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December 8, 2016

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 56

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Osborne):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

We are

honoured to have join us in the Speaker's gallery today Ms. Bertha Butler and

her niece Russie Churchill. Ms. Butler will be the subject of a Member's

statement today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

For Members' statements today

we have the Members for the Districts of Lewisporte Twillingate, Fogo Island

Cape Freels, Conception Bay East Bell Island, Placentia West Bellevue,

Virginia Waters Pleasantville and Topsail Paradise.

And I

understand the Member for Windsor Lake has leave for a Member's statement.

AN HON. MEMBER:

Leave, yes.

MR. SPEAKER:

Okay.

The hon.

the Member for Lewisporte Twillingate.

MR. D. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to recognize three chapters of the Salvation Army from my

district that celebrated significant milestones this past year. The Lewisporte

Salvation Army Corp celebrated 100 years, while the Campbellton branch

commemorated 120 years of service and the Twillingate Island Corp celebrated 130

years of operation in that community.

The

Salvation Army is widely recognized throughout province, our country and,

indeed, the rest of the world for its distinguished track record of good work

and community outreach.

At this

time of year, heading into Christmas, the Salvation Army members are especially

visible in the community, manning the red kettles that help those less

fortunate. With a long and distinguished history in communities through the

province, the Salvation Army is one of the pillars of the vibrant and diverse

faith community in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I ask

all hon. Members to join me in congratulating the Salvation Army branches of

Lewisporte, Campbellton and Twillingate for their significant milestones, and

offer them best wishes as they continue to serve our communities.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Fogo

Island Cape Freels.

MR. BRAGG:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's an

honour to bring attention to positive things regarding the youth in my district.

During National Forest Week in October, there was a poster challenge with the

theme True North Strong and Green Celebrating Canada's Forests.

Grade 5

students in our province were invited to participate and 280 entries were

received from 20 schools. Braeden Mouland, a student at Phoenix Academy,

Carmanville was named the provincial winner. His poster featured a man and his

son chopping wood, outlining that forests are renewable and create jobs.

caption from the dad says: Son, we can only cut 3 more trees because we only

have 3 plants left. The son looks up and says, Okay, Dad.

It was

an exceptional honour to present Braeden with the winning prize. The smile on

his face lit up the room, full of his classmates. I stood on the stage with him

while everyone shouted out his name. An honourable mentioned also went to his

classmate Keira Hancott.

I urge

everyone to log onto the website and view their posters. It will make everyone

proud to see the work of our youth.

I ask

all Members to join me in congratulating the participants, especially Braeden

and Keira.

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

to acknowledge and congratulate a constituent of mine who will be named as a

recipient of Order of Newfoundland and Labrador next week. I speak of educator,

farmer and entrepreneur Ms. Melba Rabinowitz of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's.

Melba and her husband, Mike, have become the premiere experts regarding organic

farming in our province

Melba

has had a storied history as an innovative educator, particularly as it related

to children with special needs and support for vulnerable families, as one of

the original architects of the Daybreak Parent Child Centre, noted as the first

family resources program in the province and one of the first in Canada.

Melba

has spent nearly four decades as an innovator in developing educational programs

that combine every aspect of a child's development. She has become one of the

leading trainers for early childhood development, not only in our province but

the country. She is also a founding member of the organization GEMMA, which is

for the promotion of infant mental health that helps develop policy, programs

and services for professionals who offer services for early childhood

development.

I ask

all Members to join me in congratulating Melba as a recipient of the Order of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Placentia West Bellevue.

MR. BROWNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today to commend Marystown Sacred Heart Academy for being named one of the grand

prize winners for this year's Aviva Community Fund competition.

The

competition has been running since 2009, and was founded to pursue the goal of

creating positive change in communities across Canada. Since its creation, the

fund has awarded over $7.5 million to charities and community groups to fund

their ideas and initiatives for community improvement. This year, 13 grand prize

winners will share a total of $1 million to implement their winning ideas.

Sacred

Heart Academy won in the category of community health for a project called

Playspace with Heart. The goal of this project is to create a play space that

becomes the heart of the community and fosters the physical, mental, social and

emotional growth for all individuals.

addition to the prize money, Sacred Heart Academy's school council and

playground committee has raised approximately $40,000 to be put towards

realizing this idea. The play space that these funds will build will offer

children in Marystown opportunities for active living and outdoor recreation for

years to come. Combined together, it is nearly $100,000.

I ask

all Members of this hon. House to join me in congratulating Scared Heart Academy

and their committees on this win.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Virginia Waters Pleasantville.

MR. B. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

today to recognize a group of seven students and two teachers from St. Paul's

Junior High School. On November 30, the group attended We Day Atlantic in

Halifax, Nova Scotia.

This

event, involving nearly 9,000 students from the Atlantic provinces, aims to

inspire young people to give back to their communities and move from Me to We.

Speakers and performers such as Rick Hansen, Margaret Trudeau and Gord Downie

energized and motivated participants.

One of

the students, Zaira Freda, was recognized for her volunteer work at the school

and in her community. Zaira received a Make 150 Count grant from RBC, which gave

her $150. During the We Day event, Zaira spoke about how she is making a

difference at St. Paul's Junior High and in our province and in other parts of

the world. She was asked to do something great with her grant and there is no

doubt she will do that.

Students

Emma Howell, Lia Dumaresque, Emily Martin, Sophie Fitzgerald, Charlotte Muise,

Avani Adluri as well as teachers Jessica Webb and Lindsay Janes also represented

St. Paul's and our great province at We Day.

I ask

all hon. Members in this House to join me in recognizing these exceptional

individuals.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail Paradise.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, just recently in Halifax, Nova Scotia Newfoundlander and Labradorian

Rich Wheeler, a native of Baie Verte, received the Michael Wright Community

Leadership National award from the Huntington Society of Canada. Through his

efforts, Mr. Wheeler has helped organize an annual walk and event in Coachman's

Cove which has raised $60,000 in four years.

The true

motivation behind Mr. Wheeler's efforts is his wife Ruby. She was diagnosed with

this debilitating disease in 2012 and the degenerative disease of the brain's

nerve cells has progressed rapidly since then.

Ruby was

forced to retire, plagued by weight loss, sleeping problems, slurred speech and

a gradual slowing of her movements. Despite Ruby's physical ailments, Mr.

Wheeler says his wife is an inspiration to him. I'm motivated every day by

Ruby, he said. Never once does she complain about what life has dealt her.

Every day I come home, she asks how my day was, not how her day was.

Mr.

Wheeler said the recognition was a shock. Receiving the award from Susan Wright,

daughter of Michael Wright, who had Huntington's disease, was very special for

him.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all Members to join me in congratulating Mr. Rich Wheeler on his

efforts to bring public awareness to Huntington's disease.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Windsor Lake.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House to acknowledge Bertha Butler, a member of the District of

Windsor Lake on the occasion of her 100th birthday.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. C. BENNETT:

Mrs. Butler is an incredible

woman who enjoyed a rewarding career in health care at the former General

Hospital in a variety of roles.

Mrs.

Butler gave up her career when she married Hector Butler, a widower, and became

a stay-at-home mom to his four young boys. Together, Bertha and Hector also

raised two children of their own.

After

raising her family, she went to work at Prince of Wales Arena and later at the

United Church School Board. Following her retirement, she became heavily

involved with activities at the Mews Centre. A very active member of the

community, Mrs. Butler doesn't let anything slow her down. As a matter of fact,

she drove her own vehicle until she was 95.

Today,

Mrs. Butler still lives in her own home and sings in a seniors' choir. When

asked of her secret to longevity, she says you need to keep moving, socialize,

show respect and be honest.

A valued

member of the community, I ask all Members to join me in wishing Mrs. Bertha

Butler a happy 100th birthday.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to recognize and congratulate PAL Airlines on receiving

three awards yesterday at the St. John's Board of Trade 2016 Business Excellence

Awards. The company received the Community Impact Award for 20 or more

employees, the Customer Service and Reliability Award and the prestigious

Business Excellence Award.

Mr.

Speaker, the Business Excellence Award is the most prestigious award presented

by the St. John's Board of Trade. The winner of this award recognizes

innovation, creativity, sales growth and a passion for success.

Our

government extends congratulations to PAL Airlines and all recipients of the

2016 Business Excellence Awards. In addition to PAL Airlines, I would like to

congratulate East Coast Mortgage Brokers, Vigilant Management, The Rooms

Corporation, Wedgewood Caf and Catering, Pennecon, and Roger Maunder, Up Sky

Down Films.

Mr.

Speaker, PAL Airlines, a subsidiary of PAL Aerospace, is the largest regional

airline in eastern Canada. PAL Aerospace, headquartered in St. John's, is

considered a global leader in maritime surveillance, with patrol aircraft in

Canada, the Caribbean and the Middle East.

There

are many exciting things on the horizon for PAL Airlines and PAL Aerospace, Mr.

$2.4 billion contract for new search and rescue aircraft and that PAL Aerospace

will provide maintenance and support services.

This

federal partnership with PAL Aerospace extends to 2043 and will enhance the

delivery of a complete, modern and technologically-advanced search and rescue

solution for the province and the country. PAL Aerospace will provide

maintenance and support services to the new fleet of the 16 C-295 aircraft

manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space to replace Canada's current fleet of

aging search and rescue aircraft. This announcement speaks to the commitment we

have from the federal government for even further investment in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

Mr.

Speaker, this is exciting news for Provincial Airlines, for Provincial Aerospace

and for the province as a whole.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for the advance copy of her statement. We, too, join the minister

in congratulating PAL Airlines and PAL Aerospace on their continued success, not

only in our province, but certainly globally. We congratulate PAL on their

recent awards on being awarded the Community Impact Award, the Customer Service

and Reliability Award, and the Business Excellence Award.

We also

will provide maintenance and support service for a fleet of fixed-wing aircraft.

There are certainly bright things in PAL's future. I know from our past

administration, as Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development, we

worked with PAL to support their growth and we recognize the great work they've

done.

I'd also

like to congratulate all other award winners at the 2016 Business Excellence

Awards, East Coast Mortgage Brokers, Vigilant Management, The Rooms Corporation,

Wedgwood Caf and Catering, Pennecon, Roger Maunder, Up Sky Down Films.

