PDF Version

May

5, 2016

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XLVIII No. 23

The

House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Osborne):

Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Statements by

Members

MR. SPEAKER:

For Members' statements

today we have the Members for the District of Burin Grand Bank, Terra

Nova, Topsail Paradise, Mount Pearl North, Bonavista, and Placentia St.

Mary's.

The

hon. the Member for Burin Grand Bank.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. HALEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rise today to recognize a youth organization that truly makes a difference

in the lives of young men and women. The Canadian Cadet Movement, with its

Sea, Air, and Army elements, provides 12 to 18 year olds with a wealth of

skills from rigging sail boats, to flying gliders, to wilderness training.

However, the most practical skills are much more intrinsic. Cadets learn

leadership, teamwork, responsibility, the importance of volunteerism and so

many more all skills that help shape character to last a lifetime.

my District of Burin Grand Bank, there are six Sea Cadets Corps, Mr.

Speaker; five of which I was asked to be the reviewing officer. As reviewing

officer, I was struck by the commitment and hard work demonstrated by the

cadets. None of this would be possible without the dedication of the

officers and volunteers.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all Members to join me in recognizing the cadets and officers

of the many corps and squadrons that serve Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

the District of Terra Nova.

MR. HOLLOWAY:

Mr. Speaker, the

Children's Wish Foundation of Canada is celebrating its 30th anniversary of

providing wishes to children who are experiencing a life-changing illness.

2015, the Children's Wish Newfoundland and Labrador granted 41 wishes at an

average cost of $10,000. The foundation is currently working on a further

127 wishes for 2016. Since 1984, the foundation has granted wishes to over

25,000 children; 800 of which have been granted right here in this province.

Ms.

Edie Newton, director of Newfoundland and Labrador

chapter says, When

Children's Wish grants a wish, we make a difference by generating hope, joy,

healing and bring futures for children and for our community.

wish to also recognize Ms. Karen Feltham from Glovertown who was one out of

12 volunteers nominated for the Laura Cole National Volunteer Award for

2016; an award given to those who have given above and beyond to the benefit

of wish children provincially, nationally and internationally. Ms. Feltham

is also the recipient of the 2016 Volunteer of the Year Award for

Newfoundland and Labrador.

commend the Children's Wish Foundation for their great work and I ask all

Members to join in congratulating Ms. Feltham for this special recognition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Topsail Paradise.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

2015, the T'Railway in Conception Bay South was nominated as one of the

Great Places in Canada by the Canadian Institute of Planners. There are

nearly 900 kilometres of abandoned rail bed that provides the basis for a

trail link between Port aux Basques on the West Coast and St. John's on the

easternmost edge of the Island.

The

Conception Bay South T'Railway spans 18 kilometres of this former rail bed,

forming a continuous, non-motorized destination trail in the community. It's

a coastal extension of the Grand Concourse trail system and will soon link

into 135-kilometre network of world-class urban walkways and cycling trails

in the City of St. John's, the City of Mount Pearl and the Town of Paradise.

The

T'Railway links together nine historic rural communities, starting at Spruce

Hill Road in the east and continues westward through Conception Bay South

and brings users into the heart of the community. It's completely accessible

for users of all ages, mobility levels and used every day, all year long, by

countless enthusiasts.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask Members of the House to join me in congratulating Conception

Bay South T'Railway on being nominated as one of the Greatest Places in

Canada.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rise in this hon. House today to recognize educators in our communities and

acknowledge one of many teachers that impacted my education, Mr. Gerard

Walsh. Mr. Walsh has taught in Mount Pearl for over three decades and I was

fortunate to be one of his students at St. Peter's.

While he now teaches junior high Social Studies, for many years, he led the

school band programs. He introduced me to music, and my time in the band

program with Mr. Walsh had a profound impact on my development and on my

life. He provided us with confidence and encouragement to continue following

our passions.

learned so much from Mr. Walsh. He was an amazing mentor, role model and

friend. I recall how much he loved his profession and how much he loved the

students, and we loved him. Several of my former classmates have gone on to

pursue careers in music, and Mr. Walsh's guidance and inspiration, no doubt,

played a major role in that.

Mr.

Speaker, I ask all Members of this House to join me in not only recognizing

Mr. Walsh for his outstanding teaching abilities and continued service as an

educator, but also the other 6,000 teachers in the province. I thank them

for everything they do for our young people.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Bonavista.

MR. KING:

Mr. Speaker, I'm honoured

to stand here today to recognize the 130th anniversary of the Bonavista and

the 120th anniversary of the Islandview Citadels of the Salvation Army.

The

Bonavista Citadel held their celebrations on March 12 with a wonderful roast

beef dinner, a slide show with pictures from their 130-year history,

bringing back fond memories to all. As well, there were speeches and

presentations, including a special address from MP Judy Foote.

The

Islandview Citadel, which is located in Musgravetown, held their celebration

on April 9 with a delicious roast beef dinner, followed by a church service.

This service saw many excellent performances with many smiling faces as

speakers recounted stories of the past.

know first-hand of the great work that the Salvation Army does in the

District of Bonavista, just as all Members present here today know from

their own experiences in their districts. This includes supporting those in

need, being there when disaster hits and providing spiritual guidance.

ask all hon. Members to join me in congratulating the Bonavista and

Islandview Citadels on their milestone anniversaries. May they celebrate

many more years of doing God's work.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

It's my understanding the

Member for Placentia St. Mary's has leave of the House to present a

The

hon. the Member for Placentia St. Mary's.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

I rise today, Mr.

Speaker, to pay tribute to a brave young man with roots in St. Bride's and

Placentia. Connor McGrath recently passed away in Edmonton after a

courageous battle with leukemia. He was just 13 years old.

Connor's family and friends describe him as bright, full of life and very,

very funny. His strong spirit reached far beyond his Edmonton home. Connor's

story captured the imagination of many around the world, including actor

Ryan Reynolds, who visited Connor in hospital through the Make-A-Wish

Foundation. Connor described himself as the world's biggest fan of

Deadpool , the superhero Reynolds

portrayed in a recent blockbuster film.

Reynolds fulfilled Connor's wish by giving him a private, advanced screening

of the movie in February. They stayed in touch through text messages and a

second visit from Ryan Reynolds delighted Connor.

I am

pleased to see my colleagues here in the House of Assembly wearing orange or

an orange ribbon in honour of Connor today; orange was his favourite colour.

ask all hon. Members to join me in celebrating the life of Connor McGrath

and extend condolences to his family and friends.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

The Commemoration

of the First World War and the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel

MR. SPEAKER:

For Honour 100 today we

have the Member for the District of Grand Falls-Windsor Buchans.

MR. HAWKINS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

will now read into the record the following 40 names of those who lost their

lives in the First World War in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Royal

Newfoundland Naval Reserve and the Newfoundland Mercantile Marine. This will

be followed by a moment of silence.

