March

28, 2012 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol.

XLVII No. 15

The House met at 2:00 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman): Order, please'

Admit strangers.

Today I would like to welcome to our gallery two visitors who are

representing the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities Newfoundland and

Labrador. We have Kelly White who is the Executive Director, and Michelle

Murdoch who is the President of the Board of Directors.

Welcome to our Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: Today we have members' statements from the hon. the Minister

of Child, Youth and Family Services, by leave; the Member for the District of

St. John's West; the Member for the District of Torngat Mountains; the Member

for the District of Exploits; the Member for the District of Humber West; and

the Member for the District of Grand Falls-Windsor Green Bay South.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the RCSCC 295 Baccalieu Cadet Corps in

Old Perlican for receiving the distinguished award of Top Cadet Corps in

Newfoundland and Labrador. I had the opportunity to attend the awards

presentation on February 29 in Old Perlican, Mr. Speaker. Commander Trimm from

CFS St. John's and Station Chief Harris visited the corps to officially present

this prestigious award.

295 Baccalieu consists of eighty-four cadets, ten officers, and three ci's.

They are a very active group with the cadets participating in numerous

activities including sail seminars, band seminars, and public speaking

competitions. They contribute greatly to their region by participating in six

Santa Claus parades a year, fundraising for the Children's Wish Foundation, and

countless other events. Also, Mr. Speaker, they recently won the right to

compete at a provincial competition next month in the Zone Drill Category.

Baccalieu 295 receives tremendous support from their committee members,

parents, Baccalieu Collegiate School, numerous local businesses, and the

community as a whole. We are all very proud of Baccalieu 295 for being

recognized for their hard work and dedication by winning the Sea Cadet Corps of

the Year Award for 2011.

I ask all members of this hon. House to join me in offering congratulations

to Baccalieu 295 Cadet Corps.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's West.

MR. CRUMMELL: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend congratulations to the

Coalition of Persons with Disabilities Newfoundland and Labrador, or COD-NL, on

the opening of their new location on Hamlyn Road in my District of St. John's

West.

Mr. Speaker, COD-NL is an advocacy organization for persons with disabilities

in our Province. It serves people with all disabilities, promoting their rights

and raising awareness at local and provincial levels.

Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of attending the grand opening of COD-NL's new

office back in December, which was organized to coincide with the United Nations

International Day of Persons with Disabilities. I was very impressed with the

space. I had the opportunity to speak with board members from across the

Province, as well as members of organizations representing individuals with

various disabilities and they, too, were very excited about the space.

The new office is fully accessible, there is more parking, and of course, the

location itself provides increased visibility. Mr. Speaker, increased visibility

goes hand in hand with creating increased awareness within the community of

COD-NL, and this is very positive.

I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating COD-NL on the opening of

their new office and wish them continued success at their new location.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House today to pay tribute to a special group of

individuals from Natuashish and Sheshatshiu the Youth Innu Cultural Walkers.

Mr. Speaker, this group has walked thousands of kilometres over the last few

years in the footsteps of their forefathers, a nomadic people.

Mr. Speaker, the Innu of Labrador, at one time, travelled the length and

width of Labrador as well as Northern Quebec.

Mr. Speaker, the Youth Innu Cultural Walkers from Natuashish and Sheshatshiu

recently travelled from Natuashish to Makkovik in honour of young Burton

Winters. In appreciation of their efforts, the community of Makkovik held a

wonderful reception upon their arrival.

I was honoured to attend that reception and to show my personal appreciation

of their efforts.

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

prestigious group of individuals for their dedication to Burton Winters' legacy

and in wishing them Godspeed as they continue their walk from Makkovik to

Sheshatshiu, a distance of over 300 kilometres.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Exploits.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. FORSEY: Mr. Speaker, on Monday, February 6 of this year, the Bishop's

Falls Fire Department celebrated fifty years of volunteer firefighting service

in the town. The event was recognized with an anniversary dinner and was

attended by current members, honourary members, and ten of the chartered members

from 1962.

Mr. Speaker, in 1962 citizens of the Town of Bishop's Falls recognized a need

for fire protection in the community, and on February 6, 1962, the volunteer

fire department was formed with thirty-five members.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure in 1962 firefighting was their main focus. Since then,

they have grown into a well-trained, well-respected emergency response team.

They have responded to residential fires, forest fires, highway traffic

accidents, our major flood of 1983, and recently responded to a fire at the

Bishop's Falls hydro generating station and was successful in preventing another

disaster.

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

Bishop's Falls fire department on fifty years of dedication to fire protection

and emergency response to the Town of Bishop's Falls and the Exploits Valley.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Humber West.

MR. GRANTER: Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to stand in this

House to congratulate the organizers of an event that has been taking place in

Corner Brook for over a quarter century. The event I speak of is the March Hare.

March Hare was started twenty-six years ago by the late Al Pittman to give

poets a platform to gather and share their work. Festival organizers strive to

keep audiences engaged by offering a mixture of poetry, storytelling, prose,

reading and traditional music. March Hare has grown from its early beginnings in

Corner Brook to include shows in Europe, Mainland Canada, St. John's, Gander,

Deer Lake, Rocky Harbour, and indeed, Corner Brook.

The 26th Annual March Hare was a huge success and came to a close on March

11, 2012. Mr. Speaker, about 1,500 people attended the shows over a ten day

period.

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

congratulating the host committee under the direction of Mr. Rex Brown, and wish

them much success in future March Hare Festivals.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Windsor Green Bay

South.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise in this hon. House today

to congratulate Ms Emily Bland. Emily has achieved great strides in her

seventeen years. Her latest is being chosen as Miss Teen Newfoundland and

Labrador for the year 2012.

Her training and awards are also lengthy. Emily is very active in volunteer

work and extracurricular activities such as coaching volleyball, grad steering

committee, mathematics, and has achieved many awards, such as Kiwanis Music

Festival, floor hockey, volleyball, basketball, and competitive cheerleading.

She has special training such as voice, ballet, piano, school band, art and

painting just to mention a few. She also has honours with distinction in Grades

7 to 9, and Grade 11, honours in Grade 10, and made the Principal's list in

Grades 10 to 12.

I would like to ask my hon. colleagues to join with me to congratulate Emily

Bland for all her accomplishments, and as well, Miss Teen Newfoundland and

Labrador.

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.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. MARSHALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is always an honour for me to rise in this hon. House to recognize the

work of dedicated public service employees. Doing so is even a greater honour

when they have been recognized for their dedication and for their

professionalism by community stakeholders.

Mr. Speaker, this past December I had the privilege of attending, and I know

other MHAs attended as well, the Independent Living Resource Centre's annual

Independent Living Awards ceremony. Launched in the year 2009, this awards

program recognizes individuals and organizations which promote the full

inclusion of people with disabilities.

The recipient of this year's Local Government Award for Independent Living

was the Public Service Secretariat's Office of Employment Equity for Persons

with Disabilities. The office received this award for its successes in

implementing substantial change by breaking down barriers faced by people with

disabilities. The award was accepted by Mr. Jim McDonald, Senior Manager of

Programs for Persons with Disabilities, on behalf of the staff.

Mr. Speaker, the Office of Employment Equity for Persons with Disabilities

works very hard to promote inclusion and to promote employment opportunities for

persons with disabilities throughout the provincial public service throughout

the whole Province. This office provides employment programs for persons with

disabilities including the Opening Doors Program; wage subsidy programs for

departments, agencies, boards, commissions and Crown corporations; and, the

Student Summer Employment Program for post-secondary students with disabilities.

Mr. Speaker, the office also provides valuable employment services including an

enabling resource centre and employment counselling to assist persons with

disabilities in finding employment.

Since the first person was hired under the Opening Doors Program back in

1990, approximately 1,000 clients have secured positions through the various

employment programs offered by this office.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to join me in congratulating Mr. McDonald and

the entire staff of the Office of Employment Equity for Persons with

Disabilities on their award and for the great work that they do to support the

community of persons with disabilities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the minister for the advance copy of his Ministerial

Statement. I, too, want to congratulate Mr. Jim McDonald and all the Public

Service employees for the role that they play in promoting those people with

disabilities. It was important and I can remember back in the 1990s, even in

my own professional career, I had the privilege to work very closely with

community groups in Deer Lake; in particular, SEDLER has been a very successful

community group and we have had an employee there for a number of years. Even

tonight, the Green Bay Community Employment Corporation, they will hold their

annual meeting of recognition; there will be two people there, Miss Charlotte

Winsor and Breene Saunders, who will be part of that evening tonight, I am sure.

It is appropriate, I think, that the Minister of Finance actually read this

statement today. I would encourage him that this is Budget time and important

that we continue to support those community groups for the great work that they

do.

I also want to thank all the community volunteers that work diligently on

behalf, and work in collaboration with those community groups and continue to

support the people with disabilities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement.

The Independent Living Resource Centre is a very important organization that

helps people living with disabilities by providing supports, resources, and

opportunities for empowerment, which enables persons with disabilities to make

informed choices about their lives. Congratulations to Mr. Jim McDonald and his

staff for their work with persons with disabilities. I certainly hope, Mr.

Speaker, that if this government follows through with its promise of a belt

tightening and the cutbacks, that it will ensure that funding for the Opening

Doors Program and any new hires at the Independent Living Resource Centre that

funding is not cut.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Services Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to rise today in this hon. House to highlight changes which are

Amendments to the Designated Mobility Impaired Parking Regulations will

increase fines for illegal parking in designated spaces without having the

proper permit from the current range of $45 to $180 to the new range of $100 to

$400. Under these regulations, those without parking permits parking illegally

in designated spaces will be fined when either a vertical sign or a painted

parking space is present. The increased fines are designed to act as a greater

deterrent against illegal parking in these spaces. These new increased fines

will come into effect on April 1, 2012.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the changes to parking fines, we have also made

accessible parking signage be made permanent, visible to the public, and kept in

good repair at all times. These regulations came into effect for new and

proposed buildings on February 15, 2012. Existing properties which are subject

September 30 of this year.

Under the previous regulations, Mr. Speaker, the requirements for permanent

placement of these signs was not clear. In some instances, signs were being

moved for snow clearing and not always replaced. This led to problems for people

with designated mobility parking permits being unable to identify and use these

spaces which are so important to their ability to access public areas.