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 her statement. I'm delighted to join in

congratulating PAL, all the winners and nominees. Their success is definitely

success for the province.

It's

interesting to see The Rooms Corporation included as a winner of a Board of

Trade Business Excellence Award. It's a pity that pending legislation in this

House will probably have the effect of seriously undermining The Rooms

Corporation from achieving this kind of success in the future.

There's

still time to rethink the passing of this bill, Mr. Speaker, and I urge

government to do so.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, it's a pleasure to rise in this hon. House to mark the launch of the

30th annual Christmas Lights Across Canada.

This

evening, the Minister of Finance and I will welcome families and residents to

the Confederation Building for this annual event whereby provincial capital

cities illuminate their public buildings and their grounds. It is an event that

symbolically links Newfoundland and Labrador with our neighbours from across

this great country.

Approximately 60,000 LED lights will be lit on the Christmas trees in front of

the Confederation Building, the Petten Building, the Arts and Culture Centre and

along Prince Philip Drive.

Mr.

Speaker, this evening's event will be enjoyable for people to come together to

celebrate the Christmas season. Guests will be entertained by the Royal

Newfoundland Regiment Band, the Larkhall Academy Elementary School Choir and the

Mary Queen of Peace Student Leadership Team.

Nine-year-old Grace Moores will have the honour of turning on the lights. She

will be joined by her great-grandfather, Second World War veteran Chesley Bull,

along with other family members.

I invite

all residents, public service employees, and certainly Members of this hon.

House to join us in what will be a wonderful evening.

The

event begins at 6 o'clock in the lobby of the Confederation Building East Block.

I hope to see you all there.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. On behalf of the

Official Opposition, I welcome children, families and all members of the general

public to join together this evening at 6 p.m. for the lighting of the Christmas

tree and the launch of the 30th annual Christmas Lights Across Canada.

Tonight,

capital cities across Canada will light their Christmas trees and lights. It's a

magical celebration of the holiday season, friendship and families.

I would

like to thank those who are involved in tonight's ceremony: the Royal

Newfoundland Regiment Band, the Larkhall Academy Elementary School Chair and

Mary Queen of Peace Student Leadership Team.

I'd also

like to congratulate Grace Moores and her great-grandfather, Second World War

veteran Chesley Bull, on being selected to turn on the lights. I'm sure this

will be a memorable experience for the entire family.

Thank

you very much.

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, too,

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. Surely now, the

turning on of these lights is a tradition. It's a wonderful event here in the

city and I hope that the ceremony of turning on the lights will remind us of the

true meaning of this season of Christmas and Hanukkah, which includes

celebrating the value of community and the importance of taking care of each

other.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, I would like to

commend all Members of this House for unanimously passing Bill 53,

An Act to

Amend the Labour Standards Act, to increase compassionate care leave provisions

from eight weeks to 28 weeks.

Our

government, and clearly this House, believes people should not have to choose

between work and family during such difficult times. This important form of

leave allows family members to care for a gravely ill family member and not have

to worry about job security during this very difficult time in their lives.

These

enhancements have brought provincial legislation in line with recent changes to

the federal Employment Insurance program and with the

enhanced access to compassionate care benefits under the EI program from six

weeks to 26 weeks and adjusted the time in which leave can be taken from 26

weeks to a window of 52 weeks. Changes were also made to the

Canada Labour Code to provide up to 28

weeks job protection for employees under federal jurisdiction, which includes

the two-week waiting period that is added to the maximum 26 weeks of

compassionate care benefits under the EI program.

These

changes now align with government's commitment to work with and support

employers, employees and unions to foster positive employment relations and work

environments, which contribute to a stronger workforce and to economic growth.

Mr.

Speaker, this important change in legislation will have a positive impact on the

people of our province during challenging times. I would like to acknowledge the

unanimous support by all hon. colleagues in passing this legislation and I'd

encourage all Members to assist in sharing information about these important

workplace enhancements with their constituents during the Christmas season. You

deservedly can take a certain amount of satisfaction with your own role in

delivering these important improvements to the lives of people throughout our

entire province.

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 thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. All Members of the House

agree with the principles of compassionate care leave and it's very beneficial

to have those enhancements. Many of us go through difficult periods of time in

our lives and having the ability to take time for family and loved ones, when

necessary, are vitally important.

The

department's staff advised us during the briefing that the Canadian Federation

of Independent Business and the Newfoundland Federation of Labour are supportive

of the amendments, and the Employers' Council has no significant concerns.

Without

the amendment to the Labour Standards Act

to align with the Canadian Labour Code

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will not have the job protection for new

benefits beyond the current 8 weeks. It is for all these reasons I was happy to

speak to the legislation and was even more happy to support it.

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, too,

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. As I said earlier this

week in debate, I am glad that we're adopting the federal government changes to

companionate care. As I said in debate also, I'm proud to be part of a country

that recognizes the fact that workers' family lives and work lives are

intermeshed.

I'm glad

to see companionate leave expanded to 26 weeks, which I believe is a more

reasonable period time to have to care for a very sick or a dying family member.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the Premier: Will any charges or cases be dismissed in courts in

Newfoundland and Labrador as a result of the R. v. Jordan decision?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate the question from the Member opposite. The case of R. v. Jordan,

which came from our Supreme Court of Canada, has certainly been a significant

case that's affecting every province in this country.

Basically, what that case did was impose hard and fast ceilings and timelines on

when prosecutions need be handled, as opposed to earlier when they didn't and

everyone was judged on a case-by-case basis.

I can

say in this province right now, we've had three Jordan applications that I'm

aware of; two in which it was not found to have met the standard; and one in

which it did.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, the

decisions of R. v. Jordan came from the Supreme Court of Canada earlier this

year. It was designed to uphold an accused person's right to a speedy trial. As

the minister referenced, it did set some hard and fast rules.

I'll ask

the minister: Are there cases in the system today that you believe are at risk

as a result of that ruling?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, certainly, when this

came down our department was very proactive in looking at this. Our department

of Public Prosecutions has actually done a case-by-case review to look at

whether there are concerns here.

Now,

obviously, when it comes to an application, it would be made by a defence

counsel, but I really appreciate the hard work that's been done by our

prosecution team. In fact, the work being done by all members of the justice

system whether it's the judiciary, defence counsel. The fact is we have to

change our practices. But I think we've been ahead of the curve here as opposed

to other provinces that have systemic problems; in many cases, over 200 cases

that may face this.

So I

appreciate the work done by our department to deal with this very substantive

decision.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I join

with the minister in respecting the work done by people who work for government

and deliver services and programs. We know and I know the minister is aware as

well that there is quite often a heavy burden on those who are burdened with the

task of ensuring that justice is served in all cases.

The

director of Prosecutions recently identified several areas of concern about

cases. One of those was disclosure and access to disclosure.

I ask

the minister: What steps have been taken to increase disclosure and reduce the

delay in timelines?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, thank you.

Again,

there were a number of steps taken after this case came down. We had to look at

absolutely everything, whether it be courtroom procedures, whether it be just

how we handle all aspects of this system and all the people that play a role in

it.

One of

these things that can be looked at and, in fact, our new director of Public

Prosecutions has actually held seminars with our police forces to talk about the

need for quicker disclosure and how we have to get that out, and working with

electronic disclosure to ensure that accused get all the access to information

and on a quicker basis.

So these

are steps that we are taking. I appreciate the work done by our Crown to make

sure that the word is getting out and to educate all members of the justice

system to ensure that accused get access to a speedy trial.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Opposition Leader.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for the information. We know that resources are taxed very heavily

right now. I know and believe that further assistance will be required.

Mr.

Speaker, gasoline prices are soaring just before the holiday season and are the

highest in the country today.

I ask

the Premier: When will you lift the Newfoundland and Labrador gas tax, which is

the highest in the country?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the Member opposite for the question today. As we discussed in this year's

budget, and we reiterated in the fall fiscal update, the financial situation of

the province required some significant action by government. As a result, the

gasoline tax was put in place.

We have

been reviewing the gas tax on a regular basis. As we communicated with the

fiscal update as part of our announcement back in October of being able to

reduce the deficit by about $250 million, we did at that time say that the

review of the gas tax was continuing and was an ongoing process. The tax had

only been in place for a short period of time and we'll be making further

announcements in the next budget.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Opposition Leader.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Glovertown today people are paying $1.379 per litre. Part of that $1.379 is the

Newfoundland and Labrador gas tax of 33 cents a litre. The Canadian average in

gas tax is only 14.5 cents, the next highest is 10 cents less than what

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are paying. The price of oil is up.

Newfoundland and Labrador is benefiting from that as well and people are in

difficult times.

I'll ask

the minister: Will you give people some relief now before Christmas and lower

the gas tax immediately?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of Finance

and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, as the Member

opposite would know, we've made an announcement about the gas tax. We certainly

are monitoring the situation on a go-forward basis. We have been monitoring it

since the summer. We are still gathering data as to the consumer patterns, the

purchasing patterns, what's happening with regard to the tax.

With

regard to the oil price, I would remind the Member opposite who under the former

administration ignored the fact that we had reached peak oil price in 2007 and

peak oil production in 2008, that despite the recent increases in oil prices

those are volatile based on the current OPEC agreement. I would be happy to

answer more questions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I say

that's little comfort to the people of Glovertown who are paying $137.9. Our gas

tax at 33 cents a litre is 10 cents more than the second highest in the country,

which is British Columbia. They are only paying $112.7 a litre while

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, as the case I used, Glovertown is $137.9.

What

relief can you provide to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians? The volatility of

oil exists in BC and Alberta and Saskatchewan and in Newfoundland and Labrador.

What are you going to do to help Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, I'm perplexed by

the Member opposite's question about oil price and the impact that oil price has

on the Province of British Columbia. The revenue model, that he would be very

well aware of based on his years in government, is that our province had a

significant reliance on oil price as revenue.

The oil

price is a volatile commodity. It's volatile not just because of the price per

barrel of oil. It's volatile because of the production numbers, it's volatile

because of the US exchange and all of those things have led to some of the

challenges that we are currently facing in the fiscal situation for the

province, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

empathic to the situation people of the province find themselves in, and I

regret that the former administration put them in that situation.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The time

before Christmas when the Minister of Finance has the ability to correct it and

to provide some relief to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who need relief more

than they have in the last decade and she's denying that right only to say the

previous administration. We've heard that before.