Lest

we forget: William Edward Leshana, Joseph Leudy, Cebos Lewis, Charles Lewis,

Gordon C. Lewis, John T. Lewis, Philip Lewis, Arthur Licence, Harold

Lidstone, Augustus Lilly, William John Lilly, Francis Thomas Lind, Daniel

Linehan, Roland Linfield, James Hampton Little, Redvers Little, Adolphus

Locke, Samuel Thomas Lodge, Frederick William Lucas, Henry Luff, Samuel

Luff, Henry George Luffman, George Lukins, John Lukins, Herbert G. Luscombe,

Thomas Lynch, Allan Lyons, John P. MacDonnel, Alexander MacDougall, Andrew

Joseph MacKay, Michael Joseph MacKay, Stuart MacKay, Walter H. MacKay, Neil

Charles MacLeod, Richard Joseph Maddigan, William Maddock, John Thomas

Maddox, George Albert Madore, James Albert Mahaney, Malcolm Cyril Mahaney.

(Moment of silence.)

MR. SPEAKER:

Please be seated.

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by

Ministers

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rise today in this hon. House to congratulate Johannes Lampe on becoming the

President of Nunatsiavut. Yesterday, Mr. Lampe was sworn in.

Mr.

Lampe has a wealth of experience to bring to his role as a former Minister

of Culture, Recreation and Tourism and an Ordinary Member for Nain in the

Nunatsiavut Assembly. He also is a well-respected elder from Nain.

Our

government is looking forward to a productive and open dialogue with

President Lampe as he assumes his new role.

Premier and Minister of Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs, I will play a

leadership role as our government works collaboratively with the province's

Aboriginal people to ensure our programs and our services are reflective of

their needs.

this time I would also thank past President Sarah Leo for her passion, her

efforts and dedicated public service. I want to thank her very much and I

did call her just a couple of days ago to wish her well into the future.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Official Opposition, I would like to extend congratulations to Johannes

Lampe on becoming the president of Nunatsiavut and on being sworn in

yesterday. I look forward to working with Mr. Lampe and all Aboriginal

leaders over the next several years.

Mr.

Lampe has had a long history of serving the Labrador Inuit. Originally from

Nain, Mr. Lampe is a community elder who has served as the representative

for Nain, and also was Minister of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

Mr.

Speaker, I would also like to thank Ms. Sarah Leo for serving in her role as

president since 2012.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

too, thank the Premier for the advance copy of his statement. I'm pleased to

join with the Premier in congratulating Mr. Lampe and in recognizing the

wealth of experience he brings to his new role as he follows in the

footsteps of the able President Sarah Leo.

say to the Premier, the Nunatsiavut Government has not always enjoyed a

productive and open dialogue with government in this province, so I

encourage the Premier to put his words into action by ensuring

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. MICHAEL:

he works with the new

president in dealing with the serious issue of methylmercury in Lake

Melville.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The

hon. the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills.

MR. BYRNE:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in

this House to extend my heartiest congratulations to the staff and students

at Queen's College on its 175th anniversary in this province.

had the pleasure today of signing a proclamation with the Dean of Theology,

Rev. Dr. David Bell, to mark the beginning of a week of activities to

recognize this momentous occasion.

many of my hon. colleagues in this House know, Queen's College was founded

as a Church of England theological college in 1841. Over the years, the

college has welcomed other denominations into their programs and today is

recognized as an institution that is committed to academic excellence and

spiritual growth.

Mr.

Speaker, next week the college will confer for the very first time, the

degree of Master of Theology (Pentecostal Studies) and in 2017, they will

celebrate the first graduates of the Diploma in Theology and Ministry (Roman

Catholic Studies).

Minister of Advanced Education and Skills, I'm very proud to say the

provincial government values Queen's College. We are committed to

post-secondary education and ensuring that students have the knowledge and

skills required to be leaders of tomorrow.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Official Opposition, I would like to extend congratulations to Rev. Dr.

David Bell, the staff, students, faculty and alumni of Queen's College. The

175th anniversary is a true milestone in this college's legacy and is a

testament to the college's academic and spiritual commitment.

Mr.

Speaker, over the history of Queen's College, it has joined Memorial

University and has grown its program offerings. I would like to take a

moment to reference the students of Memorial University. It is our hope that

the students from Memorial University will continue to pursue their academic

studies and fulfill their bright future.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

too, thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. I'm very

pleased to rise and congratulate Queen's College on their astonishing 175

years providing theological teaching to the people of this province,

and branching out in recent times to not just students of the Anglican

church, but entering into the Roman Catholic studies as well.

It's

hard to think of many institutions who can claim 175 years of service in

this or any other part of Canada. I congratulate the current staff who

continue to do the wonderful work that they've been doing.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Further statements by

ministers?

The

hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

MR. TRIMPER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

rise today to report that the launch of the Provincial Parks Campsite

Reservation Service over three days last week was a resounding success.

fact, Mr. Speaker, it took less than one minute for the seasonal sites at

Butter Pot and La Manche to be sold out, and the seasonal sites at Barachois

Pond and Frenchman's Cove also sold out within minutes. Clearly, our

residents are eager to get outdoors and spend their summer enjoying

provincial park campgrounds and the natural beauty of our province.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm also happy to report that many people are taking advantage of

the convenience and efficiency of booking short-term reservations through

the online system at

www.nlcamping.ca

and that there is still availability at parks across the province.

Mr.

Speaker, the 13 provincial campgrounds are an important and valuable

component of the provincial tourism industry. We look forward to welcoming

not only local residents, but also visitors from across the country and

around the world again this camping season.

invite all of my colleagues here in this hon. House to join me in spreading

the word about these opportunities to experience our province's incredible

natural heritage. If I may, I'd also like to put a kudo out to Mr. Geoff

Bailey. He's the manager for the Parks and Natural Areas Division. Together,

with his team, they oversaw this amazing accomplishment.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. I'm glad, too, that

our residents have already booked their sites for the upcoming year. It's

good to see, to get out and enjoy the outdoors.

will note, though, as a result of the budget the increase in fees it is

probably going to ride you an extra $400 for a seasonal camping site this

year, which is going to have a negative impact on the middle and working

classes.

will add to the minister's comment about the staff, they do a great job. I

also want to point that out.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. Our provincial

parks are absolute treasures belonging to the people of Newfoundland and

Labrador. They are significant natural areas and several contain delicate

ecosystems, housing rare and at-risk species.

The

previous government privatized several of our parks and planned to sell 47

of them. It is imperative this government not sell any of our park lands.

They rightfully belong to the people of the province. Once gone, there is no

getting them back.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. ROGERS:

Bravo to those caring for

our wonderful parks. I look forward to my summer camping.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Question Period.

Oral Questions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, I understand the president of the Canadian Bar Association

Newfoundland & Labrador Branch has written the minister, following the

announcement of the closures of courts in Grand Bank, Grand Falls-Windsor,

Harbour Grace-Carbonear and Wabush in Western Labrador. Those who practise

family law are particularly concerned.

ask the minister: Are you concerned your actions will add additional stress

to women and children who need access to the justice system?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

certainly did receive a letter from Mr. Scruton with the Canadian Bar

Association, which I certainly expected, because his job as the local

president of the Canadian Bar Association is to be in correspondence with me

with issues that affect the members of the bar in this province. I've

already had meetings with Mr. Scruton as well.

