people who are members of that plan, who are making

contributions to that plan. There

are close to 9,000 people who are retirees.

As a result of the exercise we have just gone through, there are close to

15,000 people, both active members and retirees, who now can have some peace of

mind. Their pension plan has been

put on a path to ensure it is sustainable in the long term.

It has put in place a structure and a mechanism to ensure that we become

fully funded.

We have put in place a structure and a governance model

that ensures that over time the plan will be well managed in everybody's best

interest. Should there be need to

make any changes, all those individuals who will be impacted, the teachers

themselves and the government as the employer, will be in a positon to work

together again in making any adjustments that might be necessary in the mutual

best interest of both the people of the Province, through the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador, and the teachers of the Province, through the NLTA.

Mr. Speaker, the amendments are technical in nature in

some respects. They are very

precise. There are several of them.

I think we have had a lot of good public discussion around our pension

plans over the years. We provided a

briefing. My officials have provided

a briefing to the members of the Opposition with respect to the bill.

I am certain that as we get into the debate there may be some questions

that may arise, and I will be only too glad to answer them for them.

I think I have provided a synopsis of what is in the

bill. The bill itself is clearly

written and explicitly lays out what we are planning to do here and what this

will mean.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I will conclude my comments

upon introduction and look forward to the continued comments by the Opposition

and my opportunity to answer any questions they may have.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER (Cross):

The

hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.

C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I wanted to say a thank you to the minister's staff

that he referenced who did provide us with the opportunity a number of our

caucus members and a number of our researchers to be briefed on the bill that

we are going to debate this afternoon.

I would also like to take a moment to thank the President of the

Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association, Mr. Jim Dinn, who was very

generous in getting back to me with regard to some questions I had, very

quickly. So I wanted to say thank

you to him as well.

Certainly, as we discussed last year when the important

changes were made to the public sector employees' pension program, this step

that government wants to make with the teachers' pension, the amendments to the

Teachers' Pension Act, certainly are important to make.

I do not think anybody in this House of Assembly would argue the fact

that when we have valuable employees, whether they work in the public sector or

they work in our school systems providing essential educational services to our

young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, that those individuals are entitled to

the full and fair benefits packages that they are entitled to.

I certainly have a tremendous amount of respect for the public sector

employees, in addition to the teachers, who not only reside in my district but

reside in the districts of all of us in this House, and I look forward to

participating in this debate this afternoon.

The minister has mentioned some of these points

already, and I hope you will indulge me here, Mr. Speaker.

The reason we are having this discussion is that the changes to the

pension plan, the Teachers' Pension Plan, have been triggered by a significant

growth in the unfunded liability.

From 2014-2015 there is an estimated 74 per cent of the plans total net debt has

an unfunded liability. The fund

status of the plan in 2014 was funded at 59 per cent.

The plan had about $3 billion in market value assets

and $5.1 billion in projected liabilities; therefore, funding excess of negative

$2.1 billion. This represents, as I

said earlier, the unfunded liability.

As many people in the Province know, those of you who are listening at

home and certainly those educators who are watching this debate with interest,

would know that there were a number of special payments that government made

over many years due to the unfunded liability.

Between 1997 and 2003, special payments were made

totalling about $800 million. Then

between 2003 and 2013, my understanding is that special payments totalling about

$3.7 billion were made to the Teachers' Pension fund.

Based on the August 2012 actuary variations, the

projected unfunded liability for the plan was, as the minster said, expected to

continue to increase. There are a

number of reasons for this, but at this stage, quite frankly as we debate this,

the reasons why we are at this particular point are irrelevant.

Our teachers have an expectation that their benefits are going to be

paid, just like our public sector employees do.

I think that as an employer, government has a responsibility to make sure

that we respect those contracts and respect those individuals who work and

provide a great service as part of the public service.

The changes, as the minister said, government is

committing to a $1.8 billion promissory note over the next thirty years, and

part of that requires the setting up of a joint sponsorship and trust agreement

by the government and the NLTA. The

minister referenced the second piece of legislation that will need to come to

this House at some point before the middle of next year, is my understanding.

That piece of legislation is around the establishment of the joint

sponsorship and trust arrangement.

As the Opposition in the briefing, we asked questions

about if there were any risks associated with that piece of legislation not

being brought in as part of this sitting of the House.