Mr.

Speaker, people are concerned about road conditions this winter.

I'll ask

the Premier: Will you step in and reinstate 24-hour snow clearing for the

province's busiest highways?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

Mr. Speaker, I think I've

been very, very clear in the last couple of weeks talking about this. I just

want to tell this hon. House again, the only difference this year versus

previous years is that in previous years there was a dedicated 24-hour service

to 13 routes out of 289 in this province, and even with those there was not 24-7

for all 13.

Mr.

Speaker, I think I need to be very, very clear again. Nowhere have we said that

we will not be providing service after 10 o'clock. We have said if weather

conditions merit our forces to be deployed, they will be deployed. They will be

out, and we're regularly looking at that, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

province's busiest road anywhere is the Outer Ring Road. It is the road that

leads to the busiest and largest hospital in our province.

I ask

the minister: Can you confirm that the Outer Ring Road will not have 24-hour

snow clearing after 9:30 each night during the winter?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to

protocols in place for emergencies, there is absolutely no difference this year

than it was in previous years.

When we

talk about important routes that are there as I've said and stated very, very

clearly, I think I've stated very, very clearly. The only difference between

previous years and this year is that we do not have a group or crew and I must

say, a reduced crew at that sitting in a depot waiting for it to snow. We have

targets that we will look at, that will trigger and if in fact the conditions

merit our forces to be on the highway beyond 10 o'clock, they will be there.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A very

busy highway, such as the 13 that the minister referenced, can become very

slippery, very quickly with a small amount of snow. With all that traffic it

compacts it, it becomes hard-packed ice very quickly and difficult to remove.

The

Premier and the government have said many times, if you can't listen you can't

lead, and the people of the province are asking the government to listen and to

lead.

I ask

the Premier, will he show leadership, listen to the people's concerns and

reverse the decision on 24-hour snow clearing?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I

just want to be clear in not letting people out there have the understanding

as an example, I think there was a press release went out from the Opposition,

you wouldn't know there was going to be about five feet of snow on the highway

and there were going to be no plows out. That is totally erroneous, Mr. Speaker.

I have

made it clear, it has been clear. I have made a statement in this House that we

are monitoring the situation. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, we have

supervisors that are out, that are looking at the conditions of the road. There

are RCMP officers that are frequently on the roads, and there's the general

public. And if, in fact, somebody identifies an area that needs attention, there

are numbers they can call. When they call that number we will deploy our

resources.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to remind the minister, the public are concerned. Safety is the number one

there's a lot of information on it about you.

I ask

the minister: Will you park your $1 million tunnel study and invest the funding

into 24-hour snow clearing to keep roads, such as the Outer Ring Road, maybe

even the TCH from Corner Brook to Deer Lake, open?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I like

the hon. Member's statement, that Facebook page we understand all that but,

again, a lot of cases and situations that are out there, they do not have the

correct information. If you listen to some of the Opposition Members, you would

think that we have no snow clearing, Mr. Speaker.

I am

telling you, Mr. Speaker, as well as the Members opposite, that we are very

safety is number one for us. No one on this side is saying safety is not

important to us. Safety is important to us. We are saying very clearly that we

have the resources in place that if, in fact, it requires us to have our

resources out after 10 o'clock, the example, very clearly: if 10 o'clock tonight

there's a storm on I hope hon. Members over there are not leading people to

think that we're taking our plows off, because we're not, Mr. Speaker. We are

looking after the people of this province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I

guess he should leave the crews on and forget about taking them off the extra

shift if they're going to be available all the times he says so.

I ask

the minister: Why not revisit the 2005 Labrador link study as opposed to

spending a million dollars on the new study, which will likely lead to the same

conclusion?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

Mr. Speaker, I wish I really,

really had the I wish I really had the foresight that our hon. Member has.

Obviously, if they want to start looking at any initiative that we have, they

probably should have had the foresight before if they had really be able to

look ahead and be able to determine what's happening, they could have probably

done that previously.

Mr.

Speaker, we, last year in the budget, allocated a certain amount of money to

look at the fixed link. That is still something we are looking at, as I think I

mentioned last week as well. That's a very big piece of work that needs to be

done. So far what we've done this year, this fiscal year, is we basically are

drawing together some committees to look at how we want to move forward. I think

I made it clear last time that we had not spent any of that money in this fiscal

year, and we'll be looking at that next year as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask

the Minister of Transportation and Works: What time will snow clearing and

salting end on the Veterans Memorial Highway?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't

know if I need to be slowing down or if I need to be speeding up with this

answer. It's very, very clear. I am very, very clear. I just made a statement,

Mr. Speaker, that if the conditions of the road at 10 at night are not conducive

to good driving, we will continue to clear the roads. Whether it's the Outer

Ring Road, whether it's the area between Grand Falls-Windsor and Gander, we are

monitoring

AN HON. MEMBER:

Grand Bank.

MR. HAWKINS:

Or in Grand Bank. We are

monitoring these areas, Mr. Speaker, very clearly. I want to make it clear

again: Safety is number one for us.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. HAWKINS:

We are making sure that we

have all of these in place. Unfortunately, another thing about winter driving is

the fact that we have to be conscious that we are in a season that we need to

adhere to the conditions of the road as well, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask

the minister: Who will monitor this road after 9:30 p.m.?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of

Transportation and Works.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. HAWKINS:

Mr. Speaker, we have

qualified people that are working with us and we have supervisors. I just stated

very clearly that these conditions are being monitored.

We're

getting two up-to-the-minute weather reports at 5 in the morning and 5 in the

afternoon. We have people that are servicing, that are using the highways, such

as the RCMP and we have individuals that are out there. We have 24-hour open

line areas that they can call in if they find conditions are not conducive and

we will deploy resources.

Mr.

Speaker, the last thing in the world that we want is conditions that are not

conducive to driving. But again, as I said, we have to realize these are winter

conditions and we have to make sure that our cars and vehicles are suited for

it.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the

House of Assembly the minister said that the RNC and RCMP would help them on the

road conditions.

I ask

the minister: Will they have the full authority to dispatch snowplows from the

Department of Transportation and Works, when needed?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's a

good question. Thank you very much for that question.

Certainly as I said before, we depend upon a number of resources whereby we can

identify that. If, in fact, we are on the highway and the conditions are not

conducive to safe driving, then there are measures in place whereby if they call

in to the depot, we will go out and we'll look at that.

If, in

fact, it's a situation that we don't need to get out there for that, we will

call in a shift. We will call people in; we'll deploy our resources to make sure

that problem is corrected.

Mr.

Speaker, as I said, I think this is an important time of the year for all of us

to make sure that our vehicles are suited to winter driving with snow tires, we

have windshield wash for our windshield wipers and the conditions of driving

drive to the conditions of the snow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Does the

minister know how many people travel the Outer Ring Road between 9:30 p.m. and

4:30 a.m.?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

I don't have the traffic

count today, Mr. Speaker, but I would assume that there are a fair number of

people and I'm not taking this lightly. I think I have stated very clearly we

are serious about what we are doing and this is not something to be taken

lightly, and we're not taking it lightly.

One of

the things that I'll continually say is that if, in fact, we have conditions, we

know that there are conditions, if there is freezing rain that's coming up or

any conditions that would cause a problem then we are going to deploy our

resources; or if, in fact, at 10 o'clock at night there is a situation, there's

snow falling at 10 o'clock, we will continue to have our resources out there.

So it's

not something that we're taking lightly. We will make sure that we will get

those highways done the way it should have been done.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask he

minister would he table all of the traffic counts for the 13 areas which are no

longer in receipt of 24 hour snow clearing?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would

assume that's readily available for anyone to be able to find those counts. If,

in fact, it's not, we'll certainly be able to get that. We have resources. We

have those counts. I know that my staff has been looking at these numbers, as

well as numbers in other areas of the province, so I don't see that being an

issue, being a problem. In fact, we can certainly provide that, if we have that

information.

I'm not

too sure how often they do the counts on these roads. It might be fairly

frequently; it may not be. So that's something that I would certainly have to

check out.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would

hope they got some idea of traffic counts with snow clearing. I mean, you should

know which roads are busier than other roads. I look forward to the minister

when he tables that information.

I ask

the minister: What is the plan to address ice buildup on roads which is likely

to occur with the reduction of 24-hour snow clearing?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think

I've been fairly clear and I know it's difficult for me to answer in 45 seconds;

it's very difficult for me to do anything in 45 seconds. But I just want to make

it clear to everyone that's out there that we're not intentionally going to

provide adverse driving conditions. What we're going to do, we are addressing

the situation. If there's an ice buildup, we're going to salt it.

there's a snow buildup, we're going to plow it. So, Mr. Speaker, as I said

before, last year there was a dedicated 24-hour service where people were in the

depot. This year, it will be triggered by either freezing rain or snow or some

other weather conditions so we get our resources

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon.

the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ice

buildup cannot be taken off by plows, I want to remind the minister. You might

need to get a grader or some other piece of equipment to do it because that's

happened in the past. Just as a reminder.

Mr.

Speaker, facilities like Come By Chance refinery will be negatively impacted by

the province's carbon tax.

I ask

the Minister of Environment: Is he concerned about the impact this tax will have

on jobs at the Come By Chance plant?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER:

Very pleased to say, Mr.

Speaker, that I'm absolutely concerned, and that's why we initiated and passed

legislation dealing with greenhouse gas emissions in June. Bill 34 does exactly

that. It finds a good balance between the need to address this very important

issue, as well as understand the economic situation of each of the industries

targeted. So, yes, we do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

believe the minister does recognize the impact carbon tax will have on our local

industrial economy. When he brought in his emission regulations bill, he said

that it balances environmental progress with economic prosperity.

I ask

the minister: Do you still prefer the flexible compliance options over a carbon

tax?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER:

The short answer is yes. This

is why we took a pause in October when we heard the federal government's

position that they wanted to implement a carbon tax across the country. We had

great concern with that. We still have concern with that.

