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December 5, 2017

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 41

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):

Order, please!

Admit

strangers.

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

Today we'll hear statements

from the hon. Members for the Districts of Bonavista, Cape St. Francis, Harbour

Grace – Port de Grave, Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune and Conception Bay South.

The hon.

the Member for Bonavista.

MR. KING:

Mr. Speaker, I rise here

today to speak of tragedy, perseverance and a young life well lived. Heidi and

Erica Dunn of Bonavista have been pillars of our community for years, even at

their young age. Both sisters love to perform and were no strangers to singing

and playing at community events, as well as being active members with number 84

RCSCC Golden Hind Sea Cadets, hockey players and dedicated volunteers.

Tragically, Heidi passed away at the age of 14 in July in an accident just days

before she was to compete at the Peninsula Idol competition at the Bird Island

Puffin Festival in Elliston. True to the impact that Heidi had on people, there

wasn't a seat to be had or a dry eye in the house at Memorial United Church in

Bonavista as her life was celebrated. Just recently, the first annual Heidi Dunn

under 15 girls hockey tournament was held in Bonavista to honour her spirit.

As often

is the case with tragedy, there is the spirit of perseverance. Showing courage,

Erica performed at Heidi's funeral and three days later won the Peninsula Idol

competition.

Please

join me in celebrating Heidi's life and Erica's bright future.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I rise

today to congratulate the Town of Flatrock on a successful come home year

celebration. The committee worked for several years preparing for the event and

what a fantastic job they did.

Chairperson Deputy Mayor Terry Humber and a team of over 20 volunteers organized

a 10-day celebration filled with something for everyone. Festivities opened with

the Kev Butts Memorial Softball Tournament, included other events such as the

Song and Story Circle, an East Coast Trail hike, a community bingo, a tea and

cinnamon bun workshop, demonstrations by the volunteer firefighters, a garden

party, cemetery mass, sports hall of fame ceremony, presentation of Citizen of

the Year, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Kavanagh, and a jiggs dinner that required three

sittings to accommodate everybody.

There

was also a senior's social, a car show with over 100 entries, a fun day, lancers

and local entertainment, and an open air dance. Celebrations closed with

fireworks and music by the Government Rams. Hundreds of people returned home to

Flatrock and everyone I spoke to was very impressed with the entire celebration.

I ask

all hon. Members to join with me in congratulating all those involved in making

the Flatrock Come Home Year such a tremendous success.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Harbour Grace – Port de Grave.

MS. P. PARSONS:

Season's greetings, Mr.

Speaker.

I would

like to recognize the members of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

Saints in Bay Roberts on an annual tradition they prepare and host during the

Christmas season.

Every

December, people from across the province visit the church on Central Street to

witness the special nativity display, a tradition which started in 2005,

originally featuring 86 nativities. Over the years, the numbers of nativities

continue to grow and currently there are 300 unique pieces.

These

special displays come from all over the world, such as Malaysia, Peru, Poland,

Angola, the Netherlands, Italy, Belize, Paraguay, Iqaluit, along with a variety

of communities throughout Canada and the United States.

The

display is a local favourite, cherished by those far and near. This church

community opens its doors for everyone to come and enjoy the spectacle every

evening from 6 to 9 p.m. in early December. Private viewings can also be

arranged.

The

church accepts free-will food donations for the local Bay Roberts Helping Hand

food bank. The church community takes great pride in preparing and hosting the

nativity and it's their way of giving back, while at the same time promoting the

true meaning of Christmas.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Otto

Fiander spent his childhood in the picturesque community of Coomb's Cove. As a

young man, he left his hometown to attend university and began a career in

education.

This

career path saw Mr. Fiander – as he is respectfully known – educating students

from Jersey Harbour, on the South Coast of the Island, to the Great Northern

Peninsula and Labrador where he became a member of the RCMP Marine Division.

In 1954,

Mr. Fiander and his young family returned to the South Coast of the Island and

to his career in education, teaching in the community of Belleoram and later as

became principal of that high school in 1970, a position he would hold for more

than a decade. In addition to teaching, he has been active in community

organizations, such as the Lions Club and the Volunteer Fire Department.

This

past summer, surrounded by family and friends at his home in Mose Ambrose, Mr.

Fiander celebrated his 90th birthday.

I ask

all Members of this hon. House to join me in commending this gentleman for a

remarkable career in education and a steadfast contribution to his community.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today it

gives me great pleasure to rise in this hon. House on the occasion of the

official opening of the new CBS Elementary school in Kelligrews, Conception Bay

South. On November 24, I was pleased to attend the opening with my colleague the

Minister of Education.

Conception Bay South is a fast-growing community, which is presently the

second-largest municipality in the province. The school has 500 students

attending and it's a much-welcomed addition to our two neighbouring elementary

schools.

CBS

Elementary is a K-7 school with 32 classrooms, two music rooms and a lunch room

with a commercial kitchen. It was designed in accordance with LEED rating

system, waste reduction, and daylight and water conservation are other design

features.

I would

like to thank both the former administration and the former MHA for Conception

Bay South, Terry French, for recognizing the need and initiating construction of

this new school. I would also like to thank the current administration for

seeing this project through to its completion.

Mr.

Speaker, this was a very proud day for the students, staff and families, which

concluded with a musical tribute by all students singing the late Gord Downey's

Tragically Hip song “Ahead by a Century.” So fitting.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm sure

you'll like my statement today.

Mr.

Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to acknowledge Labrador being chosen by

National Geographic Traveler magazine

as a Best of the World destination.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, each year

National Geographic Traveler magazine produces an eagerly

anticipated annual list that highlights must-see destinations to visit

throughout the world.

Standing

shoulder to shoulder with exotic and world-class destinations like Dublin,

Sydney and Vienna, Labrador was chosen because of its Aboriginal peoples'

involvement in Akami-Uapishku-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve.

Mr.

Speaker, as the only Canadian location chosen, this is a prestigious honour for

both our province and our country.

A place

of incredible scenery, people and spirit, the Big Land is truly a breathtaking

location. From awe-inspiring valleys and snow-covered peaks of the Torngat and

Mealy Mountains, to the unique multi-generational gathering and sharing space in

Nain, Labrador offers travellers an array of culturally rich and incredible

scenic experiences.

More and

more travellers are experiencing what Labrador has to offer, and with this

recent designation, Labrador will surely play a bigger role as we strive to

increase visitor spending to $1.6 billion annually by 2020.

Mr.

Speaker, I applaud all of those involved in this industry for their ongoing hard

work and commitment to making tourism in our province such a big success and I

encourage everyone to visit the Big Land.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. MITCHELMORE:

Mr. Speaker, Labrador is a

dream itinerary for intrepid travellers who want to discover a land with 9,000

years of history. It truly is one of the last untamed places left on earth.

I invite

all hon. Members to join me in celebrating Labrador as one of the world's

must-see destinations.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I was proud to see Labrador

being chosen by National Geographic

Traveler magazine as a Best of the World destination. The Big Land will join

other awe-inspiring locations from around the world, and as the minister pointed

out, will be the only Canadian location chosen.

Mr.

Speaker, I couldn't think of a more deserving place in our country, apart from

the Coast of Bays, of course. While Labrador has amazing, expansive landscapes

and rugged natural scenery, perhaps its greatest attribute is its people, along

with its culture and its proud heritage.

Mr.

Speaker, I've had the pleasure of visiting a number of areas of Labrador over my

life, ever since I was a young girl visiting my family there, and have found so

many fond memories. Anyone who lives or has spent time in Labrador can fully

understand this honour being bestowed by National Geographic. Hopefully, through

such prestigious exposure, the number of people looking to experience all that

Labrador has to offer will continue to grow. I truly believe the sky is the

limit on tourism potential for this part of our province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the minister. How exciting is this news? Bravo to all those who help make

Labrador an amazing place to live and to visit. They should be proud. This shows

how important and vital public investment in tourism is, as well as investment

in roads, infrastructure, arts and culture, and true partnerships with

indigenous peoples in developing destinations.

encourage government to resurrect the plans for Eagle River Provincial Park, and

a big bravo to the people of the Big Land.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The hon.

the Minister of Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I am

pleased to rise in this hon. House today to highlight the significant strides

our government has made towards enhancing the quality of our snow clearing

services for the 2018 winter season.

Most

recently I was pleased to announce our province's first-ever tow plow – an

innovative new piece of snow clearing equipment that can clear snow and spread

salt on two lanes at the same time, allowing for greater efficiency and better

allocation of equipment.

The new

tow plow has been assigned to the Trans-Canada from Salmonier Line to Route 2

Interchange and is a welcome addition to our fleet of more than 300 flyers

throughout the province.

Our

government provides numerous tools to help motorists plan for a safe trip

including highway cameras at 31 locations, online road condition reports, the

ongoing Snow Means Slow road safety campaign, Twitter updates using the

#nltraffic and more tools coming in the near future.

It is

also important to highlight the hard work and dedication of the more than 700

women and men throughout the province who work day and night, often in dangerous

conditions, to make our roads safe for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. As in

previous years, when weather conditions warrant, snow removal will take place 24

hours a day on the 13 busiest routes in the province.

Mr.

Speaker, while we continue to provide effective snow clearing services for the

safety of all those who travel our roads, we remind motorists that the best way

to ensure safety is to slow down, pay attention and drive to the conditions.

Mr.

Speaker, Snow Means Slow.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to thank the minister for an advance copy his statement. I'm pleased to rise in

this hon. House today to highlight significant – sorry, I'm reading his

statement. I knew there was something missing. The wrong piece of paper. I'll go

again.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. PETTEN:

Did you like that? I'd

probably do a better job, yes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you.

Maybe I

should have picked it up and done it first.

Mr.

Speaker, I want to thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Any

improvement of snow clearing operations in our province is always welcome news.

I'm interested to see how this new addition to the provincial snow-clearing

fleet will work and I hope that all staff will have the opportunity to do full

and proper training before the winter season starts in earnest.

I'll

certainly look forward to seeing the results of the pilot project, particularly

in terms of safety and effectiveness of using those plows on provincial

highways.

Mr.

Speaker, it is great that we have more than 300 flyers throughout the province.

I only hope they will all be operational this winter season. We all know how

quickly the weather can change in the province and we believe snow-clearing

equipment should be at the ready.