These were actions that certainly weren't taken lightly; actions that when

you are thinking about things like access to justice, you always have to be

concerned. What I will say is that in many cases, the increased commute that

may be faced by certain people is actually less than that which is already

faced by many people in this province.

Again, we will continue to work with the judiciary and court administration

and any individual that's concerned to ensure that we minimize any

disruption.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

ask the minister: Who did you consult with before deciding to close these

courts? Was the Canadian Bar Association consulted specifically on the

closure of these courts?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Justice and Public Safety.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

This

was a decision that was discussed with a number of individuals; however, I

did not discuss this with the president of the Canadian Bar Association.

This

was a precedent that was followed by the previous administration, which

consulted with nobody when they closed courts over the last number of years.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

you only consulted internally, I think, is what he is saying. But he can

explain that further at any time that he wishes.

Mr.

Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister of Health: How many people availed of

the Adult Dental Program last year?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much for

the question.

Mr.

Speaker, I will get that number for the next sitting and report it in

answers on that occasion; I don't happen to have it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

appreciate that, Mr. Speaker, but maybe the minister is aware then, what is

the number of people who will not be able to access the service this year

compared to last year as a result of the budget cuts? I'm sure he must have

done the analysis and he'd have that information.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

understanding of the dental plan coverage going forward is that there are

currently 1,600 people left in the system from last year. They will be

accommodated and we hope to clear the backlog left by the previous process,

which really wasn't much of a process at all.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Mr. Speaker, so there are

a number of people that applied last year and didn't get the service, a

service that is now eliminated. Instead of being improved upon, if there

were issues, it is now been eliminated. I know that during the debate and

discussions when this new program was developed that Members opposite, who

were in Opposition at the time, clearly talked about the importance to

people's health and how this would benefit their health.

ask the minister: What will be the impacts overall on the health of people

who can no longer access this service?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

people on the current Foundation Plan, to which there has been no change,

will still have access to the dental program. As regards to his other

question in terms of the general health of the teeth of the population, we

are working with the dental association and currently the situation as

regards to the adult program is confined to the Foundation Plan.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Leader of

the Opposition.

MR. P. DAVIS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, I think we were all in agreement back when this was being discussed in

the House in the past, the Liberals when they were in Opposition, us in

government, that improving people's oral health and dental health improves

their own general health and well-being.

question to the minister is: If people can't access dental health, and many

won't be able to access dental health now that the coverage has been

discontinued, what will be the impacts on their own general health and

well-being?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

Adult Dental plan in its previous iteration was introduced at a time of

plenty. That time has long since passed. Opportunities for investment in

health at that stage have disappeared. The money has vanished. On a

go-forward basis we have taken a decision, a difficult one but a necessary

one, to streamline adult dental care in line with other jurisdictions.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, I trust that

the minister will provide that information at the earliest opportunity. The

Pharmacists' Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as many

community groups, are questioning the government's decision to make changes

to the Prescription Drug Program. They weren't consulted.

Can

the minister provide for this House a list of the drugs no longer covered

under the Prescription Drug Program. Can he explain what the impact will be

on seniors and on low-income individuals?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Certainly, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much for the question. The changes to the Prescription Drug

Program under the NLPDP are again taken in line with those from other

jurisdictions. We have had a very generous plan.

Specifically to the Member's question about a list of medications that will

no longer be covered under the over-the-counter arrangement, I'd be happy to

provide that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, people

living in personal care homes in this province used to have coverage for all

their medications. This has now been stripped from them. They only receive

$150 monthly for personal use. Many won't be able to afford the drugs they

need. Doctors will be forced to prescribe alternatives.

ask the minister: How will this result in any real savings to the system?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

comments about folk in long-term care being stripped of their drugs are

somewhat hyperbole. That is not the case. There has been some adjustment to

over-the-counter medications in line with other jurisdictions. That is

entirely consistent with practices in other provinces.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, Aspirin,

pain medications, various vitamin supplements, creams and ointments, the

list goes on and on; over-the-counter medications that were once covered are

now the full responsibility of seniors and low-income individuals. The

minister knows full well that this will be impossible for some people and

the result will be medications not being taken.

ask the minister: What do you have to say to seniors and low-income families

who will no longer be able to get over-the-counter medications they require?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Again, Mr. Speaker, thank

you for the question.

The

premise on which that question is based is actually inaccurate. The bottom

line is that medically necessary drugs will be available to people in

long-term care, have always been available to long-term care. That will not

change.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl North.

MR. KENT:

Mr. Speaker, perhaps

they're upset because they don't want to hear the truth. It's right in the

budget documents: Remove the NL Provincial Drug Program coverage for over

the counter drugs/services . We're not talking about long-term care homes;

we're talking about personal care homes.

The

hits to the most vulnerable in our province continue. The long-term care

private pay rate will increase by $190 a month on July 1, making the monthly

rate $2,990.

ask the minister: What do you have to say to the residents and families who

can't afford this rate hike? Why is this government making so many moves

that hurt our most vulnerable people in Newfoundland and Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Thank you very much for

the question, Mr. Speaker.

1986 the rate for care was $1,510. It represented 70 per cent of the cost of

a long-term care bed. It was last altered in 1996 and has not changed since

then. The $190 increment this year is an increase in line with the Canadian

price index and brings the cost of a long-term care bed to 30 per cent of

cost recovery. The average cost is $10,000 per month, the payment is $2,990.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

classroom cap size, can the minister confirm that under certain

circumstances additional students can be added to classrooms? Can he confirm

that the number of students in an elementary classroom in September could be

as high as 30 or more?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, the size of

classrooms in schools is determined on an individual school-by-school,

class-by-class basis. That is the nature of the teacher allocation formula.

The

teacher allocation information has been provided to the Newfoundland and

the process now of deploying those teaching units across the system.

Where there are instances where the number of students doesn't exactly fit

the cap, administrators will make determinations as to whether or not it is

to the benefit of students to be placed in a certain classroom or not. It's

not as clear cut as the Member suggests. I suggest he read up on it a bit.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thirty or more elementary children in a classroom will compromise access to

education.

ask the minister: Yes or no, will there be classrooms in September that

could have 30 or more children cramped in one classroom? Yes or no, Mr.

Minister?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, there's not

a whole lot of difference between the soft class size cap that we have now,

between that and the soft class size cap that the previous administration

presided over for a period of 12 years. It's highly interesting that I hear

this Member talking about that because for the entire time he sat over on

this side of the House there was not a single murmur from Members opposite

when they were increasing the class size as to that was somehow detrimental

to student achievement.