We feel

our approach, Bill 34 that we passed in June, is frankly the better way to go.

Right now, we've been in discussion with the federal government over our own

strategies that respond to our own unique circumstances.

So stay

tune tomorrow for the First Ministers' Meeting.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I ask

the minister: Has any emissions monitoring taken place in the province, to date?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Environment and Climate Change.

MR. TRIMPER:

Absolutely. As part of our

legislation there will be an enhanced monitoring of emissions in large industry.

I believe it starts at some 15,000 metric tons per year. That's a requirement, a

guideline, that we'll be using with our legislation.

Right

now, large industry in the province is reporting to the federal government.

We're going to be asking, through our own legislation, that they report to us as

well. We're making sure, though, that industry doesn't have to report twice. It

will be a blend of the criteria that they need to respond to. We'll both be

receiving the same information. So yes, it's happening and it will continue.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, North Atlantic Refining Ltd said that safety at its oil refinery comes

from appropriate work practices, protocols and training, something that will not

change after 128 employees were laid off by the company.

I ask

the minister: Are you confident that safety will not be jeopardized based on

extensive cost-cutting measures?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs.

MR. JOYCE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Safety

is a priority for this government. It's a priority for our government. The

Occupational Health and Safety Division are very much in tune with all safety

regulations in the province. We will ensure that all safety regulations that are

brought in by Occupational Health and Safety are adhered to at Come by Chance.

And if

the minister has any safety violations that he feels are not being addressed, I

ask to just bring them forth and we'll definitely address any safety concern

because safety of the workers is a top priority. And if you have any concerns,

we'll definitely look into the concerns.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Opposition House

Leader, for a very quick question.

MR. HUTCHINGS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, we recently learned of an industrial accident that happened at the

refinery in November, a caustic tank blew a large metal top that flew many

metres in the air. Luckily, nobody was harmed.

Were you

aware of this incident, Minister?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Municipal Affairs.

MR. JOYCE:

Yes, I was. And it's under

investigation, so there's not much more I can say now. I was aware of it. It is

under investigation and once we receive the report, we will ensure that we will

bring any regulations that we can to ensure that it don't happen again. So I was

aware of that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, I visited a man in another bed-sitter in my district. The previous

night there was an assault in the house and the police were called. He wasn't

involved, but he was terrified. When he moved in, there wasn't even a lock on

his door. The rent for this tiny, dingy room is $600 and it's paid directly to

the landlord by AES. He's desperate to move out. He is one of many, many

vulnerable people in unsafe, substandard bed-sitters across the city.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask the Minister of AES: How much money does AES spend on these

boarding houses and bed-sitters annually?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, the financial

allotment for a specific type of accommodation, of course, is very fluid; it

changes on the circumstances. But I think what's important in this particular

instance; it parallels a circumstance which occurred on the floor of this House

not too long ago. If there is an individual that is facing insecurity, we have a

group of highly trained professionals within the Advanced Education, Skills and

Labour Department, we have social workers, we have case officers.

If, at

any time, anyone is feeling insecure, that would like to have their situation

reviewed, I would ask all hon. Members, all citizens, please come forward and

provide us with some indication of who the individual may be. We will reach out

to them and will offer assistance. It has happened in the past and will continue

to happen as we

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for St.

John's Centre.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, in

fact, took him to a social worker and took him directly to a shelter. So I do

know, Mr. Speaker, that one landlord told me he made $360,000 last year alone on

the rooms that he rents out to AES, that are probably substandard.

Mr.

Speaker, the City of St. John's wants to work together with the province to

regulate and enforce these substandard rooming and boarding houses. They are

calling the government to the table. Thorough public consultations have already

been done to review the Residential

Tenancies Act .

I ask

the minister: Where is the new act and will he commit to including regulating

these bed-sitters and boarding houses in the new act?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Minister of Advanced

Education, Skills and Labour.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, as a major part

of The Way Forward document there was

an announcement, a clear indication that we would be beginning the minister

responsible for Housing would continue on with advance work on developing a

better, more robust housing strategy, something which is very much needed. I

applaud the minister and the government for doing that.

I think

it will produce great results for all those affected. We're also looking at, in

terms of the income support roles housing, of course, is a major component of

being able to provide safety and security for the individual, but also to be

able to get off income support.

We are

open to all suggestions, but what I will say I want to thank the hon. Member for

indicating to this House that the system is working, there are individuals that

are providing assistance and that she noted, in her question to the House,

assistance was provided and the system is working.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. Member for St.

John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

question was about the Residential

Tenancies Act . We know that there are many, many, many substandard

boarding houses and bed-sitters that aren't covered under the act and need to

be.

Mr. Speaker, today we will debate a bill allowing for

secure withdrawal management for youth. Many youth dealing with addictions and

mental health issues end up living in horrible, unsafe bed-sitters or boarding

houses rife with drugs and violence.

I ask the Minister Responsible for the Newfoundland and

Labrador Housing Corporation: Will she commit to developing and resourcing an

overarching provincial plan to end homelessness for at-risk youth, as requested

by organizations like Choices and other youth-serving agencies?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, the mandate of

the department of Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation is to ensure

individuals have access to safe and affordable housing. Mr. Speaker, we are

working with community groups. In actual fact, just last week, myself and my

parliamentary assistant went out with the Gathering Place and End Homelessness

St. John's and we went out on the street interviewing individuals who were

homeless.

So, yes,

Mr. Speaker, we are working with the community. We are working with groups and

organizations, and we are aiming to end homelessness.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's Centre, for a very quick question.

MS. ROGERS:

I ask the Minister

Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing we know that there are

several, several bad boarding houses and bed-sitters across the province. Aside

from reviewing her programs, what is she going to do now to address the

immediacy of the growing number of people so precariously housed?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, I understand why

the MHA has great interest in Newfoundland and Labrador Housing. In actual fact,

I believe we have over 1,200 housing units, 1,200 families that avail of

supports and services from Newfoundland and Labrador Housing in the Member's

district.

Mr.

Speaker, we are investing in affordable housing. We are moving forward. We are

reviewing. We do realize that there are situations out there that people need

additional assistance and we are working to meet those needs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Question Period

has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

Pursuant to

section 8 and

section 10 of the Public Tender Act , I

hereby table the report of Public Tender

Act exemptions from May, June and July 2016, as presented by the chief

operating officer of the Government Purchasing Agency.

Further

tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I give notice

that I will ask leave to move the following resolution.

BE IT

RESOLVED by the House of Assembly as follows:

WHEREAS

subsection 4(2) of the Elections Act, 1991

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

Governor in Council appoint the Chief Electoral Officer; and

WHEREAS subsection 34(1) of

the House of Assembly Act provides that on resolution of the House

of Assembly, the Lieutenant Governor in Council appoint a Commissioner for

Legislative Standards; and

WHEREAS

subsection 5.1(2) of the Elections Act,

1991 and subsection 34(3) of the House

of Assembly Act provide that the same person may hold the office of the

Chief Electoral Officer and the office of the Commissioner for Legislative

Standards;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that Mr. Bruce Chaulk be appointed Chief Electoral

Officer and Commissioner for Legislative Standards.

Further,

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that I will ask leave to move the following

resolution:

Be it

resolved by the House of Assembly as follows:

WHEREAS

section 4 of the Child and Youth Advocate

Act provides that on resolution of the House of Assembly, the Lieutenant

Governor in Council shall appoint a Child and Youth Advocate;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that Ms. Jackie Lake-Kavanagh be appointed as the Child

and Youth Advocate.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Answers to

Questions for which Notice has been Given

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday in Question Period I was asked by the Member for Mount Pearl North for

the numbers of people who have tried to or submitted access requests for extra

diabetic test strips under the Special Authorization program. The number is 437.

That represents 0.019 per cent of the 22,800 diabetics receiving benefits under

the NLPDP.

The

second request from last week was some information on numbers of the long-term

care wait-lists. I would table this document for the House.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further answers to questions

for which notice has been given?

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

John's East Quidi Vidi.

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 of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

Newfoundland and Labrador has the greatest percentage of the workforce earning

the provincial minimum wage in Canada with women, youth and those from rural

areas making up a disproportionate number of these workers;

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

of Assembly to urge government to legislate an immediate increase in the minimum

wage to restore the loss of purchasing power since 2010 and an annual adjustment

to the minimum wage beginning in 2016 to reflect the consumer price index.

And as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

These petitions continue to come in to us, Mr. Speaker.

People on minimum wage, for the most part, themselves, concerned about the fact

that they now have to wait until next April of 2017 to get a raise with the last

one having been in 2010. It seems the minister doesn't really understand how

desperate an issue the minimum wage is.

There's

the myth that raising the minimum wage costs jobs. This is absolutely not true.

We know there's been study after study done in countries not just in Canada,

but other countries in the developed world showing this is a complete untruth.

The

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives studied minimum wage increases and found

that in 90 per cent of the instances there was no statistically significant

connection between the minimum wage and labour market outcomes. Yes, you have

some places where that may happen, but in 90 per cent of the cases studied there

is no connection. You do not have a loss in the economy because of the rise in

minimum wage. In most cases, you get more jobs and you have an economy that

becomes better.

Another

myth is that only teenagers make the minimum wage. We know that is not true.

This, too, is a myth. We know that 14.3 per cent of minimum wage earners have

been in their jobs for more than five years and 29.2 per cent of them have

completed post-secondary education. It's an urgent issue that we have, Mr.

Speaker. Two-thirds of people making the minimum wage are women.

I ask

the minister to study carefully the reality of minimum wage and to revisit the

decision that he has announced in this House that they're only putting it up in

April by 25 cents and again in the fall by 25 cents. And not considering in any

way dealing with the whole thing of the rise of cost of living every year and

making sure that there's a CPI index attached to the minimum wage.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask

hon. Members to take their conversations outside the Chamber.

The hon.

the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

changes to bus routes will impact the start times at Holy Trinity Elementary,

Cape St. Francis Elementary and Holy Trinity High; and

WHEREAS

these changes were put in place with no consultation with parents, families and

against the recommendations of the three school councils; and

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

House of Assembly to urge government to immediately instruct the Eastern school

board to reverse the decisions regarding busing and start times in these

schools.

Mr.