I would

also like to commend the many dedicated men and women who work to keep our roads

safe for the travelling public. Mr. Speaker, they do tremendous work. I

certainly encourage government to support these individuals by providing safe

and proper equipment and work environments.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I, too,

thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement, which I won't read.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MS. MICHAEL:

Got to keep the theme going.

Here we

are again facing another season of treacherous driving conditions on our

highways. I hope the new technology works for the safety of those who have no

choice but to drive the highways during less-than-ideal conditions.

Government says their snow-clearing services are effective, but there are many

drivers who disagree. What about those who have to drive on highways other than

the so-called 13 busiest routes? What analysis has the department done to make

sure they will be safe?

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

Oral

Questions.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Official Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, yesterday when I asked the government, it only provided answers

regarding marijuana production in Newfoundland and Labrador. My question is not

complicated and it's not about that.

I ask

the minister for NLC, the Minister of Finance: What discussions are taking place

with the company Canopy Growth regarding being the sole-source provider for

marijuana to Newfoundland and Labrador?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes,

this government is preparing for the 2018 July legalization of cannabis. We have

to take a number of steps to make sure we're ready. That goes from regulation

right down to making sure we have supply here. Certainly, there have been

multiple companies that have been in touch with our government and with various

departments to discuss the possibility of having production done right here in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

What I

would say is that, again, we have to look at the best interests of

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. It's not something that's fully within the

discretion of the provincial government; when it comes to licensing itself, that

has to be done by the feds. I can confirm that Canopy is one of the groups that

have approached government.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Leader of the Official

Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate that information.

I ask

the Minister of Finance: Did you attend a meeting on Sunday night where there

was a discussion and a decision reached to provide an incentive to Canopy Growth

to provide marijuana to Newfoundland and Labrador markets?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I

reiterate that there are a multiple number of companies that have come to

government to talk about the possibility of setting up production here in

Newfoundland and Labrador so that we are not reliant just on having to import

this. This is something that we certainly don't want to see here in the

province.

Canopy

is one of those groups. I know they have reached out to this government, as have

other groups, with the possibility of setting up here. What I do know of Canopy

is they've set up outfits in at least three other provinces.

So,

certainly, we're going to look to see what we have to do here to make sure we

have supply and that we can have production set up right here in Newfoundland

and Labrador. We've entertained offers from multiple companies.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the

minister inform this House how many child or youth deaths or critical incidents

have been reported by her department to the Child and Youth Advocate's office in

the past two years?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank

the Member for her question. In this current fiscal year, there have been three

to date is the latest information that I have received. Last year, I believe it

was eight or nine.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In June

2014, the then Child and Youth Advocate requested amendments to require the

mandatory reporting of all deaths and critical incidents involving children and

youth receiving government services.

I ask

the minister: Do you believe the legislation we will debate today sufficiently

meets these expectations?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just a

little while ago, we did a press conference and we announced some of the

amendments that will be coming to the House of Assembly today – amendments that

I think will be very important in terms of ensuring more safety and care for

children and youth in this province that receive services from Children, Seniors

and Social Development and Justice and Public Safety.

Mr.

Speaker, the Child Youth Advocate, as an independent office of this House, has a

very important role to play in this province. As we were moving toward where

we're going today with bringing this amendment to legislation, we worked very,

very closely. She had opportunity, on a continual basis, to give input to us,

and we made sure that what we were doing today was what was supported by the

Advocate.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

In November of 2014, the now

Premier agreed with the former Child and Youth Advocate. His private Members'

resolution read, and I quote: “… immediately introduce legislation for the

mandatory and immediate reporting by all government departments and agencies of

the deaths of, and the critical incidents involving, children and youth.”

Why have

you watered down this important legislation and are today only including just

two departments?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Children,

Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

believe that it's disrespectful to the Advocate, the comment that the Member

just made about watering down. Mr. Speaker, we're talking about children and

youth in care, and that's not really a place that I want to play a political

game for sure. But I will remind the hon. Member that four times over four years

the Advocate called for mandatory reporting. The PC administration, they

refused, they stalled and they delayed.

Mr.

Speaker, it was a Liberal government that brought Child and Youth Advocate

office to this province. It was a Liberal government that ensured that the

children in this province would have an independent voice enshrined in

legislation, just like it was a Liberal government that brought an independent

voice for the seniors.

Mr.

Speaker, we'll continue to take action and deliver.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for the District

of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Hansard , the minister herself, in

2014, stated that she believed in mandatory reporting to the Advocate by all

departments and agencies.

Minister, why does your bill ignore, in particular, the Departments of Health

and Education?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Children,

Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Mr. Speaker, we have worked

very closely with the Advocate. The amendments that we are bringing to the

Legislature today are very much supported by the Advocate. I believe you'll see

that on the evening news tonight. I wasn't there when she was interviewed, but I

understand that.

Mr.

Speaker, Children, Seniors and Social Development, Justice and Public Safety –

we have a responsibility in those two departments to care for children and youth

in this province. There are mechanisms in the education system, in health where

– and parents, if my child in school is injured, I am an advocate for that

child. I'm pleased that the Advocate supports where we're going today.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for Fortune Bay –

Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Can the minister elaborate to

this House why the Department of Health was left out?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Children,

Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Mr. Speaker, again, I will

reiterate that what we are doing today in bringing amendments that will make it

mandatory for the reporting of child deaths and critical injuries in this

province were aligned with what is happening everywhere – we are the fifth

jurisdiction in Canada to be reporting. We are the first in Atlantic Canada.

The

amendments we are bringing to this Legislature today do align with what is

happening everywhere else and is supported – which is most important of all to

this House – by the Advocate. I believe it will improve safety for children and

youth in this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transportation. Your cuts to the

24-hour snow clearing, a decision supported by every single Member of the

Liberal caucus, had a severe, negative impact on highway conditions last winter.

In the

interest of public safety, will you reverse your 24-hour snow clearing cuts?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I wish

the Member opposite would have read the rest of my statement where I said that

24-hour snow clearing will still be in effect on the 13 busiest routes in our

province, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

AN HON. MEMBER:

As it was last year.

MR. CROCKER:

As it was last year, Mr.

Speaker.

What

we've done last year, and we'll continue to do this year, Mr. Speaker, is we

ensure that the 13 busiest routes of our province will have 24-hour snow

clearing when snow conditions and winter conditions warrant. So if he would like

to finish reading my statement, he's more than welcome to have another copy.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

minister just said a great quote there “when.” So when the weather permits. I'm

asking: Why isn't it what was there before? In 2008 there was a pilot project;

13 busiest routes provided 24-hour snow clearing around the clock, you could be

ready to go out and clear the roads. That was the issue last year, Mr. Speaker.

Not a matter of when the snow fell, it was always available, and that was always

my point and I'll continue on.

Can the

minister confirm what the trigger will be for calling snow-clearing crews out

this winter?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Mr. Speaker, just to remind

the Member opposite, it was the same as last year. It is four centimetres of

snow, forecast of freezing rain of any amount, any type of blizzard or drifting

conditions. What we are trying to do is to make sure that our equipment is ready

and available when we need it on the 13 busiest routes in the province.

Mr.

Speaker, if it's 10 degrees and raining at 2 tomorrow morning, we don't need to

have our snow-clearing crews out. I can assure the Member opposite, our

supervisors in our depots have the ability and will make the call. When it is a

safety concern and we need our equipment on the roads, it will be on the roads.

Thank

you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

I guess this winter is going

to be déjà vu, Mr. Speaker, from last winter.

My next

question will be equipment availability, because that's where we're going to.

Equipment availability reports for last November showed only 33 per cent of the

equipment at the Donovans depot was in good working order and only 22 per cent

was working at the Foxtrap depot.

Can the

minister tell us what percentage of snow-clearing equipment is in good working

order at these depots today?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the provincial availability today of equipment is 90 per cent. On the

Avalon today, we are at 87 per cent. In Eastern today, we are at 85 per cent;

Central, 95 per cent; and Western, 92 per cent.

Mr.

Speaker, we receive two availability reports a day. We receive one at

approximately 11 a.m. and we receive a second report – I think it's around 4

p.m. That is something that we monitor very closely.

When it

comes to the 24-hour routes, we also receive the forecast for every one of these

regions as well. We have people in our department that take the time every day

to monitor these reports, whether it's the equipment availability or weather

reports. I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, it's in every single person's interest

in this province and in this House to make sure our roads are safe for our

families.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the

spirit of openness and transparency, will the minister proactively release those

equipment availability reports for all the depots across the province today?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Mr. Speaker, absolutely. If

the Member would like to see a copy of today's report for a region of this

province after Question Period, I'll certainly bring it over and pass it to him.

Mr.

Speaker, when it comes to safety in our province, it's something that affects

every single one of us. We all have families on the roads; we all have friends

on the roads. It's important we make sure our roads are safe. I can assure you

in this province today we have over 300 flyers, we have 26 graders, 137 loaders.

We have 700 women and men that work day and night to make sure our roads are

safe, and I have every confidence in our employees of this province.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want

to be on record, I support every employee that works in that department. I never

question the employees' abilities – never. Give them the proper equipment and

the proper tools to do the work, that's all we've ever asked. Last year they

were overworked, overtime through the roof. Those people were strained. I speak

to them; I think the minister should as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. PETTEN:

Last winter there was a

shortage of mechanics to keep the snow-clearing equipment in working order and

at times 50 per cent or more of your equipment was sidelined with mechanical

troubles. We understand you're short of mechanics again this year. As of two

weeks ago, there were 12 vacancies across the province.

How many

of those mechanic positions are unfilled today?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, for a Member opposite that spent time in Transportation and Works to

stand up there and talk about availability of equipment, he should know that

what happens is when we get into snow situations, when equipment comes in from

its nighttime runs, there is work in the mornings. We are at our lowest

availability in the mornings, Mr. Speaker, but our mechanics come in at 5 or

5:30 in the morning and they get that equipment back on the roads.

Mr.

