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November 7, 2017

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 30

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

Before

we begin today, I'd like to make a couple of announcement s , one regarding some

technical issues we're having in the House of Assembly broadcast. Yesterday, we

became aware of some technical difficulties with the broadcast in areas where

cable service providers are using a satellite downlink for distribution. So, in

fact, some folks out there in TV land may not be watching us, as I'm sure they

like to do on each session.

So, I

wanted them to know that customers of cable service providers that carry the

broadcast using fibre distribution are not affected. The House of Assembly is

working with our satellite service provider to find a resolution. Residents in

affected areas can view the House proceedings on, of course, the House of

Assembly website.

I'd also

like to speak next on a point of order that was raised yesterday by the Member

for St. John's Centre. That point of order was raised in accordance with

Standing Order 49. The Member for St. John's Centre indicated that in the course

of delivering a petition she heard another Member of this House use

unparliamentary language towards her. The matter was taken under advisement at

that time. I have had an opportunity to review

Hansard and to also review the video record of the debate leading up

to the point of order.

Our

Standing Orders are the rules agreed on by this House. They are the orders which

allow us to conduct order and decorum in the House. Primary among these is

Standing Order 7(1), which states in part as follows: “The Speaker shall

preserve order and decorum and shall decide questions of order.”

Standing

Order 49 states: No Member shall “use offensive words against any Member of this

House.”

addition, the Members of this hon. House have endorsed and are therefore bound

by their Code of Conduct. A second paragraph of the Members' Code of Conduct

states: “Members of this House of Assembly respect the law and the institution

of the Legislature and acknowledge our need to maintain the public trust placed

honesty and integrity.”

These

are serious matters and Members must be aware of their obligation to behave

appropriately in this Chamber. In this House, a word, phrase or behaviour must

be seen within the context of how and what was said and done. Some actions are

unparliamentary in some contexts and not in others. The essential root of

supporting or not supporting this point of order is however whether or not the

challenged actions are seen to be disruptive and therefore unparliamentary.

Having

reviewed Hansard and the video record

of debate at that time, the unparliamentary language in question cannot be

discerned; therefore, there is no point of order. However, I would like to take

this opportunity to remind all Members of their duty to preserve dignity and

decorum in this hon. House and that I expect them to govern themselves

accordingly.

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

For Members' statements

today, we will hear statements from the hon. Members for the Districts of Fogo

Island – Cape Freels, Conception Bay East – Bell Island, St. George's – Humber,

Virginia Waters – Pleasantville and Topsail – Paradise.

The hon.

the Member for Fogo Island – Cape Freels.

MR. BRAGG:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today, I

rise in this hon. House to inform my colleagues of the success we have had in my

district with regional co-operation.

Some

time ago, the Towns of Lumsden, Newtown, Wesleyville, Greenspond and

Valleyfield, along with the local service district of Cape Freels, met to

discuss the idea of building an arena. A joint committee was struck and the work

began.

This

year marks the 25th season for Beothic Arena. We have had challenges, but have

succeeded in providing recreation for local residents for a quarter of a

century.

It is

with great pride the volunteer committee continues to govern. We started out

thinking of only hockey, but soon added the Crystal Gliders Figure Skating Club.

Later, our icemakers perfected the art of making curling ice, thus adding more

interest into the building. The inside walls are lined with banners from

successful competitions. In the off-season, the ice surface gets transformed to

accommodate weddings and other special events.

While

many people have contributed to the success of Beothic Arena, it is the

co-operation of the town councils that has led to this success. Please join me

in thanking the towns and committees responsible for running Beothic Arena.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East – Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand

today to recognize a constituent of mine who, once again, will be recognized for

his exceptional athletic achievements. I speak of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's

athlete Colin Abbott who will be inducted into the Canadian Softball Hall of

Fame this month.

Colin

may very well go down in history as Newfoundland and Labrador's most

accomplished softball player. He has won 29 medals at the national and

international levels, not to mention the dozens of provincial and Atlantic

competition medals.

international play, he captured three MVP awards, one top batter award and was

an all-world selection as an outfielder 15 times. Nationally, he received two

top batter awards and six all-tournament team selections as an outfielder and

two MVP awards. He has been a great ambassador for the game through his

leadership, success and competition diversity and has paved the way for the

future softball players in this province.

Colin's

accomplishments have been recognized by other sports-governing organizations

with his induction into the Newfoundland and Labrador Softball Hall of Fame, the

Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame and, in 2015, the International

Softball Hall of Fame. These are all testaments to the impact Colin has had on

softball in Newfoundland, Canada and the world.

I ask

all Members to join me in congratulating Colin Abbott on his induction into the

Canadian Softball Hall of Fame.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

George's – Humber.

MR. REID:

Mr. Speaker, entrepreneurs

take an idea and turn it into reality. Through their hard work, investments and

persistence they create something where nothing existed before. I rise today to

pay tribute to a group of entrepreneurs on the West Coast of our province.

The

company, Growing for Life, plans to provide fresh vegetables to market

year-round. They have already proven that tomatoes can be commercially grown

year-round in this province and plan to expand to other crops such as peppers,

lettuce and cucumbers.

The

operation is a private venture and the greenhouse growing method focuses on

using local resources to supply local needs. For example, a wood furnace is

being used to heat the operation. Plans are also in place for a farmers' market

and a restaurant on site, which will sell produce from other farmers in the area

as well.

Growing

for Life has accomplished much in a short time and is well on its way to be a

major supplier of fresh produce for the province.

I would

like all Members to join me in recognizing the work being done by Blaine Hussey,

Louis MacDonald, David Hobbs and Scott Madore, the entrepreneurs behind this

innovative company: Growing for Life.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I recognize the Member for

Virginia Waters – Pleasantville.

MR. B. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to recognize the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 56, in

Pleasantville. With November 11 coming this weekend, it is an important

opportunity to recognize the valuable role that the Legion plays for veterans.

Ever

since its establishment in 1964, the Legion's primary goal is to provide

representation, advocacy and financial assistance to serving and retired

veterans and their families. As well, they work to ensure the sacrifice of those

who served is never forgotten. They do this by organizing the annual poppy

campaign each year, which starts on the last Friday in October and runs until

Remembrance Day.

Unfortunately, some of us know all too well the importance of honouring those

who have given the ultimate sacrifice. I personally lost a close friend of mine

on Easter Sunday in 2007 in Afghanistan to a roadside bomb, which forever

changed Remembrance Day for those close to him and myself.

encourage everyone to visit a service of remembrance in your community, and I

ask all hon. Members to join me in thanking Branch 56 of the Royal Canadian

Legion and all Legions across our province for the fantastic work they do to

support our veterans, their families and friends.

Lest we

forget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail – Paradise.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I wish,

today, to recognize Heather Healey, a resident of Paradise and Team Canada

pitcher.

Mr.

Speaker, Heather's love of baseball started at a very young age. Heather was

first introduced to the sport of baseball at the age of five and came up through

the Paradise Minor Baseball system. Last year, she was the starring pitcher for

Team Canada on the under 20 national team in the women's international cup held

in the Dominican Republic and helped Canada win gold.

In 2014,

Heather was the first female to be drafted into the St. John's Amateur Baseball

league for the intermediate division and, in 2016, to the senior men's division.

She also played with the Capitals in the men's junior A provincials – another

first for a female baseball player in our province. Quite the accomplishment,

Mr. Speaker, and it doesn't stop there.

Last

September, Heather travelled to South Korea with the Canadian women's national

baseball team to play in the world cup and there helped Team Canada win a silver

medal. It's not surprising that she was this year's Town of Paradise 2017 Female

Athlete of the Year and provincial 2017 Senior Female Athlete of the Year.

Mr.

Speaker, I feel it would be very appropriate for Members of this hon. House to

join me in congratulating Heather Healey and all of her accomplishments so far.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs and Environment.

MR. JOYCE:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in

this hon. House to highlight the great work of municipal councils, councillors,

community administrators and volunteers in our province. Last week, I was

fortunate to join the Premier in Corner Brook and take

part in the

Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador convention and AGM.

The

event was a great success as so many of the people working hard to address local

governance issues came together to exchange ideas about how we can work

collaboratively to improve the quality of life for residents throughout the

province.

Mr.

Speaker, I should note that those who attended acknowledged the excellent work

of outgoing Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador president, Karen Oldford,

who presided over the events.

November 1, we held the second annual Premier's Forum on Local Government with

52 delegates representing all areas of the province. We continued the process of

consultations on regional government and noted the ideas and concerns from the

delegates that we will strongly consider as we address this very important

issue.

November 4, I announced that the department will amend its municipal

infrastructure policies to eliminate the requirement for municipalities to enter

into a Limit of Service Agreement, which were previously required in order for

municipalities to be eligible for cost-shared ratio funding. This will allow us

to make quicker decisions related to infrastructure funding.

anticipate that Phase II – the Investing in Canada Infrastructure fund, should

be in place by March 31, 2018. We have also begun a review of the

Municipalities Act and other municipal

legislation, both of which Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador has

indicated are very important to them.

I'm very

pleased to also highlight our strong relationship with the Professional

Municipal Administrators who are undertaking excellent work for our

municipalities.

I extend

thanks to the executive and all the attendees of the convention and annual

general meeting for sharing their knowledge and expertise and for working with

our government. We look forward to working alongside them again this year and I

know we can accomplish a great deal together as we continue towards our

collective goals of achieving greater efficiency, strengthening the province's

economic foundation, enhancing services and improving outcomes for

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I want

to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Mr. Speaker, I'm

pleased to stand here today and recognize many hard-working individuals involved

in municipal government across the province. As a former mayor, I have attended

MNL conferences and I have always found them very useful and informative.

Networking among municipal leaders is very important and always gathers lots of

information that you can bring back to your towns.