We have been assured by the government officials and the minister as well

today that the second part of this legislation that needs to happen will in no

way impact those retirees or those teachers who are waiting for this change to

be implemented, and who have already been informed and communicated to by the

unions.

We wanted to make sure, as we were briefed, that there

was nothing in the political world of maybe many of us do not know if the

House will have a sitting in the fall or not.

We wanted to make sure those questions were asked.

So I am glad the minister addressed that.

We understand that certainly that second piece of legislation will be

coming at an appropriate time which allows for that joint sponsorship trust

arrangement to be set up and meet the legal requirements, which we are pleased

to hear.

To reach the 100 per cent funded target, members'

contribution rates, as was discussed here earlier today, will increase by 2 per

cent. That 2 per cent will be

matched by government. There will

also be changes to the pension calculation formula.

The pension calculation formula will be using the best eight years'

salary instead of five. There will

be a suspension of pension indexing, and deferred pensions will also be impacted

as part of this legislation.

Deferred pensions; for those teachers who have terminated with less than

twenty-four-and-a-half years will have to wait until age sixty-two to qualify

for the pension.

The agreement, particularly around the promissory note

and risk mitigation the new agreement, as I said earlier, requires that

government provide a promissory note.

That note is to reduce the risk of volatility associated with the plan.

This represents a share of the plan.

The rules are and the minister I am sure can clarify.

My understanding is that promissory note is not to be used, or leveraged,

or invested. This reduces the risk

of the total asset mix so that in fact the plan has some stability and some

protection from the volatility of the market.

This will aid in lowering the return assumption or the

discount rate of the plan from 6.75 per cent to 6.6 per cent.

As I mentioned, the promissory note will be valued at just over $1.8

billion, amortized over thirty years; $1.7 billion will be used to cover 100 per

cent of the current unfunded liability for retired teachers; and my

understanding is that 50 per cent of the current unfunded liability for active

teachers and then $125 million will be used to minimize future risk.

The NLTA, from what I understand, and government agreed

upon an acceptable risk of $180 million for risk mitigation.

Therefore, the teachers will be responsible for paying $368 million in

benefit liability reductions, and that is designed to cover the current unfunded

liability for the active teachers, as well as $53 million to mitigate future

risk.

These changes, from what we have been told by both

government as well as the NLTA, will provide an 84 per cent probability of being

fully funded. My understanding, from

the information we have received in the past, is that target is the same target

as the public sector pension plan.

The other changes that have been communicated to

teachers as well and I am sure members of the House on both sides will

certainly hear this as we head back to our communities and see our teachers over

the summer period. To assist with

achieving the 100 per cent funded target, members' contributions will increase

by 2 per cent, and that will be moving from 9.35 per cent of salary to 11.35 per

cent of salary. That 2 per cent

premium, as I mentioned earlier, will be matched by the provincial government.

Pension payments, as I mentioned earlier, will see some

changes. Under this new program, no

one will get less than they would have gotten up to the plan change, and all

service before September 1, 2015 will be subject to the old plan.

The teachers' pension will then be the sum of their pre-reformed pension

before September 1, 2015 and their post-reform pension under the new plan.

Another major source of the steady increase of the

unfunded liability is the significant increases in income that occurred later in

a teacher's career, and due to certificate upgrades or administrative positions.

Currently, pensions are paid based on the best five

years of average earning, and this is going to be changed to the best eight

years of average earnings. Once the

plan is amended, the Teacher's Pension Plan will be calculated based on frozen

best five-year earnings on past service until the best eight-year average

earnings is greater.

Future service after the amendment of the plan, that is

the post-reform pension, will be calculated based on the best eight-year average

earnings. To avoid receiving lesser

benefits, current teachers may choose to work longer to get the same pension as

they would under the old plan.

Mr. Speaker, one of the items as well that this piece

of legislation addresses that we discussed in the briefing sessions were the

suspension of indexing. Under the

current plan, the indexing program adjusted pension benefits annually based on

inflation. The formula was 60 per

cent of the annual change of the CPI to a max benefit increase of 1.2 per cent.

Indexing of pension benefits is suspended to future service, effective

September 1.

This will have no impact at all for those of you

watching at home, I want to make sure that you hear me clearly.

This will have no impact at all on current retirees.

I am sure the minister will be able to confirm that when he stands up

that the suspension of indexing will have no impact on current retirees.