Speaker, today, the latest number I have, there are 14 vacancies throughout the

entire province, six of which are on the Avalon. So the remainder are throughout

the province. We are actively hiring full-time positions in the heavy-duty

equipment mechanic position. We are active in doing so. So if the Member knows

of people who are looking for employment as heavy-duty mechanics, we're hiring.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the minister just outlined the very serious problem we have. We haven't

got enough mechanics to keep our equipment on the road. They should be dealing

with another plan until they get enough mechanics. Whatever that means, they

need to do it. Because right now if we get in the middle of a snowstorm and the

roads are shut down, this minister will get up and he'll talk about all the good

things they've done.

Right

now, we're short on mechanics. I said 12; it's 14, Mr. Speaker. It's time for

them to do something serious to address this problem. This is not a problem

that's come this year; it is last year.

Minister, will you have enough mechanics to keep snow-clearing equipment

operational this winter? That is the question.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Since

about the middle of November, when I started receiving a daily availability

report, Mr. Speaker, we're running about 90 per cent availability. So, Mr.

Speaker, that's a very good number when you look at over 500 pieces of

equipment.

Mr.

Speaker, if there's a circumstance where we have equipment that we haven't got

mechanics to move around to do this work, we will go out to local businesses. We

have a lot of great local businesses here in this city and throughout the

province that are more than willing to help assist us in the repairs that are

needed.

So, Mr.

Speaker, for the Member to get up and criticize what our department tries to do

for the safety of the motorists in this province, it's surprizing that he would

ask those questions. For someone that spent some time in the department, Mr.

Speaker, and knows some of the challenges that our employees face. I can tell

you, Mr. Speaker, our employees are about the safety of Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Mr. Speaker, that's probably

why I do ask those questions because I was in the department. I do know how the

department works. I think the minister should probably know a bit, too.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. PETTEN:

I wanted to highlight

something here to get on record, too. He's talking about percentages of

equipment; he's talking about broad percentages across the province for every

depot. You can have 20 per cent at Donovans and 20 per cent at Foxtrap and still

have 90 per cent across the province when you mush the numbers.

I think

he needs to release for each individual depot and show us the two most important

ones in those 13 routes. That's what he's playing with. Last winter we heard the

same numbers, but it wasn't actually true.

Mr.

Speaker, do you have adequate staff and heavy-equipment operators to operate all

the available snow-clearing equipment this winter?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Transportation and Works.

MR. CROCKER:

Mr. Speaker, the answer to

that question is yes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CROCKER:

We have over 700 women and

men, Mr. Speaker, that are ready and willing and able to go and clear our roads

when we have the weather conditions that require that.

I'd like

to remind the Member opposite, it's not this government that meshes numbers. If

there was ever a government in this province that mesh numbers, it was that

crowd opposite, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. CROCKER:

That's the government that

meshed numbers in this province, not this government, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

Minister of Fisheries issued a press release to say he was travelling to Moncton

a few weeks ago to meet with the federal minister. There was no release issued

to say if any good came out of it.

What did

you find out about the process changes to the federal

Fisheries Act regarding things such as adjacency and licencing

policy?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can

tell the hon. Member doesn't listen to the Fisheries Broadcast or media very

often. Because there was indeed communication that was offered to the people of

this province, but in particular to the fishing industry, related to my meetings

with the minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the minister responsible for the

Canadian Coast Guard.

I went

to Moncton at our mutual agreement to discuss a number of issues, including the

Fisheries Act , pending

Fisheries Act amendments. And I made

it very clear to the minister, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador's

ambitions and expectations that any changes to the

Fisheries Act include important measures that are seen to be very

valuable to our province, and that includes the concept and principle of

adjacency.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for the District

of Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Did the

federal minister offer any solution to the many problems created on the Burin

Peninsula by his decision to reallocate 25 per cent of the existing Arctic surf

clams?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Fisheries and

Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Thank you very, very much,

Mr. Speaker, because this is a very important question which is on the hearts

and minds of many people in this province.

I did go

to Moncton. I did discuss with the minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the

minister responsible for the Canadian Coast Guard, the nature of sharing

arrangements. Of course, as we know, sharing arrangements, interprovincial

shares, sharing structures, are an important component of fisheries policy.

There

has been a decision that was taken to consider increased access to the Arctic

surf clam resource. I would remind the hon. Member as the minister did say to

me, no decision has been taken yet. But I did take the opportunity to remind the

minister that there are serious considerations that must be made (inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for the District

of Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know

in your tweet you mentioned redfish. What did the federal minister discuss on

redfish in his quotas?

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Fisheries and

Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Well, what a great repertoire

this is. The hon. Member opposite is providing me with a very, very unique and

profound opportunity to highlight the important discussions that occur between

the Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources and the

federal minister.

I'd ask

the hon. Member opposite: How many kinds of opportunities did they enjoy when

they were in government to be able to discuss with the federal minister of

Fisheries and Oceans important fisheries issues? I suspect, Mr. Speaker, the

answer is next to zero.

With

that said, redfish is indeed an important topic. I did relay to the minister

that there has been a commitment that's already been made to share redfish in

the Gulf and that indigenous communities, including the Qalipu, would be a

primary beneficiary.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The Member for the District

of Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, the hon. Member,

the Minister of Fisheries, I'll remind you that you were in Ottawa for a number

of years and there are a whole lot of things that you didn't do.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I also want to

know if there was any discussion on seals.

MR. SPEAKER:

The Minister of Fisheries and

Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Yeah, so there were

significant discussions on the seals, yes, indeed. We spoke of market access in

particular, access to the Chinese market.

understand that government over there really didn't accomplish very much with

the former federal minister, Gail Shea, but we are indeed advancing the

discussion. We are encouraging the federal government to move and to activate

any capacity they have to be able to open up markets, in particular markets for

seals in China.

China is

a huge marketplace, not only for seals, but for Newfoundland and Labrador's full

range of fish products. That is a market we're actively pursuing and we are

engaging with the federal government to be able to do so.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I also

noticed there was no mention of capelin in your release on November 8. Did that

topic even come up?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

We could be here a while, Mr. Speaker, so why don't I just sort of run through

some of the things that were discussed.

We did

discuss the Fisheries Act. We did

discuss surf clams. We discussed red fish. We discussed mackerel. We discussed

seals. We discussed inland fisheries management. We discussed aquaculture. We

discussed pelagics. We discussed groundfish. We discussed shellfish. We

discussed harbours. We discussed infrastructure. We discussed a number of

things.

Is there

something the hon. Member would like to ask that we didn't discuss?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

I'll ask the hon. minister:

What results did you get?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Well, I can think of 100 million successes that we've already had, Mr. Speaker,

that they have not been able to enjoy, but what we got is an ongoing dialogue.

We got a capacity to be able to resolve problems, to be able to create

circumstances which are in the best interest of our fishery. We were able to

formulate an action plan to be able to work through some of the issues on

mackerel sharing, for example. We were able to create a process to update the

Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador MOU on aquaculture, for example. We were able

to establish a basis that further work needs to be done on a framework for

resource sharing.

Yes, Mr.

Speaker, do you know what? They operate under the principle that all problems

cannot be solved. We operate on a principle that solutions are all around us.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, joint management

was also a commitment in your Liberal red book and it was a commitment in your

mandate letter.

It has

now been two years; did you bother to even discuss that with the minister?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, of course we always discuss joint management whenever we

collaborate; that is joint management.

When we

talk about responding to the crisis in the groundfish fishery and the federal

government and provincial government working with each other to make sure that

the resource is not only sustainable but available to Newfoundland and Labrador

fishermen, when we talk about adjacency, when we talk about historic attachment,

when we talk about the rules that are established to be able to afford those

sharing frameworks, that, Mr. Speaker, is a form of joint management. And, yes,

Mr. Speaker, we did indeed speak of those topics.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for Cape

St. Francis for a very quick question, please; no

preamble.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, in our fishery

there's a serious crisis when it comes to crab and shrimp allocations. Fishers

and harvesters in this province are very concerned. Joint management is one of

the – do we have a commitment on joint management?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Fisheries and Land Resources for a quick response, please.

MR. BYRNE:

We certainly do have a

commitment to collaborate, to work together to make sure that our two

governments work in harmony with each other.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, we will often

disagree – let's be clear – but we have a mature enough relationship that we

don't base the well-being of the relationship on whether or not we always agree

on everything, or we always disagree on everything.

Their

government was about one thing and one thing only. They never engaged; they

never spoke to each other. The federal and provincial governments never worked

with each other. Occasionally we do disagree, but more often, we agree with each

other.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Deaf and

hard of hearing children in our schools are not receiving the same services that

were available to them in the former Newfoundland and Labrador School for the

Deaf, contrary to what they were promised at its closure. At the same time, the

consultant position for deaf and hard of hearing and blind and visually impaired

is listed on the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development website

as vacant.

I ask

the minister: How can he justify this vacancy when the needs of children and

their human rights are not being addressed in the school system?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is a fairly

enormous department of government. It is the second largest department of

government after Health. It has several hundred employees. I don't on a

day-to-day basis go in on the website and see which positions are vacant and

which ones have been hired, or which ones are open for competitions or which

ones are filled on a temporary basis, or which ones are filled on a contractual

basis or otherwise.

If the

Member has a specific question, she can always get in touch with the department,

get in touch with me; she hasn't to date. She can get in touch with me and I can

answer those sorts of questions, but I don't monitor these several hundred

positions on a daily basis.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of the

Third Party.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

I invite

the minister to go to the list of his staff who take care of the student needs

and explain to us why there is no specialized consultant in place to ensure the

different needs of the deaf and hard of hearing and the blind and visually

impaired are understood and are being met, because there is no consultant there.

My understanding is there hasn't been a consultant there for three years. So he

hasn't looked at this for the two years that he's been minister.

AN HON. MEMBER:

There was no question.

MS. MICHAEL:

If he wants a question

(inaudible). Why isn't he putting a priority on this initiative?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, when we sat in

Opposition, inclusive education was a significant priority for the Liberal Party

of Newfoundland and Labrador. Now we sit in government and, as everyone has

seen, the Premier had the foresight to appoint three prominent Newfoundland and

Labrador educators to form the Premier's Task Force on Improving Educational

Outcomes. They delivered the report in the summer.

I signed

letters today for the appointments to the implementation committee for the task

force. Amongst the priorities that came out of that is inclusive education,

which I would say is one of my top priorities, if not my top priority as

minister. We will resolve the issues in special services, but we need time –

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for the

District of St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, the federal

National Housing Strategy is $40 billion over 10 years, with half the money

coming from provinces and territories.