Class size caps aren't a solution to all problems in our schools and that's

why we have added special education teachers this year. We have added

student assisted time. We have not touched specialist positions at all,

unlike the Members opposite who cut that down to the bone.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Mr. Speaker, I remind the

minister, it was this administration that invested more into schools

systems, in new schools, in reducing cap size and in special services to the

students of this province.

ask the minister: Did you consult with the NLTA before you made cuts to

education?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. BRAZIL:

Did you consult with

anyone for that matter?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, we did the

same sort of consultation on this budget that the previous administration

did on all the budgets that they produced.

says they put more funding into et cetera, et cetera. Over the course of

three budget cycles in just two years that administration cut 238 positons

from the school system and they claimed that that would not cause a single

iota of hardship for anyone by doing it.

know there are challenges in the school system as a result of the changes

that have been made this year. I'm not going to stand here and deny it like

all of the Progressive Conservative predecessors who sat here did.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

So, obviously, the

minister didn't consult the NLTA.

I'll

ask once again: Will there be 30 or more elementary children cramped into

some school classrooms?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, as I tried

to explain before, I don't think the Member was listening to what I was

saying. The teacher allocation formula has been the information has been

transmitted to schools. We are currently in the process of deploying the

districts are currently in the processing of deploying those resources.

have not seen any indication at all, at this point, come across my desk that

what the Member is suggesting is going to happen. He can fear monger all he

wants. Schools do the best they can with the resources they are provided.

They will do that this September as they did in all the years the previous

administration was there.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Obviously, with the

minister's answer there, he hasn't consulted with anybody. I think he should

go out and talk to some of the administrators because that's the fear that's

out there right now, when they're trying to crunch their numbers.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. BRAZIL:

I ask the minister: How

will combined-grade classrooms be determined? A random draw? Left to

principals and teachers? Will parents have a say this time?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, the

combined-grades initiative is basically adopting a practice that's in place

in many other provinces in Canada and schools all around the world. It's an

attempt to more efficiently make use of the few resources we have. They have

been vastly diminished as a result of the damage that was done to the

Treasury by the previous administration.

will be providing guidelines for administrators for making those sorts of

determinations; but unlike the Members opposite, from what I've been hearing

the past few days, we support the principle of inclusive education. We

continue to uphold that value in our school system. That's how all of the

classes in our schools are going to be determined. We're not going to be

basing it on Member's notion of good students and those with needs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, obviously, multigrade classrooms are offered in smaller schools with

declining enrollment. In larger schools, with an increased enrolment, there

are some challenges here. That's been said to us by administrations. It's

been said by members for the NLTA and being said by parents.

Again, I ask the minister: What are you doing to ensure teachers will have

training to move into multigrade classrooms?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, currently

prior to the implementation of the combined-grades initiative there are

172 multigrade classrooms across this province. So I don't know what the

Member is suggesting about the nature of those multigrade classrooms and

those teachers. I want to make that straight first.

was on Cross Talk today with the

president of the NLTA. We had a good debate about this issue. I've made it

very clear that we'll have a comprehensive learning program in place, a

training program, for professional development for teachers. Teachers will

get professional development on this.

Many

of our teachers already have professional development in the area of

differentiated instructed which is highly important in this area. Also, many

of them have experience in multigrade classrooms because we have had

hundreds of them for years.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Obviously, it is evident that what this is here is just an exercise in

meeting their budget needs and their budget cuts at the expense of education

in this province, Mr. Speaker. It's shameful.

ask the minister: Will you meet with schools, teachers and administrators

who have many questions about how choices will impact their school children?

You've had one conversation with the NLTA. Will you meet with the other

stakeholders?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, as I have

since I was appointed these ministerial duties, I'll continue to meet with

stakeholder groups. I've met with practically all of them since I took this

position.

It's

interesting, after I was on Cross Talk

today, as I was on the way back, I very quickly got an email from the former

president of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador

saying I don't agree with some of the things in the budget, but I certainly

support multigrading and I know that it works. I have experience with it. So

the former president of his party agrees with it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

Mr.

Speaker, 30 schools in 17 communities, resulting in 37 fewer bus runs

servicing the students of Newfoundland and Labrador.

ask the minister: When will the parents be told what are the impacts of his

new busing plan?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Sorry, Mr. Speaker, I

thought I was up in any case, Mr. Speaker, we have had double bus runs in

this province for some time and we know that does present additional

challenges for parents. The school district is trying to find the best way

to apportion the busing resources that we have. We are investing millions of

dollars in funding into busing because the price of busing has skyrocketed;

it's increasing on an annual basis.

That's the reason why we have double bus runs. That means there will be

earlier pickups in some cases and later drop-offs in the evening in others,

but that's not something that people across this province are unaccustomed

to. That is a practice that has been in place for some, and under the

previous administration, in fact.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, the

question was when will parents be notified about the changes in bus routes

so they can be prepared for it? Is there something where they can go online?

Is there some information out there that they can find so they'll know?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, the Member

School District to get that information as I am. Parents are getting that

that information is provided to schools. Parents will have ample time.

What

is it today is May 5; parents will have ample time, ample notification to

know in advance of the school year whether they are impacted in any way by

the double bus runs that are as a result of the skyrocketing costs of

budgeting in this province. That is a simple fact. I can't give the Member

any more information. Parents will be given the information they need in due

course.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cape St. Francis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. K. PARSONS:

So I ask the

minister: Will they be consulted or can he name who will be consulted on

these decisions?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Mr. Speaker, parents will

be consulted on the apportionment of busing funds and basically the specific

bus runs, the routes and the schedules. They will be consulted on that

exactly the same way they were consulted on that when the Members over there

sat over here. Exactly the same process for consulting with parents about

school busing will be followed as it was when those Members were over here

for over a decade.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Obviously, Mr.

Speaker, he's not going to consult with anyone.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. K. PARSONS:

You're not going to

consult with anyone.

The

Minister of Finance said that in order for a person to pay an extra thousand

dollars for insurance they would have to have a half a million dollar home,

boats, cars and an RV. Mr. Speaker, I spoke to a family in my district who

have two cars, an average-sized home, with kids that are 17 and 18 living at

home, one in post-secondary education but both of them are driving, that

will cost them an extra thousand dollars for their insurance.

ask the Premier: Will you replace the Minister of Finance with someone who

understands how the average family lives in Newfoundland and Labrador?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

really appreciate the opportunity to answer the question. The former

administration, as we all know through many years, had a revolving door of

new ministers in the Department of Finance and many other departments that

we've seen in this government.

What

the Minister of Finance was referring to when she made the comment would be

around someone that would have an insurance bill somewhere in the vicinity

of around $7,000 per year. That's how the number of $1,000 that was the

calculation as was done.

your question about replacing the Minister of Finance, no, that is not

something right now that the Minister of Finance this has been a very

difficult budget. She has worked extremely hard. She has been

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

PREMIER BALL:

She has been working

extremely hard on behalf of this government with all of us. There is no

intention at all of replacing the Minister of Finance.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

question, I ask: Can the minister confirm your government has made a

decision to spend $750,000 this year on a study to build a tunnel to connect

the Great Northern Peninsula to Labrador.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Part

of the budget that we put in place on April 14 part of that was about the

fixed link between Labrador and the Island portion. It's part of getting the

evidence that's required to make the long-term decisions for our province.