Speaker, today is a little bit different than what it used to be years ago. We

always had somewhere to go after school, whether it was a grandparent, a

relative or anything else. But today, in a lot of cases in these schools, the

high school children, when they get off school they are also responsible for

taking care of their brothers and sisters and stuff like this. This is going to

put an added cost on a lot of families to look for that three or four hours in

the evening, to have someone to do the child care that is going to be needed.

The

recommendation here is that the elementary schools will start earlier and that

will mean the high schools start later. The elementary school will get out

around 2:45 p.m. or 3 p.m. and the high school doesn't get out until 3:30 p.m.

or 3:45 p.m. It's a huge impact on a lot of families in my district and a lot of

families on the Northeast Avalon.

Like I

said, before, when we were growing up, there was always somebody there that you

could count on; the neighbour, go there for a couple of hours or have a

relative. I lived next to my grandparents so my parents weren't too concerned.

They knew where I was gone in the evenings. But this is forcing a lot of

families to incur a lot of cost and we know how expensive it is for daycares and

to send them to people's houses. There's also the issue that they have to go

back to their own address when there's nobody home because of courtesy busing.

Unless

there's a seat available on that bus, then you cannot go to these child cares.

So it's another cost, then, to be able to get most of the child cares in

Torbay now, in particular, have their own buses because there are not enough

seats on the buses to take care of the courtesy driving. This is very important.

This is a cost factor that is going to be unbelievable to some families, when

you talk about having a couple of children to go to daycare every day, when it's

not necessary.

I'm sure

that through the Eastern school board, through working with principals I've

worked with principals in the past and we've corrected some of the bus routes in

the area. It made it easier for everybody to be able to get home and it worked.

I think that if we just instruct the school councils, instruct the school boards

to work together, we can solve this problem.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

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 once again cut the libraries budget, forcing the closure of 54

libraries; and

WHEREAS

libraries are often the backbone of their communities, especially for those with

little access to government services where they offer learning opportunities and

computer access; and

WHEREAS

libraries and librarians are critical in efforts to improve the province's

literacy levels which are among the lowest in the Canada; and

WHEREAS

already strapped municipalities are not in a position to take over the operation

and cost of libraries;

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

of Assembly to urge government to keep these libraries open and work on a

long-term plan to strengthen the library system.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, once again I rise to although we know that the decision to close the

libraries is on hold right now due to a consultation process, which one would

have thought would have been done before making such a rash decision.

People

still have no confidence that government is going to do the right thing, so they

are still asking us to present these petitions on their behalf. The petitions

that I have here today are from the community of Bell Island. Now, my colleague

and I have presented petitions from residents from a number of communities in

the province who were concerned with the impact of the threat and loss of the

public library in their community. Nowhere would the loss be more significant

than in the island communities that have enjoyed public library service.

Unbelievably, the plan unveiled in April by the Minister of Education and Early

Childhood Development included the closure of every single, public library

situated in an island community every single island community in the province,

Mr. Speaker.

Among

those to be hit hard by this decision were the people of Bell Island. The

nearest alternative libraries in Torbay and St. John's would require of Bell

Islanders a drive to the ferry terminal on the island, a wait at the terminal

for the next ferry, a ferry ride to Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, a drive to the

library, a return drive to the ferry terminal, another wait in line, a ferry

ride across the Tickle, and then a drive home.

In other

words, Mr. Speaker, Bell Islanders would no longer have reasonable access to a

library. The only way they'd be able to reach a library within 30 minutes would

be if they went by helicopter or maybe Santa Claus and his sleigh and his

reindeer. There's no way they could go there in 30 minutes. Among other things,

they would lose the only public Wi-Fi access on the island.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. ROGERS:

The only public Wi-Fi access.

Tourists

would lose access to the Internet, children would lose their entree into the

world of books, seniors would lose the opportunity to use what for many is their

only access to a computer.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

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 recreational ground fishery is part of our culture, history and heritage;

and

WHEREAS

the federal government is proposing a tag system for the recreational ground

fishery in 2017; and

WHEREAS

participants would have to purchase a licence and purchase tags in order to

participate in this recreational fishery;

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

of Assembly to urge government to urge the federal government not to implement a

cost or fee for those participating in the recreational ground fishery in 2017.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, while this might be unorthodox for me, coming from my critic roles here

but coming from Bell Island and being responsible for Portugal Cove-St.

Philip's, I have a very vested interest here. The constituents in my district

have a real problem with this. It's an inherent right that Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians have all over this great province of ours, to be able to fish,

following rules and regulations but free of charge. Not to be segregated from

any other province. Not to be attached to a fee progress. Not to be limited

other than those that make sense and everybody had agreed to.

We've

had a good process in the last number of years that worked for the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador. This has been a benefit to people when it comes to

not only is it a recreation process here and it adds to our economy, but it's

also a food fishery and it's a reality here. This does help sustain people who

normally would not be able to have adequate access to fresh fish, to salt fish;

all the sustainable things that we took as a necessary process over our

lifetimes as we were growing up.

We're

not the people who gave away our fishery. We're not the people who sold our

fishery. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador should not be punished because

of the ill decisions made by former administrations federally.

What

we're saying to the federal government here and what we're particularly saying

to the Liberal MPs, fight for the people of your province, show due justice

here, show that we shouldn't be segregated, that we are the people who own that

fishery. We should have the ultimate right to that fishery. We shouldn't be

regulated other than processes that we know work in a safe manner, and that's

what has happened for the last number of years. There has been no inherent issue

around the food fishery that I've heard of.

I've

been on docks. I've seen people come in. I've been out on the boats. I've seen

people catch their fish. I see the community engagement here as they are

cleaning their fish. I see people who normally can't get out to fish, fish being

delivered to them. This has become a community event. It has become an

engagement process. I've seen organizations being able to take advantage for a

fundraising process to put things back into the community.

This is

an inherent right by the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador. It took us two

decades to fight to get back to something that was comparable, to being able to

go out in your boat and supply your fish needs for the winter for your family.

Now, all

of a sudden we're putting restrictions on it. We're saying, one, you have to pay

money; two, we've got to set you up with a set of tags. You've got to go through

a bureaucratic process and then, who knows, we may also add some other

restrictions as we go through it.

There is

nobody who has any problems with proper monitoring to ensure that people follow

rules and regulations. They're set there. We have no problem with that. There

are all kinds of other ways they can do that from on docks and this type of

thing.

Mr.

Speaker, I'll have an opportunity to speak and represent my district concerns

again. I do ask that the MPs in Ottawa fight to ensure this doesn't happen.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

Orders of the Day

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I call

Order 2, third reading of Bill 54.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded

by my colleague, the Minister of Education, that Bill 54,

An Act Respecting

Regulatory Accountability And Reporting be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 54 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 Respecting

Regulatory Accountability And Reporting. (Bill 54)

MR. SPEAKER:

Bill 54 has now been read a

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

Order Paper.

motion, a bill,

An Act Respecting Regulatory Accountability And Reporting,

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

54)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Mr. Speaker, Order 4, third

reading of Bill 57.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Education, that Bill 57,

An Act To Amend The

Municipal Elections Act be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 57 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:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

Municipal Elections Act. (Bill 57)

MR. SPEAKER:

Bill 57 has now been read a

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

Order Paper.

motion, a bill,

An Act To Amend The Municipal Elections Act, read a third

time, ordered passed and its title be as on the Order Paper. (Bill 57)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Education, for leave to introduce a bill,

An Act To

Amend The City Of St. John's Act And The City Of St. John's Municipal Taxation

Act, Bill 62, and I further move that the said bill be now read a first time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded by

the hon. Minister of Natural Resources that she have leave to introduce Bill 62

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.'

Carried.

Motion,

the hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs to introduce a bill,

An Act To Amend

The City Of St. John's Act And The City Of St. John's Municipal Taxation Act,

carried. (Bill 62)

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend The

City Of St. John's Act And The City Of St. John's Municipal Taxation Act. (Bill

62)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been read a

first time.

When

shall the said bill be read a second time?

MS. COADY:

Tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

Tomorrow.

motion, Bill 62 read a first time, ordered read a second time on tomorrow.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Natural Resources.

MS. COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Order 5,

second reading of Bill 55.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I rise

in this hon. House today to speak to Bill 55,

An Act Respecting Secure

Withdrawal Management for Young Persons. The purpose of this bill is to provide

a secure environment for young people with drug addictions

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask

the minister to move and second the bill.

MR. HAGGIE:

My apologizes.

Mr.

Speaker, I move, seconded by the Minister of Natural Resources, that Bill 55, An

Act Respecting Secure Withdrawal Management for Young Persons, be now read the

second time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 55 be now read a second time.

Motion,

second reading of a bill,

An Act Respecting Secure Withdrawal Management For

Young Persons. (Bill 55)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Now I

can start. So keen to get going; it's been a long time coming.

The

purpose of this bill, Mr. Speaker, is to provide a secure environment for young

people with drug addictions so they can safety detoxify from drugs. The ultimate

goal of that is to engage them, while not under the acute influence of drugs, in

a treatment plan.

Essentially, the bill has two objectives: The first is to provide for the

treatment, supervision, care and support of young persons aged 12 to 17 who are

suffering from addictions to drugs or alcohol in a safe and secure environment;

and secondly, to remove young people from their chaotic lifestyles and, in some

cases, criminal activity and to assist them with withdrawal and then possible

engagement in treatment options, either in a non-secure setting or in the

community itself.

Secure

withdrawal management for young persons is an important piece of treatment and

an overall continuum of health care services. This continuum also includes

prevention, education, early intervention, counselling both in individuals and

groups support, residential treatment, medication, aftercare and support

services.

This is

not a bill to deal with the errant teenager who has a beer at the weekend or a

toke at a party. The young people that this bill refers to in this province have

addiction issues and they're considered to be at high risk to cause harm either

to themselves or others, and these are the people who it is felt would benefit

most from this legislation.