I ask

the minister: Will her government commit to providing the required matching

funding, and that it be new money, not money from the existing NL Housing

budget?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Mr. Speaker, I thank the

Member for the question. Newfoundland and Labrador Housing provides a very

valuable service in this province under investments in affordable housing, rent

supps. Unfortunately, we have a lot of families in our province that struggle,

and those are the people that we reach out to help.

As a

commitment, and one of our initiatives in

The Way Forward , Mr. Speaker, we are doing a number of things around

housing, and we will be, I say to the Member, announcing something very soon.

We've done a lot of work engaging stakeholders. We've done a full review of

programs and services, and I believe the people of the province will be happy

with the direction this government is going in.

Thank

you.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for St.

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

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the

minister: Where is her proposed provincial housing strategy and plan to end

homelessness?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development for a quick response, please.

MS. DEMPSTER:

Mr. Speaker, the Member

mentioned the National Housing Strategy, and as a part of

The Way Forward our government has

committed to a provincial housing plan. We have worked closely with our federal

counterparts. We want those two programs to complement each other. What I can

tell her is that homelessness and ending homelessness will be a key pillar in

our plan once it comes out, Mr. Speaker.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The time for Oral Questions

has ended.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling

of Documents.

Tabling of

Documents

MR. SPEAKER:

As required under

section 51

of the House of Assembly Accountability,

Integrity and Administration Act , I am pleased to table the annual report of

the House of Assembly Management Commission for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

Further

tabling of documents?

Notices

of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government House

Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give

notice that I will ask leave to move the following resolution:

BE IT

RESOLVED by the House of Assembly as follows:

WHEREAS

the Royal Newfoundland Regiment distinguished itself in a number of key First

World War battles, and fought valiantly as equal members of the British Empire

alongside Canada, Australia and New Zealand; and

WHEREAS

the Trail of the Caribou memorials commemorate the brave actions of the Royal

Newfoundland Regiment in France and Belgium but there is not, as yet, such a

memorial in Turkey; and

WHEREAS

this House respects and honours the bravery and sacrifice of all Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians who fought and died in conflict, and today recognizes in

particular those brave members who served in Turkey;

NOW

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that this House requests that the Speaker, as a servant

of this hon. House and therefore a representative of the people of the Province

of Newfoundland and Labrador, journey to Turkey to advance discussions towards a

shared goal of establishing a memorial commemorating the significant

contributions of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment at Gallipoli.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of motion?

Answers

to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

petition to the hon. House of Assembly in the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of

Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

a year has almost passed since the tragic event of January 17, 2017 where our

school was completely destroyed; and

WHEREAS

we have 250 people in a building which is only equipped to handle 150; and

WHEREAS

we do not have a science lab, library/resource room, cafeteria, computer room,

multi-purpose room; and

WHEREAS

we have classrooms which require co-programming, but this cannot happen because

of space issues in the building; and

WHEREAS

government has a legal responsibility to ensure our students have access to the

best education;

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

of Assembly to urge government to commit to a new state-of-the-art K to 12

school for the students of Bay d'Espoir, announce funding in the 2018-2019

budget to begin the design and tender process and we would like the construction

to be expedited.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this is one of many petitions that I will be bringing forward to the

House from the people from the communities of Bay d'Espoir who are still going

through a very rough time. This year was incredibly traumatic for all of us.

There was a lot of upheaval with the loss of our school, our police station and

our town hall.

Everyone

has been absolutely phenomenal in coming together to get through the worst of

this, but it's really, really important that a new school be started as soon as

possible. As they have put in their petition, there are 250 children in a

building that's suitable for only 150 children.

They

don't have a science lab. They don't have a computer room. They don't have a

cafeteria. They don't have any student support multi-purpose rooms. It's not

wheelchair accessible, Mr. Speaker, for the washrooms. We truly believe our

children have been in old schools for a very long time. In fact, I'd say it was

probably back in the '60s when there was a new school built in the Bay d'Espoir

area.

It was a

very tragic time. We truly believe a new school needs to be built and built as

fast as possible. So we call upon government to make this commitment to us in

the budget.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Thank you.

Further

petitions?

The hon.

the Member for the District of Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland

and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

second-hand tobacco smoke has been shown to have negative health effects; and

WHEREAS

individuals who smoke near the entranceways of health care facilities are not

compliant to the non-smoking buffer zone policies of the regional health

authorities;

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

of Assembly to urge government to direct the health authorities to enforce their

policies relating to non-smoking buffer zones outside health care facilities.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this is a petition that I had the opportunity to speak to a couple of

concerned people and I know it concerns thousands of people.

The one

thing when we go to health facilities, you have so many different dynamics of

people who are going there. There are people going there to do different

radiation and chemotherapy for cancer. There are people there who have

respiratory problems and everything else.

particular, when I look at the Health Sciences complex, people are walking by

there every day. There is a policy in place that there is no smoking in the

entranceways and along the entranceways, even if it's the walkway across the

way. Second-hand smoke has an effect on a lot of people.

I was

told of an incident of where a young child went to the Health Sciences, we know

the Janeway is onto the Health Sciences, and she had the effects of asthma. With

the second-hand smoke that she inhaled, she ended up in hospital because of the

second-hand smoke.

Listen,

I know it's the rules of the health authority. It's the health authority's

responsibility to enforce these buffer zones. I also know people had

conversations with the Minister of Justice, our House Leader, and he ensured

them that these buffer zones – like we brought in legislation last year – were

going to be changed and there was going to be some way to enforce this.

We're

asking government to really have a look at this situation. It's a serious

situation. I know people enjoy their cigarette and everything else, but other

people's health is affected. When people go to the hospital with serious

ailments, they need to make sure there's nothing that's going to cause any

effect on what they're doing going to the hospital.

I really

urge government to have a look at this. The buffer zones in hospitals and all

emergency areas should be zoned that no one can smoke there. This should be a

policy that has no tolerance. It should be done whether we enforce it and make

sure it doesn't happen so people can go when they have different treatments like

chemo or anything else, they can go and make sure they don't inhale second-hand

smoke.

Thank

you very much.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Mount Pearl – Southlands.

MR. LANE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The

petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the inshore harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador have serious concerns about

their current union representation; and

WHEREAS

the inshore fish harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador want the right to vote

on which union will represent them;

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

of Assembly to request that government urge the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour

Relations Board to proceed immediately to a vote of the inshore fish harvesters

to decide which union will represent them.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I have several names here again today coming from areas like Castor

River North, New Fero l le,

Bird Cove – a lot here from Bird Cove actually, mostly Bird Cove, I think – no,

we have Twillingate, Durrell – I never heard of Durrell – Hickman's Harbour,

Clarenville, Heatherton, Robinsons, Cartyville (inaudible) –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. LANE:

Again, Mr. Speaker, there are

numerous rural areas throughout our province. As I've said, we all recognize the

value that the fishery has to Newfoundland and Labrador. And certainly what we

need is unity in the fishery, if that can be achieved.

We know

that over the years there have been a lot of issues. A lot of it is related to

fact that we can't seem to get on the same page ourselves. Before we're going to

make change and advocate to the federal government, I think we need to be united

ourselves as a province.

What

we're seeing here right now, we do have division amongst inshore fish

harvesters. Without taking any sides because, as I said yesterday, it makes no

difference to me – I don't have a horse in the race – which union it is, but at

the end of the day the fish harvesters need to bring this issue to a head, have

a vote, decide who their representative is going to be and, once that's

resolved, hopefully everybody can work together for the betterment of the

fishery.

That's

what is being asked here. I was asked to bring it forward on their behalf;

that's what I'm doing.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for the District of St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

To the

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS

the residents of Mount Pleasant Manor received a rent increase in 2017 and are

worried about future rent increases; and

WHEREAS

many of the residents are seniors and low-income households receiving a rent

supplement under Newfoundland and Labrador's Housing Rental Supplement Program;

and

WHEREAS

61 residents wrote to the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development

requesting an increase in the rent supplement and were told none would be

forthcoming; and

WHEREAS

low-income and senior tenants throughout the province are struggling with high

rents and are deeply worried about the rising cost of heat due to the Muskrat

Falls hydro project;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. ROGERS:

– humbly pray and call upon

the House of Assembly to urge government to raise the cap on the Rental

Supplement Program to meet the needs of clients.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, these are constituents in my district, all of whom have extremely low

income, many who are on Income Support or are seniors that are on GIS and OAS.

The rent is a minimum of $800 a month and it's been going up every year. Many of

them are in receipt of rent supplements. What is happening is that their

landlord is increasing the rent, but the rent supplement is not increasing.

These folks, their income is not going up. Those on Income Support, their income

is not going up. Our seniors on OAS and GIS, their income is not going up, so

they're really getting squeezed right now.

We have

no rent stabilization or rent control in this province so they know this year

alone it's gone up by $15 a month. The previous year it went up by that much.

They don't know what's coming down the pipe now in the new year. These are folks

who are getting squeezed and squeezed. The cost of heat has gone up for them.

They don't know how they're going to pay their bills, and there's no extra

padding here. They don't have any disposable funds. They are just eking by. They

are asking the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Development Corporation to take

a look at the rent supps. The rent supps are not going up.

Not only

are the rent sups not going up, Mr. Speaker, there's a growing demand

particularly from seniors. They're desperately begging for rent supplements and

there have not been any new rent supplements in three years, yet the demand is

growing and we have increasing numbers of seniors going into poverty because of

the cost of housing.

Thank

you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Member for Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This

petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland and Labrador humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS

the provincial government arbitrarily cut 24-hour snow clearing services in the

2016 budget; and

WHEREAS

cutting the 24-hour snow clearing services led to unsafe road conditions and

endangered lives: and

WHEREAS

government has an obligation to provide a safe system of transportation that

meets the needs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians;

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

of Assembly to urge government to listen to the people and reinstate 24-hour

snow clearing services.