This

is connectivity; this is about putting a reliable transportation link that

will include Labrador and the Island portion of the province. As we continue

to develop the Trans-Labrador Highway it only makes sense, and before we

make long-term decisions on how you put in place an appropriate

transportation route, it's important that you get the answers on the fixed

link. Something I would say was used in your election platform back in 2003

at some point and then the information was done but really not widely shared

with anyone.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Conception Bay South.

MR. PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

guess I found out who to speak to.

ask the Premier: In time of fiscal restraint, is this the best time to

choose to spend $750,000 on a study?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER BALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, it's like this, the fixed link study for connectivity between Labrador

and the Island portion of our province is an important consideration because

we will make important decisions that impact not only the people in Labrador

but indeed people as goods and services are moved into the Island portion of

the province.

opens up a significant tourism opportunity in our province, what people

want. They want certainty when they come and want to experience places like

Newfoundland and Labrador. Having that option and getting a good

understanding, number one, of cost and the other impacts it would have on

our province as a whole.

For

the Member opposite simply to say that it is a waste of money to give the

Labrador portion of this province the opportunity to see the advantage of a

fixed link.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

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

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

The

Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development has been promoting

multigrade classrooms as a model that is being used throughout the country.

He fails to talk about the difference between using this model based on

professional teaching principles as opposed to the un-thought out

cost-cutting measures he is imposing.

ask the Premier: What is this government's detailed plan for specialized

training that educators identify is needed for the teachers who will be in

these classrooms?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

I'm surprised that the

Member opposite has so little confidence in our teachers' abilities, but I

can say that yes, we have been very clear from the beginning. The combined

grade model which is in place in many provinces in Canada whether you're in

downtown Vancouver or downtown Toronto, or downtown Edmonton or Saint John,

New Brunswick, that same model is being adopted here for the same reason why

it was adopted there, because we have finite resources. We don't have an

endless source of money to provide to the system. We're trying to do the

best we can with our finite resources.

One

thing we will be doing before September, we will be working with those

teachers who will be teaching combined grades to provide them professional

development. That will be before the end of this school year and it will be

available in the next school year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Before I recognize the Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi, the level of

noise is getting a little loud.

The

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

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Obviously, the minister hasn't read the vast literature on what it takes to

be a multigrade teacher.

further ask the Premier: What are the plans for the additional teaching and

learning resources, such as specialized curriculum, that educators say will

be needed to make multigrade classrooms work successfully?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

As I said yesterday in

Question Period, Mr. Speaker, we've had multigraded classrooms in

Newfoundland and Labrador since the inception of Newfoundland and Labrador.

It's not something that's new to this province.

The

current year, we have 172 multigrade classrooms. What we're talking about

doing now is bringing in combined grades in fewer than 50 schools and fewer

than 60 classrooms. There's no specific multigrade curriculum here in this

province. We have a curriculum for each of the grade levels in this province

and there is a process in place for multigraded classrooms. Multigraded

classrooms are not combined grade classrooms, so we want to separate that

confusion. Combined grades are a form of multigrading but it's not all the

same as the Member would suggest.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

my question now is: Has this government factored in the need for additional

teaching assistants to deal with issues of an inclusive classroom which will

be compounded by what professionals say is a more demanding situation in the

multigrade?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Education and Early Childhood Development.

MR. KIRBY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm

pleased to say, as I have said a number of times it's unfortunate the

Member didn't hear me say this before because I've said it a number of times

now. There was supposed to be positions eliminated due to declining

enrolment this year. We kept a number of those positions, and 27 new

instructional resource teachers are being provided to work with children

with special education needs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KIRBY:

In addition to that, we

are providing an additional 115 hours of student assistant time every school

day to support children with special education needs. So we are, yes,

providing additional resources for children with special needs this year.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS :

Mr. Speaker, last night at my town hall seniors talked about wanting to do

their share to help pull us out of this deficit but they said they don't

have an extra penny. The seniors annual benefit increase of $250 merely

offsets cancellation of the Home Heating Rebate and only seniors making

under $16,000 will get an annual Income Supplement of $266, not even

covering the extra taxes, extra fees and hikes. They are dealing with rising

costs of heat, food, transportation and they've lost the Adult Dental

Program and over-the-counter drug program. They are frightened.

ask the minister: Will she reinstate the 65-plus dental program and

over-the-counter drug program to help lift our seniors out of poverty?

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Health and Community Services.

MR. HAGGIE:

Mr. Speaker, thank you

very much.

The

Adult Dental Program includes now the Foundation Plan from the NLPDP. It

will continue to do so. That will align quite nicely with other

jurisdictions. Unfortunately, the previous program was put in at a time of

plenty and that has passed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Time for a very quick

question from the Member for St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Mr. Speaker, the

Foundation program wipes out seniors. It's only for people on income

support.

With

so many seniors living in poverty and precariously housed, I ask the

minister: Why hasn't she budgeted for more rent subsidies to help seniors on

the wait-list for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Child, Youth and Family Services.

MS. GAMBIN-WALSH:

Mr. Speaker, we are

presently assessing rent supplements.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

Presenting Reports by

Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

give notice that I will move that the House resolve itself into a Committee

of the Whole to consider a resolution relating to the advancing or

guaranteeing of certain loans made under

the Loan and Guarantee Act, 1957 ,

Bill 26.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government

House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

give notice, pursuant to Standing Order 11, that this House do not adjourn

at 5:30 o'clock on Monday, May 9.

Further, I give notice, pursuant to Standing Order 11, that this House do

not adjourn at 10 p.m. on Monday, May 9.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Further notices of

motion?

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Mount Pearl North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker,

for recognizing me in the House this afternoon. I'll read this petition into

the record once again. I've received another petition related to Masonic

Park Nursing Home and people that are very concerned about its upcoming

closure.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of

Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the seniors of our province deserve the greatest level of respect

and care; and

WHEREAS the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has a responsibility to

act in the best interests of seniors; and

WHEREAS the government has decided to shut down Masonic Park Nursing Home

and reduce long-term beds in the region;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to reverse its decision and not bring

undue hardship upon the residents of Masonic Park and find alternative

measures that will allow them to continue to stay at the place they call

home.

And

as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I know I've raised this issue in the House multiple times. I've had

an opportunity to meet with the minister about the issue, and I thank him

for that. I've had an opportunity to meet with senior officials at Eastern

Health, and I thank them as well. Unfortunately, government has no intention

of reversing this decision, and there is still time, Mr. Speaker.

this day and age, in this region, where we have 60 or 70 people today

waiting for long-term care beds who are tying up hospital beds resulting in

cancelled surgeries and people lying on stretchers in hallways, and backups

in emergency rooms, with all of that happening I don't see how you can

possibly justify reducing the number of long-terms care beds in this region

when we have so much demand that is impacting health care for our entire

population.

Mr.

Speaker, there have also been a number of statements made in response to the

concerns that I've raised that are simply not true. It's been said by the

minister and government that Masonic Park long-term facility is in a state

of disrepair to use the minister's words. It's simply not true.

also been said that all residents would just simply move down to Veterans

Pavilion at the Miller Centre; also not true. There isn't enough space at

the Veterans Pavilion at the Miller Centre to accommodate all of the current

residents of Masonic Park long-term care facility.