We have also encouraged municipalities to bring their parking fines in line

with our new regulations, and we are working with law enforcement throughout

Newfoundland and Labrador on the implementation of these important changes to

the regulations.

As a government, Mr. Speaker, we are committed to working closely with the

community of persons with disabilities. Through this relationship, we have heard

the needs and concerns of people with disabilities and we have responded by

making changes to the regulations. Our government's commitment is strong, Mr.

Speaker. Our actions reflect the commitment and we will continue our work to

ensure inclusion for all.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. On increasing

fines, Mr. Speaker, people with mobility impairments have every right to drive

and park in a way convenient to them. Thoughtless drivers have no right to take

the spots reserved for those with mobility impairments.

Mr. Speaker, increasing the fines to a maximum of $400 will make people think

recent confusions about what may or may not be legal; it is good to see the

clarification.

Mr. Speaker, there is no point in having heavy fines for illegally parking in

blue spaces if the blue spaces are not visible. Blue spaces need to be clearly

marked, protected for those with mobility impairments, and available to use when

needed. Mr. Speaker, I applaud the minister for his moves on this and his

sensitivity to this issue.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I too would also like to thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement. It is good to hear that after so many years of people ignoring the

designated mobility and parking regulations, the Province has decided to follow

through with an increase of fines and a tightening of the regulations. However,

it should not have come to this; public ignorance of the rules is no excuse and

violators know what they are doing.

Higher penalties are well deserved, but we also need stronger monitoring and

enforcement to make sure that these regulations will be complied with. People

with disabilities have rights and they should be protected.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

During the Public Utilities Board hearings, Nalcor stated that the power

purchase price to be paid by hydro for Muskrat Falls power has escalated at a

rate of 2 per cent. Nalcor stated that this rate was consistent with their

assumption in the long-term CPI.

I ask the Premier: You stated that the power purchase agreement price will

increase at 2 per cent a year. I ask, just for clarification, is this a fixed

rate or is it tied to inflation?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The only reference I can remember to the 2 per cent is the escalation cost in

terms of 2010-2011 dollars going to 2017. Mr. Speaker, what we have shown to our

taking of the three profiles that we have developed is that rates will go up a

certain point between 2011-2017. Then, they will be a $15 increase for the

average ratepayer in 2017. It will then, Mr. Speaker, go up $14 after that, so I

do not know where the 2 per cent is coming into. I am certainly willing to look

at what the member opposite had to say, but in terms of rates themselves we are

defining them based on, again, a number of factors such as load demand forecast

and all of the cost of the project.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.

MR. BALL: The reason why I asked the question, because it did come up in

the Public Utilities Board and there was a response, yet it is unclear because

Nalcor makes reference to the assumption of inflation rates. What we want to

figure out, is it indeed a 2 per cent fixed rate, or is it tied to inflation? It

is important to ratepayers. So, I will ask the question again. This is an

important issue and will look for clarification. It appears that Nalcor has

artificially lowered the early price of Muskrat Falls power and that they are

under pricing the power in the early years and extending the deal to fifty years

to actually make the project work financially.

Since you are refusing, and this would be in the power purchase agreement, we

have not seen that.

The question is: Why did Nalcor tie the 2 per cent to the general inflation

over fifty years when, indeed, over the last fifty years it has been around 4.16

per cent, more than what Nalcor (inaudible)

MR. SPEAKER: I ask the hon. member to conclude his question, please.

MR. BALL: We would like the clarification.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. speaker.

As I indicated, Mr. Speaker, on a number of occasions we have $5 billion

right now is the estimated cost of the project; $2.9 for Muskrat Falls

Generating Station and $2.1 million for the Labrador-Island Link. Built into

that, Mr. Speaker, is a 15 per cent contingency and also a 2 per cent escalation

rate as we try to predict the 2017 cost to the project. That adds up, Mr.

Speaker, to $1.1 billion.

In terms of the rates themselves, the way they have been approximated is

based again on all the factors. That $232 that I talk about, Mr. Speaker,

includes all costs of the project, including interest costs, including

operational costs. So, Mr. Speaker, I do not know; the 2 per cent that I am

aware of is relating to escalation in terms of the cost of the project, not the

cost of electricity rates.

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

MR. BALL: Just for clarification, again to the minister: Are you saying

that after 2017, what can we expect in price increases after 2017?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KENNEDY: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

As I indicated, what we have tried to do to give the public an idea what this

is going to cost them we broke it down into three profiles. There was the person

who just used electricity and burns approximately 770 kilowatt hours per month.

We then looked at the average of 1,517, up to 2,000, for a total of 230,000

ratepayers. To put it into perspective, the average ratepayer, based on what we

know today, Mr. Speaker, they will pay $217 pre-Muskrat in 2016, based on the

price of oil. It will go up $15 to $232 in 2017, and then go up another $14

between 2017 and 2030. What we are trying to do, Mr. Speaker, is talk a language

that people understand, put it in plain terms so that they understand this is

the impact. Muskrat Falls is the cheapest power, Mr. Speaker, and it saves

people money.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

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

MR. BALL: Okay, I will tell the minister we will get back to the formula

at a later date, but I will move on.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier said yesterday in Question Period, based on their

own legal counsel's advice, she does not have the authority to call a public

inquiry.

I ask the Premier: Will you table a copy of the legal opinion in this House

today?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, I have a whole Justice

Department who provide advice. They do not always provide it writing. We spend

quite a bit of time in briefings, Mr. Speaker. The law is explained on what we

can do and what we cannot do. I am advised by my Department of Justice officials

that I do not have authority to call an inquiry into federal government

jurisdiction.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

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

MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, to Madam Premier, it would be nice to see an

independent legal opinion on this because from what we believe, is that under

section 3 we do have the authority to do that.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier has repeatedly stated in the House that she has

communicated with Ottawa on several occasions regarding the Burton Winters

tragedy. Are you prepared to table all the correspondence that you have had with

the federal government relating to the Burton Winters tragedy?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I committed in this House yesterday to provide the

correspondence and the answers to the correspondence. Mr. Speaker, I would also

point out to the Leader of the Opposition that I have had a telephone

conversation with the Minister of National Defence and I have had a face-to-face

meeting with Rear-Admiral Gardam, Mr. Speaker. There is no transcript of either

of those conversations on this important matter, but as Premier of this Province

I do believe that my word counts for something.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Mr. Speaker, in respect to the Burton Winters tragedy, the

Minister of Municipal Affairs has stated that fire and emergency services

received their first phone call for assistance at 8:30 Monday morning. Seven

hours after the call for assistance was made from Makkovik.

I ask the minister: Did your internal investigation explain why there was a

seven-hour gap between the time the call went out from Makkovik until it was

received by fire and emergency services, the most crucial time of the search?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. O'BRIEN: Mr. Speaker, once again I will explain to the hon. member

how search and rescue and the process in regard to

search and rescue are governed in any province, and

Newfoundland and Labrador.

The lead agency in regard to the actual search and rescue

is the policing agency that is in place in the particular

area or the region that the search has to happen. That call comes from that

region, that constable, or whoever it may be in regard to the policing force to

the headquarters here in St. John's.

I can confirm to the hon. member that the first call in regard to Makkovik

and the first time we ever knew in regard to this department, my department,

that there was anybody missing in that community was at 8:19 on Monday morning.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Mr. Speaker, with regard to search and rescue ,

the Public Inquiries Act is very simple: the Premier can call an inquiry on any

matter of public concern.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Are you suggesting that the death of Burton

Winters and the state of search and rescue in this Province is not a public

concern?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is very hard to respond to statements such as those just made

by the Member for Torngat Mountains. We have a family who is grieving and

looking for answers. We have a community that is grieving and looking for

answers. We have a Province that is grieving, Mr. Speaker, and looking for

answers. As a government, we are endeavouring to get those answers.

Every life in this Province is valued, Mr. Speaker, and the federal

government has a responsibility in terms of search and rescue in this Province

as well as in the rest of the country. They cannot abrogate that responsibility,

and if their response has been found wanting, they have a responsibility to give

answers to all of the people I just named. We are demanding those answers, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We have a private member's motion brought forward by the government today to

debate their success in dealing with wait times in the health care system in the

Province. I have just currently learned that the non-urgent physiotherapy

outpatients' wait-list just for the Health Sciences and St. Clare's today is

about 450 patients. I have been told by a MS patient that she has to wait eight

months to get physio. I have been told by a young girl on the West Coast of

Newfoundland that she has to wait a full year.

I ask the minister today: What is the Province doing to address the wait-list

for physiotherapy in this Province, because these individuals cannot afford the

private services?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, wait times are something that we have been very concerned about

in this Province and will continue to be concerned about. In fact, we are making

tremendous progress in many, many areas in terms of wait times in this Province

and a large part of that is due to our very significant investment of over $140

million, Mr. Speaker.

One of the things that I would say to the hon. member opposite that we are

doing, and I think it is having significant payback for us, has to do with the

$1.8 million that we have invested to establish a new access and clinical

efficiency division within our department. Through that division and through the

skills of some very confident people, we are addressing areas of wait times

throughout the Province and in all departments in which we deal.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Those efforts are certainly not helping the 450 patients who are on the

wait-list just in this particular area right now.

Mr. Speaker, it is not only the acute care facilities that have a wait-list

for physiotherapy; it is also the long-term care facilities. We know, for

example, Glenbrook Lodge and St. Pat's Mercy Home today have over 300 residents

but they have only one physiotherapist to provide that service.

I ask the minister: Why are we continuing with the shortage? Why are we not

filling those positions and ensuring that there is adequate service for people

in the Province who cannot afford the private services?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I would remind, again, all members in this House today, and all

of those people in the galleries, and people who are listening, that wait times

are an issue that we take very, very seriously. We are addressing issues as we

are able to address issues. We are putting in place bursaries to be able to fund

positions to bring people into those positions as well, Mr. Speaker. They are

serious issues. We take them seriously. We will continue to address all issues.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

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

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Another issue with regard to wait-lists that I have run into in the last week

or so is with the acute care facility in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, the Labrador

Health Centre. At that time, Mr. Speaker, the twenty-five acute care beds were

all full. They even had patients in the nursery adult patients in the hospital

and they had absolutely no space left, a lack of beds.