I have

been speaking to mayors and councillors in my area, some of who are first time

councillors, and they all told me they found the conference very helpful. I

would like to take the opportunity to thank all councils, staff and

municipalities across the province. I know most of them are volunteers, and what

they do for our towns is so important for the life of many residents of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. I was delighted to be

able to attend the Municipalities NL AGM convention this year and, as always,

congratulations to them for another very successful event.

It was

wonderful to see new faces – there were quite a number around – and interesting

to listen to mayors and councillors speaking in the sessions but, as well, to

meet them face to face and hear what their concerns are. I am always impressed

by their knowledge and insight.

Government must listen closely to these people who are on the ground if we are

going to work together to achieve greater efficiency, enhanced services and

better outcomes for the people of the province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians for embracing Carrot Rewards and taking steps to becoming

healthier.

In June

2016, we launched this free innovative app that engages and rewards users for

physical activity and completing healthy, active living quizzes with points from

loyalty programs, like Scene and Aeroplan. In

The Way Forward , our goal was to increase to 10,000 new users by the

March 31st, 2018. At that time, there were 18,000 users.

Recently, Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to join Premier Ball to announce that we

have achieved and well surpassed our goal. We now have over 32,000 Carrot Reward

users in Newfoundland and Labrador. This represents 6 per cent of our residents,

which is the highest percentage of users amongst other provinces using Carrot

Rewards.

Our

government is committed to supporting healthy, active living and surpassing this

milestone is placing us on the path to achieve our goals.

Mr.

Speaker, the benefits of using Carrot Rewards are great. We know that by

becoming healthier, we will reduce the demands on our health care system. We

also know that physical activity and healthier eating improves our mental

well-being. I fully encourage anyone who does not currently use Carrot Rewards

to download the app today.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of her statement. Any programs and initiatives

that encourage Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to increase knowledge of healthy

choices, increase their physical activity and lead healthier lifestyles will be

supported by this side of the House. I'm pleased to hear there's an uptake in

this app and I hope that more people will continue to avail of these types of

programs.

should not be lost on anyone, though, that the Liberal minister congratulates

her government, yet she ignores the fact that it's the same Liberal government

that cut health care services in our province, most notably in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador.

concluding, Mr. Speaker, I certainly commend the people of this province for

showing the initiative to lead healthier lifestyles, and I congratulate them on

taking these footsteps.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement. Bravo to

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for doing what they can to be more active and

healthy.

If this

government were really committed to improving the overall health of the people

of this province, they would invest more directly into community recreation and

poverty reduction and reinstate the funding they recklessly cut from the Boys

and Girls Clubs and the Jumpstart program. People and programs cannot survive on

virtual carrots.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today to congratulate Dr. David Allison on receiving the Public Service Award of

Excellence and also thank him for his contributions to Newfoundland and Labrador

as he prepares for his retirement next February.

The

Public Service Award of Excellence is the highest honour that can be received by

public service employees. The award recognizes individuals who display

exceptional work performance and achievements in innovation, leadership,

relationship building and excellence in service delivery.

Newfoundland and Labrador's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Allison is a

respected voice in the medical community. During the ceremony last week at

Confederation Building, some of Dr. Allison's work was highlighted including

expansion of the provincial vaccination program to include the HPV vaccine for

boys and his work on the effects of opioid misuse.

Dr.

Allison is also a member of the Emergency Response Unit with the Canadian Red

Cross and has completed short deployments in Haiti and Sierra Leone. Dr. Allison

has participated in the development of a Nepal-based training program for

general practitioners. Recent visits to Nepal have shown the continued strength

of this program in preparing physicians to meet the rural health demands of a

developing country.

Dr.

Allison also chooses to dedicate his time as a mentor to medical students. He

sees the value in nurturing strong relationships, providing insight and support

as students prepare to enter their field of study.

Dr.

Allison is a leader and a valued colleague. Upon his retirement in February, he

will be missed in my department. I wish him all the best in his future

endeavours.

I invite

all Members to join me today in acknowledging the work of Dr. David Allison.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East – Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. This side of the House would

also like to commend Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer of

health, Dr. David Allison, on an exemplary career in the practice of medicine

and congratulate him on receiving the Public Service Award of Excellence.

Dr.

Allison is deserving of the highest praise, not just for his professional role

he has played in our provincial health care, but also for his humanitarian

contributions he has made in the global community.

Dr.

Allison's contributions locally and internationally are what have made him a

respected leader and valuable mentor to the young men and women who avail of his

guidance. I wish Dr. Allison the very best for his upcoming retirement in

February and his presence will indeed be missed by many.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East – Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank

the minister for the advance copy of his statement. I, too, on behalf of our

party want to congratulate Dr. David Allison on winning this prestigious award.

Indeed, we all know that he has performed a great service to the people of the

province during his term.

He also

is giving a wonderful example to the men and women in his profession by working

with people in less fortunate countries develop their health care, working with

the Red Cross and mentoring medical students. He will, when he retires in

February, leave big shoes to fill. Good luck to Dr. Allison in his future.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, I made a commitment to make available to the House the purchase

orders and contracts of Nalcor since the time that I became minister on January

1, 2016 to June 30, 2017. I'd like to make them available. They are publicly

available and online every month.

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. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Outside

of the normal protocol, I know usually Tabling of Documents comes a little bit

later, but the minister just tabled a number of documents.

Minister, yesterday when you were asked by Members of the Opposition and of the

Third Party here in the House of Assembly about these particular documents, you

weren't aware if the documents were even on your desk.

What

have you done in the last 24 hours to make sure that legislation has been

complied with in relation to these documents?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The act

is the Energy Corporation Act . It's

been enacted since late 2007, early 2008. Mr. Speaker, it does, under

section 17

in the Procurement Act

section of the act, require the tabling of all purchases

and contracts of Nalcor to this House, and that has not been done since the

conception of the act, unfortunately. They have been online. So I'll remind the

Member opposite that, of course, his government wasn't any more compliant.

Mr.

Speaker, we have made them available now at this point and we will continue to

put them into the House of Assembly on a regular basis. I will remind this hon.

House they are available monthly online.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate the fact that they're available online, but under the act it does

clearly indicate the minister's responsibility to not only receive the reports

from Nalcor and its subsidiaries, but also to table and present them here in the

House of Assembly.

So I'll

ask the minister if the reports that she's tabled in the House today, and the

information that she is going to provide – are the reports complete as laid out

in the legislation and does it include the subsidiaries: the Muskrat Falls

Project, Hydro, oil and gas, Bull Arm, energy marketing and Churchill Falls? Do

the reports completely include procurement-embedded contractors for all of those

branches of Nalcor?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What I

did lay before the House today based on the question yesterday was all the

subsidiaries of Nalcor that are included under the act. I'll remind the Member

opposite – because it is his former government's piece of legislation – that

does not include Hydro. Hydro is separate under the

definitions of the

Energy Corporation Act . Theirs are

online and made available as well, Mr. Speaker, so they are available.

He did

ask about embedded contractors. As he well knows, this government has been clear

to Nalcor and to the people of this province that we believe that embedded

contractors' information should be made available. The Premier has been very

vocal on this, including writing several letters to the Nalcor board on this

very issue.

Under

this particular piece of legislation –

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate the information from the minister. We are going to ask more, Mr.

Speaker, because let's not forget this is the government who did promise

openness and transparency. This is the minister who didn't know the contents of

the former CEO's contract, Mr. Ed Martin, when it was talked about last year.

This is the same minister who hid Oversight Committee reports for 18 months, Mr.

Speaker. This is the same minister who, yesterday, on this very significant

project, didn't even know if the reports were on her desk.

We have

to ask more questions about it, Mr. Speaker. The act clearly says that the

summary of contracts, the procurement principles adopted and the reports

required in the act, which includes a

summary of contracts entered into and

identities of suppliers, are to be made public.

Minister, is all that information made public in what you've tabled today?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I'll remind the

Member opposite, it is his former administration that sanctioned the project to

begin with.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I have spent the

last 24 months cleaning up a mess that is unbelievable.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I will remind

the Member opposite – I will remind him again – that this legislation is the

former administration's legislation and in that legislation it deals with the

Procurement Act. As the people of this province know, the Procurement Act

has been changed because there were so many problems with it.

Mr. Speaker, they exempted Nalcor under that Procurement

Act.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask the hon. Members to respect who I have addressed and

identified, who I have recognized. I will not tolerate any more abuses of that.

Thank you.

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I'm glad the minister points out that she has been in the

office for 24 months, Mr. Speaker – 24 months. Under her watch, the project has

grown, when they promised it wouldn't, by another $1.5 billion. That's what

happened under her watch.

Here we have a history under her watch of no Oversight

Committee reports being tabled or shared. She stood and defended it in every

way, shape or form without answering it, Mr. Speaker. I'm not going to apologize

for asking questions about these reports that they didn't table.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. P. DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, it's important what was raised here in the House yesterday because

it's an important piece of legislation.

I'll ask the minister again: I appreciate the history

lesson on the project, but does what you tabled here today conform to all the

requirements of the legislation? It's a very simple question, Minister.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Everything that I put forward to this House today contains the information that

is required under the Energy Corporation

Act . As I specified to the Member opposite, Hydro, under his

definitions,

under his legislation, is not required as part of that information.

I will

remind the Member opposite that when they developed the legislation,

specifically around the Procurement Act, it had to do more, Mr. Speaker, with

the procurement processes, around the competitive bidding process, and therefore

not sole-source individual contractors; therefore, the embedded contractors are

not covered. They didn't want the information put out there, Mr. Speaker. This

government is working hard to make sure it is.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There

are six different entities over at Nalcor, which includes Hydro, she mentions.

She said they're excluded. So that's one of them. One of the other six is the

Muskrat Falls Project. Under the Muskrat Falls Project, there are embedded

contractors, which are suppliers. The act clearly indicates that the identities

of suppliers to whom the contracts have been awarded is to be reported every six

months.