And as

in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, this is an issue I've spoken about on many occasions and I'm going to

continue to speak about it. When we say the 24-hour snow clearing, it affected

13 routes, but they are the 13 busiest routes in the province. It was brought in

under a pilot project in 2008. It was kept until the recent 2016 budget and the

government opposite in their budget line item, as much as they want to say they

never removed it, it was clearly written: Removal of 24-hour snow clearing

services in the province for a savings of $1.93 million. During Estimates last

spring, the former minister told me the savings was more like around $1 million.

you're putting a price on endangering people's lives because we read last year –

it wasn't just me speaking. There were ambulance drivers, there were truck

drivers, there was the travelling public and there were parents – everyone was

very concerned about the condition of our roads.

When you

go out and you say you're going to put snow clearing services on when weather

permits, there's a delay, Mr. Speaker. Those people are in their homes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. PETTEN:

Those people are in their

homes, Mr. Speaker, those operators. They have to be called from home to the

depot and get the equipment on the road. It's a delay time response time, at

least an hour, hour and a half.

Members

opposite can – there are areas that they never had this. I understand they're

looking at me: What are you getting on with? We're looking at the 13 busiest

routes. It was there for a reason. The Outer Ring Road, for example, has 40,000

vehicles a day. It's one of the most travelled roads in the province. People's

lives are in danger, Mr. Speaker. Most everyone in the province, at one time or

another, used that network of roads.

It's a

serious issue. Government can play with the numbers, they can do what they want,

fudge numbers, play with percentages, but we know anecdotally – you can go back

and look through last year's stories – it controlled the media for about two

months because people were very concerned. The roads were not where they needed

to be. I've spoken on it and I'm going to continue to speak on it, Mr. Speaker,

because this issue will never grow old.

People

need to have safe and reliable roads to travel on, Mr. Speaker. When the roads

are down, when you have a washboard effect and people are afraid to drive on it,

people's lives are in jeopardy. For the sake of $1 million, that's what the

savings was. Not $1.9 million, but $1 million. They can say that there's 90 per

cent of equipment availability. We know that's province wide. When you look at

those depots, they're about 30 to 40 per cent at best.

I call

upon government to give serious reconsideration – I will not back away from this

issue, Mr. Speaker. I think it's an issue too important to let go. I urge

government to reconsider this move and to provide proper, safe snow-clearing

equipment through our provincial roads this winter.

Thank

you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further petitions?

The hon.

the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

We are going to proceed to

Orders of the Day, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. A. PARSONS:

I would move from the Order

Paper, Motion 3.

I would

move pursuant to provincial Standing Order 11(1) that the House not adjourn at

5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 5, 2017.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those in favour of the

motion?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against?

The

motion is carried.

The

Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I would

call Order 9, second reading of Bill 26.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I move,

seconded by the Minister of Justice and Public Safety, that Bill 26,

An Act To

Amend The Child And Youth Advocate Act, be read a second time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded that

Bill 26, entitled

An Act To Amend The Child And Youth Advocate Act, be now read

a second time.

Motion,

second reading of a bill, “An Act To Amend The Child And Youth Advocate Act.”

(Bill 26)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Children, Seniors and Social Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is an

honour today to speak to Bill 26, my first piece of legislation in this

portfolio to the House. I couldn't think of a better one, actually, to be

speaking to, Mr. Speaker, than something that's going to improve the lives of

children and youth in this province. Something that's near and dear to the

hearts of all of us, Mr. Speaker.

An Act

to Amend the Child and Youth Advocate Act; Mr. Speaker, this is important

legislation that we are debating today because it is one that will benefit

children, youth and their families in this province.

I'm

going to start off by providing a little bit of history on this amendment. In

2002, the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate was established as a statutory

office of the House of Assembly under the authority of the Child and Youth

Advocate Act. The Advocate represents the rights and interests and viewpoints of

children and youth receiving government programs and services and provides

advocacy in four areas. Those four areas are individual advocacy, systemic

advocacy, reviews and investigations, and education and promotion.

believe, Mr. Speaker, all of us would agree that this is an important office and

one which has provided recommendations and advice in a number of different

areas, which has improved services and programs for children and their families.

Mr.

Speaker, not all children and youth in our province have natural advocates in

parents around them. As we talked about a few moments ago in Question Period –

Children, Seniors and Social Development and Justice and Public Safety – we

certainly have a responsibility to help ensure that those children and youth in

our care are provided the best care possible.

It's

very important that we work closely with the advocate, an independent officer of

this House, Mr. Speaker. From time to time she provides recommendations and we

certainly embrace those. We welcome every opportunity we can to build upon this

revitalized child care protection program.

In 2014,

the Child and Youth Advocate at that time tabled information in the House of

Assembly outlining the need for her office to receive reports on all deaths and

critical incidents from departments and agencies providing services to children

and youth.

Mr.

Speaker, Members on this side of the House, we took this request very seriously.

We supported a motion later that fall to change the act to mandate the reporting

of deaths and critical incidents by government departments and agencies – and I

was a part, a Member of the Opposition at that time who actually spoke to that

motion in the House. We committed to address this issue during the election. It

was included in the mandate letter for the Minister of Children, Seniors and

Social Development, and it was also referenced in the Speech from the Throne in

Today,

Mr. Speaker, we are moving forward to commit these important amendments to

legislation. I am pleased to note that we worked in collaboration with the

Office of the Child and Youth Advocate to ensure the amendments to the

legislation adequately addressed all of the matters that were raised by her

office.

The

Child and Youth Advocate, Mr. Speaker – I can't stress it enough – she has an

extremely valuable role to play in our province. The advocate, both through

individual and systemic advocacy, plays a critical role in identifying areas

where improvements can be made in the best interest of children and youth. That

is why the provincial government and my department, especially, Children,

Seniors and Social Development, and I know Justice and Public Safety, takes all

recommendations of the Child and Youth Advocate very seriously.

We have

fostered, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate this – we have fostered a co-operative

and respectful relationship with the Advocate's office. It's so vitally

important, because at the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, we share the same goal.

We want our children and youth in the province to be as safe as they can be.

This collaboration has resulted in mutually supported amendments which will

provide greater protection and more timely access to supports and services for

children, youth and their families.

Mr.

Speaker, I am confident that all Members of this House in all parties would

agree that we all collectively share the same goal, as I just mentioned, namely

the safety and the well-being of the children and youth in our province.

Mr.

Speaker, the specific amendments in Bill 26, there are five specific amendments.

I will run through each of them, starting with the definition of critical

injury. The proposed definition of critical injury is one that may result in the

child or youth's death “or may cause serious or long-term impairment of the

health of a child or youth.”

Designated services; the proposed amendment will require mandatory reporting of

deaths and critical injuries that occur while the child or youth is receiving

services from the Departments of Children, Seniors and Social Development or

from the Department of Justice and Public Safety, or they would have received

the service in the 12 months preceding the injury or death.

Timeline

to report; the proposed amendment will require the Departments of Children,

Seniors and Social Development and Justice and Public Safety to notify the Child

and Youth Advocate as soon as is practicable after becoming aware of a death or

critical injury of a child or a youth.

I'll

speak to this in more detail once we move into Committee and as questions come,

Mr. Speaker, but I just want to stop for a moment and speak about that as soon

as is practicable. That does align with the same language that's used in the

Fatalities Investigations Act under

13.4. Right now, we have a policy in place where we have been reporting deaths

in this province since 2014 to the advocate. We will now broaden the scope of

that to include injury.

Generally, Mr. Speaker, when a death does occur the name of the child or youth

and a limited amount of information is reported to the Advocate within the first

24 hours. Then there's a notification form where a more detailed incident report

goes within five days. I don't believe, Mr. Speaker, there's been a time when we

have not reported within a 24-hour period. So I just wanted to expand on that a

little bit.

Designated reporter; the proposed amendment will specify that the deputy

minister of a department or his or her designate shall report the death or

critical injury to the Advocate, and protection for employees providing the

information. So the proposed amendment will provide individual employees who

report the death or critical injury with protection from being sued provided

that they acted in good faith.

Mr.

Speaker, there are a couple of amendments about which I want to speak in a

little more detail. When the former Advocate brought forth the request for these

amendments, she asked for the reporting of deaths and critical incidents. The

amendment to include deaths continues our existing practice of notifying the

Advocate when a child or youth, who is receiving services or who had received

services within the past 12 months, has died. The amendment to include reporting

of critical injury will be the new piece over and above what we're doing right

now.

Some

people may ask why these amendments are moving forward as critical injuries

instead of critical incidents. The Member for Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune is

listening; I'm going to talk a little bit about that now. She had some questions

during Question Period. We're always happy to answer any questions in this House

when we're bringing in legislation. It is very, very important that we have

debate and that we have questions on the floor that, hopefully, we can provide

the answers to. It's very important in democracy, Mr. Speaker.

During

our consultation with the Child and Youth Advocate, we had discussions on the

appropriate definition needed to capture the scope of reporting required. We

needed to determine exactly what information the Child and Youth Advocate

required in order to do her job to the best of her ability.

We also

reviewed, Mr. Speaker, all other Canadian provinces and territories to determine

what they report to their child and youth advocate. So we did a jurisdictional

scan to look at provinces and territories that were reporting, what they were

reporting. It became very clear to us that in those provinces which report

deaths and critical injuries, they use that terminology, that same terminology:

critical injuries.

In fact,

I am pleased to report that we will be the fifth Canadian jurisdiction and the

first, Mr. Speaker, in Atlantic Canada to legislate this information to the

Child and Youth Advocate.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. DEMPSTER:

In full agreement with the

Child and Youth Advocate, this amendment is for the reporting of child and youth

deaths and critical injuries involving those receiving services, and will also

include situations where the child or youth had received services in the

preceding 12 months.

Mr.

Speaker, just to be clear, critical injury will include an injury that may

result in a child or youth's death or cause serious or long-term impairment to

the child or youth's health. The definition includes reporting events involving

serious physical and/or psychological injury to children and youth that may

result in serious or long-term impairment.

Mr.

Speaker, having said that, we recognize that not all critical injuries are

physical in nature and that is why we have included psychological injury, which

will include events such as witnessing a traumatic event, a murder, suicide or

being a victim of a serious assault.

Other

examples of critical injuries include situations where a child or youth is

seriously injured in a car accident and admitted to the intensive care, or where

a child or youth might ingest pills and is unresponsive and requiring

hospitalization; if a child or youth witnesses a family member stab another

family member; if a child or youth attempts suicide and is admitted to hospital

for psychiatric assessment and follow-up.