I ask the minister: What is being done to address the need for acute care

beds in the Labrador hospital right now?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, from time to time there are capacity issues in our health care

institutions, and we acknowledge that. There were not any patients in the

nursery, because we do not have one in that particular facility; it has not been

in use for many, many years. That is an overflow capacity area that we use from

time to time, and when we see need, we will continue to do that to address those

issues, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

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

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, we know that eight or nine of those acute care

beds are being occupied by long-term care patients. We know of cases in the

Labrador Health Centre in Goose Bay where some of those long-term care patients

have used acute care beds for up to two years before being placed in a facility.

We also know that the new long-term care facility is to capacity, and that there

is a need for additional long-term care services in the Happy Valley-Goose Bay

area. There is a proposal to the government to utilize the Patton home to do

that.

I ask you today, minister: Are you prepared to increase the capacity for

long-term care services in the Goose Bay area, and ensure that those beds are

made available at the Patton home for residents that need it?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we all recognize the demands that are on long-term care in

Newfoundland and Labrador; for years and years and years, when members opposite

were in power, there was nothing done to address long-term care in this

Province. We have made huge investments in long-term care $440 million

annually in long-term care in this Province, Mr. Speaker, $140 million in

additional investments since 2006. We will continue to make those investments,

Mr. Speaker.

As for the Patton home, we are, at this point in time, doing an investigation

as to the best use of that home, Mr. Speaker. Whether that would be for

long-term care or not, we are not aware at this point in time, but we are doing

an investigation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, the second round of lobster license buyouts is

over and the results are almost as abysmal as the first. The third round is set

for this summer with no prospect for better results. This is a good program that

is turning into a farce.

Will the minister take this program seriously and make the required changes

so the people leaving the industry can do so with dignity instead of being

squeezed out with nothing to show for their years in the fishery?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The program is actually very important. I would not at all, in this

Legislature, put the term farce in with an issue trying to address a challenge

in the fishery, and I suggest the member opposite might want to rethink putting

those phrases together for future questions.

Just for the benefit of the member opposite, this program is a partnership

between the federal government, our government, and the FFAW. A significant

piece of that program is the early retirement program for lobster enterprises,

Mr. Speaker, to ensure the best approach to this program. It is actually not

even a minister by government, I am provided advice or briefings and updates,

but, Mr. Speaker, this is clearly administered by the FFAW, so the question

ought to be more appropriately be put to that group.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the Bay of Islands.

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, this government's pilot project with the moose

detection systems on the Trans-Canada Highway has been mired in breakdowns and

malfunctions.

I ask the Minister of Transportation and Works: What is the operating status

today of both detection systems in particular, the system near Grand

Falls-Windsor?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. HEDDERSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Of course, as a government, we have made a commitment to look at ways that we

can better mitigate the moose vehicle accidents on our highways in Newfoundland

and Labrador. Last year, we looked at $5 million towards putting into affect

three pilot projects: two detection systems and moose fencing on the West Coast.

Mr. Speaker, we have had some significant difficulties with the moose

detection installations. We are working with the company right now to try to

make sure that they are living up to the expectations that they gave to us, that

these systems would be up and running and basically doing what they are intended

to do.

Again I mention, Mr. Speaker, these are pilot projects, and the reason why we

are doing them is to test the effectiveness.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

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

Mr. Speaker, on March 9, the Premier said she supported the fleet separation

and owner-operation policies. Then on Monday past, the Harper government

indicated they planned to abandon these policies, which would trigger the end of

the traditional inshore fishery.

Mr. Speaker, the loss of the Maritime Search and Rescue Sub-centre, the delay

in establishing an independent offshore safety authority whatever the issue,

the Premier often says she has no control over the federal government.

Mr. Speaker, in light of this latest Conservative decision, will the Premier

stand in this House and affirm her commitment to these policies, or will she

again pass the buck?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The member opposite knows full well that every time an issue is brought

before this House, we accept responsibility for matters that we are responsible

for, Mr. Speaker. We are not prepared to stand here at any point in time and

accept responsibility and the buck being passed from across the House for things

that we are not responsible for.

We have very clearly been open and transparent with this House on any number

of issues that have been brought forward as it relates to the involvement of the

federal government and the provincial government. Fleet separation, which was

just raised a few moments ago the Premier has been very clear in this House

and I have been very clear, over and over and over again; I do not know how many

times that we can repeat the message, Mr. Speaker, but our position on fleet

separation and owner-operator policy in this Province has not changed from the

past.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would say to the minister that it is their responsibility to work with the

federal government, Mr. Speaker. The very people this government supported in

the last federal election are now about to inflict a blow to our fishing

communities not seen since the imposition of the 1992 cod moratorium.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier again: Will she now admit campaigning for

Stephen Harper was a mistake and start the fight to preserve the vital fleet

separation and owner-operator policies and save our coastal communities?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, there is no way to satisfy the Opposition and the Third Party.

Mr. Speaker, we have had, at the very best, what one could describe as a

contentious relationship with the federal government since 2003.

Mr. Speaker, we launched the ABC campaign and were critiqued on a daily

basis. I can provide copies of Hansard here in this House where time after time

we were criticized in this House for not talking to, not working with, not

co-operating with the federal government from members on the opposite side of

the aisle. Mr. Speaker, we have a majority government, a Prime Minister and

are criticizing me for talking to him instead of shouting at him. What do you

want?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I respond to the Premier, Mr. Speaker, that what I am looking for is results

of the talking with him. Mr. Speaker, fleet separation

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

MS MICHAEL: and owner-operator policy is critical to coastal

communities and protecting independent fishers in the inshore fishery of this

Province.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Will she affirm her government's unwavering

support for fleet separation and owner-operated vessels in the inshore fishery,

and vow to fight any move to eliminate this policy, even if it means raising her

voice with the federal government?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this government supports all of the people in this Province.

When we came to government in 2003, there was an affirmation of the rights of

the people to expect governance that was principle-centred, Mr. Speaker. We have

provided that governance to the people of the Province since 2003.

We support fishers in this Province. In terms of what we do as a provincial

government over $50 million investment in the fishery of this Province - we

stand up for the rights of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, Mr. Speaker,

whether it is here at home, in Ottawa, or abroad.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen from other jurisdictions, when large companies buy

fish licences, they sometimes sell them on the open market, often at very high

prices. Often the buyer of a licence tries to recoup their investment by

lowering the wages for local people who are employed. Mr. Speaker, fishing

rights should not be something that you trade on the stock market. They are a

legacy for coastal communities.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: What is her government doing to protect the

legacy of the people of this Province?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to respond.

I say to the member opposite, first of all, that the jurisdictional issue of

quota is a matter that is with the federal government. We have no responsibility

whatsoever.

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear on the previous question. This government

will not take any lectures from the Leader of the Third Party on coastal

communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. I say, Mr. Speaker, very clearly that

the critic for her party wrote me a letter and told me very clearly that they

are against shipping out of live lobster in this Province. I will tell you this

much: that will shut down many communities in rural Newfoundland and Labrador if

that policy were followed.

I also say, Mr. Speaker, that they are against any exemptions to unprocessed

fish, which would have closed the Marystown fish plant years ago.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, co-operative work. We have seen this across Newfoundland and

Labrador. Mr. Speaker, a group of lobster fishers in my district, in a bid to

increase their incomes, want to develop a lobster co-op. Mr. Speaker, a great

deal of infrastructure to help them is already in place through regional

economic development boards and other government offices. Mr. Speaker, they are

experts at harvesting lobster, but they will need help in developing a co-op.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture: Will this

government take a proactive leadership role and assist these people in

establishing a lobster co-op?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that the member is finally on

his feet asking some very, very important questions. The short answer to that

question is absolutely, yes. We have established regional economic development

boards and zonal boards and marketing divisions in my department and other

officials through policy and research for just that purpose. This government

will never, ever stand in the way of co-ops in this Province, Mr. Speaker, but

let us be very clear; it is not this government that establishes co-ops. It has

to be the harvesters in the communities who decide collectively that we want to

come together and make a co-op. We have them in the Province and they are

working, Mr. Speaker, because the business owners want them, not because

government tells (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.

MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, experts say that a real barrier to successful economic

development of the fishery is in our municipal government's lack of resources,

mandate, and jurisdiction. Other places such as Norway benefit from powerful and

capable municipal government structures. Mr. Speaker, we must give our municipal

governments the resources they need to develop their connection to the fishery.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Municipal Affairs: When is government

going to empower our fishing communities to develop their economic potential for

the full benefit of the residents?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A very, very interesting question; probably a very quick reminder to people

that jurisdiction around the fishery in Canada is not with municipal

governments, I say to the member opposite, Mr. Speaker. Jurisdiction around

quotas in the fishery is with the federal government.

The provincial government has responsibility for fish from the time that they

are landed on shore and sold. Once fish are being processed, we have

responsibility for that, and we manage that very well, Mr. Speaker. We work with

the industry very closely to ensure that we have proper protocols and procedures

in place to ensure we get good quality coming out of this Province.

Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite wants to talk about Norway, we can get

into a lot more detail about Norway next time around.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MS ROGERS: Mr. Speaker, in the Blue Book in the past election the

government promised to promote local consumption of locally grown fish. Six

months later we have not heard anything on this promise. Mr. Speaker, we need a

strategy for marketing and distributing our fresh seafood products to our own

people.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture: What is the

plan and the strategy for promoting local consumption of local fish, and will he

table it?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KING: There is something very fishy going on here today, Mr. Speaker.

Be careful what you ask for, I say to all members in this House.

A very good question, let me just say to the member opposite, a very good

question. The aquaculture industry in this Province, Mr. Speaker, is to the tune

of more than $100 million right now; more than $100 million, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KING: I point people in the direction, in particular, of two areas of

the Province: The Connaigre Peninsula, the Harbour Breton area. Certainly, my

colleague here, the Member for St. George's Stephenville East, we were there

on Friday. Mr. Speaker, I say to you, there is a facility in Stephenville now

that is a part of the aquaculture industry, a project more than $16 million, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: Mr. Speaker, I would like to think that we learned something

from the mistakes of the TAGS program and its failure to properly retrain

displaced fisheries workers. With OCI refusing to open the Marystown and Port

Union plants, Mr. Speaker -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

MR. KIRBY: Will this government provide retraining and upgrading

opportunities so that these workers can find meaningful employment right here in

Newfoundland and Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. KING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's North.