The deferred pension refers to a teacher who has at

least five years, but less than twenty-four-and-a-half years who terminates

their employment or is terminated for a reason, except disability, on or after

September 2016. They will receive a

deferred pension at the age of sixty-two.

I guess the last item that should be of interest of

those people watching at home it certainly was of interest to those of us in

the caucus who participated in the briefing were questions that we had around

the retirement age. To be clear,

this bill my understanding does not change the age of retirement for

teachers; thirty years in and out, age fifty-five and twenty-five years; age

sixty with less than twenty-five years.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to just again thank the

minister's staff for the time they spent with us.

It was certainly a very important piece of legislation.

They were very willing to answer questions, as they always are.

Again, I want to recognize and thank the President of the NLTA who was

very willing to have discussions with us and provide us some information so we

could be more prepared for this debate this afternoon.

I will certainly advice the House that we will be

supporting this bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi.

MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to stand and speak to this bill this

afternoon. Being a retired teacher,

I had a special interest in knowing what went on with the negotiations.

Before saying anything, I do not very often stand and congratulate the

government on something that it has done.

Every now and again, every now and again

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MICHAEL:

but today they have to be congratulated, first of all, for standing behind the

Defined Benefits Pension Plan, and for realizing that that had to be kept in

place. They had tremendous

leadership as a government in that.

The former Premier Marshall was totally committed to

that, and they continued with it even after he was no longer Premier.

He started that discussion with me when he was Minister of Finance, and I

knew he was solid in that commitment.

They have to be congratulated that they stood behind that and that they

were open in their negotiations with the public service sector, and today

especially with the NLTA. I

congratulate the NLTA, all the public service sector unions, and the government

for what has happened in this Province, because we have done something here that

has not happened elsewhere in the country.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MICHAEL:

should be proud of it.

It does show and the government knows I have to make

one political statement at least that we really are a people in this Province

who believe in social democracy; I really believe that.

That is why I hope that message is going to start moving more and more in

our Province. Because we really do

believe in fairness, and we really do believe in taking care of people.

So the struggle to make sure that the liability issue was dealt with, the

struggle to make sure that retirees in our public service sector, our nurses,

our teachers, those who work in government offices, that all of them had secure

futures, and secure retirement futures was really excellent.

The struggle for the teachers' union, of course, and

the government, in terms of negotiations, began back in December 2012.

You stayed with it while the government was negotiating with the public

service sector unions, the teachers' association had their own parallel

discussions going on but the principles remained the same.

I think that is what is really important.

If you read the public service sector union acts, all of them, and you

read the Teachers' Pensions Act, the principles remain the same in the

negotiations, and all the principles were all upheld.

I am not going to go through the details of the bill, and the details of

the changes to the pension plan. The

minister did that, and my colleague from Virginia Waters also did that, so I do

not think that I need to do it.

There are some things that I want to point out in this

whole spirit of recognizing we have something special here.

I think we need to recognize that.

I think that is what the people of the Province need to recognize.

The one thing we have coming out of all of these

negotiations is the agreement with regard to joint trusteeship.

This is extremely significant.

It has been agreed to with all of the public service sector now,

including teachers. Having a joint

trusteeship where a separate body, a third party there is going to be a

corporation set up separately on its own.

That joint body is the one that will be the ongoing

group to ensure that the pension plan that has been put in place and that the

ongoing protection of the pension plans will happen.

This is extremely significant.

The joint trusteeship will include government and representatives from

the unions in that corporation. What

that does, the joint trusteeship for the teachers, for example, will mean that

the teachers, through their representative as a trustee, will have a direct say

in the governance and administration of the plan.

It will significantly reduce provincial debt and have a positive effect

on the economy.

In putting together this plan, it is quite obvious when

you read it and when you listen to the briefing from government and listen to

the presentations from the Teachers' Union and I too want to recognize and say

thank you both to the government department and also to the President of the

NLTA for taking time to make sure that we had all the information that we need.

It is obvious from talking to them the amount of work

that went into putting this plan in place and the experts who had to be used to

put the plan in place. This was not

something that can be done lightly.

It is something that required quite a bit of time, quite a bit of work, and

quite a bit of negotiations. Like I

said, a really extremely important piece is having this joint trusteeship,

having this third party. An

independent corporation will make sure that the pension plan continues, as I

said, and that it will be protected and will be there both for the good of our

retirees, as well as for the good of the Province and the good of our economy.