Minister, does your report include the identities of suppliers and reported

every six months?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, the Member opposite should be familiar with legislation that his

administration brought forward. There are limitations under that

section of the

act that specify the Public Procurement Act .

The

Public Procurement Act requires that

any of the procurement processes, any competitive bidding processes, are

included in the information. Unfortunately, it does not require sole-sourced

contractors or consultants.

I have

said to the Member opposite, I'll say to this House, I'll say to the people of

the province: the Premier has been very vocal on this issue. It does not pass

the smell test, as he said, embedded contractors –

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

going to quote right from the Corporation Act. This is the

Energy Corporation Act : “The corporation and its subsidiaries

shall report to the minister on their procurement activities and shall include a

summary of contracts entered into and the identities of suppliers to whom the

contracts have been awarded every 6 months.” It goes on to say the minister will

table that in the House.

Minister, is that what you've tabled in the House here

today?

MR. SPEAKER: The

hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

MS. COADY: Mr.

Speaker, perhaps the Member opposite needs me to say it very clearly. Yes,

everything that is required under the legislation is included in the information

that I laid before this House.

Unfortunately, and I say that with sincerity because this

government has been working very hard to uncloak the secrecy around embedded

contractors that the former administration put in place. Mr. Speaker, embedded

contractors are not covered by this

section of the act, unfortunately.

We are working very hard. As the Member opposite knows,

it's before the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner right now. We

believe the information should be public and we hope it will be in the very near

future or we're going to work harder.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What I

read from was the Energy Corporation Act.

I'll ask

the minister: Where in the act does it excuse identifying embedded contractors

or suppliers under the Energy Corporation

Act ?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, a legal

interpretation of the act – if you have a legal

interpretation of the act and

the requirements under that particular section, a legal

interpretation says that

it is procurement processes and a competitive bidding process that's included in

that. That's not from my definition, Mr. Speaker; that's a legal definition.

We would

be very pleased to have the information on embedded contractors. As the people

of this province know, the Member opposite knows, the Premier has been very

vocal on this issue. He has been public on this issue. He has written to the

board of Nalcor as well and now it's before the Office of the Privacy

Commissioner.

Mr.

Speaker, if we need to go further, if there are things that need to be changed,

we will certainly do that because we are continuing to clean up the mess that

they left.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, the minister didn't even recall seeing them on her desk and she

didn't even know. She said she'll have to check, and now today she talks about a

legal

interpretation.

Will you

table that

interpretation, Minister?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, all the

information has been online, just as it was online when they were in government.

This government, the new Liberal government, has made every effort, has worked

diligently and methodically to bring the project in a better place, and EY has

said it is. Mr. Speaker, we're unveiling the cloak of secrecy that's always been

around Nalcor. We are working very diligently.

It's

unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, that under his watch he didn't unveil the Procurement

Act. It was his Bill 1 when he was Premier and he didn't even get to the

Procurement Act. That would have helped change things for Nalcor.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's the

Energy Corporation Act that we're

speaking –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

Member for Bonavista need not stand for the remainder of the day because I will

not recognize him.

Please

proceed, Sir.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again,

I'm reading from the Energy Corporation

Act, is what we're reading from. It actually references that the

Public Tender Act does not apply to the corporation. Then it goes on

with its own parameters, its own legislation. The minister seems to keep going

back to the Public Tender Act , which

is not at play here. It's the Energy

Corporation Act .

question to you minister was: Will you table that legal

interpretation that you

spoke about?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is

very clear that it does specifically relate to the Procurement Act. It is really

unfortunate, really unfortunate in my opinion, Mr. Speaker, the opinions of most

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, that the former administration decided to

exempt Nalcor from the Procurement Act and give it other requirements,

summary

requirements, instead of using the Public

Procurement Act .

That is

what we have done now, Mr. Speaker. This government is very sincere and

dedicated to opening up and making more transparent all the processes around

Nalcor. That's why we have put through a Procurement Act that will include

Nalcor, Mr. Speaker.

The

legal

interpretation of that particular section, what the former administration

put in place, is saying that it does not include embedded contractors. It is

only about processes.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Maybe

the minister is not listening to the question. I just listened to what she said,

and she's right. Under the Energy

Corporation Act it lays out that the minister will table a document that

identifies suppliers – every six months will identify suppliers. Embedded

contractors are suppliers.

I've

asked the minister several times if the information is included. She's walking

all around it without giving an answer by saying if it is or is not. I'm sure

it's not intended, included there, but she has also said she has a legal

interpretation.

All I'm

asking you, Minister, will you table the legal

interpretation? This is the third

time I've asked. Will you table that

interpretation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I'm sure he is

using all the powers that he learned as a constable in the RNC for many years of

repeating the questions. As I have said quite clearly, under this particular

section of the Energy Corporation Act ,

it deals with the procurement processes, it deals with tenders. It does not deal

with sole-source consultants or contracts. He can get his own legal

interpretation; that's what it says.

Now,

this government is really working hard to ensure we have the information on

embedded contractors. The Premier has been very public about this, Mr. Speaker.

We wait what is happening with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. When we

have that information, whatever we need to do to change acts, to make changes,

we will do, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm not

sure what the minister is trying to get at when she refers to my powers as a

police officer – were the words, I believe, she used. I'm not sure what she is

trying to assert or trying to say about my background, my own personal

background, professional background.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. P. DAVIS:

The question here – well, she

brought it up, I say to the Members opposite. She raised it. She is the one who

raised it, Mr. Speaker.

The

question was very, very simple, Mr. Speaker: Will she table the legal

interpretation? And she won't answer the question, so I'll give her one more

chance. Will you table the legal

interpretation?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

I am a bit surprised that he

is sensitive about his skill level as a constable, Mr. Speaker. I was referring

to the fact that he had skills in this area, and he is again repeating a

question – that's a skill. I was referring to his skill level.

Mr.

Speaker, I will again reiterate, as I have said, if you look at the

Energy Corporation Act , in that

particular

section it talks about the Procurement Act and the procurement

processes. It deals with tendering processes. It deals with the information that

must be contained in those tendering processes. It does not deal with

sole-sourced consultants and contractors.

Mr.

Speaker, I didn't write that legislation. I didn't vote for that legislation.

That was the former administration.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Mr. Speaker, the minister has

made it clear she will not table the legal

interpretation.

A press

release in July claimed that the Liberal government's business innovation agenda

would be launched in September. It is now November. Minister, where is this

innovation agenda?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for

the question.

The

province has undertaken a thorough consultation process with the community, with

stakeholders. We've engaged over 250 people in surveys, all the stakeholders, to

engage and find out how we reset the innovation here in the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

And

that's so important when we look at diversifying the economy, and when we look

at how we enhance productivity and how we create new opportunities here in

Newfoundland and Labrador. It was a key pillar of

The Way Forward and I can assure the Member opposite that the

innovation agenda will be launched in due course, very soon.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Seems to be a common pattern

that there's still no plan, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the minister said there'd be no changes to program funding allocations

when they shut down the Research & Development Corporation, but made no mention

of the projects that were currently being worked on at the time.

Can the

minister state if any projects have been cancelled since the dismantlement of

the RDC?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One of

the things we've been doing as we've been listening to the people of the

province, engaging with the business and the innovation community, and all

industry stakeholders, one of the things that was very clear is that they wanted

one-stop shopping. They wanted to look at the consultation and the financial

supports, all from idea generation to looking at how we get to market and how we

export.

That's

why in July we created InnovateNL. That is a very thorough process. It's been

working well. That's why when we look at our contracts and we look at the

review, things have been running very smoothly when it comes to how we've been

working with business and entities in Newfoundland and Labrador through that

process. InnovateNL is certainly working.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Mr. Speaker, the minister

claimed that the change to shut down the RDC was made to promote the business

agenda.

Can the

minister tell us how many ongoing projects were impacted by his decision to shut

down the RDC?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There

was a very smooth transition as we created InnovateNL. Things have been working

very well within our department; there's been a very collaborative relationship.

We've

seen where contracts have been continuing. We've been continuing to work with

our clients, the programs that had been in existence. The envelope of funding

has been maintained. Now what we're seeing is greater collaboration where

somebody can come in with an idea, somebody who's looking at an R & D activity,

but also looking at export potential or looking at things that are not

pre-commercial.

The

former RDC only looked at things that were in that pre-commercial space. So this

is a way of which the former administration created redundancy and created

inefficiencies.

We're

changing that, Mr. Speaker. We're making sure we have a more innovative

environment –

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The RDC

was key to accessing applied research, in particular, for the oil and gas and

mining sectors.

Are we

still leveraging funds from the offshore? What amount was leveraged for this

fiscal year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This

gives me a great opportunity to talk about one of the initiatives that our

department has been working very closely with other departments, like the

Natural Resources and the Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources, as we look

at pursuing ocean supercluster initiatives with the federal government and our

Atlantic counterparts. We are one of the entities that are shortlisted in that

field.

When we

look at trying to secure $950 million, dollar-for-dollar match funding, we've

been working with PRNL, we've been working with all the entities that are out

there to make sure that they're working together and collaborating and being

competitive, so that we can continue to bring as much research and development

dollars here in this province. We're certainly focused on applied research.

With the

Minister of Health and Community Services, we make –

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

During

Estimates, the minister was asked specifically about the RDC and refused to

inform that it would be shut down. Why did the minister fail to tell the House

about the closure of RDC during Estimates?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, I want to go

back to talk about more investments that we've made in research and development

that's happening such as Janssen research that's been taking place right now

when it comes to the health sector, as well as one of the first investments that

we made was in aquaculture R & D that's taking place.