MR. KIRBY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We only have a few short years left until a projected skilled labour shortage

is upon us. What opportunities will this government provide to ensure that

unemployed and underemployed workers in Newfoundland and Labrador have the

skills they need to meet the coming labour market demands?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills, you

have about eleven seconds to answer the question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MS BURKE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this Province and this government acknowledges that there will

be a labour shortage, and in some sectors we are experiencing the labour

shortage today. We have money that we administer that comes to us through the

labour market agreement, and we want to make sure, Mr. Speaker do not cut me

off yet, I just started, I know you are going to stand up on me.

MR. SPEAKER: The time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

Pursuant to

section 8 and

section 10 of the Public Tender Act, I hereby table

the Report of Public Tender Exceptions for the period of May 2011 to February

2012 inclusive as presented by the Chief Operating Officer of the Government

Purchasing Agency.

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I table the following petition:

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

Parliament Assembled, the petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there is an identified need for all levels of care in the region of

Labrador; and

WHEREAS the Paddon Home is suitable for all levels of care;

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

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

a needs assessment to identify the needs of all levels of long-term care in

Labrador, and to reopen the Paddon Seniors Nursing Home, located in Happy

Valley-Goose Bay, to provide all levels of health care.

As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, as our seniors in Labrador continue to find difficulty in all

levels of care, a building sits empty in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. A building, Mr.

Speaker, that is designed to address the level of need for our seniors in

Labrador.

Although this facility is in the district of the hon. Member for Lake

Melville, Mr. Speaker, the need for this facility comes from all over Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, there are twenty-five beds for acute care at the Labrador Health

Centre in Goose Bay. Last week, Mr. Speaker, there were no beds available for

acute care. I ask all members in this hon. House to urge the government to

reopen the Paddon Home.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

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

I have a petition to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament Assembled. The petition of the

undersigned residents:

WHEREAS hundreds of residents of the Southwest Coast of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador, including residents of the communities of Margaree,

Fox Roost, Isle aux Morts, Burnt Islands, Rose Blanche-Harbour Le Cou, Diamond

Cove and La Poile, use Route 470 on a regular basis for work, medical,

educational and social reasons; and

WHEREAS there is no cellphone coverage on Route 470; and

WHEREAS resident and users of Route 470 require cellphone coverage to ensure

their safety and communications abilities; and

WHEREAS the Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development recently

announced significant funding to improve broadband services in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador; and

WHEREAS the residents and users of Route 470 feel that the Department of

Innovation, Business and Rural Development should also invest in cellular phone

coverage for rural Newfoundland and Labrador;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to support the users of Route 470 in their

request to obtain cellular phone coverage along Route 470 and as in duty bound

your petitioners will ever pray.

Again, I have sent correspondence to the minister responsible and I am

certainly looking forward to the response and to the strategy that is going to

be implemented for the situation.

Yesterday, when you look at the headlines, there was a situation in

Placentia-Whitbourne RCMP district where a gentleman was recovered. He passed

away; there was a rescue situation to recover the body. When you look at the

press briefing it says that information from the scene was limited due to a lack

of cellular phone coverage. This is twice in two weeks now that we have seen a

situation like this. It is two times too many in this day and age.

I look forward to hearing from the minister on this.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.

MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I present a petition for the removal of the Englee fish plant, public safety

hazard and environmental concern.

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

MR. DAVIS: A point of order, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: A point of order.

MR. DAVIS: A point of order, Mr. Speaker.

This is the third time now the member has risen on this point of order on the

Englee fish plant. I would just like to point out that a ministerial order has

been issued to the owner of the plant for the immediate removal of the plant.

MR. SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

The Member for The Straits White Bay North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. MITCHELMORE: 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 provincial government has not acknowledged that they have role to

play in the removal of the condemned Englee fish plant; and

WHEREAS the Town of Englee has exhausted all avenues over the past seven

years, lobbying government for removal; and

WHEREAS inaction has resulted in economic loss for the town, delay of new

infrastructure and has become a concern of public safety as large debris has

fallen into a major shipping route;

We the undersigned, petition the House of Assembly to urge government to

immediately order full removal and environmental cleanup of this condemned

property, a former fish plant, in order to restore public confidence in the

system and settle land issues to permit new wharf development, providing

residents of Englee with a mechanism to revitalize the presently devitalized

economy.

As in duty bound your petitioners shall ever pray, sincerely the undersigned.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly thank the Minister of Service Newfoundland and

Labrador for pointing out that there is action being taken, that there is an

order there, because this is something that I have been quite active on since I

have been elected and prior to be elected, and none of this information has been

circulated to me. It is great that he is sharing this with the House. We do need

action on this. Since 2004, this plant has been closed down because of public

safety, because it has been a health and safety issue. The operator walked away,

the processor walked away, filed for bankruptcy, and left this town economically

impacted, and they are really this is where the role of government in these

situations really needs to come in and take the action, take what is needed to

help this small municipality be able to move forward and really look at

advancing the economy. We need to look after small towns, allow them to be more

sustainable and grow.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.

MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, today I bring a petition to this hon. House of

Assembly in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament Assemble.

The petition of the undersigned humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS there is no cellphone service in the Towns of St. Paul's, Cow Head,

Sally's Cove or Trout River, all of which are enclave communities in Gros Morne

National Park; and

WHEREAS there is either very poor or no cellphone service in most of Gros

Morne National Park; and

WHEREAS visitors to Gros Morne National Park, more than 100,000 annually,

expect to use cellphones when they visit the park; and

WHEREAS cellphone service is an important safety feature for numerous

travellers, hikers and others in the park; and

WHEREAS cellphone service is necessary to modern business development;

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

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

with the private sector to extend cellphone coverage throughout Gros Morne

National Park and the enclave communities within the park.

As in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Speaker, this Province has made numerous tremendous strides in the past

decade with tourist advertising. A person can turn on the television almost

anywhere in North America, open major newspapers, and we can see advertising for

our Province. Much of that advertising is of Gros Morne National Park.

A person can travel almost anywhere in the world and stop into a shop and buy

a cellphone. You can go into Mumbai, into the worse slum, and buy a cellphone

and use it. You can go to Lahore in Pakistan and you can use a cellphone. You

can go to Kathmandu, Nepal and you can use a cellphone, but can you go to Gros

Morne National Park? No, Mr. Speaker, you cannot do so, even though our Province

spends millions of dollars every year to promote tourism. This would be a very

minimal expense; very few cellphone towers would be necessary.

In spite of the Province bragging about all of the money they spend on

infrastructure , and I agree that they do, this Province

cannot seem to find a few hundred thousand dollars for cellphones in Gros Morne

National Park.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Orders of the Day

Private Members' Day

MR. SPEAKER: This being Wednesday, Private Members' Day, I now call on

the Member for Terra Nova to introduce the resolution that stands on the Order

Paper in his name.

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

So I will go ahead and read the motion into the record once again:

WHEREAS the current government, in its 2011 policy Blue Book, promised to

deliver wait times strategies for emergency departments and hip and knee joint

replacement surgeries; and

WHEREAS the Minister of Health and Community Services fulfilled these

election commitments by announcing strategies to reduce wait times in both of

these vital areas of our health care system; and

WHEREAS we have made significant progress in improving wait times for the

benchmark areas outlined in the 2004 Accord; and

WHEREAS 83 per cent of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians received access to

care in the five priority areas within their respective benchmarks, according to

the Canadian Institute for Health Information annual report on wait times, the

second highest of all the provinces; and

WHEREAS the provincial government has directed resources to other areas

outside of the 2004 Accord where access has been a challenge, such as emergency

departments and diagnostic imaging; and

WHEREAS the current government has invested over $140 million over the past

eight years to improve wait times throughout the Province;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that this hon. House supports the significant

actions this government has taken and is continuing to take to enhance access

and reduce wait times throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. S. COLLINS: Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise here in

the House once again today. I have been up a couple of times in the last few

days. It seems we are talking about good stuff every time we are on our feet.

Any time I can rise and speak to anything good, obviously it is a wonderful

opportunity.

Before I begin, I would like to just put a little bit of a frame around what

we are going to be because I am going to be talking about a lot of good news.

I encourage the Opposition to sharpen their pencils because I am going to be

throwing a lot of numbers out there, and a lot of good numbers.

I was speaking to a constituent. It was probably only about three weeks ago.

She was an elderly lady and she knew I had recently gotten Parliamentary

Secretariat to the Minister of Health and Community Services. She said: Why is

it that we only hear of the bad things going on in the health care system? She

said: Why is it? She said: My daughter is a nurse and I hear good stories all

the time. Me, myself, the lady said, I have been in hospital in the past two

years and I had a wonderful experience. She spent an extended period of time at

James Paton in Gander.

She said: Why is that we are always hearing this vile message that the health

care system is terrible? Why is that? She said: I know there are good stories.

She said: Why don't we start putting those out there? And I said, well, we try

to each and every day; certainly, that is something we are going to do here

today.

As I said, any time I get an opportunity to put this forward, I love taking

the opportunity to do so. While I am going to speak to everybody here in the

House today and in the gallery and on television, I would also like to put that

towards the lady who asked me just a few short weeks ago: What good is happening

in health care? I would say much good is happening. I think to suggest anything

less, you are not insulting the minister as such, you are insulting every health

care professional who works day in and day out in this Province. I would argue

that we have amongst the best professionals in this Province in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. S. COLLINS: Mr. Speaker, our government has invested more than $140

million over the past eight years to improve wait times throughout this

Province. We as a government obviously saw the need that we had to address this.

We had to look at it; we had to. Why did we have to look at it? Because it was

not being looked at before, and we saw the results of that; people were being

neglected. Wait times were never addressed. You can only address something if

you know your target. You cannot shoot a gun at a target if you do not know what

your target is. What we did is we looked at it and we saw our target. We knew we

had to invest money; we knew we had to put a strategy around this, so that is

what we have been doing.

Health care costs, Mr. Speaker, consume the largest proportion of government

budgets across Canada. This is not a Newfoundland and Labrador phenomenon. This

is not even, I would suggest, exclusive to Canada. This is something we hear

each and every day. I watch a lot of CNN and it dominates CNN, ObamaCare,

talking about health care and sustainability, trying to get health care costs

under a plan where we can sustain it and have it grow grow it at a sustainable

amount, but obviously perform what we want it to perform, and that obviously is

to promote the health and safety of all residents.