Those

are the types of situations that would fall under a critical injury and we are

legislating that would be reported to the Advocate. As I said earlier, these are

things that we work very closely with the Advocate to try and deliver to the

House of Assembly today a piece of legislation that would align with what she

was requesting to allow her to continue with the scope of her work.

Another

point I would like to discuss in some detail is which departments are subjected

to these amendments and therefore required to report critical injuries and

deaths. In discussion with the Advocate, it was clear that the priority must be

on those departments which are responsible for the care of children and youth.

Mr.

Speaker, this primarily would be my department: Children, Seniors and Social

Development. We have about 350 social workers around the province who do

important work every single day to ensure that children and youth are safe. Not

only the children and youth that are in care, but there are many children and

youth that are not in care of the department, but we also provide services to

those families. Under Justice and Public Safety, they have youth who may be

retained in correctional facilities and things like that.

In my

department, we protect children and youth from maltreatment by intervening with

their parents or caregivers. In some cases, we place children outside their

family homes to ensure their safety; in the Department of Justice and Public

Safety, youth that have committed or have allegedly committed criminal offences

and may, therefore, be placed in correctional facilities under government's

care.

The

proposed amendments to the Advocate's legislation focus on these departments

specifically, given they are responsible for providing services to some of the

most vulnerable children and youth in our province.

Mr.

Speaker, I can't state it enough that we have worked closely with the Advocate.

I have tremendous respect for the Advocate, Ms. Lake Kavanagh, and the important

work that she does in Newfoundland and Labrador. We worked closely with the

Advocate to develop these amendments and ensure they fully address the

Advocate's role in the protection of children and youth.

These

are serious and difficult matters that are of critical importance; therefore, we

have committed to the Advocate that we will provide this information as soon as

is practicable. This means that within 24 hours of becoming aware of a critical

injury or child death, it will be reported to the Advocate. Furthermore,

detailed information will be provided, as I said earlier, within five days. Mr.

Speaker, this approach is consistent with other jurisdictions and with our

current practice of reporting child and youth deaths to the Advocate.

Over the

last several months, Mr. Speaker, three or four months – it hasn't been that

long – I have had the pleasure of meeting with many of my front-line social

workers and discussing some of the complex issues they are addressing. I think I

have been to eight offices around the province. I have been out in Gander, Grand

Falls, Deer Lake and Corner Brook. I have been to Sheshatshiu, Hopedale and

Natuashish. We have met with leadership of the Innu, Chief, Grand Chief; I have

met with some of Nunatsiavut Government; I have met with social workers from our

department in about eight different places.

Mr.

Speaker, every day I sit in my board room and I'm surrounded by senior staff and

we do important work on behalf of the people of this province, but very

important to me from early days to get out whenever there was an opportunity,

out and about in those offices in the province to see first-hand, to talk to the

front-line staff, for me to gain a greater understanding of the types of work

they do on a day-to-day basis, often heavy work, Mr. Speaker.

Since

I've come into this job, my eyes have been opened in a completely different

light, Mr. Speaker. I guess you realize the tremendous blessing of those

families that are stable. I think about my children and my daughter now, and

many of my colleagues around me that were fortunate to grow up in the

environment they did. But, Mr. Speaker, that is not true of all families in

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Sometimes parents, for various reasons, need support to provide care to their

children. Where possible, our social workers work – they are very highly trained

professionals, and where possible they work with the families to ensure the

children stay in the home. Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, in the best interest and

safety of the children, they are removed from the home, but if that happens it's

a last resort. It's always with a goal to reunify the children with their

families.

On a

daily basis, Mr. Speaker, social workers are intervening with children and youth

in situations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. They are highly trained

professionals who use their assessment skills and practice experience,

complemented by strong supervisory support to make clinical decisions. I have

seen that, Mr. Speaker, again and again in just my short time coming in to this

role. I have tremendous respect for those employees that are out on the ground

dealing with challenging work that they do every single day, but very, very,

very important work.

Mr.

Speaker, my colleagues have heard me say it again and again. I often reference

the infrastructure and the roads and the capital works, the things we need to

advance our region, but in this department and parts of Justice and Public

Safety, I think we deal with the really, really valuable things in life. Because

if our people aren't well, as the Minister of Health would attest to, and if our

children and our families aren't safe, the rest of us at the end of the day, it

really doesn't matter. I think we all have a duty to do what we can to protect

where we can.

While

the Advocate and my department agree it is the more serious of these cases that

will be reported to the Advocate, I want to assure the Members of this House

that my department will continue to respond to all situations of maltreatment

and situations of harm. Each situation reported to CSSD is reviewed by a social

worker who is trained to review the circumstances of each event and assess the

intervention required. Further, the social worker with management support will

determine if it constitutes a critical injury.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm going to pause there for a moment because as I mentioned in the

press conference earlier, it is highly unlikely – I mean, once you get down into

the weeds of is something black, is something white, is something an incident,

is it an injury, what will be reported, what won't? It is quite likely that in

the initial months there will be over-reporting to the Advocate, and that's

okay. Because it's much better to have something reported and determine it is

actually an incident and it could have been dealt with the support services,

with the counselling and the types of work the social workers deal with every

single day, than to miss the opportunity of having an injury reported.

Mr.

Speaker, this is our mandate: that every day we continue to provide services to

this vulnerable group in our population. We are absolutely committed to ensuring

the safety and well-being of children and youth in the province.

Mr.

Speaker, I have been in this role as Minister of Children, Seniors and Social

Development for just a short time. It was an honour for me, an absolute honour

when the Premier asked me to be minister in this department. Because those who

know me, my colleagues and my friends here, when you look at the various

departments that there are, if I could have chosen where I would have wanted to

end up, I would have chosen here, Mr. Speaker.

In fact,

the types of work that this department does, everything from care to children

and youth, to seniors, to disabilities, to poverty, they're all things that are

really, really near and dear to my heart. Mr. Speaker, it's a big shift and

there's lots of change we would like to see happen, but it takes time to make

that happen.

I think

today is a very important good step toward children and youth with this

legislation that the Advocate has called for over a number of years, and pretty

humbling for me actually to be the minister today to stand here and to introduce

those amendments to the House of Assembly.

In fact,

Mr. Speaker, of all departments in the provincial government, as I said this is

the department that I feel the closest ties to. Make no mistake, while this

department deals with very challenging and difficult situations, there are most

definitely many, many rewards, too.

I wish I

had the time, Mr. Speaker, to talk about some of the things we celebrate. There

are so many people in this province doing tremendous work helping us. The

Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development is a large department

doing important work. We couldn't do it on our own, Mr. Speaker.

Attending the proclamation of foster families is coming to my mind, as I went

over to Corpus Christi church that day. I met families that have been fostering

for 25 and 30 years, Mr. Speaker, that have their own children and have opened

up their homes to take in more children that are in need of care. I think about

that commercial that used to come on many years ago when I was young. Some here

might remember it, where this little child is saying: I grew in my mom's heart

and not her tummy. We have a lot of people doing really valuable work, many

stories.

remember talking to one young man, about my age, so I would say he was a young

man. I said: I'm just so impressed with the fact that you've opened your home

for 25 years doing this. Then he quietly said to me on the side when no one was

around: You know I was a foster child. He said: I kind of banged – was his words

– around from home to home. He said: I ended up in a place where the family kept

me until I was 17 and ready to go to post-secondary. It gave him an opportunity,

Mr. Speaker. Those are the kind of people that I'm always really proud to

recognize.

Like a

quote I read in the office of a social worker in Natuashish that said: Every

child is one caring adult away from being a success story. Those are the kinds

of things we're talking about here today, Mr. Speaker. We're bringing amendments

to the floor, aligned with what the Advocate wanted to allow her to continue to

do this important work. But besides that, every day we deal with children that

find themselves in unfortunate circumstances. When we do, it's so rewarding to

see staff that goes above and beyond. I've seen many examples of that and

partners out in the community, people like foster families that work with us to

do what they can for those children.

We are

continuing to build a revitalized child protection system that is responsive to

the priority needs of our children and youth, as well as continuing to make

significant progress in creating a culture of accountability. Mr. Speaker, now

that's a mouthful: a culture of accountability. It's absolutely essential going

forward. We're not talking about projects, as I mentioned earlier,

infrastructure and things like that. We're talking about children, children that

when given an opportunity, what road they go on makes all the difference.

I'm

thinking about another lovely story from the West Coast, in Corner Brook. Mr.

Speaker, as most here would know, if a child is in foster care, once they turn

17, they age out. Unfortunately, sometimes when a child hasn't received that

love and care, they age out; they don't have anywhere to call home. They go down

probably what is not a productive road.

Thinking

about a couple of siblings, 14 and 17, on the West Coast, and a family – and as

most would know, often with adoptions people are looking for the younger child

or a newborn, and not so much the teenagers that might come with, I can say, a

little bit of baggage, because I'm a parent of a young adult. But there was a

family that adopted those two siblings, 14 and 17. These are the kinds of days

that we celebrate in the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development,

and we're so grateful that there are people like that out there in our society,

Mr. Speaker.

We are

continuing to build a revitalized child protection system that is responsive to

the priority needs of children and youth, as well as continuing to make

significant progress in that culture of accountability, excellence and

consistency, Mr. Speaker. It is so important that we have consistency.

mentioned I've been out in eight offices, and the location actually really does

vary. Sitting in a boardroom of a CSSD office in Gander is a world away from

when I was sitting in a CSSD boardroom in Natuashish or Sheshatshiu, but vitally

important that we have policy, that we have regulations that allows for us to

offer consistency to the children and youth that we provide services and care

to.

Mr.

Speaker, I have personally met with the Advocate since becoming minister, and I

know that we both share the same commitment and passion to protect children and

youth. I believe Newfoundland and Labrador, as a province, we're extremely

fortunate, we're very fortunate right now to have an Advocate of the calibre of

Ms. Lake Kavanagh. She cares very deeply about the work she does as an

independent office of this House, takes her work seriously, understand things

can't be the same everywhere around the province. Also, has made it her mission

to get out and about early in her mandate, meet with various groups and travel.

As said earlier, I've tremendous respect for the work she does.

This is

important work, Mr. Speaker, and today's proposed amendments advances further

protections for the children and youth in our province. That's it for my

opening, and I will very much look forward as I sit here listening to my hon.