I don't

know if the Member opposite is opposed to the half million dollars that we put

forward in InnovateNL that leveraged $3.9 million to look at enhancing the

strains and the vaccines to make sure that we're doing the right R & D, that we

have a stronger aquaculture sector – one that benefits her district quite

significantly.

The

investments that are being made are continuing to be made, yet these are being

made through InnovateNL and she's opposed to that; that's ridiculous.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Another typical non-answer.

He refuses to tell us why he would not disclose to this House their plan to shut

down the RDC.

Moving

on, according to the year-end financial report the RDC had outstanding

contractual obligations in the amount of almost $32 million.

Can the

minister tell us if government will meet these obligations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, we've been very

clear from the beginning that we would honour all contracts that exist. The RDC

had a revolving fund as they would roll out contracts. Sometimes things would

take one year or two years to complete with milestones and projections, and that

all the funds that are committed as contracts, all the funding is accounted for

and is available through that process. So there is no outstanding allocation

financially and all contracts will clearly be honoured when it comes to RDC.

Another

particular initiative that we've invested in since we created InnovateNL is

through an industrial research chair for Ocean Choice International with the

Marine Institute to look at stock assessment in the offshore with our

groundfish. These are good things that's happening and this is all happening

under our –

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune for a quick question; no

preamble, please.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the

minister state for this House which projects were promised the $32 million in

funding, and will he table that list in this hon. House?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation for a quick response.

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, there's public

disclosure on all of these projects. They are available on the website. We've

made them available when it came to Estimates, when I was questioned by the

former Member for Mount Pearl North in the House of Assembly on this. Clearly,

all projects and all funding that's committed we can certainly make available

and it is publicly available.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Yesterday, the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development in response

to a petition on the educational needs of deaf and hard of hearing children said

that his promised education action plan will be based on recommendations of the

Premier's task force report. However, this report inexplicably, knowing evidence

that was presented to them, does not mention deaf children once and includes

only a passing reference on page 19 to students with significant hearing loss.

I ask

the minister: On which of the 16 recommendations dealing with inclusive

education that do not mention the education of deaf and hard of hearing children

is he depending to give him direction?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, it's

unfortunate, this line of questioning. The Premier appointed four distinguished

academics to review the education system in Newfoundland and Labrador and gave

them a specific mandate, and that the Member would stand on the floor of the

House of Assembly here in this province and bash those individuals to try and

discredit their work is absolutely shameful behaviour, Mr. Speaker, and I won't

stand for it.

Mr.

Speaker, there are 16 recommendations in the report of the task force and we are

going to implement them – 16 recommendations on inclusive education and we are

going to implement them.

We have

been following up with various interest groups on their concerns. There have

been many meetings. I can go on –

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last

week, we heard of Newfoundland Power pressuring landlords to disclose tenant's

personal information to them, resulting in tenants having their power cut off.

BC and

Alberta have provincial privacy legislation that prohibits landlords from

disclosing tenant information to debt collectors without the tenant's consent,

except for collecting back rent on behalf of the landlord.

I ask

the Minister of Justice: Will he introduce provincial privacy legislation that

would prohibit Newfoundland Power from collecting and landlords from disclosing

tenants' private information?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

certainly appreciate the question from the Member opposite. I am the minister

responsible for ATIPPA. This is not a concern that has been brought to my

attention prior to this, but as with any valid concern that's brought to my

attention and to our attention, we're always open to considering legislative

reform and to ensuring that our laws are there in the best interest of all

people of this province.

What I

would suggest to the Member is I'm certainly open to looking at it and making

sure an analysis is done so that we can consider it and make sure that, like any

legislation we pass, it is in the best interest and considering the

jurisdictional scans and everything else across the country. I'm happy to look

at it.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I'm very

happy to hear that response. We know there is a gap in our privacy legislation

around this issue.

The

price of power is escalating. Last February, Ontario passed legislation making

it illegal for utilities to disconnect power in the winter for non-payment of

bills. Other provinces have done the same.

I ask

the Premier: Will he direct the Public Utilities Board to look at similar

provisions to protect our people from power cut-offs during the winter?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

certainly happy to stand here. As it stands, the Public Utilities Board also

falls under the Department of Justice and Public Safety. When we talk about

issues like this, when we talk about something so important as power and people

having access and being disconnected, it is something that we take concern with.

What I

would suggest, Mr. Speaker, is I'm always happy to ensure that the Public

Utilities Board has a look at issues like this. It's unfortunate that the

previous administration didn't let them look at other issues that they might

have, but certainly we'll make sure they look at this.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Again, Mr. Speaker, I look

forward to another solution on behalf of the people of the province.

The

Ontario government has also promised to improve programs to help people who are

struggling to keep up payments on their power bills. Last year, this government

cut the Home Heating Rebate, leaving people stranded.

Will the

minister look at what they are doing in other provinces to help people with the

cost of heat and bring those programs to our province, to the people of our

province?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What I

can say is that I always avail of the opportunity, especially at

federal-provincial-territorial meetings, to look at other jurisdictions and see

what the best practices are and see what they are doing elsewhere. In some

cases, programs and opportunities that exist elsewhere can be applied here; in

some cases, they cannot. There are certainly differences between every

jurisdiction.

What I

can say is with every good suggestion that's passed to us as a government, we're

always willing to consider all options to improve the situations and lives of

all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre for a very quick question, please.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask

the minister of Housing: Will she change Newfoundland and Labrador Housing

policy to make rent supps portable so people can live closer to their family and

their community supports?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What I

will say in response to the question, as a part of 50 initiatives outlined by

this government in The Way Forward , we

are currently undergoing a thorough review of Newfoundland and Labrador Housing

Corporation's programs and services. We certainly want to look at, going

forward, where the needs are, identifying those needs and how we can best meet

them.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Oral Questions

has ended.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Presenting Reports

by Standing and Select Committees

MR. SPEAKER:

Under

Section 37 of the House

of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act, the Commissioner

for Legislative Standards conducted an inquiry into the conduct of the Member

for Terra Nova for the alleged contraventions of the Members of the House of

Assembly Code of Conduct.

Under

Section 38 of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration

Act, the Commissioner for Legislative Standards delivered his report resulting

from the inquiry to former Speaker Osborne in his capacity as chairperson of the

Management Commission of the House of Assembly. This report was distributed by

the Speaker as the chairperson of the Management Commission of the House of

Assembly to Members of the Management Commission on May 30, 2017.

accordance with

section 38(1) of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity

and Administration Act, I am hereby tabling the report of the Commissioner for

Legislative Standards into the conduct of the Member for Terra Nova.

Further

tabling of documents?

The hon.

the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MR. OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Pursuant

section 26(5)(

a) of the Financial Administration Act, I am tabling three

Orders in Council relating to funding pre-commitments beginning in the fiscal

year 2018-19.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you.

Mr.

Speaker, I give notice that I will on tomorrow move the following resolution:

WHEREAS

in accordance with

section 39 of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity

and Administration Act, the Commissioner for Legislative Standards has

recommended to this hon. House that the Member for Terra Nova be reprimanded for

violating principles 2 and 11 of the Members' Code of Conduct.

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that this House of Assembly concurs with the findings

and recommendations of the Commissioner for Legislative Standards and asks that

the Member for Terra Nova stand in his place in this House and apologize to this

Assembly for his failure and violation as cited by the report of the

Commissioner for Legislative Standards.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of notion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. 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 humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

deaf and hard of hearing children in the public education system of Newfoundland

and Labrador are not receiving full and equivalent access to a quality education

because of the lack of appropriate full-time resources; and

WHEREAS

from 1964 to 2010, deaf and hard of hearing children were provided with a

full-time quality education in the Newfoundland School for the Deaf, but deaf

and hard of hearing children currently placed in mainstream schools receive only

a fraction of a school day –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask

that we respect the recognition of the hon. Member who's speaking to a petition.

Thank

you very much.

Please

continue.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I thank

you for recognizing the people who singed this petition and the concern they're

expressing for children in our province.

WHEREAS

from 1964 to 2010, deaf and hard of hearing children were provided with a

full-time quality education in the Newfoundland School for the Deaf, but deaf

and hard of hearing children currently placed in mainstream schools receive only

a fraction of a school day with a teacher qualified to instruct deaf and hard of

hearing children;

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

of Assembly to urge government to undertake an immediate, complete and thorough

assessment of the supports in place for deaf and hard of hearing children by a

committee of at least two independent and recognized experts in the field of

deaf and hard of hearing education and to accept the recommendations of these

experts; and in the interim, take measures to honour the support commitments

made to all current and future students upon closure of the Newfoundland School

for the Deaf in 2010, to ensure that all deaf and hard of hearing children are

provided with access to a quality education equivalent to hearing classmates as

well as access to sign language.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm very happy to stand and speak once again to this concern that is

being raised by petitioners throughout the province. Right now, I understand

thousands are signing petitions that I will be happy to bring here to the House.

The

School for the Deaf was one of the most successful things we had in our

educational system in this province and we have closed it. Throughout this

country, that had been done by some governments who have retraced their steps.

In places like Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, they have retraced their

steps. Actually, they've increased having schools for the deaf in these

provinces.

province like Saskatchewan is looking at the fact that they closed. They haven't

reversed their decision yet, but they are looking at it because it's being

proven that it's a very special need that deaf people have and these deaf

children have, and the inclusion model we have in this province is like a

cookie-cutter model. It's being shown at this moment that it cannot work. If

this government can't put the resources in place to make inclusion work for deaf

and hard of hearing children, then they have to change that for these children.