In order to meet current and future health needs, efficiencies must be found

within the existing health care system. We need to ensure that we are maximizing

and using every resource to ensure wait times for services are minimized.

I think it is rather relevant that I stand here today I do not know, we

left the House late last night, I suppose; we never got out until just after

midnight. Only a short few hours ago, it seems, we were standing up talking

about the generic drug pricing policy. Why did we speak about that at such

length and why was that such an important piece of legislation? It was about

sustainability in the system. It is all about getting the best bang for your

buck.

We as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are spending, God knows, enough money

in the health care system. We are spending almost $3 billion $3 billion -

recognizing, of course, that our population is less than half a million people,

and we are spending $3 billion a year. So every bit of revenue we have coming

into this Province, forty cents of every dollar we earn in this Province is

going to health care.

I can stand up and I feel glad I can brag about that number, but the fact is,

where does it stop? Is it going to be forty-five cents? Is it going to be fifty

cents? At what point do we say we have to start reining in spending, while at

the same time ensuring that we are providing the same good services that we have

been providing?

I was very encouraged last night when Division was called and we all had an

opportunity to stand up and it is something the Opposition always likes to

say: Well, stand in your place and show us where your support is. It was such a

great pleasure last night when we we all knew what we were voting, but the

Opposition called Division. It made be happy, obviously, having spoke on it and

having supported it, to be able to stand in my place.

What was even more impressive to me and myself and my colleagues over on this

side standing and supporting it, was the Third Party standing up. I have to say,

I, like many members, sometimes give you a hard go, and a lot of times it is

just in jest and it is just banter back and forth, but I have to say - I have to

say - I was very impressed, and my hat is off to you. You did not pay the

partisan game last night. You recognized how that bill could possibly affect the

residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. So I am saying today, thank you for

supporting that. I think really it showed true leadership.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

AN HON. MEMBER: Take care.

MR. S. COLLINS: Exactly.

Now, while I speak about the Third Party, of course, we had a little bit of a

different story on the Opposition; but that is fine. That is fine. We have a lot

of debates coming up, and a lot of places where they could probably regain some

of that. Maybe this motion today, Mr. Speaker, they can redeem themselves.

Anyway, we will see what happens.

In Budget 2011, Mr. Speaker, we announced $1.8 million to establish a new

Access and Clinical Efficiency Division which would focus on wait time

improvement strategies in this Province. Mr. Speaker, we have invested $4.1

million to improve access and patient flow through the emergency department at

St. Clare's, and we have also invested $400,000 to fund renovations to the

Health Sciences emergency department to improve efficiencies.

It is nice to talk about the dollars, but how do we see those dollars being

spent? I do not know if anybody has been to the hospital lately the Health

Sciences Centre, the hospital name eluded me but we now have what is called

and we had this, in fact, actually in place before, what is called a fast track

system. This money has gone to improving the logistics of that, the layout of

it. Actually, we were down to the hospital a little while ago for a news release

and we were taken on a tour of the fast track; and it is so impressive to see

how it works. It is something that is simple in idea, but once implemented it is

one of those things you wonder: Why didn't we do this before?

Like I said, while the idea was there, it was not truly implemented before.

Through this strategy and through the money being put into it, we now see that

fast track system develop and we see how it can improve access. I hope I do not

get to see it first-hand. I have only been to the emergency department a couple

of times in my life, and I do not want that to change, but it is good to know

those efficiencies are put in place.

Mr. Speaker, on February 22, 2012, the department released two five-year

provincial strategies which will focus on reducing emergency departments wait

times and orthopaedic surgery for hip and knee joint replacement. As I have

said, I was down at the Health Sciences Centre with the minister the day that

was announced and it was so encouraging to see the amount of professionals in

the room and people who obviously were affected by this sort of news release. It

was just a positive feeling.

We knew what were doing was right, obviously. We didn't do it for no reason.

We did it because we heard from the health professionals. We knew what we had to

do, and we knew we had to get a strategy in place to reduce those wait times.

So, I was glad to be a part of that and encouraged, like I said, to see people

come out and certainly encourage government to keep on the path that we are

headed.

We will invest $5 million in Budget 2012-2013, the upcoming Budget, to

further our commitment to wait times: $1.4 million in the first year of the

joint replacement strategy and $3.6 in year one of the emergency department

strategy. So it is all good that we are here at this place now. We are investing

money. Again, we know the path we have to head down.

So, how did we arrive here? I am going to go into a little bit of the

history, if I may. Back in December 2005 at the FPT Ministers of Health

meetings, they established national wait time benchmarks in five priority areas.

Most of us would be familiar with these: radiation therapy; cardiac bypass

surgery, or open heart surgery; joint replacement, as I just spoke about;

cataracts; and screening diagnostics, which are basically pap tests and breast

screening, those types of things.

So we move ahead. In 2007, the Province entered into a Patient Wait Times

Guarantee contribution agreement with the federal government. Through this

agreement, we guarantee that patients will receive access to cardiac bypass

again, open heart surgery within the national benchmark of 182 days, and that

we would provide alternate treatment options, such as the option to access

surgery in other jurisdictions if we could not provide it within that benchmark

time frame of 182. The guarantee came into effect in 2010, and since that time

all cardiac bypass patients continue to receive access to surgery within the

benchmark time frame.

Now, I want people to pay particular attention to this because this is really

good news. As of the end of March 2, 2012, only nineteen of the forty-five

patients on the cardiac surgery wait-list are waiting for bypass surgery, and we

are confident those nineteen patients will all access their treatment within the

benchmark time frame.

MS SULLIVAN: How many?

MR. S. COLLINS: Nineteen; but, I would say to my minister, what is even

more interesting than that is six to eight years ago that list was almost 300

people; 300.

AN HON. MEMBER: How many now?

MR. S. COLLINS: There are nineteen now.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. S. COLLINS: Mr. Speaker, I professed just yesterday or the day

before, I do not claim to be a pharmacist. Today I am going to profess I am not

a mathematician by any stretch, and my math marks in high school would probably

show you that, but I am just wondering; 300, six to eight years ago, and now

there are nineteen. What kind of percentages are we looking at? I am no

mathematician, but I see there is a huge difference and a huge improvement.

Obviously, whatever we are doing, the stuff that I am talking about here today,

is working. It is working.

Further to that, the nineteen who are now on the list will reach their

treatment before the 182 elapses. If it does not, Mr. Speaker, we will make sure

it does in another jurisdiction, but that is not going to be the case because we

are going to take care of them right here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. S. COLLINS: In January 2010 the Atlantic Ministers of Health signed

an interprovincial MOU to ensure cancer patients in four provinces received

access to radiation treatment within medically accepted benchmarks. So, not only

did we improve it right here at home; we also looked outside in our Atlantic

counterparts to ensure a partnership there, because if we cannot do it, it is

something they may be able to help us with. It is all about partnering with the

other jurisdictions, and that is something we have done successfully. It is that

one step further we are going, that one extra step.

I see my time is running out quite quickly so I am going to change gears just

for a second. Mr. Speaker, it is something that applies to a lot of people, and

sadly a lot of us know folks with autism. The sad part about autism, we know the

numbers are so great but we do not know why they are so great. It is a medical

mystery, and it is something that is awful troubling. I know even myself, as a

young parent - because a lot of times a diagnosis does not happen until later in

life, and it is a scary fact of life.

With that being said, through an overall investment of $2.7 million in 2011,

the provincial government enhanced access and expanded services to support those

with autism. Mr. Speaker, this investment included $2.2 million for the initial

expansion of the ABA or the Applied Behaviour Analysis program. This expansion

is taking place over a two-year period. The interesting part of that: we were

one of the first to implement the no-wait-list for access to ABA services.

Further to that, our publicly-funded program that provides services from ages

zero to three is actually probably leading the nation. What we recognize is the

fact that we have to diagnose these ailments early. With something like autism,

if you can diagnose it early you can get in front of it and you can cause a

world of difference. You can cause a world of difference. You can improve the

lives of so many people if you can do that, but again the diagnosis is so

important.

I am going to jump along here.

AN HON. MEMBER: Thirty seconds.

MR. S. COLLINS: Thirty seconds? Okay.

I want to talk about a few other things here. Five hundred thousand dollars

just recently was provided to Eastern Health for a patient flow study. It is

something I was talking about before. It is all right to put money out there,

because we know we are putting money out there, we are putting $3 billion a year

out there, but we need to be able to target that money for effective areas where

we can find efficiencies, and that is what we have been doing. I do not know if

the members across the way I am sure you have there are two wonderful pieces

of literature here to take a look at. One is the Strategy to Reduce Emergency

Department Wait Times, and the other, of course, is Hip and Knee Joint

Replacement Surgery Wait Times.

MR. SPEAKER (Verge): Order, please'

MR. S. COLLINS: By leave, just to clue up, please?

MR. SPEAKER: Does the member have leave?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Yes.

MR. SPEAKER: Just to clue up.

Back to the Member for Terra Nova.

AN HON. MEMBER: You will get another ten minutes anyway, after.

MR. S. COLLINS: Okay, I will have another moment to get up and speak, so

I will leave it there, but by the very fact that I ran out of time before I got

through half my material I think speaks volumes, obviously, of what we are doing

in the department, what we are doing as a Province for people and wait times,

and addressing the needs.

So, with that, I will take my seat and I will be up shortly to continue on.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is my privilege to rise to this private member's resolution today and

addressing wait times. First of all, I want to make it quite clear, as the

member opposite just mentioned, he started out speaking about health care

professionals, and all of us, as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, I would say,

Mr. Speaker, we actually do recognize the great work that our health care

professionals do on a day in, day out basis, our nurses, our doctors. Yesterday,

you spoke at great length about pharmacists and about physiotherapists. They do

a great job every single day in the work that they do, and we certainly need to

recognize the value that they bring to our health care system.