Prior to

drafting the act extensive, targeted, province-wide consultation sessions were

held across the province, in St. John's, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Nain, Corner

Brook and Grand Falls-Windsor. In addition, specifically, consultations took

place with a large number of stakeholders, including but not limited to: young

people and their families with lived experience of mental illness and addiction;

community-based, youth-serving agencies such as Choices for Youth; advocacy

groups such as the committee on the Stand Against Drugs on the Burin Peninsula,

and I acknowledge their presence in the gallery today; Newfoundland and Labrador

Federation of School Councils, and I acknowledge their presence in the gallery

today; the Child and Youth Advocate.

We spoke

with indigenous and Aboriginal groups; people representing the justice system,

both peace officers, legal aid and corrections; and we actually went to other

jurisdictions where secure treatment was already legislated. There's been

significant support and recognition of the need for legislation by each of these

groups that we've met. Even more recently, the All-Party Committee on Mental

Health and Addictions met with individuals and groups across the province and

heard repeatedly about the need for this kind of support that only this piece of

legislation can bring.

The

province has two 12-bed youth residential treatment centres. These were opened a

couple of years ago. Each centre has eight beds that are voluntary and

non-secure, and four-bed unit which can be secure. The Tuckamore Centre in

Paradise provides mental health treatment for those with complex mental health

issues,

whereas the Hope Valley Centre in Grand Falls-Windsor provides

residential care and treatment for addictions specifically. Bill 55 will apply

to the secure unit principally at Hope Valley.

Since

its opening, the young people there who've received treatment typically present

with polysubstance abuse, and that means it includes a whole variety of items:

alcohol, cannabis, opioids, inhalants, cocaine and benzodiazepines.

accordance with the provisions of this act, the unit will be able to admit young

people who've been assessed and do not have capacity to provide consent for

treatment for their addiction. That is the essence; they do not have the

capacity to provide consent. They're severely and persistently abusing drugs

and, as a result, are at risk of endangering their safety or the safety of

others.

Similar

to the process for admissions to the voluntary and non-secure beds, referrals

from parents, physicians, social workers and other health care professionals can

be made to the admissions committee. This committee consists of the managers of

both youth centres, social workers and others, and based on all the information

provided, including information from the health care professionals, this team,

this committee will make a determination as to whether or not a young person

meets the criteria for admission to a secure unit.

Mr.

Speaker, we understand that depriving a young person of his or her liberty in

order to undergo medical treatment is an extraordinary measure. This act is a

balance between the young person's need for secure withdrawal management and

their health, essentially against his or her right not to be detained against

their will and it achieves this balance by establishing some fairly strict and

narrow criteria for admission that are quite detailed and legislatively fairly

onerous to protect their right.

For

emphasis, I will repeat here the criteria that are set out in

section 6. These

are addictive, not optional. All of them have to be present before an order can

be issued.

Firstly

(

a) the young person is abusing one or more drugs severely and persistently

and, as a result, is likely to deteriorate substantially either physically or

psychologically; (

b) the young person is likely to cause harm to himself or

herself or others if he or she is not detained for a period of secure withdrawal

management; (

c) a period of secure withdrawal management is likely to reduce the

risk of the young person causing harm to himself or herself or to another person

or from suffering substantial physical or psychological deterioration; in

addition, the committee must feel that (

d) the young person is in need of a

period of secure withdrawal management to facilitate the young person's

supervised withdrawal from drugs;(

e) the young person is unable to fully

appreciate the nature and consequences of his or her drug addiction or to make

an informed decision regarding he cessation of drug abuse and the need for

treatment related to withdrawal from drugs; (

f) other available interventions

are inadequate in the circumstances; and (

g) the order is in the best interests

of the young person.

Where

the manager believes that these criteria are met and with the consent of the

person's parent or guardian, the manager can then move to make an application to

the court to seek a secure withdrawal management order. A judge must be

satisfied that all the criteria as set out in

section 6 are met before an order

can be made.

The

order has two purposes: It provides authority for a peace officer, where their

assistance is necessary, only where their assistance is necessary, to seek,

apprehend, detain and convey a young person to a treatment centre; and the order

also provides authority for the staff at the centre to provide care, supervision

and treatment to a young person to assist with the withdrawal process.

Mr.

Speaker, we appreciate that a person's capacity to consent to medical treatment

is actually a fluid entity, it can change from day to day and it depends on the

person's level of intoxication. Thus if in the opinion of a judge at the time

the application is made consent capacity remains an issue, a judge can order the

apprehension of the individual for the purpose of such a capacity assessment to

be completed. That capacity assessment would have to be done within 24 hours to

inform the validity of the judge making any order.

A young

person will only be admitted and detained on the secure unit under the authority

of a court order made under the act. That's the only way that will happen. The

court order will specify the young person's length of stay. The act suggests a

minimum of five days and a maximum of 10 in the first instance. The reason for

that is that time frame is viewed by subject-matter experts as the average

length of time required for a young person to actually withdraw safely from

drugs. It's a short period of time and it pertains only to the detoxification

process. It doesn't include, nor should it be taken to or read to include the

time required for full treatment to overcome addiction.

The

secure withdrawal management order may be renewed once and once only for an

additional period of up to 10 days, only as long as the criteria set out in

section 6 continued to be met. Given the importance of safeguarding an

individual's rights under this act, there are some checks built into the

legislation. These include: the young person's right to be advised of the

reasons for the secure order, to retain and instruct legal counsel, to be

provided with appropriate medical treatment while withdrawing if they have

concomitant physical issues, to have access to their parents, a rights advisor

and visitors and also to appeal the order itself.

A young

person must be advised of these rights initially and at multiple times by

multiple different people, given the comments about capacity earlier on. So the

young person must initially be advised by a peace officer upon apprehension

where they're apprehended by a peace officer. A manager must ensure, within 12

hours of the person's arrival at the facility, that the person is advised of his

or her rights. In addition, a rights advisor, an independent person specified

under the act, must again advise the young person of their rights within 24

hours of arriving at the facility.

Mr.

Speaker, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan currently have legislation specific

to secure detox and stabilization and we considered that while drafting the

bill. We consulted with our officials and that's why the mechanism involving a

manager as well as the parents and consent was fashioned in that way. We've used

their experience, whenever possible, to make this act a better piece of

legislation.

There

are similarities between Bill 55 and the legislation in those other three

jurisdictions including the scope, the age range, as well as the admission

criteria. Where we do differ, based on the feedback we've received, is in the

application process. Bill 55 sets out a process whereby a parent or guardian

must consent to the application. The manager, however, files it on behalf of the

court. In the other jurisdictions it's a parental issue and they have to go to

the court themselves.

The

reasoning behind this, the experience in those other three jurisdictions was

that there was considerable difficulty emotionally, psychologically and

practically for putting the onus of going to the court on the parent themselves.

It was felt that, with parental consent, the manager of the facility would be

the person best placed to deal with the process issues as outlined in the

legislation.

already actually have an admissions criteria process to determine a voluntary

admission for non-secure beds. The same process is envisaged to be used. We've

test run that and debugged it. The difference is these additional criteria, as

specified under the act, would be those that would trigger an application. It

would be that admitting process that would make the determination about whether

all the criteria had been met.

It's

recognized, Mr. Speaker, for someone who's suffering from addictions, a parent

or a guardian can be their primary source of support. The process that we've

outlined in this bill attempts to respect that role and protect the

parent-child-guardian relationship as much as possible so that those supports

are available as part of their recovery process.

It's

anticipated, Mr. Speaker, that proclamation of the act would be deferred in time

to develop the regulations and policy required to take this legislative

framework and operationalize it. We would expect significant effort from the

department and others to engage in education and awareness initiatives; however,

should the House feel comfortable in passing this bill, that work can begin

immediately.

Mr.

Speaker, the health and safety of the young people in our province living with

mental health and addictions is our prime concern. We all benefit, the whole

province benefits, when we give our young people every opportunity to flourish

and become productive and contributing members of society. It's the aim of this

bill to advance that process.

I ask

all Member of this hon. House to join with me in supporting the passage of this

bill. I look forward to hearing the comments, both now and when we take it to

the Committee stage.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's a

pleasure to get up and speak on this legislation. I want to first of all thank

the staff at the Department of Health for the briefing they provided myself and

my colleague for Mount Pearl North and our staff yesterday morning. It was a

very thorough briefing and I want to thank them for that.

Mr.

Speaker, this legislation was worked on and mostly completed by the former

administration. The issues that existed that never got to final stages were that

there were a lot of concerns expressed by the child psychiatrist at the Janeway

at the time. We've been assured by officials within the Department of Health and

Community Services that those concerns have now been addressed.

This

legislation builds upon the former administration's commitments and key

investments in mental health and addictions initiatives. One of the best

examples of those investments was the construction of two treatment centres: In

Paradise, Tuckamore; and in Grand Falls-Winsor, Hope Valley. Both opened in

2014. There are currently only three provinces with similar legislation:

Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

This is

a piece of legislation that has been in the works for quite some time. Health

officials who briefed us on the progress of getting this bill made two things

clear: first, this bill is the product of years of work started under the

previous administration; and second, this bill is not the final word. It may

take another six months and maybe more before the bill is once passed to be

proclaimed into law and take effect, for regulations to be drafted and vetted,

for officials to prepare and for facilities to be ready.

There

are no shortcuts when it comes to this type of legislation and here's why. There

are two competing interests and both must be satisfied for this legislation to

work. On one side there are the Charter

rights and human rights of a young person to be in control of his or her

life, even if that means making a choice to refuse treatment. On the other side

are the rights of parents, guardians and society to protect people when they are

not capable of making free choice, not capable of protecting themselves and not

capable of recognizing the harm they are causing to those around them.

Many

young people are willing to seek treatment once they appreciate what addiction

is doing to them and those around them. This legislation is for some young

people who are not willing to seek treatment, at least not yet. The rationale

behind this legislation is that some addicts are so controlled and clouded by

their addiction that they cannot make a clear-headed choice about treatment and

are letting their addiction drive their decision to continue to abuse. They are

so enslaved to their addiction that they are not able to make a free choice.

Detox,

withdrawal, interrupting the habit, cleaning the system, lifting the drug

induced fog. This can make a difference for some people and show them it's

possible to break the connection and not be ruled by cravings.

Madam

Speaker, department officials assured us that staff at provincial treatment

centres have the necessary Aboriginal, cultural sensitivity training as well,

which is very important to have when you're dealing with Aboriginal peoples, and

dealing with this issue I think is a very important thing to have in place. I

commend them for that.