The

minister has also said and government has said we're not cutting long-term

care beds. Well, that's simply not true. The beds that are going to be

utilized at Veterans Pavilion, there are about 30 or so beds that are going

to be reopened that haven't been opened in the last year or so. They are not

new beds, but they're being reopened, fair enough. But the government is

closing 50.

Reducing long-term care beds right now when there's such a demand is

ridiculous, Mr. Speaker, and it's affecting the families and the residents

that I represent at Masonic Park Nursing Home. I will continue to fight this

decision.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents humbly

sheweth:

WHEREAS government has one again cut the libraries budget, forcing the

closure of 54 libraries; and

WHEREAS libraries are often the backbone of their communities, especially

for those with little access to government services where they offer

learning opportunities and computer access; and

WHEREAS libraries and librarians are critical in efforts to improve the

province's literacy levels which are among the lowest in Canada; and

WHEREAS already strapped municipalities are not in a position to take over

the operation and cost of libraries;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to keep these libraries open and work

on a long-term plan to strengthen the library system.

And

as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I'm honoured to be able to stand this afternoon and present this

petition on behalf of the signatories that I have in my hand. They identify

a very serious issue that we have 54 libraries being closed mainly in rural

Newfoundland and Labrador libraries that have been in the communities for

generations, libraries which add not just to the improvement of the life of

individuals, but to the life of the communities as well.

This

government, without any analysis, without looking at the impact of closing

these libraries, ignoring the fact we have the highest illiteracy rate in

Canada, ignoring the fact that seniors in the communities where these

libraries are use them on a regular basis and need to use them because of

the policy of having so many registrations, et cetera, now online, because

of doing no analysis of how the schools in these communities also use these

libraries, ignoring the fact that in some cases they are closing schools as

well as closing the libraries, it is unconscionable, Mr. Speaker, what this

government is doing with regard to the libraries in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

actually have become ashamed. People across the country are publicly talking

about the fact of what has happened here in this province. They cannot

believe this government, in light of all evidence that shows the role of

libraries and the importance of libraries in people's lives and in literacy,

that they have gone ahead and continue to want to close these libraries.

Mr.

Speaker, I really encourage this government to listen to this petition, to

listen to this prayer and to undo this decision which is in Budget 2016.

They can it's a pittance. It's only $1 million $1 million. Surely the

Minister of Finance and her $20 million and her slush fund can find a

million dollars to go towards keeping these libraries open.

put this to you that we have to make sure that these libraries do not close,

that these libraries are kept open.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

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 policy regulations link snow crab harvesting quotas to length of

vessels; and

WHEREAS many harvesters own fishing vessels of various sizes, but because of

policy regulations are restricted to using smaller vessels, often putting

their crews at risk and in danger; and

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

House of Assembly to urge the government to make representation to the

federal government to encourage them to change the policy ensuring the

safety of those harvesting snow crab.

Mr.

Speaker, I did this petition last week and I spoke to the minister

afterwards and he was in full agreement with me and he said it is something

that we should be doing because it's a safety issue with

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible) to tell

the truth.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. K. PARSONS:

Pardon me?

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MR. K. PARSONS:

No, no you are

talking about the wrong thing. I hope he apologizes for that. I'm talking

about the size of vessels and snow crab harvesting.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

MR. K. PARSONS:

Anyway, Mr. Speaker,

this is very important to the fishermen in the province, especially the

people involved in the crab fishery. Again, like I explained last week in

the crab fishery, there are a lot of different vessel sizes that people use

to go catch crab inshore, midshore and offshore. What's happening and we

have seen it in the industry that in the inshore fleet usually a 35-9 size

boat is used for that and midshore it's a little bit larger and the larger

ones go out.

What

happened last year in this province, we saw a tragedy when people went out

to go fish they went out in a 29- or 30-foot boat to catch crab and they

capsized and lost their lives, while they had a larger vessel tied up at the

wharf. We just have to think about our fishermen and what they go out in

every day. We're in the North Atlantic; it's very rough and it can change

from time to time.

Because of a policy that is done by the federal government, not this

government, I'm asking them to lobby their cousins in Ottawa to change this

because it's so important. We're putting people's lives in danger. We're

putting fishermen that are going out on the water and working hard they

always look for a time to go out because of the weather we have. We're here

in the North Atlantic and it can get very, very rough.

myself, don't like out on the water when it's rough, but they're forced to

go out in small boats. There's a simple solution to a lot of it. The

solution is just change the policy so that fishermen can go out in a boat

that's safe to catch what they have to catch.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. SPEAKER:

On a petition?

MS. C. BENNETT:

No, a point of order,

Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Minister of

Finance and President of Treasury Board on a point of order.

MS. C. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, pursuant

section 49 of the Standing Orders, I would ask the Member for the

District of St. John's East Quidi Vidi to refrain from using the term

slush fund when we're talking about $20 million slush fund when I tabled

in this House yesterday the details, clarification of that $20 million.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. C. BENNETT:

It's quite offensive,

Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

It's

a disagreement between two hon. Members. Unfortunately, that is not

considered unparliamentary language.

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay East Bell Island.

MR. BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's

an honour to present a petition here related to the budget impacts on Beachy

Cove Elementary.

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

Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of

Newfoundland and Labrador humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the current 2016 provincial budget impacts adversely and directly

the education programs of Beachy Cove Elementary in Portugal Cove-St.

Philip's; and

WHEREAS parents request a one-year delay in the implementation of full-day

kindergarten at our school until September 2017 when at such time the new

five to nine middle school in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's will be open; and

WHEREAS the student population of Beachy Cove Elementary is growing

exponentially and the growth is sustainable into the future; and

WHEREAS parents request the reinstatement of the previous teacher allocation

formula for Beachy Cove Elementary for this year and subsequent school years

to service the growth in enrolment and be able to provide all students with

equal opportunities to enrol in French immersion programming;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to reinstate the previous teacher

allocations and delay the implementation of full-day kindergarten in order

to provide the children of Beachy Cove Elementary the right to quality

education.

And

as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, I had the honour last night of attending the parent reps public

meeting on the issues around education at Beachy Cove, particularly the

impact this budget is going to have on them. The hundreds who attended it

got to a point where the fire department had to come and control who could

get into the building. It was that many people, that many parents who were

concerned in that community about where our education system is going and

particularly the impact it's going to have Beachy Cove.

They've talked about the capacity in the school system. A school that was

built for 400, added on over the last number of years and now has a capacity

of nearly 800 people or 800 will be enrolled. They had issues around the

busing, issues around parking, particularly issues around the teacher

allotments. They also had major issues around blending classrooms, extreme

issues around that, the number of issues that we had talked about today

around teacher training around those areas, how it's going to work, how the

students are going to be selected.

They

had some major issues around the French program being dropped, that kids who

are on a list would not have an opportunity to get into the advanced French

immersion program. No process of who gets into that. Where's the fairness.