I also want to recognize the fact that when we speak about wait times,

benchmarking is indeed important. We have made tremendous gains in meeting some

of those benchmarks, certainly, cardiac care is one of those areas , but I want

to talk a little bit about how we get to even recognizing wait times and

benchmarks. It was as late as 2002 when benchmarking wait times was something

that really did not get discussed much at all. It happened as a result of a

federal government initiative and the Romanow inquiry and the commission that

was put in place around 2001, eighteen months, and the report came back in 2002,

is when we first started talking about wait times. In particular, we were

challenged - and all this tied into the 2004 health accord. As we know, in 2014

this health accord expires again. This will bring a tremendous financial impact

on the Province again as we develop a new health accord on a go-forward basis.

Indeed, I agree that wait times are important and we do need to put those

targets in place, but simply saying that we are satisfied with the work we have

done is certainly not the case.

I do want to make mention, before I move on, about the great work that our

health care professionals do. I want to bring us back to the critical care

nurses, the 100 of them who signed a petition back at the Health Sciences

Centre. We need to really recognize and focus a little bit more closely on what

those nurses are doing.

Wait times are important. In some recent literature we have been reading it

says that it is one of the leading problems for residents of Newfoundland and

Labrador as they access our health care system. Wait times are important. As you

are waiting to access care, there are a lot of things that go on in someone's

life. For instance, if you are waiting on bypass surgery, if you are waiting on

a hip and joint replacement, it really impacts your life. There are certain

things, in terms of mobility, that you are not able to do.

Indeed, in 2002 the Romanow Commission did mention things like cancer,

cardiac disease, diagnostic imaging, joint replacements and cataract surgery.

These are important. These were the five priority areas that were mentioned.

Benchmarking those five priority areas of our health care system is we cannot

leave it there. There is a lot more work to be done as we move from there.

When I look back at where we were as a Province in meeting those wait times,

yes, we have done very good when it comes to cardiac bypass surgery, and

cataract surgery, we are about three-quarters of the way there where we need to

be. We are not there yet. As a matter of fact, we really have not shown much

significant growth in a number of years.

What we have to recognize too, there are a lot of inconsistencies across the

many regions in the Province. For instance, Western would be maybe at a higher

percentage rate right now than Eastern would be for some reason, but it is the

inconsistencies. It matters where you live, how long the wait times are. For

instance, with hip replacement Eastern Health does not do as well as Western and

Central. It is the same way with knee replacements. It is important that we try

and create some consistency amongst those wait times across the Province. We are

not really seeing that right now.

One of the other things that is important is what those wait times could be.

For instance, if you have somebody in the hospital right now, they are waiting

for some kind of alternate care, for instance if they are waiting to leave a

hospital to go into a long-term care site, what happens is we trigger what is

called bed blockage. This is really important, because the whole idea around

waiting for an alternative level of care impacts admissions by people who are

looking for acute care. When we look at the aging population that we have,

particularly in rural areas of Newfoundland and Labrador, we find today that

this bed blocking problem that we see, it is a serious problem for us right now.

We really do not have any strategy at all. It is not something in actual fact

that we are even considering.

My colleague, in Question Period today, mentioned about the 450 people that

we have waiting on physiotherapy treatment. I will give an example of what

happens in this particular case. In the last few months we have had a number of

calls that came into our office and one in particular that I remember, and it

really impacts not just the individual but how it impacts families. We had a

gentleman who was in the hospital in Corner Brook, in this particular case,

waiting to go back home which was in the Bombay area, and really could not do,

simply because there was no physiotherapist available for that individual in the

Bombay area. We can see in this particular case how it really affects families,

it affects the individual. In this particular case, it was causing the gentleman

a lot of anxiety in his life simply because he was not getting the family

support around him that was important to him.

When I go back and look at the Romanow Commission and the recommendations

that he made, health care investment in rural communities in Newfoundland and

Labrador was extremely important in that whole report. In actual fact, in

Newfoundland and Labrador, in many cases we have not delivered. Even with all

the good news we have seen in meeting some of our wait-list benchmarks, there

are a lot of things in rural Newfoundland they just cannot access that you can

in some of the larger centres.

One of the things that I want to highlight a little bit today when we look at

wait-lists is the whole idea of mental illness and the serious problem that is

creating in our Province today. Mental illness is often called the orphan child

of health care. That is important because the stigma that is attached with

mental illness has a tremendous impact on people's lives. I just want to quote

something that came out of the commission's report back in 2002. He refers to

this as the invisible illness. We know that in our Province today one in five

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will at some point in their life experience

mental illness. That is 20 per cent of our population, Mr. Speaker. It really

goes to show how important this is and the cost that this is adding to our

health care system. The sad fact is that only one in three of those people who

need mental health services will actually receive them. Just think about that,

one in five, 20 per cent of our population will have a mental illness at some

point in their life and only one-third of those people will get the services

that they need.

There is a tremendous economic cost to mental illness in our Province today.

What we really need is and I looked at a recent report that talked about the

number of psychiatrists and the wait times to see a psychiatrist in our

Province. I can guarantee you right now that in every single case, it is usually

a number of months that people are waiting to seek psychiatric services.

This is a common theme across the Province, Mr. Speaker. I can tell you right

now that when a person actually gets to the point where they actually get the

resolve to actually seek the support of those services, it is not easy. We often

see repeat hospitalization with people with mental illness. Psychiatrists and

counsellors are just not readily available.

I know yesterday, for instance, there was significant debate in this House in

terms of what we do with certain drugs that are on formulary. In my life as a

pharmacist, we saw this first hand; we saw it a lot, actually. What we do see is

that most of the special authorization claims for people were actually for drugs

to treat mental illness. That was the number one request that would be made. As

a matter of fact, I think the report was and this one is back, I believe it

was, sometime in late 2011, so it is fairly recent that we had over 13,000

requests for special authorization. It was the highest denial rate of any

particular category of drugs in the Province, the denial rate being around 26.3

per cent.

It just goes to show where our society really has not moved. We made

significant ground, but we are really not there, where we need to be when it

comes to treating mental illness. Related to some of that, we often see when I

speak of counselling services that are available in many of our smaller

communities, we know right now that once you go past Grand Falls, for instance,

you cannot get methadone treatment; there is no methadone clinic once you go

past Grand Falls. That is a serious problem right now on the West Coast of

Newfoundland. When you think about that, anybody who is motivated to go and get

the addiction treated, they have really nowhere to go, except go to Grand Falls

where there is an extremely long wait-list, or come into St. John's where the

wait-list is extremely long and really very difficult to get into.

Mr. Speaker, even though I understand that we have reached benchmarks in many

of the priority areas, we are not reaching it into many of the other health

illnesses that affect Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Regardless of what the

government would say on all of this, there is still a lot of work to be done

within our health care system as we try to address the wait time list that we

have right now.

Mr. Speaker, I spoke yesterday, as I did listen to some of the things about

special authorization. I just want to go through the process that happens in a

community when someone is actually seeking special authorization for any

particular drug. It is not easy to do.

The first thing yesterday, there was some mention made of automation, but

in actual fact, the automation is a fax machine and it gets faxed in to the

Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program. Right now, the last reports

I have seen, we have been over a month waiting for approvals. When you look at

what happens here I can give you an example of someone who lives in a rural

area and sometimes they are driving up to an hour and more to get in to a clinic

when they can get to see their family physician. So what happens when this

request goes in, if there is a denial, usually the information is going back to

the family physician. In a lot of cases, those people just remain waiting and

they have no idea that there is more information required.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we address some things that would seem to

be very simple to most of us, but yet is actually complicating many people as

they try to get medical treatment in many of the areas of our Province. These

special authorization approvals are not always easy to do. We have often seen

when we have all of these specialized physicians, when they would actually write

prescriptions, you would actually think that if it got to that point, we would

almost respect the fact that these particular physicians would actually know

there are certain guidelines to be met and that these specialty drugs would not

be as hard to access.

Mr. Speaker, as we have listened to much of the information that we have from

the members opposite, when they speak about wait times there is no question

that we have made significant advancements in certain areas, but we have had

lapses in many other areas. I have spoken about bed blockages, the importance,

and the cost that is actually adding to our health care system right now.

What I did not mention, and there are many others, were things like home

care. Right now we have people who wait weeks and weeks trying to avail of home

care services in their communities right now. It is very, very difficult and

adds a lot of strain on families. Even today when we have seen reports coming

out of Goose Bay right now, we have seen long-term care wait-lists. Even with a

new building up there, we are continuing to see wait-lists in the long-term care

centre in Goose Bay. These are important things, and things that affect the many

families we have right now in Newfoundland and Labrador.

It is important that we get those benchmarks. It is important that we make

those significant investments. It is just not as simple as getting up and

running off a bunch of numbers. What happens is this actually affects a lot of

people. It affects the day-to-day lives of a lot of people. It is important that

we get a little more focused, at least in my opinion, that we address not just

the five priority areas, but we also look at the many other illnesses that

people in our society

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

MR. BALL: have to deal with on a day-in and a day-out basis. Right now,

Mr. Speaker, I want to put forward an amendment to the private member's

resolution on wait times.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

MR. BALL: I move, and it is seconded by the Member for Burgeo La Poile,

the following amendment to the motion:

That the following be added after the third recital:

WHEREAS significant wait times still exist for individuals to receive access

to mental health treatment, addiction counselling, physiotherapy services, home

care and special authorization approvals; and

Also the word "significant" be deleted from the resolution clause, Mr.

Speaker.

Thank you.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

We have an amendment to the resolution put forward by the Member of the

Official Opposition. Before I deal with the amendment, I just want to recognize

we have a special guest in the gallery who just came in: Mr. Jeremy Cross, a

great fan of this House of Assembly and son to the Member for Bonavista North.

We would like to welcome Jeremy to the House of Assembly today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: Thank you.

We will now take a brief recess to consider whether the amendment as put

forward by the Leader of the Official Opposition is in order.

Recess

MR. SPEAKER (Verge): Order, please'

We have reviewed the amendment and determined that the amendment is in order.

The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Once again, it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to address some of the

good work that the Department of Health and Community Services is doing, has

been doing for quite some time, and will continue to do in the future.

Today we get an opportunity to let the people of Newfoundland and Labrador

know some of the initiatives that we have started, and some of the plans that we

have around wait times, and addressing the concerns that we have heard about

from residents of Newfoundland and Labrador in terms of wait times.