Members from across the way and anyone else who participates in this debate

today.

Thank

you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER (Reid):

The hon. the Member for

Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune.

MS. PERRY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is

certainly an honour and a privilege to rise in this hon. House here today and

speak to this very important piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I do believe all

the legislation that comes forward in this House is of great importance, but

this piece of legislation, in particular, affects our children. We all, in this

province, place very high priority on all of our children who are our future. We

want to do our very, very best to ensure that all children of Newfoundland and

Labrador have the best opportunities available to them.

I do

agree with the minister in her comments about some of the great success stories

that we do have in this province and some of the people who are doing absolutely

tremendous, tremendous work. I guess what we, as Opposition, want to see is that

we continue to do the best we possibly can. That we strive to have more and more

success stories and the tragic stories like we've heard in the past become a

thing of the past. That's where we feel this bill, in particular, had the

ability to make us a leader in that regard.

For the

people viewing at home or watching the video or reading about this debate in

Hansard , I'd like to bring the debate

back to what this legislation is really about. This bill has been brought before

the House because it's about protecting children and young people who are

vulnerable. It's not just about finding out what happened after it's too late to

make a difference.

There

are numerous stories in this province of children who have suffered or died in

tragic circumstances that might have been preventable. There are also stories of

children who have been left to suffer after someone noticed that something was

wrong. There are stories of children whose plight should have been noticed but

wasn't.

Societies aren't perfect, governments aren't perfect, systems aren't perfect,

but the day that we allow that to become an excuse for not doing more is, I

believe, the day that we lose our moral right to be here. The whole point of

this bill is to acknowledge that we need to do more to protect vulnerable

children and youth. It's applaudable that we prioritize the most vulnerable

children and youth, but all vulnerable children and youth need the protection of

their government.

People

at home may wonder why it is that here in the House we cannot refer to one

another by our surnames. The reason is simple and it goes to the heart of our

democracy. Even though we are a democracy, it's obviously impossible for half a

million people to make each and every decision about how our society will

function, so people go to the polls to elect Members to stand in their place and

I stand here in the place of the people of Fortune Bay – Cape La Hune. Another

Member stands in the place of the people of Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair.

Another stands in the place of the people of St. John's Centre. I stand here not

just as one person, but representing some 7,000 people and many of these people

are not even old enough to vote – they're children.

The

responsibility weighs on my shoulders to make decisions that are in their best

interests on their behalf. So it is for all of us who sit here in the House of

Assembly. Even though we are divided into parties with particular views of how

best to serve the people, we have to keep before us the faces of the children of

Newfoundland and Labrador. The choices that are made in this House and the

choices made by the government can protect these children more effectively, and

certain choices can also leave them more vulnerable.

Who is

the vulnerable child or young person? It is certainly the child who is in the

care or custody of the state. The child in foster care or the young person in

secure custody is the direct responsibility of the state. But what about the

young person in hospital or an addictions treatment centre receiving care from a

department, other than those defined in this bill? This bill is limited to just

two, Mr. Speaker.

What

about a young person who's in school? What about a young person who's being

bullied by a teacher? That teacher has friends in the administration so the

teacher is protected, but not the student. What happens in those cases? This

legislation doesn't cover it.

What

about children and youth who are not in the care or custody of any government

department or agency? What constitutes a state of vulnerability? If a child has

died, then tragically it is too late to protect that child. Perhaps the child

was vulnerable before passing away and something can be learned so that justice

can be served and lessons can be learned that will protect others.

This

bill covers critical injuries which are defined as “an injury which may result

in the death of a child or youth or may cause serious or long-term impairment of

the health of a child or youth.” Is this definition broad enough to cover

physiological trauma, emotional trauma, the kind of trauma that may not become

fully apparent until later? Is the definition broad enough to cover situations

where the child may have been at significant risk without having suffered an

injury?

The

former Child and Youth Advocate recommended using a broader term called

“critical incident.” It would have made this province a national leader in the

protection of children, and we would have been ahead of all the other provinces.

But today, we're being told it's okay to be in the middle of the pack. We're

doing no better than the others and that's okay.

This

legislation applies to children and youth who are in the custody or care of

receiving services from the department of child, youth and family services, or

those in the custody of Justice and Public Safety. This bill does not cover the

youth involved in with the health care system, or those involved in the

education system unless they are also on the CSSD caseload. This means that

deaths and critical injuries which may occur in a school, the Janeway or a youth

addiction centre are not mandated to be reported unless through another process;

for example, the Fatalities Investigation

Act or the Patient Safety Act .

Officials in the department did point out during our briefing that incidents can

be reported to the Child and Youth Advocate without having to fall under this

legislation, but it's a may situation – it's not a shall. They indicated that

parents and youth can always call the Child and Youth Advocate office and that

there are other mechanisms within the health and education system in which

incidents are reviewed. Those mechanisms were in place when we had the tragic

incidents that we had years ago, Mr. Speaker. They didn't solve the problem then

and we need stronger mechanisms today. This legislation was the opportunity to

do that. They indicated that these mechanisms are in place, and we're certainly

glad they're in place, but we're advocating for even stronger mechanisms.

What

about the mandatory reporting of what government officials become aware of? It's

not there. Health and education were initially included in this legislation.

They were certainly included in what the Child and Youth Advocate was strongly

advocating for when this discussion began. They were going to be included up

until 2015, but they've since been removed for some reason that we still fail to

understand.

Officials indicated that other jurisdictions concern themselves with the

reporting of the child welfare and justice departments, with the exception of BC

who also covers some mental health and addictions.

Within

this bill, there's no requirement for a critical injury which happens in the

health system or the education system to be reported. The

Fatalities Investigation Act requires that deaths of children

are referred to the Child Death Review Committee. The Advocate reviews their

recommendations and follows up on their recommendations, but there's no

reference whatsoever to injuries or incidents which can be just as serious and

certainly if they were to be brought to the Child and Youth Advocate's attention

in a mandatory way, perhaps further serious injury can be avoided.

The Patient Safety

Act also indicates that if a close call or occurrence of an incident occurs

in the health care system, then the regional health authority shall review and

report on it and give notice to the minister, but there is no reference

whatsoever to mandatory reporting to the Advocate.

This was one of the key issues of concern back in 2014.

Today I ask: Is it good enough what we've brought forward, or should we be

heeding the advice of the former Child and Youth Advocate who examined,

personally, so many tragic cases before issuing her recommendation that she be

informed of critical incidents immediately when they occur? Remember, it's about

protecting children – all children, all youth, and treating them equally.

At one point in our history, taking children from their

homes and placing them in orphanages and residential schools was considered

appropriate care in the best interest of the child. We have since learned how

tragic these choices were for so many children. Well-intentioned people

sometimes get it wrong. When someone tells you what they are going to do is good

enough, we should always question them. That's our role as an Opposition: to

raise these questions on behalf of the children. This legislation is leaving out

some very, very, very important elements that may protect the lives of children

in the future.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, there was once an Opposition Party

that brought forward the following resolution to the House of Assembly. I'm

going to read this resolution back into

Hansard because it bears repeating, Mr. Speaker. This resolution was brought

to the House of Assembly in November of 2014:

WHEREAS the province's Child and Youth Advocate has

requested that government introduce legislation for mandatory and

immediate reporting of all

government departments and agencies of the death and critical incidents

involving children and youth; and

WHEREAS

government has not taken a lead in notifying the Advocate's office of such

incidents and, instead, the Advocate has relied on calls from the public and the

media to be made aware of cases needing her involvement – which is what the

legislation is still going to allow it to do, by the way – and

WHEREAS

legislating a direct reporting mechanism from all departments and agencies to

the Advocate would help improve outcomes for all those involved, as it would

improve outcomes for other children and youth receiving services; and

WHEREAS

as a direct result of earlier intervention in specific cases where a death or

critical incident has occurred or indirectly systemic issues can be more readily

identified and addressed;

THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly urge government to

immediately introduce legislation for the mandatory and immediate reporting of

all government departments and agencies of the death of and critical incidents

involving children and youth.

Notice

the wording, Mr. Speaker, because the words are important: The Child and Youth

Advocate has requested. Who is the Child and Youth Advocate? It is an officer

independent – a non-partisan Officer of this House of Assembly, answerable not

to the government, but to the people of this fine province.

What did

the Advocate request? Mandatory and immediate reporting. She simply wanted to

find out, as quickly as possible, that the government was aware of something

serious happening to a child or young person. When which government officials

became aware of such an incident? All government departments and agencies.

She was

comprehensive and so was the resolution that was brought forward by the

then-Opposition. On what kinds of incidents? The deaths and critical incidents

involving children and youth.

Incidents are not confined to injuries. You can use your imagination to see

situations where children and young people are at serious risk because of

incidents that have not yet led to injuries. Remember, the ultimate goal in all

of this is the prevention of harm to our children. Many times, the best way to

prevent harm is to catch the warning signs, Mr. Speaker.

That

resolution was brought forward by the then-leader of the Opposition, today's

Premier. It clearly stated incidents as well as injury and it clearly stated all

government departments.

What if

a school bus driver is caught driving drunk while transporting children, but no

accident or injury occurs? Is that a serious incident that needs to be covered

by this legislation? What if a spy camera is located in a school washroom or

drug-tainted needles are located behind a school? What if someone enters a

school with a firearm? If no child is aware of the incident or injured, isn't

that incident still serious enough to require that the Child and Youth Advocate

be made aware that it has occurred? I would think so.

Why are

the regional health authorities not included in this bill? Why are the school

boards excluded? What about children and youth who are vulnerable in other

situations? The question here is: Does this bill go far enough? We have to ask

that question because the bill certainly falls short of what the Child and Youth

Advocate and government opposite called for in its resolution of 2014.

So let's

look at some of the things Members opposite said at that time. Here are the

quotes from the now Premier in that 2014 debate. I quote: “ The

motion today will be legislating the mandatory reporting of deaths and critical

incidents to the Child and Youth Advocate in our Province.”

“… the

Advocate once again reiterated or called for mandatory reporting to the Advocate

by all departments and agencies of the deaths and the critical incidents

involving children and youth.