They have to either make sure that all the resources are there or reopen the

School for the Deaf.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

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 humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

government has removed the provincial point-of-sale tax rebate on books, which

will raise the tax on books from 5 per cent to 15 per cent; and

WHEREAS

an increase in the tax on books will reduce book sales to the detriment of local

bookstores, publishers and authors, and the amount collected by government must

be weighed against the loss in economic activity caused by higher book prices;

and

WHEREAS

Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the lowest literacy rates in Canada and the

other provinces do not tax books because they recognize the need to encourage

reading and literacy; and

WHEREAS

this province has many nationally and internationally known storytellers, but we

will be the only people in Canada who will have to pay our provincial government

a tax to read the books of our own writers;

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

of Assembly to urge government not to impose a provincial sales tax on books.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this tax on books will have been in effect for a year or perhaps over a

year. I can't quite remember when it was imposed, when it came into effect. It's

clear that this government, when making this decision, had not clearly analyzed

what the rollout would be, what the effect would be. This was done without

consultation from the people of the province.

Again,

it's so interesting that we have the highest illiteracy rates in the country and

that the only solution to illiteracy rates is to help people learn to read and

to teach people to read. For the most part, people do that by reading books.

Adult literacy programs use books to help people learn how to read.

believe that it's still valid to continue to present this petition because

people who have signed it want their names recorded as having been opposed to

this tax on books. We have to continue to look at: How are decisions made by

this government without fully analyzing the rollout effects? They couldn't have.

They couldn't have fully analyzed what the effects of this would be. Probably

the majority of taxes that were collected on books were on the backs of

students, on the backs of post-secondary students, some of the people in the

province who could least afford it.

When we

look at the situation we're in right now, one of the things we must do is make

post-secondary education accessible to our young people.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the Adult Dental Program coverage for clients of the Newfoundland and Labrador

Provincial Drug Program under the Access and 65Plus Plans were eliminated in

Budget 2016 ; and

WHEREAS

many low-income individuals and families can no longer access basic dental care;

and

WHEREAS

those same individuals can now no longer access dentures;

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

of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the Adult Dental Program to cover

low-income individuals and families to better ensure oral health, quality of

life and dignity.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, there's a lot of emphasis today on trying to reduce health care costs

and, along those lines, trying to encourage people to live healthier lives. We

talked about the Carrot program here today, the whole idea of the healthier we

are as citizens, the less expensive our health care system will be.

Along

those lines, teeth really affect a person's heart health in particular. They

affect a person's dignity, a person's ability to socialize. So we feel that it

is shameful that the people most disadvantaged in our society, the people with

the least amount of money to afford these dentures, are the ones who've been

penalized with the cuts in the budget. We certainly hope government reconsiders

this decision and helps those who truly need it the most.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Conception Bay East – Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the

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

government recently cut vital funding to many of the province's youth

organizations; and

WHEREAS

the cuts to Grants to Youth Organizations will have a devastating impact on the

communities, as well as its youth and families; and

WHEREAS

many of these organizations deeply rely on what was rightfully considered core

funding for their day-to-day operations;

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

of Assembly to urge government to immediately reinstate funding to province's

youth organizations.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I've spoken to this a number of times and now we're into the second

year of these youth organizations who provide vital services. These are services

that go from the range of inclusion, to mental health, to physical activity, to

anti-bullying, to everyday services around education and others – the whole

gamut of what we would expect the type of services necessary or the type of

mentoring and engagement for a young person to become a holistic citizen, an

engaged citizen, a productive citizen and have a quality of life that's

acceptable. We've done a detrimental, negative effect to these organizations.

I've

talked to a number of board members who are frustrated because they're spending

more time having to worry about fundraising than about talking about policy and

developing programs and services, and developing partnerships with existing

partnering organizations or government entities, or educators or health

professionals or police forces that would be better used and develop a system

that engages more people to ensure that young people have proper opportunities,

that we have an even playing field, regardless of your geographic location, your

economic background, your cultural background, that young people would have

access to basic services that would enhance their ability to be productive

citizens.

The

minor amount of money, and I keep going back to it. When I added it up, what was

actually taken away from the youth organizations in comparison to – not the

overall budget line, but just the budget line in one of those divisions – it was

insignificant. It was nickel and dime from a department point of view, but it

was detrimental from an organizational point of view and from an operational

point of view.

When you

weigh into it, that small amount of money invested guarantees somewhere from 10

to 20 to, in some organizations, 40 times on return. Some organizations, the few

pittance they get from government, it comes back 40 times. That's money going

into programs and services. It is programs and services that we don't have to

pay for, but we reap the benefits as taxpayers in Newfoundland and Labrador.

To cut

these organizations – three issues here – without any consultation, without

understanding the investment here and without understanding the need for the

young people here.

Mr.

Speaker, I'll have an opportunity to present this again in the future.

Thank

you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Ferryland.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

happy to present a petition today related to an issue that I brought up several

times here in this House in regard to education and the building of a middle

school in the Mobile-Witless Bay-Bay Bulls response to this.

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

construction for the planned extension was to be tendered and begin in the

spring of 2017 is now several months delayed; and

WHEREAS

issues with septic and water capacity on site have not been resolved, nor have

the concerns of the proximity to the artesian well to Mobile cemetery and the

potential unearthing of unmarked burial sites during construction; and

WHEREAS

safety concerns related to traffic, emergency access and parking during and

after construction have not been addressed; and

WHEREAS

the original budget of $7 million is now estimated at $10 million due to

complications identified on site; and

WHEREAS

actual student enrolment has exceeded all projections and the extension is a

short-term, two-year solution to a capacity issue; and

WHEREAS

the elected members of the board of trustees of the Newfoundland and Labrador

middle school for the region;

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

of Assembly to urge government to halt the planned extension to Mobile Central

High School announced in Budget 2016

and move forward with a new middle school that was recommended in the

BAE-Newplan in 2014, subsequently announced in

Budget 2015 . The new middle school is the long-term fiscally

responsible solution to capacity issues in our school system.

Mr.

Speaker, this has been something I've spoken of a couple of times. It's an issue

that is important to the region and important to the parents of the region.

We've had a number of discussions about it here in the House. We've asked for a

meeting with the Minister of Finance; that wasn't available.

The

parents wanted to put forward, from their perspective, what they talked about in

terms of the use of the financial resources for this and how a better solution

could be found. That's something the parent group always wanted to do. They

wanted to work with government to find a solution on

The Way Forward issue.

initial tender has been put out. Some work has been done in regard to the water

and electrical transfers. I read the environmental report with regard to water

and availability. That is still unable to confirm if the water flow is there, or

actually the content, and the water is appropriate to use. There needs to be

further reviews done based on recommendations. That's an issue in regard to the

extension. When we look at the full capacity, what they're adding to that

facility and whether the water quality is going to be there to be able to do

this.

The

they're the elected board trustees. They very clearly indicated they are in

favour of the middle school. There's certainly lobbying done to change their

mind on this and do what's right, both fiscally and from a long-term delivery of

service to build that new middle school.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just

rise on a point of order regarding the petition; Standing Order 49 regarding the

petition presented by the Member for St. John's East – Quidi Vidi.

I want

to draw your attention, Mr. Speaker, to a ruling made by Speaker Wiseman on June

6, 2012. I quote from the ruling in

Hansard .

He said:

“I would not want members – or the public – to think it is possible to separate

pages of signatures such that one petition can be presented to this House many

times. A citizen signing a petition which, for example, may have 1,000

signatures, there is an expectation that that petition be presented in its

entirety. If a member were to separate signature pages in this fashion so that

one petition miraculously becomes twenty or thirty petitions, I want members to

fully understand and to know that I would consider such a practice to be

dishonourable and unworthy of members of this House.”

Now, Mr.

Speaker, yesterday it was clear, the Member had been presented a petition that

had, one media outlet said, 4,000 signatures and there was a tweet that said

2,700. The Member is not permitted, according to the ruling of Speaker Wiseman,

June 6, 2012 – and I remember this well because the ruling was directed at me,

Mr. Speaker. The Member is not permitted to submit a petition in this sort of

piecemeal fashion. Under this ruling, as the Member said, “such a practice would

be dishonourable and unworthy of members of this House.”

encourage, Mr. Speaker, for you to consider enforcing this ruling because we

have all abided by it since June 6, 2012.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further commentary?

I thank

the hon. minister for bringing this matter to my attention. We will take it

under advisement and report back to the House.

Thank

you.

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Orders of the Day, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I would call

Order 2, third reading of Bill 15.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, that Bill 15,

An Act

To Amend The Securities Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 15 be now read a third time.

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.

CLERK (Barnes):

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Securities Act. (Bill 15)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill is now read a third

time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order

Paper.

motion, a bill, “An Act To Amend The Securities Act,” read a third time, ordered

passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 15)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I call Order 3,

third reading of Bill 16.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the hon. Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, that

Bill 16,

An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the said bill be now read a third time.

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.'

The

motion is carried.

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Labour Relations Act. (Bill 16)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I call Order 4,

third reading of Bill 18.

MR. SPEAKER:

I'm sorry, if I could

retract, I missed a sentence. Could I just go back to it?

MR. A. PARSONS:

No problem, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

My apologies.

I wanted

to go back and insert: This bill is now read a third time and it is ordered that

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

motion, a bill, “An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act,” read a third time,

ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 16)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Sometimes I wish I could retract.

Mr.

Speaker, I call Order 4, third reading of Bill 18.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the hon. Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour that Bill

18,

An Act To Amend The Prepaid Funeral Services Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the said bill be now read a third time.

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.'

This

motion is carried.

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Prepaid Funeral Services Act. (Bill 18)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill is now read a third

time and it is ordered that the bill do pass and its title be as on the Order

Paper.

motion, a bill, “An Act To Amend The Prepaid Funeral Services Act,” read a third

time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 18)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by the hon. Minister of Health and Community Services, for leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Vital Statistics Act, 2009, Bill 20, and I

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

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

the hon. Minister of Justice and Public Safety shall have leave to introduce a

bill entitled,

An Act To Amend The Vital Statistics Act, 2009, Bill 20, and that

the said bill be now read a first time.

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.'