This

breaks the connection to the drug culture they may live in, their connection to

other users, to drug availability. It takes them out of their home environment

which they may have altered through manipulation to serve their habit.

Addiction can drive young people to mangle their relationships with significant

people in their lives. Addiction and drug abuse issues are among the most

grievous and troubling issues that any family can face.

I am

certain there are people right now in our province living in constant fear a

loved one will die from abusing drugs. I'm also sure there are people right now

in our province living in constant fear that a loved one using drugs will do

harm to them.

There

are limits to the things a family and friends and society can compel an addicted

young person to do against their will, even if it is in their best interest.

Young people that family and friends are afraid for and perhaps afraid of have

constitutional rights, Charter rights,

legal rights, Human Rights ; rights

that courts are obligated to enforce.

If a

piece of legislation cannot withstand a court challenge that it has breached

those rights, then the legislation may be squashed by the courts. That is why it

is so important and so difficult to get it right.

There

are some, including addicts, who may say the best approach is to do nothing at

all. Let people live and learn and come to their own decisions in their own

time, but I believe most people do not think that way. We are talking, not just

about youth who are 17, 16 but youth who are as young as age 12. Their choices

are causing a great deal of suffering. Doing nothing and leaving vulnerable

people in harm's way is wrong. Our conscience will not allow us to do nothing

when lives are in jeopardy, when public safety is in jeopardy.

Some

young addicts have siblings and peers who are deeply affected by their

behaviour, by its disruptive impact or by its harmful influence. Some young

people in the throes of their addiction are terrorizing their loved ones for

money, threatening, stealing, committing crimes, doing whatever they can do to

feed their addiction.

Some

loved ones of those young people are feeding their addiction, not out of malice,

but out of fear of the alternative, fear of losing the child to the streets, to

gangs, prostitution, prison, disease, suicide, to damage that can never be

undone, or they fear the young addict will do some terrible damage to someone

else or to them.

Many of

us have seen the reality TV shows

Intervention , which aired on the A&E network, and

Intervention Canada , which aired on

the Slice network. We are told the show is all too real in depicting how

profoundly a young addict can affect a wider circle of family and friends. One

life out of control can rob so many others of peace of mind, health, safety and

liberty. Many parents worry that they do not have the luxury of waiting things

out and hoping their child's life will eventually turn around on its own.

You look

at the recent news about the contents of the drugs that some are using. I read

to you a headline from a CBC story in Toronto on December 7 of this week:

Deadly elephant tranquilizer carfentanil found in Toronto street drugs for 1st

time. A dose no bigger than a grain of salt can be fatal, police and public

health officials say.

The

highly toxic opioid carfentanil has appeared in Toronto, with police announcing

Wednesday they have seized heroin laced with the drug considered to be 10,000

times more potent than morphine.

That's

quite troubling, Madam Speaker.

Carfentanil was only publicly confirmed to be in Ontario on Tuesday. Waterloo

Regional Police announced that an analysis of 85 counterfeit pills seized there

showed they contained amounts of carfentanil rather than OxyContin.

amount of the drug is safe for human consumption, public health officials say.

It's designed to sedate large animals like moose and elephants and even one

microgram will cause a reaction in humans.

To put

that in perspective, a grain of salt weighs at least 100 times that amount and

that's why Toronto Public Health officials say that just one grain can be

fatal.

Carfentanil has not yet been tied to any deaths in Ontario.

Alberta, however, has recorded at least 15 fatalities connected to the opioid.

Health Canada reported the presence of carfentanil in Vancouver street drugs in

September and police in that province say that at least one person has died of a

related overdose.

The

drug looks almost identical to table salt and has no distinctive smell or taste.

Toronto

Public Health issued a warning to opiate users Wednesday about carfentanil

tainting local street drugs.

Edmonton physician who treats addictions was quoted in another CBC story on

December 6 of this week, Madam Speaker. He said, he's alarmed at the speed at

which carfentanil has taken hold here.

I think

we can all expect to see more carfentanil-related deaths. This is the worst

drug-safety crisis in history, clearly.

It is

quite troubling information, obviously, but it's definitely newsworthy and

noteworthy. Some parents are absolutely scared out of their wits and at wit's

end. They have turned everywhere they can think of. They can find no solution,

no light at the end of the tunnel.

This

legislation is intended for them. It's not a panacea but it does provide one

other option that isn't an option right now; an option that might allow the

young person to be free from the grip of the drug just long enough that he or

she can see more clearly what is happening to make the rational choice about

undergoing long-term treatment voluntarily.

In a

secure environment under the care of a professional addiction management

specialist, free from external stimuli of the environment associated with the

addiction, that young person may finally see the light. Even if one young person

is helped, even if one life is saved by this option that would not be saved

otherwise, it is worth providing this option as a lifeline.

commend the officials for working hard to define the parameters for this work

and to survive a legal challenge. I commend them for removing prisons and

lockups from the list of places where a young person can be detained under this

act because it's a health issue, not a criminal justice issue.

It is

not about imprisoning the young person, but giving them an opportunity to break

out of prison that is denying them the capacity to make free choices. We are not

removing their power to decide but clearing the space for them to make a

meaningful decision and take command of their life with a clear head.

understand why officials removed psychiatric mental health treatment facilities

from the list of places where a young person can be detained under this act. I'm

very happy that Hope Valley Centre exists specifically for addictions treatment.

Completed in May 2014, and officially named in January 2015, the centre was

planned as far back as 2009 and built with a $12.5 million investment.

Madam

Speaker, it is one of the ranges of treatment centres available in our province

which are doing great work to treat addictions of people who are ready to break

free. The Hope Valley Centre will continue to help young people who choose to

voluntarily break free of their addictions, but now it will have an added

purpose providing secure space for people whose addictions is deemed to be

blocking their capacity to make a voluntary choice. When that block is removed,

the young person will be able to make voluntary choices about treatment, as the

other residents have.

Our

province's approach will be unique in this country. There are many different

approaches across the country. If ours is as successful, as we hope it is, then

it will serve as a model for others.

Addiction is a challenge every jurisdiction is faced with. BC is grappling with

it right now. Four provinces have legislation that is not specific to youth

detoxification custody. The three Prairie provinces have legislation

specifically for secure youth detoxification orders. Alberta has the

Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act .

Saskatchewan has the Youth Drug

Detoxification and Stabilization Act . Manitoba has the

Youth Drug Stabilization (Support for Parents) Act .

Officials have shaped our legislation in a way that fits with the intake model

for Hope Valley; a model that differs from other models by reversing the

approach. Here the assessment will be done first before the order is granted.

In the

West, a court order must be granted first and an assessment follows. Here, the

parents do not have to initiate and bear the cost of a court application. A

parent can consent for a manager to apply to the court for an order and, if

necessary, an extension.

Officials have contemplated circumstances in which parents are not one minded

about this. Officials have also contemplated circumstances where parents are not

caring for the young person at all. Officials have contemplated the risk of

court challenges when making criteria for an order very specific and exacting.

This

legislation cannot be applied to a young person who simply comes home from a

wild night experimenting with alcohol or drugs. As distressing as it might be

for a parent, this legislation is for young people who have severe addictions.

So severe that they deem to lack the capacity to make their own decisions

regarding treatment and, even then, care has to be taken to ensure young people

are not placed in long-term treatment against their will.

The

order will be for a period of five to 10 days under subsection 7(2), with a

renewal of up to an additional 10 days under subsection 13(3) if specific

criteria are met.

The

officials told us they will even take care in drafting the regulations to work

out how the young person may be apprehended to ensure it does not look like a

Criminal Code arrest, which it is not.

The young person will be treated with dignity and respect. The young person will

be advised of his or her rights and will be able to appeal the order.

During

treatment, as circumstances change, the assessment will take those changes into

account. Everything is being done to minimize the impact on the rights of the

young person under the Charter but, at

the same time, the bill is intent on bringing a young person to the state of

mind in which he or she will have the capacity to make a clearheaded choice

about treatment, a capacity the person is initially deemed to lack. The public

officials, addictions specialists, who make the determination about the status

of the young person will need to be well trained and astute because an enormous

responsibility rests on their shoulders.

Not only

the freedom of the youth but the life of the youth may hang in the balance.

Specialists will need to make a decision they can defend in court against any

appeal on the basis of their professional expertise. But they must also

recognize this may be a vital life-saving action for the young person they are

examining.

What

appears to be

an act of freewill by the young person to resist treatment may

actually be a manifestation of enslavement, enslavement to the drug that has the

tight grip on the young person's life and is driving the youth to reject

treatment. Perhaps the short involuntary stay of five to 20 days max will be

just the thing to break the chain enough to let the young person make a choice

that is truly voluntary and truly free.

Madam

Speaker, I'm going to conclude my comments in a moment. I just want to say we

feel this is a good piece of legislation and it's necessary. I guess you read

it, you kind of struggle with it, internally, but it's a fact. I've had the

pleasure of serving on All-party Committee and I've heard lots of stories

throughout the province. I've had a first-hand view of this and we realize this

is an issue.

As I

said, the previous administration were very supportive of this legislation, did

the majority of the work. I commend government for carrying it forward to this

stage and I look forward to some further debate on it. From where we stand, we

think it's a good piece of legislation.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER (Dempster):

The Speaker

recognizes the hon. the Member for Placentia West Bellevue.

MR. BROWNE:

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Drug

addiction, particularly drug addiction amongst our young people, is a terrible

tragedy. I'm sure that Members of this hon. House know of families who have been

devastated by addiction. We have heard of young people who are so focused on

getting their next fix or high that they stop going to school. They isolate

themselves from their family, their support network, and this may indeed lead to

other crimes to finance their addictions.

In many

cases, these young people have seen counsellors and have been involved in some

form of treatment. But, Madam Speaker, there are treatment programs and

interventions available in this province for drug addiction. However, the

success of these programs depends on a young person's level of engagement in

that treatment.

When a

young person is under the acute influence of drugs, he or she may not be in a

position to understand the significance of the addiction and the need for help.

It is important that they stop taking drugs before they can even think about

treatment for their addiction, which may be a longer term commitment.