Specifically today I want to talk about two of our new wait time strategies,

Mr. Speaker. My colleague, the Member for Terra Nova, started out talking

generally about some of the issues around wait times, and some of the ways that

we have addressed them. What I would like to do is take the opportunity to

address the two issues that we committed to in our Blue Book and that we have

already delivered on, Mr. Speaker.

Back in February of this year, we were able to announce $5 million worth of

wait time strategies for Newfoundland and Labrador; two in particular: one

around emergency departments, because we had heard significant concerns around

wait times in emergency departments; and the second one in terms of the

replacement of hip and knee joints within the Province.

Mr. Speaker, particularly in regard to wait times for emergency departments,

it is not simply that we are going to go into an emergency department and

somehow just speed up the process right there. When we talk about emergency

departments and wait times that occur there, there is a whole patient flow that

we have to look at within that department. So, preparing this strategy took us

some time to do some research, it took us some time to look at some best

practices from other jurisdictions and so on, as well as relying on the good

expertise we have within our own department here in the Department of Health and

Community Services. Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin, though, by talking to

the people of Newfoundland and Labrador specifically about that front door; and

that front door really and truly is the emergency department.

Pertinent information that people probably do not often understand or know is

the amount of activity that takes place in an emergency department. I found this

statistic rather staggering: we have thirty-three emergency departments in our

Province, Mr. Speaker, and last year, 2010-2011, there were 520,000 visits made

to our emergency departments. Essentially everybody in Newfoundland and

Labrador, if you look at the number, would have gone to our emergency

departments at least once and then a few.

Trying to ensure, with that many people going through thirty-three emergency

departments, that we have efficient patient flow and that we have patients being

seen in the order in which they need to be seen, you can imagine is quite a task

to have to undertake. From what I can tell, we have been doing a reasonable job

with that. My hope is that the work we have done and the work we will do in

implementing this particular strategy around emergency departments will make an

even bigger difference.

It is a five-year plan, Mr. Speaker, because nothing can be rectified

overnight. So, it is a five-year plan with a $3.6 million price tag that is part

of this year's budget. We are looking at improving the efficiency of their

higher volume emergency departments, Mr. Speaker. We have thirteen of what we

call our higher volume emergency departments; they see more patients.

Mr. Speaker, when we talk about some of what we need to do in those emergency

departments, we are talking about examining optimal staff scheduling; because,

Mr. Speaker, once we had done some research, we found that in many of our

emergency departments, the busiest day of the week I almost feel like we

should have a contest and see who can guess the busiest day of the week in an

emergency department

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MS SULLIVAN: He has an answer over there; it is Monday. Monday is

generally the busiest day in our emergency departments.

So, Mr. Speaker, if we know that, then we need to respond to that, and on

Mondays we should have more staff operating in the emergency departments, simply

because that is the day that we have recognized that there are more people

coming in and out through that emergency department.

We need to continue to monitor that, to make sure that is going to continue,

that path is going to continue, but if we know that we have days when there are

those ebbs and flows, and that is a day when there is more activity there, then

we need to respond to that. We need to make sure that we have the right skill

mix in there as well, Mr. Speaker, that we have supportive policies in place,

and that the physical layout is not something that gets in the way of being able

to deliver good, efficient care and that is something that we have looked at

as well, in terms of patient flow.

The second goal that we looked at is community-based health services. I

recall when I first launched this strategy, Mr. Speaker, back on February 22,

that there was some criticism from the Opposition saying that we were not

looking at community-based health services in the provision of emergency

department care, and in our opportunity to ensure that we increased our activity

and that we were able to see that our wait times were decreased.

In actual fact, Mr. Speaker, that was one of the areas that we put a great

deal of focus on in our strategy. Through some of the MOUs that we had signed

with our doctors, we are able to talk to doctors, particularly our family

doctors, about increasing the awareness of health lines, and also about

providing that community-based alternative to hospital admission, for seniors

particularly, Mr. Speaker.

So, we are looking at some things, for example, speaking with our physicians

about providing evening clinics, speaking with physicians about providing

weekend clinics. Again, that takes the pressure off our emergency departments,

because quite often people cannot get to their physician during the daytime,

through work hours, but they could make those appointments for the evenings, or

they could make those weekend appointments. So, through some money that we have

available to us with the MOU that was negotiated with doctors, those are

initiatives that we have committed to undertaking. That is an example of good

community-based health care.

The other has to do with the provision of seniors care. I will talk about

that a little bit later on, but again, I just wanted to emphasize for the sake

of those who are at home and for the Opposition who did not have opportunity to

read in detail before the scrum on that particular day when you talked about

wait times, that we, in fact, did address some of the issues that we were

criticized for not addressing. I will speak to that again.

The Province-wide standard for patient triage is something that is

exceptionally important as well. What happens is that if people come into an

emergency department they are first registered and then seen by a triage nurse.

The triage nurse will do the original assessment, and based on that assessment

will decide in which order a patient is seen. If it is a CTAS 1 or 2, those

patients are perhaps seen first - not perhaps, they are seen first - our 4 and

5s may not be as serious and they can wait a little while longer. Sometimes we

hear complaints and somebody will say: so-and-so was in the emergency

department, came in and got seen before I did. Well, that is because the need

was greater. There was a need for that person to be seen. That is an important

piece of the mix in ensuring good patient flow in our emergency departments, Mr.

Speaker. We will be introducing and implementing a Province-wide standard for

patient triage. Some of that has been happening in many of our hospitals,

particularly here in Eastern Health in St. John's, but it has not necessarily

been happening in all of our emergency departments, so we will implement that.

To improve the collection reporting and use of emergency department wait time

data; if we cannot measure it, then quite often we cannot fix it because we do

not know what is wrong. We need to be able to find a mechanism to do that. We

need to look at the time between entering that hospital and seeing that doctor.

How do we measure that time? How do we look at length of stay there? That is

another important piece. How do we look at overall patient satisfaction in terms

of the amount of time they have had to wait, given the particular reason that

brought them into that emergency department?

Finally, improving the communication with patients and the public regarding

emergency departments; what did we do to respond to all that, Mr. Speaker? We

invested $2 million right away for the procurement and the installation of

emergency department information systems. Two are up and running right now, one

at the Health Sciences here and the other at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital.

We have invested $720,000, Mr. Speaker, to hire an external consultant to

review three of our higher volume emergency departments. Now, you will remember

that I said we have thirteen. We have two done and now we are in the process of

reviewing three others. That will bring the total to five; again, to determine

that baseline wait time and to identify the causes of delays within our

patient-flow systems.

Also, $534,000 - and this is the piece that I really wanted to speak to -

will be invested for a two-year pilot for community rapid response program. We

will do that in two locations as a pilot project. What we are doing here is we

are trying to find a method for our seniors to be able to say - oftentimes you

cannot go home alone because of the particular diagnosis that you may have

received. It may not be a serious illness. It may not be a serious condition,

but because there is not anyone home to see that you are getting your meds

properly, because there is not anyone home to administer care to you, then we

cannot send you home; therefore, we have to admit. When we admit, we know what

we do, we are using up beds; therefore, lots of times people will come into the

hospital who need one of those beds and cannot get it. That backlogs into the

emergency department.

What we will do here in terms of community support is we have committed to

that pilot project in two areas that will look at support to a senior in the

senior's home. We will actually provide home support so that that senior can go

home with twenty-four hour support for up to seven days so that the particular

concern that was addressed in the emergency department can be taken care of at

home. We free up the bed in the hospital and we keep the patient flow within the

emergency department moving as it should and we ensure that that senior has had

good attention in terms of his or her particular problem. Mr. Speaker, I think

that is one of the most innovative and one of the most creative things that we

have done here in terms of improving wait times.

Finally, we have invested $335,000 for six additional nursing positions and

one ward clerk in the emergency departments. That will happen in St. John's,

Gander, Grand Falls Windsor, and Stephenville.

Mr. Speaker, in the little bit of time that I have had, I can tell you that

in terms of our emergency department that is a huge piece of work. Our fast

track area - and I need to talk about that as well. The fast track area when we

do our CTAS, you would call the patient triage and we decide some of these

patients really do not need a bed to lie in, in the emergency department, in

order to be treated. They may simply need to come in and sit in a chair, if it

is a problem with their hand or if it is a sore throat, or if it is an ear

infection. They do not need, necessarily, to be seen in a specialized room. If

we set up a fast track area - and I was privileged to see the one that we just

set up over at the Health Sciences - then we can remove those patients, put them

into the fast track area. They can be seen by a health care provider, either a

physician or a nurse practitioner, thereby reducing the congestion in the

emergency department but also seeing to it that they are seen in an expeditious

and efficient manner as well. That fast track room at the emergency department

at the Health Sciences has been working very effectively. At St. Clare's, we are

in the process right now of doing some work to set up that particular fast track

system. As soon as we get our other assessments done, then we will move that out

to our other hospitals. They are two wonderful initiatives that we have seen.

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to address as well some of the other things that we are

doing around our strategies. The second one had to do with our hip and knee

joint replacement strategy. There were five goals that we had used there to

address that particular issue. It is an important issue for us in Newfoundland

and Labrador, particularly as we become a more active society, Mr. Speaker. I do

not know, but I could use a knee replacement myself from the little bit of

running that I have been doing. We do know that the demand for hip and knee

replacement has increased in Newfoundland and Labrador.

We have invested, Mr. Speaker - without going through all the detail because

my time will run out. Without going through all of the detail in terms of the

goals of this strategy, we have invested $900,000 for an additional sixty hip

and knee replacement surgeries to take place this year, in 2012-2013, Mr.

Speaker. That will certainly look after or address the current backlog of

patients.

Also, $254,900 for the establishment of central intake clinics in both Gander

and Corner Brook where our two other orthopaedic departments are housed. That

will enhance the management of patients who require that hip and knee

replacement surgery, and better prepare patients. One of the problems we have,

Mr. Speaker, is that people come and they are not prepared for surgery. They

could be overweight and not able to undergo the surgery. Sometimes it is

something as simple as they would have eaten something and did not realize that

they could not eat before the surgery. These central intake clinics help to get

a patient prepared and ready for surgery.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, we spent $235,000 to hire two additional

physiotherapists. Again, exceptionally important because some of the problem has

to do with the fact that we keep people in hospital too long because we are not

able to get them the treatment they need. If they do not have a physiotherapist

working on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, that means they are in the hospital three

extra days longer. They do not need to be. What we could do is we could have

physiotherapists who are working weekends, so we have invested money there.