This

motion is carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Service NL to introduce a bill, “An Act To Amend The

Vital Statistics Act, 2009,” carried. (Bill 20)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Vital Statistics Act, 2009. (Bill 20)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 20 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker,

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, that the

House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider Bill 17.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

I do now leave the Chair for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the

Whole to consider the said bill.

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.'

This

motion is carried.

motion, that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole, the Speaker

left the Chair.

Committee of the

Whole

CHAIR (Warr):

Order, please!

We are

now considering Bill 17,

An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act No. 2.

A bill,

“An Act To Amend The Labour Relations Act No. 2.” (Bill 17)

CLERK:

Clause 1.

CHAIR:

Shall clause 1 carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, clause 1 carried.

CLERK:

Be 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.

motion, enacting clause carried.

CLERK:

An Act To Amend The Labour

Relations Act No. 2.

CHAIR: Shall the

title carry?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME

HON. MEMBERS: A ye.

CHAIR: All those

against, 'nay.'

Carried.

motion, title carried.

CHAIR: Shall I

report Bill 17 carried 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. A. PARSONS:

I move, Mr. Chair, that the Committee rise and report Bill 17.

CHAIR:

The motion is that the

Committee rise and report Bill 17.

Shall

the motion carry?

All

those in favour?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

CHAIR:

Those against?

Carried.

motion, that the Committee rise, report progress and ask leave to sit again, the

Speaker returned to the Chair.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

The hon. the Chair of

Committees.

MR. WARR:

Mr. Speaker, the Committee of

the Whole have considered the matters to them referred and have directed me to

report Bill 17 carried 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 17 without amendment.

When

shall the report be received?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Now.

MR. SPEAKER:

Now.

When

shall the said bill be read a third time?

MR. A. PARSONS:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, report received and adopted. Bill ordered read a third time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call

from the Order Paper, Motion 2.

MR. SPEAKER:

The Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development, the

following resolution:

WHEREAS

section 4 of the Seniors' Advocate Act

provides that on resolution of the House of Assembly, the Lieutenant Governor in

Council in shall appoint a Seniors' Advocate;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that Dr. Suzanne Brake be appointed as the Seniors'

Advocate.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm very happy to stand here today and speak to this resolution that's

being introduced by our government. It's something that, again, I had the

pleasure of being in this House of Assembly on the Opposition side when our

party, when our Opposition, moved that this was a necessary creation for the

people of this province. It's something that we advocated for.

I'm very

proud to say that it was led by our Premier who was then the Leader of the

Official Opposition. It was something that he felt very passionate about, spoke

about it going back as far as 2014. This is something that our Premier and our

party have advocated for, was the creation of a Seniors' Advocate office.

We stand

here now today having passed this legislation in the House, the

Seniors' Advocate Act , and today we're

here with the resolution to appoint the first Seniors' Advocate in the history

of our province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. A. PARSONS:

I know that everybody that

wants to will have an opportunity to speak to this today, Members of the

Opposition and I know the Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development,

someone who is fairly new to Cabinet, but you wouldn't know it. She certainly

carries herself like a veteran and has a passion for these issues, whether it's

children, whether it's seniors, just people in general; she's going to have an

opportunity to speak to this. I look forward to her speaking to this resolution,

which will appoint Dr. Suzanne Brake, someone she's had an opportunity to work

with since her elevation, since her promotion to this position.

I have

an opportunity now to speak about the selection of Dr. Suzanne Brake, someone we

are proposing would make an admirable and very strong Seniors' Advocate for not

just the seniors of this province, for all the people of this province because a

senior is something we all aspire to be. Everybody wants to – if you're not a

senior now, the fact is you want to be able to live and become a senior. This is

someone that carries a background of public service, of academia; someone that I

think will do a fantastic job.

I'm

going to speak a little bit about the process itself. We've had an opportunity

on multiple occasions in this House to stand and speak to the legislation which

led to the creation of this office. We've had an opportunity to speak to what

this office will comprise. Again, the minister may take the time to talk about

that, but I want to speak to the process so that people understand how this

works.

The

Seniors' Advocate, similar to other positions that are independent offices of

this House, whether it's the Child and Youth Advocate, whether it's the Chief

Electoral Officer, these are not political appointments. These are independent

offices of the House, not answerable to government per se, answerable to the

people and answerable to the House of Assembly. We're familiar with a number of

these positions. They all come through the House, and the selection of these

individuals is debated here in the House.

In this

case, I guess contrary to what has happened in the past where a selection was

made, in this case all the selections that we've made have gone through the

Independent Appointments Commission, a commission that is led by the hon. Clyde

K. Wells and his very steady team of volunteers who are taking on the job of

ensuring we have the best people put in positions of trust to the people of this

province. In this case, this is one that has also gone through that process.

What I

can say is I have a letter here from the summer where the Independent

Appointments Commission actually wrote to the Clerk of the Executive Council and

said that at the request of the chairperson of the Independent Appointments

Commission and response to the Clerk of the House's request from 2017, there is

an IAC recommendation and observations for the appointment of this. The names

that are put forward for selection are put forward by the Independent

Appointments Commission.

What I

can say is I do believe there was a significant amount of interest in this

position. People from not just this province but across Canada, I believe,

expressed interest in this process. It's something I think is quite important.

The

tackling of systemic issues that affect the seniors of this province, that

affect all of our loved ones, is something I think we all hold dear. The

individual that has been selected here is someone who, through her past work,

through her career, through her study, and, from what I can gather, her passion

is for seniors in this province.

The

person that is being selected is Dr. Suzanne Brake. I have here in front of me,

Mr. Speaker, and this I believe is information that has been forwarded to

Members of the Opposition who have requested it so that they have an opportunity

to look at the resume, the curriculum vitae of the individual who is seeking

this. What I'm going to do, I'm just going to take an opportunity to go through

this so people out there that are watching and that are listening have an

opportunity to see the skill set of the individual that's being proposed here

today to be our first Seniors' Advocate.

Suzanne

Brake's career began in the areas of clinical, supervisory and management as a

social worker and long-term care where she developed a strong background and

knowledge in the challenges of growing old. Ms. Brake's interest was rooted in

the intergenerational extended family in which she was raised and her curiosity

to learn more about the aged. Her early work with the aged, their families,

volunteers and those employed in the provision of services to the aged gave her

a new perspective on the aging population. She also assisted in establishing one

of the first protective care units in this province.

After

working at the Grace General Hospital, the Miller Centre and the Hoyles-Escasoni

Complex, Ms. Brake worked for the School of Social Work at Memorial University.

She developed and implemented an evaluation of the research internship

components of the masters of social work program. She also coordinated and

facilitated community consultation and developed the course social work in

gerontology, which she taught along with other courses.

For the

past 12 years, Ms. Brake has been the director of Seniors and Aging with the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. This position includes providing

direction in the areas of development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation

of legislation, policy, programs and services related to seniors.

While in

this role, Ms. Brake leads the direction and development of the evaluation of

legislation, policies and programs related to the

Adult Protection Act and is the provincial director of Adult

Protection. She holds a master's of social work and social policy and

administration, as well as a Ph.D. in social work and gerontology. She was also

awarded the Canadian Association of Social Workers Distinguished Service Award

in 2015.

Obviously, Ms. Brake would have gone through an extensive interview process, and

in this process she demonstrated knowledge of seniors' issues both provincially

and nationally. Her working career has been focused on the many areas dealing

with the needs of the aging community. She has managed to establish excellent

working relationships with stakeholders, public sector groups, and she

demonstrated in-depth experience in navigating the experiences working within

government and with external partners and groups focused on the needs of

seniors.

Mr.

Brake is a leader in identifying, directing, implementing the interrelated and

often complex work of many organizations who are focused on seniors' issues. Dr.

Brake also took an opportunity to write a submission herself.

What I

want to do is I just want to go through her background, her actual CV here. When

you look at it, it is absolutely amazing, just the different positions she has

held and the work she has done. I think it is worth recording for the record

here, for Hansard , the skill set and

experiences this individual will bring to this very important position.

In terms

of education, as I just said, we have a Ph.D. in social work, a master's degree

in social work and a bachelor's degree in social work right here from Memorial

University. I would note that the Ph.D. is from the University of Calgary.

Since

2005, she has been the director of the Seniors and Aging Division of the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. In June 2010 until now, she served as

the provincial director of Adult Protection. She was an assistant professor at

the School of Social Work at Memorial University; an accreditation coordinator

for the School of Social Work at Memorial University; an assistant professor of

research at the School of Social Work, Memorial University; a social work

manager at Hoyles-Escasoni – and not just a manager. She also started as a

social worker III and she worked her way up through that level since the '80s.

She

worked in the juvenile divergent program; she has worked at, as stated before,

the Grace, the Miller Centre; she has taught in the School of Social Work for

years now at Memorial University. She has field instruction, and it is listed

out here: working with social work students from MUN, dealing with undergraduate

students at the CINB, Health Care Corporation, John Howard House, St. Francis

Foundation group home for adolescents, and Hoyles-Escasoni.

When you

look at the publications she has here: publications in the

Smith College studies in social work , the

Gazette of Memorial University,

The Canadian journal of continuing medical

education , family making project from Memorial University, and the

gerontological social work undergraduate curriculum content. She has done a

tremendous amount of work. She has done some consulting; she's worked as a

research assistant.

Let me

see, her professional memberships and other related activities. She is a

registered member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social

Workers, recipient of the Canadian Association of Social Workers Distinguished

Service Award, member of the Ph.D. committee at Memorial University, chair of

the Disciplinary Panel at the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social

Workers, a board member at the Seniors Resource Centre of Newfoundland and

Labrador and a program planning subcommittee member with the Conference Planning

Committee for The Faces of Elder Abuse.

The fact

is, Mr. Speaker, the resume speaks for itself.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. A. PARSONS:

She absolutely has the

education, the work experience that will allow her to do, I think, a tremendous

job in tackling some of the systemic issues that we face in this province.