I think it is also important to point out that both

sides really did give there was give and take on both sides.

Government had to agree to a substantial contribution and, on their part,

teachers agreed to pay increased premiums and reduce future pension benefits to

ensure the long-term sustainability of the plan.

I think that give and take on both sides showed that intent to be

responsible, to take care of people, and to do it responsibly, and that is not

easy. It is not easy to be involved

in that give and take, and anybody who has been part of any negotiations

understands that. I applaud once

again the government and the Teachers' Union and the other public service sector

unions for their commitment to making that happen.

I do not think, Mr. Speaker, I am going to take any

more time. I have made the main

points that I wanted to make. I

really do feel proud that we now have a pension plan that is sustainable and a

pension plan that still is based on defined benefits, and I hope that we will be

a shining example to the rest of this country about what can happen with regard

to that.

Thank you so much.

MR.

SPEAKER:

the minister speaks, he closes debate.

The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of

Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

WISEMAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the two members opposite for their

comments. I will not take long to

wrap up, but I do want to, though, echo the Member for Signal Hill Quidi Vidi

her comments around how we all should be proud as legislators and as

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and public sector unions for having recognized

the significance of the issue before us, the impact that it would have

pensioners, the impact that it would have on current plan members, and impact it

would have on the financial positon of the provincial government.

This is something that we all should be very proud of

having been a part of it. Coming to

grips with an issue that has been haunting the people of this Province and the

unions and the employees of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador,

haunting them for many, many years, it is something that is truly a historic

moment. Not only looking at pension

reform in this Province but a historic moment in one time when all members of

this House, members of the public sector unions, the unions that represent them

themselves, all having a one single vision, and that is sustainability of our

pension plans and the financial security and protection of the employees of

government and the current pensioners of government.

I just wanted to echo that comment, and I thank you for making them.

Mr. Speaker, this now concludes the debate at second

reading and we will go into Committee.

Then this act, when voted upon by the House, will come into force and we

will start that process of putting this one to bed following the

other plan that we did last year.

The uniformed services will be the next one, and we have the MHAs'

pension and the Provincial Court judges' pension, so those three are left.

Work is being done on those three as we speak.

We will continue to work with the unions involved with the uniformed

services one. That will be

aggressively on our agenda going into the summer.

Hopefully by the fall session, we will be able to bring in legislation

akin to this to deal with that last group.

Then we will be concluded when we do the pensions of the MHAs and the

Provincial Court judges.

HON. MEMBER:

What?

MR.

WISEMAN:

Yes, I say to the hon. members, we will have a fall session I assume.

We have a session every fall.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

WISEMAN:

will have a session in the fall and we will conclude the next one.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

SPEAKER:

it the pleasure of the House that the said bill be now read a second time?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

CLERK:

bill,

An Act To Amend The Teachers' Pensions Act.

(Bill 15)

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

bill has been now read a second time.

When shall the bill be referred to a Committee of the

Whole House?

MR.

KING:

Now.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Now.

On motion, a bill,

An Act To Amend The Teachers'

Pensions Act, read a second time, ordered referred to a Committee of the Whole

House presently, by leave. (Bill 15)

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this time I move, seconded by the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board, that the House do resolve itself into

Committee of the Whole to consider Bill 15,

An Act To Amend The Teachers'

Pensions Act.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that I do now leave the Chair for the House to resolve

itself into Committee of the Whole to consider the said bill.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, that the House resolve itself into a

Committee of the Whole, Mr. Speaker left the Chair.

Committee of the Whole

CHAIR (Littlejohn):

Order, please!

We are now considering Bill 15,

An Act To Amend The

Teachers' Pensions Act.

A bill,

An Act To Amend The Teachers' Pensions Act.

(Bill 15)

CLERK:

Clause 1.

CHAIR:

Shall clause 1 carry?

The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.

C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

During the debate on second reading I asked a couple of

questions. I did not get a chance to

hear the minister's response, so I will ask those now.

I know he referenced in his comments around the joint

sponsorship trust arrangement. I am

wondering if he could just clarify the timeline of how he anticipates that

legislation coming into the House and when he expects that trusteeship to be

established.

CHAIR:

The

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

WISEMAN:

Mr.

Chair, there is a piece of work that will continue between the government and

the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association to work through the

sponsorship agreement. I suspect we

will have that by the next session of the House.