Is it picked out of a hat? How is that enhancing our education system?

might note, and I should note that the parent reps who put this off did an

extremely professional job. They had a full PowerPoint where they outline

the whole structure of the school system, the allocations of the particular

makeup, what issues around blended schools and that would be about. Their

issue is they're not going to let this die, Mr. Speaker, they're going to be

lobbying, and this petition is phase one in their lobbying to ensure the

changes take place.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's Centre.

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

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 Deficit Reduction Levy is an extremely regressive surtax placing

a higher tax burden on low- and middle-income taxpayers; and

WHEREAS surtaxes are typically levied on the highest income earners only, as

currently demonstrated in other provinces, as well as Australia, Norway, and

other countries; and

WHEREAS government states in the 2016 provincial budget that the personal

income tax

schedule needs to be revised and promises to do so;

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

House of Assembly to urge government to ensure that the Deficit Reduction

Levy be eliminated and any replacement measure be based on progressive

taxation principles, and that an independent review of the Newfoundland and

Labrador provincial income tax system begin immediately to make it fairer to

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

And

as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr.

Speaker, we have hundreds and hundreds, adding up to thousands of petitions

coming in, people's signatures coming in on this petition. I also have in my

receipt right now a copy of over 18,000 signatures that people did online.

Now some people may say, oh, 18,000 signatures online, that's meaningless,

but most of these people not only signed the petition online, the electronic

petition, they also wrote comments. Some wrote some pretty substantial

comments.

Mr.

Speaker, the people of the province know that this levy is hurting them.

It's hurting people who have prospered, who benefited the least from our

prosperity. That's who it's hurting the most.

I've

said in the House again, if you look at one family where's there are two

income earners, two people in the household making $45,000 each, they end up

paying $600 each for the levy. That means that one little household which

probably has all kinds of bills and they're paying mortgage and child care.

That means $1,200 out of that one little household. Their next door

neighbour who may be making $350,000 is only going to pay $900 if they are

the sole earner in that household. It doesn't work out, Mr. Speaker. It just

doesn't make sense.

you know what? The people of the province know it doesn't make sense. People

have been going on the minister's calculator online and the calculator is

not giving them a real reading on what are the financial stressors, the

additional financial stressors on them because of this.

People don't have a slush fund where they can take money to pay for this

levy. They just don't have that. Most people don't have that extra money,

particularly if they're low-income and middle-income earners. It's a

horrible burden on them.

MR. SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. ROGERS:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER:

Before I recognize the

hon. the Government House Leader, all Members of the House have gotten to

know Raylene Mackey. Today is her last day. She's moving on.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER:

I'm sure as the day goes

on Members will have an opportunity to bid her farewell and wish her well in

her new endeavours.

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, Orders

of the Day.

Orders of the Day

MR. A. PARSONS:

I call from the Order

Paper, Order 3, third reading of Bill 6.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government

House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move,

seconded by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, that Bill 6,

An Act

To Amend The Professional Fish Harvesters Act, be now read a third time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded

that Bill 6, the Professional Fish

Harvesters Act , be now read a third time.

it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 6 be read a third

time?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

Those against?

Carried.

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act To Amend

The Professional Fish Harvesters Act. (Bill 6)

MR. SPEAKER:

This bill has now been

read a third time and it is ordered that Bill 6 do pass and its title be as

on the Order Paper.

motion, a bill,

An Act To Amend The Professional Fish Harvesters Act, read

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

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government

House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

call from the Order Paper, Order 4, third reading of Bill 24.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government

House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Mr. Speaker, I move,

seconded by the Minister of Education, that Bill 24,

An Act Respecting

Insured Medical And Hospital Services In The Province be now read the third

time.

MR. SPEAKER:

It is moved and seconded

that Bill 24 be now read a third time.

it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion that Bill 24 be read a

third time?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. John's East Quidi Vidi.

MS. MICHAEL:

Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker.

Just

a point that I would like to make that I have raised in Committee. It had to

do with

section 4(f), in particular, and it's about the exceptions to who

may have access to information under this act. I did ask a question as to

why we would put in that information may be given to a person employed by

the government to enforce support orders under the

Support Orders Enforcement Act, 2006 .

I got the explanation that this was something that was asked for by the

Attorney General and given the reasons for that. I asked the question of

whether or not this was a practice elsewhere in the country.

The

Attorney General did stand and say that he would seek information to see if

this actually happened in other places in the country. I'm hoping that

perhaps he has an answer for that today because I think it is important. I

still have a real concern about peace officers for the purpose of reporting

a suspected offence if the offence has something to do with health, I can

understand it; but the issue of enforcing support orders under the

Support Orders Enforcement Act , I still do have problems with that

and hope the Attorney General has been able to get an answer to my question.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government

House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, certainly I did

get an answer to that and I was trying my best to find it there furiously. I

will endeavour to actually forward that answer to you.

is not in legislation across the country but it is done in practice similar

to they're using the information in other jurisdictions when it comes to

they do this, but it's not actually in the legislation. But it is a practice

that is done.

What

I will do is ensure to forward that information to you. I will make sure

that the answer gets to the Member opposite. I don't think it will prevent

passage of this bill. I understand that she has concerns. I can say the

concern being addressed will not change our position on going forward, but I

think she's taking the opportunity to put it on the record. The answer that

I give her, she's certainly free to put on the record as well.

Again, I apologize for not having it here, but I will endeavour to get it to

you today.

MR. SPEAKER:

Is it the pleasure of the

House to proceed and to adopt the motion that Bill 24,

An Act Respecting

Insured Medical And Hospital Services In The Province be now read a third

time?

All

those in favour, 'aye.'

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Aye.

MR. SPEAKER:

All those against, 'nay.'

Carried.

CLERK:

A bill,

An Act Respecting

Insured Medical And Hospital Services In The Province. (Bill 24)

MR. SPEAKER:

Bill 24 has now been read

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

the Order Paper.

motion, a bill,

An Act Respecting Insured Medical And Hospital Services In

The Province, read a third time, ordered passed and its title be as on the

Order Paper. (Bill 24)

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Government

House Leader.

MR. A. PARSONS:

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I

would now call from the Order Paper, Motion 1, Budget Speech.

MR. SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member for

St. George's Humber.

MR. REID:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's

good to rise today to make a contribution to this budget debate. I've

listened to the other Members who've spoke, with interest, to hear their

various perspectives that have been put forward on this budget. It's

interesting to hear the different perspectives and what people have to say.

are a diverse group here in this House, a lot of different backgrounds, a

lot of different experiences that bring us to the House. But there are a few

things that we all have in common here, Mr. Speaker. We all have been

selected by the people in our district. We all went through the same

process, so we're all equal in that respect. I think that's a basis for

mutual respect and understanding as we go forward.

Another thing I think we have in common is that we are all motivated. The

reason we came here was to make a positive contribution to this province, to

make this place better in the future and to make our areas where we were

elected better in the future as well.