I'm not

going to belabour the point too long. I'm going to leave it to my colleague

who's quite versed in this to talk about some of the challenges that seniors

face in this province right now. We all know it.

The

other thing that we all know and we've known for some time is that our seniors'

population is growing. It is growing quite rapidly; in fact, I think I may be

correct in saying faster than anywhere else in Canada. So I think this could be

as timely a juncture for the establishment of this office. I couldn't think of a

better time for us to be able to do this.

I'd like

to point out I think it's important that this was something that was talked

about in 2014, it was promised in 2015 and it's being delivered right now.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. A. PARSONS:

I think that's worth noting.

This is something that our Premier has talked about when he was on that side and

has made it now a reality. The Premier deserves a tremendous amount of credit

for making this happen, but certainly there's been a lot of credit that goes

around to the people behind the scenes that have helped come up with the

establishment of this office.

As with

the creation of any independent or Statutory Offices of this House of Assembly,

it's a very important role and there's a lot of work goes into that. I also have

to thank staff that are sitting here now that have been a part of this.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm going to get an opportunity, I think, again, later during this

debate to speak to this. What I'd like to do at this point is I'd like to take

my seat, I'd like to turn it over to my colleagues across the way as well as my

colleagues on this side of the House to debate this resolution, which I

certainly think is important.

What I

can guarantee you is that everybody on this side of the House will certainly be

supporting Dr. Suzanne Brake as the first Seniors' Advocate for Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further speakers?

The hon.

Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you so much, Mr.

Speaker.

We,

Members of the Opposition here of the Official Opposition, would certainly like

to commend Dr. Suzanne Brake for stepping up to advocate for seniors in our

province. Like Members of the government opposite, we certainly highly respect

Dr. Brake for her credentials and her abilities.

She's a

very highly regarded individual, exceptionally competent, exceptionally

qualified. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador are indeed fortunate to have

an individual of her calibre step forward to serve.

But, Mr.

Speaker, there is a problem. She's being appointed to a role that will tie her

hands behind her back. If only the Liberals had given her a piece of legislation

similar to the Child and Youth Advocate

Act or the Citizens' Representative

Act with real investigative powers, but unfortunately they didn't. They set

aside a budget of $500,000 for a person who can advise but who really has no

real investigative powers.

Instead,

they have given her a little more authority than to refer a matter to the

Citizens' Representative for follow-up. She will not have investigative powers

like the kind the other Officers of this hon. House have. We certainly feel that

it's a wasted opportunity for an individual of this calibre. We certainly

believe that Dr. Brake could do a lot in terms of advocacy for seniors in this

province, if she were provided with the proper legislation that would enable her

to do so.

Why did

the Liberals disempower the office before making the appointment? We can only

assume it's because they don't want seniors' issues thoroughly investigated.

Maybe they don't want to be embarrassed by what an advocate might find when she

digs into their actions, but the whole purpose of putting a Seniors' Advocate in

place is so they can investigate serious issues and can make recommendations for

improvements based on their thorough investigations, in-depth investigations,

and their recommendations should have to be honoured and implemented by

government.

She will

be referring matters to an office that is already quite stretched to the limit

and whose mandate is not concerned specifically with only seniors' issues but

with a broad range of issues across all interest and all persons in the

province. So the seniors' issues will be one of many that the Citizens'

Representative has to deal with.

That's

of major, major concern for us on this side of the House, Mr. Speaker, because

$500,000 is a significant amount of money and seniors in this province, as we

all know, are hurting. An office that requires such a significant investment of

public dollars, but has absolutely no powers that such a statutory office should

have, is really just window dressing. It's lip service, Mr. Speaker.

The

Seniors' Advocate bill is similar in my mind to the Appointments Commission.

It's a lot of promises, but I don't see where the action is really going to

improve the situation for the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador.

It is

set up to let the Liberals say we've kept a promise without them actually having

to keep that promise, because this position will effectively have no impact.

It's not about this position. It's not about the effect the individual is going

to have on changing an outcome of the person in distress. It's not about the

best interest of the seniors. It's certainly not about the wisest expenditure of

public funds. It's adding yet another layer for people to have to navigate, a

position that can only advocate at a cost of $500,000, Mr. Speaker, and this

from a government – the very same government – that cut seniors subsidies for

diabetic strips and dentures.

You go

to any senior in this Province of Newfoundland and Labrador today, Mr. Speaker,

and their main concerns are: How are they going to pay their light bill; how are

they going to afford their medications; how are they going to protect themselves

from financial abuse, from physical abuse? These are the concerns of seniors in

this province. It's all well and good that there's yet another person that they

can now pick up the phone to call, but it's yet another person whose is not

going to be able to do anything to help them, because they have no legislative

power to be able to do so, Mr. Speaker.

So we

strongly feel, in the Official Opposition, that this is smoke and mirrors; it's

all about appearances. We can only imagine what the Advocate would uncover and

bring to light if she were to be given the powers of the Child and Youth

Advocate.

clearly over here on this side of the House applaud Dr. Brake, without

reservation, and at the same time we fault the Liberal government for wasting an

opportunity to let Dr. Brake hold this government's feet to the fire, and all

future governments feet to the fire, with the power she truly needs to advocate

for seniors in our province. From that point of view, we certainly feel it's

shameful that the government is playing politics with the seniors of our

province.

I'm

going to recap, Mr. Speaker, what the Red Book promise was for establishing a

seniors' advocate.

Section 3.5.1 of the Red Book promise states that the Liberal

government would: Establish a Seniors' Advocate Office: “To ensure seniors have

the strong voice they deserve, a New Liberal Government will introduce

legislation to create a Seniors' Advocate Office, which will be the third of its

kind in Canada. The Seniors' Advocate will be independent of government, and

will report to the House of Assembly instead of a Minister.

“The

Seniors' Advocate Office will improve the health and well-being of seniors by:”

– now, we're supposed to see tangible results from these bullets – “Advocating

on behalf of seniors and their families, investigating individual complaints.”

Now, as we see in the legislation, there are no real legislative powers for this

Seniors' Advocate to actually do investigations in a similar manner to the Child

and Youth Advocate, so there are certainly going to be shortcomings there.

The

other thing they tout: “Working collaboratively with other seniors'

organizations and service delivery groups to identify and address issues

impacting the health and well-being of Newfoundland and Labrador's seniors.” Mr.

Speaker, certainly, we like the sound of that.

The next

bullet as well: “Advising on policy and program changes to improve services and

support for seniors, thereby improving health outcomes amongst this population.”

Again, Mr. Speaker, we like the sound of that, but we also know that's being

done. It's been done by the 50-plus organizations. It's being done by MHAs, I

would like to think, on all sides of the House who bring the concerns of seniors

that are brought to their attention to the minister. I would like to think

everybody on all sides of the House does that. Certainly, the Seniors Resource

Centre does that.

So here

we are at $500,000. We have another layer to do just the same thing, but they

won't be able to deliver any results, Mr. Speaker, and they won't be able to

make any changes. It sounds to me, in fact, in terms of working collaboratively

with seniors' organizations and service delivery groups, that sounds to me like

something any good minister would do himself or herself on a regular basis,

through regular consultation and meetings with the organizations they represent

and that they are responsible to the Crown for ensuring they serve in the best

interest they possibly can.

To me,

it's a whole lot of duplication with existing roles and existing mandates of

entities in place to support seniors. I see a whole lot of duplication in the

last promise of the Liberal red book: “Serving as a navigator, providing seniors

and their families with the information they need to access government programs

and services in a timely manner.”

Certainly, a lot of duplication there with the Seniors Resource Centre role as

well. When I look at $500,000 and when I consider the fact that the Liberals say

day after day after day we're in a hard place, we have to find a way to save

money, and you see them adding another layer. Imagine what the Seniors Resource

Centre could do with $500,000. Imagine what effect they could really make in the

day-to-day lives of seniors with an extra $500,000. Imagine how much healthier a

senior would be if they could afford to buy their diabetic test strips that the

Liberals cut out, that they can no longer afford to buy.

So we're

going to see an increase in health care problems. We're going to see an increase

in diabetes. We're going to see an increase in kidney issues because people can

no longer afford to buy diabetic strips, but we have $500,000 to put a person in

place that can advise, Mr. Speaker, and advocate. I truly hope that they advise

and advocate strongly. I know that this individual certainly will.

The

Liberal government has said they plan to listen to what the advocate has to say.

I hope they listen to what the Seniors Resource Centre has to say, what all MHAs

have to say, what the 50-plus clubs have to say and what all seniors who

approach them themselves have to say as well.

I would

really like to see one of the very first recommendations coming from the

Seniors' Advocate to be for a change to this legislation to actually give her

the legislative authority she needs to do a thorough and proper investigations

that will actually result in making changes for the better in the lives of

seniors by identifying the true cause of some serious problems some of them are

facing, Mr. Speaker.

Again,

certainly I will say that we, on this side of the House, are very proud of the

appointment of Dr. Suzanne Brake, a very, very well-respected individual who

will do the best she possibly can within the limits of the legislation, the very

poor legislation, I think, drafted by the Liberals.

Five

hundred thousand dollars to advocate when we need a doer; we need a person who

can hold government's feet to the fire. We need a person who can hold government

accountable. I truly believe that we are going to see great work from Dr.

Suzanne Brake, but the Liberal legislation falls short of where it needs to be.

Thank

you so much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I'm very

happy to stand and speak to this motion. I can recall when the legislation was

first passed I thought who could best be our new Seniors' Advocate. The name of

Suzanne Brake was the one that I thought would just be an absolute brilliant

appointment for this position.

I would

like to speak to that issue that Dr. Suzanne Brake comes with such an incredible

resume of experience, of concrete experience in the field working with seniors,

working with our health care system with seniors, working in the area of policy

as well and in academia. She has such a broad scope of experience and expertise.