We need to have it in place by, no later than the

summer of next year in terms of our ability to the outside time of that would

be between now and next summer. So I

would be optimistic that we would be able to do this in the next session of the

House.

CHAIR:

The

hon. the Member for Virginia Waters.

C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Also, when I was reviewing the information, there was

some discussion around the suspension of indexing.

So from what I understand, under the current plan, indexing program

adjust the pensions' benefits annually based on inflation.

The formula was 60 per cent of the annual change in the consumer price

index to a maximum benefits increase of 1.2 per cent.

My understanding is the indexing change is effective

September 1, but I think I said in my comments and I saw some of the members

on the opposite side of the House nodding aggressively.

I am guessing they have been through some of the same briefings we had

nodding aggressively that there was no impact on current retirees.

I would just like to give the minister the opportunity to answer that

question for me, please.

CHAIR:

The

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

MR.

WISEMAN:

That is true, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

The

hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Mr.

Chair, my questions revolve around the performance of the pension plan.

Who is the pension manager?

What are the class of assets, equities, debt investments?

What are they are? If the

minister could advise, is it possible to obtain the actual performance and the

list of pension assets over the last decade or so?

CHAIR:

The

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

MR.

WISEMAN:

Let

me answer the question about the availability of the information you are looking

for, I can get that for you. I do

not have it in front of me to share with you now, but that is available.

That can be available for you.

Just so the member is in appreciation of how much

information has been profiled in the last little while.

Obviously, to reach such an agreement and to determine the dollar value

of the promissory note, for example, to determine the amount of changes and the

value we needed to attach to those changes was a result of a tremendous amount

of work done by our actuarials, people who looked at the value of the plan and

what the future forecast would have been.

That information is current, so we would be only too glad to share that

with you.

You raised an interesting question, and the fact that

you raised it speaks to the clarity we need to provide for how the plan gets

managed. One of the significant

things that is happening here, the establishment of this joint trusteeship, that

is a critical nuance to what is happening here and what is happening with the

other plans. We now have in place

because up until this happens the provincial government, and more precisely me,

as the minister, was the trustee of the plan.

Now we will have a circumstance where we will have the

NLTA, in this case here, appoint some people, experts to a corporation.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will appoint an equal number

of people. These will now become the

trustee. There will be a piece of

legislation that gives them the legal authority.

The management of the pension plan will be taken out of the hands of

government all together. We will be

an entity that appoints people to a new corporation, but that new entity will

have the sole responsibility for managing the plan and will determine who they

want to bring in as advisors to provide some investment advice.

Basically, from here on in, when this process is

concluded, this new entity will have sole responsibility for all of the

management of this plan and the decisions around investments; who they use to do

their investments for them, the mix that they will need to have to make sure the

plan hits its targets and will reach out, no doubt, to provide and reach out to

get the most expert advice that is available to them to ensure the plan remains

sustainable and it hits its financial targets.

So, to your question, we will provide the information

for you. With respect to who manages

and who does what, that trustee from here on in will have that role and

responsibility.

CHAIR:

The

hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR.

J. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I understand the performance of the Canada Pension Plan

investment has been quite stellar for a number of years now, that may be to some

people's surprise, but the Canada Pension Plan performs really well.

There are other major pension plans in the country: the OMERS, the

Ontario municipal employees, the Ontario secondary school teachers' pension

plan.

Is there any consideration, since ours is relatively

smaller compared to theirs, to arrange some sort of a management agreement to

have some sort of pooled funds so that we could benefit from whatever strategic

investments these other major pension plans are making?

CHAIR:

The

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

MR.

WISEMAN:

That is a really interesting question.

It is not necessarily the subject of the bill, but I will answer it

anyway.

Go back to my answer, though, about who manages the

fund. Because we have about $8

billion in assets in our provincial pension plans.

If you compare that you referenced the Canada Pension Plan, and there

are many other plans, but that is probably the biggest in Canada.

As a result of the size of their pool, they get an opportunity to make

investments in areas where because of the size of their offering, they are able

to tap into better investment returns.

They get lower fees, lower administrative costs.

So they are able to provide a better rate of return because of the size

of their pool.

Small plans, and small pools, do not have the

opportunity to make the kind of strategic investments because of the size, the

dollar amounts, and the asset mix that they have to maintain.

They do not have the ability to be able to tap into those kind of

investment opportunities that larger funds would.

So, it is a very valid question, because it has a lot

of merit and requires some exploration.