I see my time is up, and I am so disappointed because I could talk for

another hour as anybody in this House knows. Mr. Speaker, we are making great

advances in wait times in Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

I recognize the hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.

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

It is a pleasure to rise in this House today and speak again. Certainly, it

only feels like this morning that were here, and I guess it was.

Again, I have had an opportunity to listen to my colleague, the Leader of the

Opposition, to listen to the minister, and certainly to listen to the Member for

Terra Nova who introduced this private member's resolution. I am glad to see

that government has recognized the importance of this issue, when we are talking

about wait times. This is an important issue when it comes to the health care

system.

Again, I have to go back to the Member for Terra Nova, because I have heard

him speak more in three days I think this is actually recognized in the World

Wide Web - that he has spoken more in three days than in the last two-and-a-half

years; but that is good, because he is speaking on an important issue. You are

like The Jeffersons ; you are moving on up. You are moving on up, and that

is good. I am glad to hear you speak on this.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. A. PARSONS: Again, getting away from that, this is an important

issue. I am speaking to the resolution, but I actually have to speak to the

amendment as well, because the fact is we certainly acknowledge that efforts

have been made. There is no doubt about that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear'

MR. A. PARSONS: But, at the same time, given the fact that a strategy has

just been introduced, we need to acknowledge that more efforts have to be taken

to combat this issue. That is very obvious. Now, I have a number of different

issues when it comes to the wait-list times that I would like to address, and

hopefully I will get time to get through them all. I hope I can stick to each

point because, again, there are various ones.

One thing I would mention, when it comes to the issue of mental health and

wait times, right now in this Province we only have seventy-eight psychiatrists

for this Province. So, when we look at the wait times here in the different

areas, there are significant wait times that need to be addressed. We have four

to six months in Burin. In Western Health is depends on if you are a priority

one, two, or three. If you are a priority one, thank God, you get there right

away. If you are a priority three, though, you have twelve months that you have

to wait for psychiatric services.

We need to make sure that mental health which is why we have this amendment

there that mental health is addressed. When you look at Corner Brook, it is

the same thing; Corner Brook, again falling under the West Coast, priority one,

two, or three. If you are priority one, you are supposed to be seen right away,

but if you are a priority three, twelve months. In Grand Falls-Windsor, right

now the statistics that we have we are talking about private psychiatrists

you could have over a two year wait time to have the psychiatric services. Those

are the stats that we are looking at that come right from the Canadian Mental

Health Association. That is where I go to get my information.

Again, when we talk about the information that is being presented, it is one

thing to have it presented by political staff, but a lot of the information we

are getting is from the people actually on the wait-lists. We are getting

firsthand information here that we are lucky to get an opportunity to stand in

this House and present. So, I want to keep going on here.

AN HON. MEMBER: Don't talk about things you don't (inaudible).

MR. A. PARSONS: Again, I do know what I am talking about, Minister. I am

going to keep talking about these issues. I certainly will keep talking about

them.

One of the things I would like to talk about today, Mr. Speaker, I would like

to talk about autism. Autism is an issue that was referenced by the Member for

Terra Nova. Autism was brought up by the member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

MR. A. PARSONS: What I would say, it was addressed by the member that the

early diagnosis of autism is important if children are to achieve their full

potential early diagnosis. Now, what I have had an opportunity to do is talk

to a friend who has actually had to deal with this issue very recently. They

have to deal with this issue right now.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

MR. A. PARSONS: Now, what I would say is the member does not want me to

talk, but I have to talk. I have to keep talking about this.

AN HON. MEMBER: You don't know what you are talking about'

MR. A. PARSONS: I certainly know what I am talking about, Minister, and I

am going to keep talking about it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh'

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please'

I recognize the Member for Burgeo - La Poile to speak. I would like to have

everybody's co-operation.

The hon. the Member for Burgeo - La Poile.

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

Now, this family are friends of mine and they received a letter from the

Janeway on August 18. They had their child in, and they sent back a letter and

said: Look, we have detection of autism. We need to send him to a specialist.

In this case, they were told there is a ten-month to twelve-month wait-list

for the pediatrician a ten-month to twelve-month wait-list for the

pediatrician. They were also told at that time they have a twelve-month to

fourteen-month wait-list when it comes to the speech-language pathologist

twelve to fourteen months, Mr. Speaker. Finally, we have a

two-and-a-quarter-year wait-list to see an occupational therapist at the

Janeway.

Now, this is happening right now in 2011-2012. This family is very concerned,

so we have to make sure that we are catching this early. Newfoundland is known

to have a prevalence of this. The prevalence of autism in this Province has

increased tenfold in the last decade; the prevalence of autism has increased

tenfold in this Province. When we are getting back to the early intervention and

the early diagnosis, we need to make sure that these professionals are available

for these families so they can address this.

What I come back to here is the fact that in two very short years under this

Health Accord we are going to be dealing with a reduction in our funds I

believe that to be true a reduction in our funds. What I am saying here is

that no doubt there has been money spent. Nobody is denying that, but we need to

make sure that for every dollar spent we are getting the best possible outcome

for that dollar. We are going to have less money to put into this system,

according to the federal health transfers that are coming up.

What I am saying is that we just cannot say that we are putting this much

money into it; we need to make sure that the outcomes for this money spent is

the best possible. I want to keep going on the autism, but I am going to move on

because autism is an important issue but I certainly have another important

issue that I would like to continue with.

One of the things that we have talked about, and this came up a lot in the

election, was bed blockage. That is a serious issue in this Province. When we

talk about the health accord, and there were the five subject areas, one of the

things was that there were supposed to be quarterly reports sent out beginning

in July 2005. This was followed through, but the last update received was March

3, 2011. So, we have not had a quarterly report in over a year. We need to

maintain these quarterly reports. That information I believe to be true. I have

no reason not to believe it, so we need to make sure that is reported.

The fact is that in certain areas the benchmarks are being met, and we are

not denying that, but in certain areas the benchmarks are not being met, and

that is what we are bringing up here. If we are putting a private member's

resolution in to make sure that wait times are improved and that the well-being

and the health of this Province of the people of this Province is taken care of,

we need to put out what is good and we need to put out what needs to be

improved.

The problem is - and I guess this is due to the population density that

Eastern Health has a lot of these problems. In Western Health and Central, if

you need a knee replacement you are going to get it faster than if you go to

Eastern Health. That is true. Knee replacements at Eastern are a big problem;

that is why this strategy is out here. Again, we are under the benchmark for the

rest of the Province. This is something that has to be addressed here.

CIHI released a wait times in Canada report back in 2011, so not even a year

old. From June to September 2010, Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland was reaching its

benchmark for hip replacement 75 per cent of the time. Canada is at 84 per cent.

Eastern Health is at 60.5 per cent. That is why the strategy is there. That is

why funds have been allocated. Again, what I am saying is we need to make sure

that those funds that are being allocated, that we get the best bang for our

buck. That is what we need to make sure.

We go to the next step here when we talk about the knee replacements instead

of the hip replacements. The national average is 79 per cent; the benchmark here

is 67 per cent. There is a gap there, a 79 per cent average nationally, 67 per

cent here in this Province; in Eastern Health, 44.5 per cent. The Province has

acknowledged this, they are trying to fix it, and they are putting money into

it. Let's make sure that we are getting the best results for that money.

Now I have to go back for a second to the bed blockage, because one in six

beds in this Province are occupied by people that should not be there. They

should be getting their health care, whether that be in a rehabilitative bed,

whether that should be in a long-term care bed. They should not be in the acute

care bed, and again I look at the Leader of the Opposition, or someone who has

been in health care his entire life; I am lucky to have his experience to draw

on as well as our research that we have been doing here.

When we look at the cost, again, bed blockage is the biggest cause of wait

times in this Province bed blockage. That is an issue that has to be

addressed. Now what our researchers did when they went around and looked at all

this, they actually went to the department with a request for info the

briefing notes, information, and documentation when it comes to this issue. The

whole idea is to find out, what are we doing? What are we doing to address that

issue? What are we doing to make sure?

Again, we all know that in 2025, one in four in this Province will be

sixty-five and older 25 per cent. It is an aging population. We know it is

there. It is going to get worse.

We looked at this, we tried to figure out what was going on and the results

we got back were and again, I notice the Member for Exploits putting his hand

up; he might be one of those seniors. I hope you are not part of the bed

blockage; I hope you are not part of it, Sir. What I would say is that when we

got the results back from this request, it actually said: No records responsive

to the request no records. What that indicates to us is that this does not

appear to even be considered. This is not being considered.

Here we have a huge drain on the system, the system that we are going to

have less money coming in from the feds, and we are trying to put more money in,

and we have not done anything to address something that is a huge drain on the

system. One hundred and twenty million dollars a year I am not sure, I think

that is between 4 per cent and 6 per cent of our annual health care budget.

Again, if we are not looking into this now, what are we doing? I would note

the Member for St. Barbe mentioned to me that in Windsor, Ontario, they looked

at this issue in 1991. In 1991 they did a study on this. Here we are in 2012 and

it does not look like we are getting there. I would say, look, if we are talking

wait times, let's make sure that we are looking at this, because this might be

the biggest part of it all.

Now, another issue here I could move on to is certainly the physiotherapy.

When I go to that issue, we have about 200 physiotherapists in this Province. We

have the lowest physiotherapists per population ratio in the country. Depending

on where you are, the wait times for physiotherapy can be a year or more. I know

that is what it is like out in my district. Out in my district, some people do

not have that year to wait so they have to get in their cars, drive through the

Wreckhouse, drive into Stephenville, drive into Corner Brook to get private

physiotherapy. They are lucky because they have insurance that they can do that,

but they still have to bear some costs. There are people out there, and I have

sent letters on their behalf; the Member for St. Barbe just sent a letter on

behalf of one of his constituents. They are on Income Support. They do not have

the funds to get private physiotherapy that they need. They are on the

wait-list. We need to improve that wait-list. This is another very, very serious

issue.

I know the government is aware of this. Again, we look at the number

referenced by the Member for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair; at the Health

Sciences and St. Clare's, there are up to 450 patients on the wait-list there.

Again, I am hoping that when we look at this private member's resolut