I am so excited about her appointment. I believe that it is one that will serve

us well as a province.

Mr.

Speaker, many people talk about the tsunami, the tsunami of seniors that we are

facing and going to be facing. But really, a tsunami is something that comes on

unexpectedly; this is not unexpected. We have all kinds of information about the

demographics of our province and we have for years and years and years.

Academics have been telling us, activists have been telling us for years that

the demographics of our province was shifting and that we were going to be the

province in Canada with the fastest growing percentage shift in our demographics

to seniors.

We also

have the highest percentage of seniors in receipt of OAS and GIS which means, if

you translate that, we have the highest percentage of seniors living either in

poverty or right on the edge of poverty, particularly if seniors do not own

their own homes and are having to rent. We know that in a lot of areas in our

province that rent has skyrocketed, for a number of reasons, for some of the big

boom and bust projects that we've had, which have affected the rental rates in a

number of areas in our province. So we have seniors whose income would be

somewhere around $1,100 to $1,200 a month.

I've

presented this scenario in this House a number of times for the past six years.

If we look at that scenario, so the average income would be if you're on GIS and

OAS – and a number of people who are in receipt of OAS and GIS, seniors, are a

majority of women; women who've raised families, who volunteered in their

communities who may not have had a lot of formalized jobs, salaried jobs outside

of the home.

They are

women who have dedicated their lives to their families and to their communities.

Now when these are supposed to be their golden age, their golden years, they're

living really in poverty again, particularly if they have to pay rent. Again, in

a lot of areas in our communities we know that to get a decent one-bedroom

apartment – nothing lavish, there are no swimming pools, there's not a lot of

space, these are very basic units that may be secure – that it's at least $800 a

month on average. You would see that in St. John's, in Clarenville – well,

Clarenville it's probably even more than that. Certainly, Happy Valley-Goose Bay

is way more than that.

So we

have, again, a lot of women on OAS and GIS who are paying a minimum of $800 a

month, then their heat and light, maybe around $200 a month and their phone and

their cable about $100 a month. Already that's $1,000. What do you do? That's

$1,100 actually, Mr. Speaker.

What do

you do when your income is $1,100 to $1,200 a month and your basic expenses,

even before food, are already $1,100? That may leave you with about $100 a month

to feed yourself, clothe yourself, dental care – because this government

cancelled the dental program – and over-the-counter drugs.

We're

hearing stories again and again and again of seniors – again, particularly women

– who may need iron supplements, iron pills. Then, if you use those, you often

also need stool softeners. Those are no longer paid for so people can't afford

them. We hear stories of seniors who are not filling all of their prescriptions

because they just don't have the money to do it. We know that the seniors in our

province are facing a real tough time right now; the price of power is going up.

I'm

really excited about the appointment of Dr. Suzanne Brake as the new Seniors'

Advocate because her role – although some people are concerned that she's not

going to be addressing individual issues and advocate on behalf of individuals,

but we do have those kinds of services in place.

Mr.

Speaker, what we don't have is anybody whose sole responsibility is to look at

the systemic issues. The shortfalls, the abuses, the lack of resources are the

systemic issues for seniors in our province and that's what I find exciting. We

can no longer tolerate just tinkering around the edges of our social programs as

it relates to the needs of the seniors of our province.

We can't

always just speak about seniors as victims or as vulnerable or who have to be

taken care of. Where we are right now today in our province the seniors have

built the economy, have raised children, have been part of subsidizing our

health care system, have been part of subsidizing our university system, our

whole education system. They have been part of building our communities. They

have a lifetime of experience.

We no

longer need to speak for seniors but at times we have to highlight what seniors

are saying. They know what they need. They know what changes need to happen.

They know how the system is not supporting or not delivering what is necessary

so that every senior can live in a healthy and a secure manner and still be a

contributing member to society.

Because

you've reached the magic age of 80 years old doesn't mean that what you have

provided to society is now finished. We know that seniors, again, have a

lifetime of experience and we have to be listening. We have to be listening with

the real intention to hear. Hopefully, that's what our Seniors' Advocate will

do. Not tinkering around the edges, but addressing systemic shortfalls. Also,

not simply addressing complaints, but that she will have a proactive duty and

that's set out in the legislation as well.

section 16 it says: “In carrying out the powers and duties of his or her office

the advocate may (

a) receive and review matters related to seniors; (

b) initiate

and participate in reviews related to seniors.” So she may initiate, she's not

just reactive to complaints. She now has the power to initiate work. That's

what's exciting, Mr. Speaker, and that's what we need.

We need

an Advocate who is able to be proactive and to initiate. She'll be able to –

MR. LETTO:

(Inaudible.)

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The hon.

Member for Labrador West, I'm sure he's going to have the opportunity to stand

and speak rather than speaking over me. He'll probably be heard much more

clearly when he speaks when he has the opportunity. I promise I will not be

speaking over him.

carrying out her powers she will also be able to “conduct research related to

seniors, including interviews and surveys.” So she will be able to speak to

individual seniors. She may not do advocacy on specific individual issues.

Again, the Citizens' Rep may be able to do that, the Human Rights Commission may

be able to do that, the Consumer Advocate may be able to look at some issues and

then we have the Seniors Resource Centre. But she will be involved in that

because she will be able to look at trends, at particular areas of weakness in

legislation and in service delivery.

She'll

also be able to consult with seniors, with service providers and with the

public. She will be able to request information and she will be able to make

recommendations to government, to government agencies, to service providers and

community groups respecting legislation, policies, programs and services

impacting seniors.

Where

the Advocate does become aware of a matter relating to an individual senior, the

Advocate may refer that senior to the Citizens' Representative for investigation

of that matter. I suspect what will happen, that many of us will refer issues or

people to the Seniors' Advocate. Although she may not be able to address those

issues, she may be able to at least get a handle. By getting those kinds of

referrals to her, she may be able to get a handle on something that's happening

sort of in an aggregate.

There is

no tsunami of seniors. We've known the information; we've known the demographic

shift that has been building up. It's not a surprise, but government has acted

as if it was a tsunami, as if they are surprised that: Oh my goodness, this is

coming upon us now, what are we going to do?

Again,

it's so important to no longer tinker around the edges, but some of the issues –

and I've had the pleasure and the honour of working with Suzanne Brake, as an

MHA, in her former job where she served the people well, where I was able to

bring specific issues, particularly very serious issues that seniors in my

district have faced. She has been so responsive and very proactive. I'm really

excited about her doing this job.

Some of

the issues I think that are glaring and are huge issues that affect the

well-being of seniors in our province is the issue of housing. Newfoundland and

Labrador Housing has not prepared for the housing needs of seniors across the

province.

There

are several seniors who live in units that belong to Newfoundland and Labrador

Housing that are three-stories high; that are too big. Their partners may have

passed on, their children have grown and left, and they're now rattling around

in houses that are three-stories high and many of them can't negotiate the

stairs.

I have a

few constituents in my district, one woman who is a senior. She has been begging

for a unit that's all on one floor, on the main floor. She fell not so long ago

and broke her hip, and she can no longer negotiate the stairs in her unit. The

reason she broke her hip was because she couldn't negotiate the stairs in her

unit.

I have

another woman who had both her knees, a senior, on both knees she's had surgery

and now she has to have surgery on her hip. She has been begging as well for a

unit that's on one floor or in a building that has an elevator, but where all

her unit is on one floor.

We have

many, many seniors in this situation, who've been on the wait-list for years,

either for rent supps or for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing that would be

appropriate for their needs; but Newfoundland and Labrador Housing has not had

the money or government has not tended to the needs of seniors who are living

independently in rental units. There is a backlog of years of seniors, and also

other people who have mobility issues, waiting for homes that are appropriate

and conducive to their particular needs.

Affordable housing; we have a number of seniors in my district alone who've been

put on the list for affordable housing, for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

They're on the list for a year. They drop off the list. They have to reapply.

They're on that list for another year. Again, what happens, their rent may be

$800 and they end up, once heat and light and phone and cable is paid for, with

maybe $100 or $200 a month to feed and clothe themselves, transportation and

their over-the-counter drugs. The whole issue of poverty, housing affects

poverty for our seniors.

Their

health care needs; I have a senior who came to my office this week and she

brought her broken dentures, and they've been broken for almost a year. She's

not eligible to get new dentures. She can't eat properly, and she's a diabetic.

She also doesn't have the money she needs in order to be able to feed herself

properly. Her doctor tells her and her dietician tells her what she must do to

stay healthy, but she simply can't do it. She doesn't have the money to do it.

This

government cut the Home Heating Rebate; I wonder with the Seniors' Advocate,

will she look at policy decisions like that, that this government has made in

the last two budgets and how they impact on seniors. Again, we have so many

seniors living in poverty.

Our

health care; cancelling of the dental program has had such devastating effects

on many seniors. Cancelling of the over-the-counter drug program, again, has had

many devastating effects on seniors.

Isolation; when we look at the issue of mental health and addictions. When some

seniors who can get rent supps, when they're offered an apartment that's miles

and miles and miles away from their family and their community supports, then

they turn of down because they know they will be so isolated and so alone.

We know

the whole issue of loneliness among seniors is a huge mental health issue. I

believe these are issues that we can solve. I know these are issues we can

solve, and for the very reason that we have a Seniors' Advocate and a Seniors'

Advocate in the person of Dr. Suzanne Brake, I am really excited about this

because she gets it, because she's worked in the field. She knows the impact of

poverty on seniors. She knows how important it is to listen to seniors with a

real intent of hearing, because they also have solutions.

The

solutions aren't necessarily ones that cost us a lot of money, but they are

about shifting money around. They are about making sure that seniors have a safe

place to live, the health supports they need, and access to transportation so

they can continue to be fully