That question is a very valid question, and one that the new trustee

needs to ask themselves. One of the

decisions that has been made, about to be made in the near term, I suspect we

did a piece of legislation here earlier where we dealt with the Public Sector

Pension Plan. That group now is

starting to come together. The

orientation, the education sessions are being held for the trustees as we speak.

Some of the early decisions they have to make is about,

how are we going to manage this plan?

We have been appointed by the unions, we have been appointed by the

government. We have this

responsibility to the plan itself, now how do we actually carry out our duties?

Who is going to manage this fund?

Should we reach out to another fund?

Can we actually get some value from being a part of a bigger fund?

Can we reduce some of our administrative costs?

Can we get better return for our pensioners?

All these are very legitimate questions but one that the trustee, that

group needs to ask themselves.

To your point, I think there is a lot of merit in

exploring that, a lot of value. It

is not government's role to dictate that happens.

Now what we have done here is we have actually approached the management

of the plan in the future through this joint trusteeship.

They are very valid questions, and I would assume that

this new entity that is being created will look at those kinds of questions and

ask themselves the same questions that you have just asked.

A prudent trustee would naturally ask the very same questions that you

have asked. No doubt with good

advice, they will come to a conclusion in the best interest of the plan members.

CHAIR:

Shall clause 1 carry?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those opposed?

Carried.

On motion, clause 1 carried.

CLERK:

Clauses 2 through 12 inclusive.

CHAIR:

Shall clauses 2 through 12 inclusive carry?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those opposed?

Carried.

On motion, clauses 2 through 12 carried.

CLERK:

it enacted by the Lieutenant Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative

Session convened, as follows.

CHAIR:

Shall the enacting clause carry?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those opposed?

Carried.

On motion, enacting clause carried.

CLERK:

Act To Amend The Teachers' Pensions Act.

CHAIR:

Shall the title carry?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those opposed?

Carried.

On motion, title carried.

CHAIR:

Shall I report the bill without amendment?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those opposed?

Carried.

Motion, that the Committee report having passed the

bill without amendment, carried.

CHAIR:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR.

KING:

Thank you.

It is the first time I had applause to rise in

Committee.

HON. MEMBER:

thought you were going to close her down.

MR.

KING:

are not closing.

Thank you.

Mr. Chair, I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance

and President of Treasury Board, that the Committee do now rise and report Bill

15,

An Act To Amend The Teachers' Pensions Act, without amendment.

CHAIR:

The

motion is that the Committee rise and report Bill 15 without amendment.

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those opposed, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, that the Committee rise, report progress and

ask leave to sit again, Mr. Speaker returned to the Chair.

MR.

SPEAKER (Cross):

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Port de Grave and Chair of the

Committee of the Whole.

MR.

LITTLEJOHN:

Mr.

Speaker, the Committee of the Whole have considered the matters to them referred

and have directed me to report Bill 15 without amendment.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

Chair of the Committee of the Whole reports that the Committee have considered

the matters to them referred and have directed him to report Bill 15 without

amendment.

When shall the report be received?

MR.

KING:

Now.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Now.

On motion, report received and adopted.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, before I move on, this is a very important

topic for many people here in the House and for the benefit of those who may be

tuned in by TV or livestream, I just want to make it known to people that this

concludes the debate at this stage of the Teachers' Pension Act and we will

resume with debate on third reading on Tuesday when we come back next week.

Just in case there is anybody who is around that might be holding on

thinking that we are going to debate it further, this concludes first, second,

and committee stages, and the third reading will be happening on Tuesday.

At this time, Mr. Speaker, I move, second by the

Minister of Finance, we move into Committee of the Whole to consider Bill 9, An

Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that I do leave the Chair for the House to resolve into a

Committee of the Whole to consider Bill 9.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, that the House resolve itself into a

Committee of the Whole, Mr. Speaker left the Chair.

Committee of the Whole

CHAIR (Littlejohn):

Order, please!

We are now considering Bill 9,

An Act To Amend The

Legal Aid Act, and we are resuming debate.

A bill,

An Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act.

(Bill 9)

CLERK:

Clause 1.

CHAIR:

Clause 1.

Shall clause 1 carry?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, clause 1 carried.

CLERK:

Clauses 2 through 19 inclusive.

CHAIR:

Shall clauses 2 through 19 inclusive carry?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, clauses 2 through 19 carried.