Madam

Speaker, we do not stand in this House today to suggest that Bill 55 is the

answer to all addiction problems in this province. Indeed, it is not. However,

it is a tool in the continuum of care and treatment for young people suffering

with addiction.

Bill 55

provides a step towards engaging a young person to help them on the road

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MADAM SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. BROWNE:

to recovery so that they can lead happy, productive lives and contribute to

society.

When a

young person succeeds, Madam Speaker, we all benefit as a society. This bill

will provide a key role in the safe and secure withdrawal management for young

people who are unable to fully understand and make an informed decision

respecting their need to undergo treatment for addictions and are unable to take

steps to begin recovery and reduce the risk of harm to themselves or others.

We know

that the biggest challenge in mental health and addictions is timely access to

care. Another challenge sometimes faced by young people and their families is

when they have to travel out of province to access this care. We are very

fortunate, as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, to have Hope Valley Centre in

Grand Falls-Windsor for youth with addictions.

Should

the Secure Withdrawal Management Act ,

Bill 55, be passed by this hon. House, and I sincerely hope that it is, Hope

Valley Centre will be able provide secure withdrawal management in a safe and

comfortable environment. This care and treatment will be provided by highly

dedicated and professional staff, which includes a social worker, a nurse

practitioner, a physician, a psychiatrist, an occupational therapist and a

psychologist.

Since

it's opening in 2014, Hope Valley Centre has served approximately 100 young

people, ranging in age from 12 to 18 years of age. This includes an equal number

of males and females, the majority of whom are over the age of 16.

While

this includes young people from all four regions of our province, the majority

of these people have come from the Eastern region which is not surprising, given

the Eastern region is the largest geographic area and has the greatest

population density. The number of referrals to this centre has been steadily

increasing; in fact, 37 per cent of admissions to date have occurred since

January of 2016.

Madam

Speaker, young people who have received treatment on a voluntary basis at Hope

Valley Centre typically present with polysubstance abuse including alcohol,

cannabis, opioids, inhalants, cocaine and benzodiazepines. Evidence collected to

date shows that if a young person stays at Hope Valley for 10 days, the chance

of completing the treatment program increases. That is a very positive

statistic.

Addiction issues are on the rise, Madam Speaker, not only in Newfoundland and

Labrador but across the country. It is our responsibility as a government, and

indeed as members of our society, to do our utmost to protect the health and

well-being of our young people so that they have every opportunity to grow into

healthy and thriving adults. The Secure

Withdrawal Management Act , Bill 55, is a step in that right direction.

It has

two main goals: To provide for the treatment, supervision, care and support of

young persons who are suffering from addiction to drugs in a safe and secure

environment; and to remove young people from their chaotic lifestyles and, in

some cases, criminal activity, so as to assist them with withdrawal from drugs

and to engage them in treatment for addictions in a non-secure setting on a

voluntary basis or in the community.

Bill 55

consists of four parts.

Part I sets out the purpose and general principles of

the act which include, (

a) to provide for the assessment, treatment, care and

supervision of young persons with drug addiction and to provide a secure place

for those young persons to withdraw from drugs (

b) to prevent young persons

with drug addiction from causing harm to themselves or another, from suffering

substantial mental health or physical deterioration or serious mental or

physical impairment; (

c) to provide for the apprehension, conveyance,

detainment, custody, restraint, observation, assessment, medical treatment,

stabilization, care and supervision of young persons by means that are the least

restrictive and intrusive and (

d) to provide for the rights of young persons

apprehended, detained, restrained, admitted, assessed, treated, stabilized,

cared for and supervised under this Act.

Part I

of this bill also states that the act is to be interpreted and administered in

accordance with the best interests of the young person, Madam Speaker.

Part II

of the act is quite detailed and sets out the process by which a young person

may be required to undergo a period of secure withdrawal management. Secure

withdrawal management, Madam Speaker, is defined as the following: care,

support and medical treatment of a young person with drug addiction detained in

a facility during a drug-free period in a safe and secure environment which

would allow the young person to decide, while not under the acute influence of

drugs, whether to accept treatment for drug addiction .

Bill 55,

Madam Speaker, focuses on the young person safely withdrawing or detoxing from

drugs. To be placed on a secure unit for the purpose of withdrawal from drugs

management, a court order will be required. The bill specifies that with the

consent of the young person's parent or guardian, a manager of the facility may

make the application to the court.

Madam

Speaker, as the Minister of Health and Community Services indicated during his

remarks in opening the debate on Bill 55, referrals will be received by an

admissions committee of which the manager of Hope Valley Centre is a member. All

of the information gathered from health care professionals and parents or

guardians regarding the young person's addiction will be considered and a

determination will be made as to whether the young person meets the criteria for

admission to the centre. Where the manager reasonably believes all of the

criteria for admission have been met, an application may be made to the court to

seek the apprehension, detainment and conveyance of a young person to the centre

for a period of secure withdrawal management.

Part II

sets out the process to be followed to obtain the order and to whom notice of

the application shall be given. It also sets out the process by which an order

may be appealed. Where a judge is satisfied that a secure withdrawal management

order should be made, he or she may make an order for a minimum of five days and

up to a maximum of 10 days.

Madam

Speaker, the length of the order reflects the average length of stay required

for a young person to safely withdraw from drugs. Where additional time may be

required, depending on the nature of the young person's addiction, the manager

may apply to the court for an order to extend the young person's stay on the

secure unit for up to an additional 10 days.

Part II

of the bill also sets out the process for obtaining the renewal order. If an

order is obtained from the court, the order is authority for the police, where

their assistance is required, to apprehend, detain and convey a young person to

the centre.

Bill 55

does contemplate the situation where a parent or guardian may be able to safely

convey the young person to a facility. In those instances, police assistance may

not be required. However, where the police are needed, the bill grants them the

legal authority they need to search for, apprehend and convey the young person

to the centre. The security withdrawal management order is also authority for

the staff at the centre to provide support and assistance, including medical

treatment, to a young person that is reasonably necessary for the young person

to safely withdraw from drugs.

Part II

of Bill 55 also sets out the rights of a young person. The bill requires the

police, the manager and a rights advisor at various intervals to advise the

young person of his or her rights under the legislation. The police must advise

a young person at the time of apprehension of his or her right to contact the

parent or guardian, or to contact legal counsel.

The

manager must, within 12 hours of the young person's arrival at the centre,

advise the young person of his or her rights, including the right to contact the

parent or guardian, the right to contact legal counsel, the right to contact a

rights advisor and the right to appeal the secure withdrawal management order. A

rights advisor, within 24 hours of the young person's arrival at the centre,

must once again advise a young person of these rights.

Bill 55

also requires that while a young person is subject to a secure withdrawal

management order, he or she shall be continuously assessed to ensure that the

criteria for admission to the centre continues to be met. Where a young person

no longer meets the criteria, the manager shall take the necessary steps to

release the young person. This may require an application to the court to

release the young person early.

Part III

of the bill focuses on the court proceeding and the manner in which the hearing

of the application for a secure withdrawal management order may be conducted.

Part IV of the bill is a general part that sets out the requirement to develop

the care and treatment plan for the young person.

Bill 55

requires that all information collected in accordance with the act be kept

confidential. The Personal Health

Information Act will continue to apply for collection, use and disclosure of

personal health information. This bill requires the legislation be reviewed

every five years to consider any improvements necessary. It also contains

regulations making authority for both Cabinet and the minister to implement the

policy intent reflected in the bill.

The

proclamation of the act will be deferred to allow time to develop these

regulations and the policy manual that will accompany the act, as well as to

undertake appropriate education and awareness. Madam Speaker, this bill reflects

a part of the overall continuum of treatment for young people with drug

addiction. For that small number of young people who may benefit from withdrawal

management in a secure setting, Bill 55 provides the mechanism to provide that

level of support.

Madam

Speaker, I want to personally thank the Minister of Health and Community

Services for bringing this forward. This is a very important piece of

legislation that I've worked with him on now since being elected one year ago. I

know the Member for Conception Bay South referenced the number of years that

went into this from the previous administration. Unfortunately, they were not in

a position to bring this forward, but I do certainly thank them for their

efforts on this. It's been a long time coming.

As the

minister also referenced, we have several people in the gallery today who worked

very hard on this legislation. Of course, many people in my district and across

the province have come to know the name of Ruby Hoskins as a very functional

individual who works very hard on the causes that matter deeply to her. The

Stand Against Drugs Committee has done extremely excellent work on the Burin

Peninsula and indeed the entire province. I know that they are pleased with this

legislation as am I. This is not the end of the road for our advocacy work

together. We will continue working alongside her group as well as the Federation

of School Councils to ensure that we continue to address the mental health and

addictions of our province.

For me,

Madam Speaker, this is very personal. I have had a number of mental health

issues in my own family. I had an uncle, in fact, who took his own life as a

result of mental health issues, so for me this is very personal. Days like today

are the reasons why I offered myself for public office, the reason why I entered

politics, to make positive changes in our communities.

couldn't be happier that the Minister of Health was so willing to work on this

matter with us to ensure that the young people of our province many of whom

are around my age, friends of mine, Madam Speaker, people I know who have

succumbed to the influence of drugs. This is an extremely positive step in

moving this issue forward in our province.

So,

Madam Speaker, I certainly hope that the entire House votes for this

legislation. I can't say thank you enough to the outside groups in my district

who have helped make this a reality and to the Minister of Health for bringing

this forward.

Thank

you, Madam Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER:

The Speaker recognizes the

hon. Member for Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

It's

indeed a privilege to stand and speak to Bill 55,

An Act Respecting Secure

Withdrawal Management. Madam Speaker, I'll start as the way I'm going to end by

saying that I wholeheartedly support this piece of legislation and will be

voting for it. I think it's a very necessary piece of legislation.

I think

it's very well thought out, very well crafted and outline all the key components

that you would want when you have to make some very entrenching decisions

because this conjures up a discussion around a young person's rights and

freedoms versus their protection and their health. Decisions have to be made

around what's in the best interests of every citizen, but particularly young

people who find themselves faced with some very serious challenges in life.

I've had

the privilege in my former life, 20 or 25 years as a civil servant, particularly

this was one of the hardest issues that I had to face on a daily basis with

the dozen