“When

we have asked the question why the critical incidents piece, in this case the

Advocate is very concerned and believes and feels this would help prevent

further deaths, deaths by children who are in care from departments and agencies

in our Province.”

“What

we see here is after thorough investigations or three major investigations

within the Province,” – and, unfortunately, many of us can remember those – “the

recommendations came back after investigation suggesting that we have mandatory

reporting of deaths of children and critical incidents within the Province. This

is the view of the Child and Youth Advocate in our Province right now.”

These

are quotes that I'm reading directly from

Hansard from the 2014 debate, Mr. Speaker; just to put the tense in proper

context.

“… why

not just go to the next step and make that notification part of legislation so

it becomes mandatory?” Why not? It's only a matter of adding the wording to this

legislation that we are spending the time here debating today for the children

of out province. Why

not make it stronger?

“… why

not just go to the next step and make that notification … so it becomes

mandatory? That would include not just the Department of Child, Youth and Family

Services but indeed all agencies within government.”

Again,

still quoting from 2014's debate, “… she feels that she could fulfill her

mandate in a much better fashion by the immediate reporting of critical

incidents and deaths in the Province. Indeed, she could intervene and reduce the

harm to other members in some cases.”

“As an

Officer of the House of Assembly, this will allow – and she agrees that she will

be able to fulfill the mandate she has been given, to do her job in protecting

children, and not only children in care, but children who are receiving services

from various departments and agencies in the Province right now.”

really believe what the Advocate is actually looking for here right now is a

mechanism that will allow this individual to do a better job in her position in

making sure children in our Province are safe when they receive care, safe when

they receive services from Child, Youth and Family Services and all the other

agencies we have in our Province.”

In fact,

Mr. Speaker, the then Leader of the Opposition, today's Premier, actually talked

specifically about our health care workers in his debate. But this bill does not

extend to the health department or the regional health authorities.

concluded by saying, “We cannot get hung up on making sure that the definition

of a critical incident, in this particular case, is something that will hold up

this piece of legislation.” That was the words in 2014. “What we are asking for

is let's get those

definitions done, and let's get this legislation introduced

in this House of Assembly so that we can have a Child and Youth Advocate who

will be better equipped to do her job.”

“… it is

important enough that we create that sense of urgency in this House today. That

is the reason why we have put forward, and I have moved this private member's

motion today legislating the mandatory reporting of deaths and critical

incidents to the Child and Youth Advocate.”

“… we as

members would stand her debating the words in a piece of legislation that could

actually be an intervention in stopping one critical incident or, in a

worst-case scenario, prevent a death.”

Mr.

Speaker, this is what our current Premier asked for in 2014, but this is not

what is being delivered by the government today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MS. PERRY:

I don't know why they are

heckling over there, Mr. Speaker. It's a very important issue.

If the

Member for Lab West is actually listening, what I'm saying is this was your

leader who said this was what they wanted in the legislation. This has not been

delivered today.

Those

were the things the party, now in government, were calling for while in

Opposition. They are the things the Child and Youth Advocate was calling for.

They are the things this bill is missing.

When the

Members opposite went to the people to seek a mandate in 2015, they laid out

their policy intentions in their Liberal red book. It is interesting to consider

the wording of this particular

section of their red book. It was numbered

section 4.3.2. It was entitled, “Mandatory Reporting of Deaths and Critical

Incidents to the Child and Youth Advocate” and it read like this, verbatim from

the red book:

“For

years, the Child and Youth Advocate has been calling on the PC Government to

make mandatory the reporting by all government departments and agencies of the

deaths of, and critical incidents involving, children and youth receiving

government services.

“Liberals believe the Advocate shouldn't have to learn of children falling

through the cracks through the public or the media. Mandatory reporting could

save lives.

“A New

Liberal Government will legislate mandatory reporting of deaths and critical

incidents to the … Youth Advocate.”

Mandatory reporting was also outlined in the mandate letter to the former

minister, when government first got established. The mandate letter reads,

verbatim, I quote: “I expect you to work with your colleagues and the Child and

Youth Advocate to develop legislation for the House of Assembly that will make

it mandatory to report deaths and critical incidents to the Advocate.”

It is

important to note that the mandate letter says incidents, but this is not what

the legislation covers. The legislation covers injuries only. And, Mr. Speaker,

we can't get a clear answer as to why that's the case.

Mandatory reporting was also mentioned in the 2017 Throne Speech, right here in

this hon. House. It reads: “Our Government will continue to work cooperatively

with the Child and Youth Advocate to develop legislation on mandatory reporting

of critical incidents and deaths to the advocate for consideration in the House

of Assembly.”

Again,

the Throne Speech says incidents, but the legislation says injuries. So there it

is. Either the Liberals believe in what they said or they don't. They now,

though, are in a position to do what they said. So they can heckle from across

the way about what did or didn't get done by the PCs. They have the opportunity

to do it now, Mr. Speaker, and they're not. They are not.

By the

bill that we see before us today, we see the legislation as it currently stands

falls far, far, far short of what they called for and what they promised. It

doesn't apply to all government departments and agencies. It doesn't include

critical incidents. It maintains a situation where the Advocate will continue to

have to learn of children falling through the cracks through the public or the

media. It reduces the scope of mandatory reporting that could save lives.

The

irony is that our PC government was actually in the process of following the

recommendations of the Child and Youth Advocate in 2014 and '15. The premier's

mandate letter to the minister actually called for this legislation to be

implemented. We made the same points when speaking to the Liberal's resolution

and voting in favour of it. The difference is that we intended to work with the

Child and Youth Advocate to ensure that the legislation reflected what she was

calling for in the recommendations based on the three very, very, very serious

reports she produced on the tragic situations she had to review.

We spoke

in favour of mandatory reporting. We spoke in favour of immediate reporting. We

spoke in favour of a broad scope. We referenced departments not covered in this

bill and we spoke of defining incidents.

The

Liberals, in 2014, said bring forward this legislation right away; don't even

bother to consult with the Child and Youth Advocate before bringing it forward.

They opposed our decision to include the Advocate in drafting the legislation.

When they were elected, they did not do it right away, either. This is more than

two years later. They did not pay attention to the recommendations of the Child

and Youth Advocate who demanded mandatory reporting, and they have brought

forward a bill that does not live up to their own promise, or their resolution

or their words in debate, or what the Child and Youth Advocate has demanded in

her recommendations.

This is

not the bill they promised to deliver. Why not? We can only conclude that it is

part of their pattern of hiding as much as possible from scrutiny and

accountability. What could be wrong with immediately notifying the Child and

Youth Advocate about more rather than fewer incidents? Really, what would really

be wrong with that? What is the issue with it?

If the

government is aware of a serious incident, what could be wrong with passing that

information along immediately to the person whose job it is to look out for the

best interests of children and youth in our province? First and foremost, this

person is independent of government, an independent, non-partisan position

responsible to the children of our province. What's wrong with informing her

immediately? What is the issue?

Where is

the harm in informing the Child and Youth Advocate? Is the government saying

that she can't be trusted with this information? I don't think so. That would be

shocking. But if they are not saying that, then why would they build a wall

instead of a channel for the free flow of information to the Advocate's office?

We don't understand it.

Let's

consider what the Child and Youth Advocate actually is. It's not an office or

department of the government; it is not an office that answers to the Premier

and Cabinet. This office answers to the people, to the hon. House of Assembly.

This is an independent office, just like the Auditor General is independent.

This officer can go where others cannot, look into what others cannot and report

on what others may not. This officer is a voice for all children and youth in

this province.

Where

does this office come from? It didn't always exist. In December of 1994, the

House of Assembly appointed a Select Committee on Children's Interests. Its

chair was the former MHA for Conception Bay South, the late Pat Cowan. When the

committee reported in 1996, the committee comprised of MHAs Gerald Smith, Harvey

Hodder and Mary Hodder; all fine parliamentarians who were genuinely interested

in advancing the best interests of children.

The

report was entitled, LISTENing & ACTing: A

Plan for Child, Youth and Community Empowerment . It recommended the creation

of a child, youth and family secretariat within government and it called for the

establishment of a Child and Youth Advocate reporting to the Legislature.

The PC

Party adopted this recommendation as a policy, which we held from that time

forward. In 2001, after years of pressure from the Opposition to implement this

all-party recommendation, the Liberals were finally dragged kicking and

screaming into bringing forward the legislation.

Lloyd

Wicks was appointed to serve as the first Advocate. On November 2002, he was

finally able to get down to work, advocating for children and youth. We finally

joined other jurisdictions across the country with similar offices.

Establishing the office is only the beginning. The really important part, Mr.

Speaker, is what follows. The Advocate's job is to dig into things that

otherwise might be left undisturbed. It's like the Auditor General's work. It

can be embarrassing for a government to be held to account and have its work

under the spotlight of scrutiny. It is embarrassing and onerous, but absolutely

necessary.

Governments demand constant scrutiny, and governments, being human institutions,

are always imperfect and always in need of scrutiny. In fact, it is sometimes a

conflict of interest for officials to determine whether an incident is serious

enough to warrant reporting to the Child and Youth Advocate. They are

essentially investigating themselves and their colleagues and deciding whether

to report on what may be even their own failings. People should not investigate

themselves. Let the Advocate determine what is serious after she has been

informed.

The

government opposite is developing a disturbing tendency to hide more and more

from the spotlight of scrutiny and accountability. They may think this is wise,

but it's actually dangerous. When it comes to protecting the best interests of

children and youth, the dangers are borne by the children and youth themselves.

The

government needs to be reminded that it's not about doing what is easiest or

just doing enough to get away with, just enough to tick off the box, oh, that's

done for the mandate letter; it's about doing what's right. If this means

inundating the Child and Youth Advocate with information about incidents where

children and youth in the province are at risk of harm, then is that the wrong

thing to do? I certainly don't think so. Wouldn't it be better to let the

Advocate sort out where to place the attention than to have the filter at the

government level, where factors other than protecting the best interests of

children might come into play?

Governments and departments and agencies and their officials sometimes have a

tendency to minimize the importance of things and sweep them under a rug to

avoid embarrassment or other consequences. Instead of thinking is a child at

risk, they could be thinking would this reflect badly or lead to embarrassing

consequences?

The

Child and Youth Advocate would focus solely on whether a child is at risk.

Nothing else would be considered