CLERK:

it enacted by the Lieutenant Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative

session convened, as follows.

CHAIR:

Shall the enacting clause carry?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, enacting clause carried.

CLERK:

Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act.

CHAIR:

Shall the title carry?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, title carried.

CHAIR:

Shall I report the bill without amendment?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

Motion, that the Committee report having passed the

bill without amendment, carried.

CHAIR:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

At this time, I moved, seconded by the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services, that the Committee rise and report Bill 9, An

To Amend The Legal Aid Act, without amendment.

CHAIR:

is moved that the Committee do rise and report Bill 9 without amendment.

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, that the Committee rise, report progress and

ask leave to sit again, Mr. Speaker returned to the Chair.

MR.

SPEAKER (Cross):

Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Port de Grave and Chair of the

Committee of the Whole.

MR.

LITTLEJOHN:

Mr.

Speaker, the Committee of the Whole have considered the matters to them referred

and have directed me to report Bill 9 without amendment.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

Chair of the Committee of the Whole reports that the Committee has considered

the matters to them referred and have directed him to report Bill 9 without

amendment.

When shall the report be received?

MR.

KING:

Now.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Now.

When shall the said bill be read the third time?

MR.

KING:

Now.

MR.

SPEAKER:

Now.

On motion, report received and adopted.

Bill ordered read a third time presently, by leave.

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I moved, seconded by the Minister of Natural Resources,

that Bill 9,

An Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act, be now read the third time.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that Bill 9, the Legal Aid Act, be now read the third

time.

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

SPEAKER:

All

those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

CLERK:

bill,

An Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act.

(Bill 9)

MR.

SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read the third time.

It is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order

Paper.

On motion, a bill,

An Act To Amend The Legal Aid Act,

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

(Bill 9)

MR.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR.

KING:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

At this time, I move, seconded by the Minister of

Fisheries and Aquaculture, that the House resolve itself into Committee of the

Whole to consider Bill 14, An To Amend The Regional Services Board Act, 2012.

MR.

SPEAKER:

is moved and seconded that I do now leave the Chair for the House to resolve

itself into Committee of the Whole to consider the said bill.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion?

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR.

SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, that the House resolve itself into a

Committee of the Whole, Mr. Speaker left the Chair.

Committee of the Whole

CHAIR (Littlejohn):

Order, please!

We are now considering Bill 14,

An Act To Amend The

Regional Service Boards Act.

A bill,

An Act To Amend The Regional Service Boards

Act, 2012. (Bill 14)

CHAIR:

The

hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and Labrador.

CLERK:

Clause 1.

MR.

CRUMMELL:

Good enough, Mr. Chair.

CHAIR:

Clause 1.

The hon. the Minister of Service Newfoundland and

Labrador.

MR.

CRUMMELL:

Mr.

Speaker, I need to bring forward a minor amendment to the overall amendment.

The amendment would correct a

section reference that was inadvertently

omitted in the bill.

What I am going to move, seconded by the Member for

Terra Nova, is that

section 1, clause 1 of the bill is amended by deleting the

word

section in the proposed subparagraph 2(e)(

i) and replacing it with the

reference

section 5.

CHAIR:

The

amendment reads: clause 1 of the bill is amended by deleting the word

section

in the proposed subparagraph 2(e)(

i) and replacing it with the reference

section 5.

MR.

CRUMMELL:

That is correct.

CHAIR:

Thank you.

The amendment is in order.

All those in favour of the amendment, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those opposed, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, amendment carried.

CHAIR:

Now

we need to vote on the clause as amended.

All those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All

those opposed, 'nay.'

Carried.

On motion, clause 1, as amended, carried.

CHAIR:

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl South.

MR.

LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It is a pleasure to have an opportunity to speak once

again to Bill 14,

An Act to Amend the Regional Service Boards Act.

Mr. Chair, I think in general we do not have issues with the bill, but

there are a couple of points there that I would like some clarification and a

couple of points to make as well.

Mr. Chair, the first question is in

section 1(2), it

says paragraph 2(

h) of the act is repealed and the following substituted: (

h) municipal authority means (

i) the City of Corner Brook, (ii) the City of Mount

Pearl, (iii) the City of St. John's.

I know this is an amendment, so we do not have the

actual piece of legislation here. I

am just wondering why those three municipalities are singled out?

I wonder if the minister could answer that question.

CHAIR:

The

hon. the Minister of