So I

think those are some things that we have in common. We have many things that

we differ on, Mr. Speaker, but we have those things in common. With that

mutual respect and with that sort of will to do the right thing, I think

there's much that we can accomplish here in this House as we serve our time

here and serve the people of the province.

it's great to rise and make a contribution to the debate. Madam Speaker,

before I begin to get into my comments, I just wanted to sort of, for the

purposes of any viewers at home, give a little

summary of what the budget

process is because I think it's important that people understand the budget

process, how it works, what we're actually doing here in the House and

things like that.

First of all, it sort of starts in this House with the Budget Speech on

budget day. Of course, the minister gets up, she reads the speech, and

documents are provided to Members of the House and to the public as well.

But this is sort of like the accumulation of many decision meetings that

lead to the budget and this is the start of the process here in this House.

The

next thing is the budget debate begins here in this House. People bring

forward their views and they speak on the debate. The Opposition usually,

almost always, brings forward a non-confidence motion in the government.

Also to extend the debate, they often bring forward amendments to the

non-confidence motion to give them more opportunities to get up and speak

and to participate in the debate. So it's a tradition that we bring forward

a non-confidence motion that that be debated.

While this is all happening here on the floor of the House, also there are

Estimates Committees that meet in the morning and in the evening. These

Estimates Committees basically outline the expenditures in each department

and how money is allocated to each division within the department. So it's a

very detailed examination of how the money allocated in the budget is

actually spent.

That's the whole process that we're going through now as we debate this

budget. It's important to note as well that the budget itself and, indeed,

any finance legislation is a confidence motion in this House because it's

assumed in Westminster parliamentary democracy that if you can't pass your

financial legislation, then you don't have the confidence of the House. So

it's sort of a very important principle of a parliamentary democracy. So

that's some information about the budget process that we're going through

and how we're doing it, Madam Speaker.

my comments on the budget today, I want to start off by giving you some

questions that I intend to address as I speak today. I want to look at what

is the current state of the provincial finances. How did we get to where we

are today and what is the path that led us to where we are now?

Madam Speaker, I want to do this, and not in the sense of a blame game or

any type of political game, but I just want to look at that a little bit in

terms of getting better informed, to get a sense of how we can make better

choices in the future. I also want to discuss some of the choices we are

making here today and how they are limited by the choices that were made in

the past. That's some of the things I want to do in the time I have

available to me today.

Madam Speaker, if we look at our history and the financial state of the

history of this province, even back hundreds of years, the history of

finances in Newfoundland and Labrador, it's never been bright. It's never

been a rosy picture. We've been primarily dependent on one staple economy in

our early years, the fishery. Our economy was sort of determined by the ups

and downs of the fishing industry and international markets. So we have a

history of dependence on one staple economy.

Back

in the 1930s, when we were an independent country, we came very close to

actually going bankrupt. So we've had a history of rough financial times in

the past. We have a number of challenges as a province. We have a sparse

population over a huge geographic area. Our settlement patterns in this

province were determined hundreds of years ago as people settled in various

locations to pursue the fishery and that has had many consequences on the

cost of delivery of government services in our province. It's the way

population patterns arose, Madam Speaker.

For

example, we have less than 500,000 people spread over a space that is three

times as big as the three Atlantic Provinces put together, Mr. Speaker

Madam Speaker. Sorry, it's going to take a while for me to get used to Madam

Speaker, but I will.

It's

a very difficult problem. We have a small population spread over a huge

area. On top of this, we're faced with harsh climatic conditions, harsh

geography that makes it difficult to build roads. It makes it difficult for

us to move around to do other things, provide other government services.

summarize, it costs us more to provide roads, transportation facilities, to

deliver health care and education and other government services, Madam

Speaker. Some economists have gone so far as to say we're an ungovernable

place. We're a place where it's difficult to provide services.

Madam Speaker, this geography and this climate has played a big

part in

shaping us as a people, who we are as a people. These difficulties we face

have shaped us in many ways. Very few places do you have people who are as

emotionally connected and socially connected as people in Newfoundland and

Labrador are connected to the place where we live. These realities have made

us a tough and resilient people, and determined to survive in this

environment.

get back to the finances of the province, the potential of oil and gas was

believed to change this dependency from one commodity. It was billed in the

early days as something that would solve all the problems we faced and make

everything right.

Now,

just a little bit about oil exploration in Newfoundland and Labrador. First

oil exploration in Newfoundland and Labrador started under Smallwood in the

1960s. Right from the beginning, jurisdiction was an issue, Madam Speaker.

Smallwood, in his flamboyant fashion maybe, the one thing he did to make

Newfoundland's point was he hired some divers to take a Newfoundland flag

and place it in the seabed off our coast to demonstrate and to claim this

territory as Newfoundland territory. So it's interesting to see.

The

first well was drilled in 1966. In the 1970s more wells were drilled with

the assistance of the PIP program, tax incentives from the federal

government. Hibernia was discovered in 1979. That was the sort of time when

optimism started to rise in this province.

can all remember the famous words of Brian Peckford: Some day the sun will

shine and have not will be no more. But to give former Premier Peckford his

due, he was very instrumental in putting in place the Atlantic Accord which

benefitted this province in many ways.

The

mood of the province with the discovery of Hibernia, which was eventually

developed, some stops and goes in terms of the challenges that the

government of the day faced as Hibernia was being developed. It was the

beginning of the oil industry in this province.

The

history of our management of the oil industry in this province is not such a

happy story, Madam Speaker. If we look at some of the warnings of the

management of our oil resources, there are many warnings that there were

problems in the way our oil revenue was being managed during the time of

peak oil and top oil prices.

The

AGs reports over this period, Madam Speaker, demonstrate problems with the

way we as a province managed this oil revenue. In 2012, the Auditor General

issued several warnings. The AG talked about growing the economy between the

rich and the poor and also between regions of the province. He noted there

was very little diversification in the province and the economy away from

the energy sector, the over dependence upon the energy sector, Madam

Speaker, and also our overall reliance on oil.

Madam Speaker, here's a quote from the AG's report: Given its lack of

control over the factors that impact oil royalties, and its increasing

reliance on this revenue source, Government has to carefully consider the

degree to which it can rely on this revenue source to fund its programs and

services in the future. That's a clear warning from the Auditor General.

The person who sort of critiques the government finances and how government

spends money, the independent AG's office, that's the comments the AG was

making at that time.

Madam Speaker, that wasn't in isolation. Other people, other commentators

and journalists were making comments about the growing size of the civil

service, about the spending spree that was happening. That was also evident

at that time.

Also, if an examination of the experiences of other jurisdictions that had

discovered oil was done, it would have shown that in many cases places that

have won the resource lottery often end up worse off than places that didn't

discover oil, Madam Speaker. So if we had to have managed that $20 billion

to $30 billion we were getting from oil revenue better, we would have a much

different story today, a much different budget today than we do. That's an

important point.

think we still have time to get this right, Madam Speaker. We still have

time to change the way we manage our resource revenue. We still have a lot

of potential in oil and gas off our coast. We've had some new discoveries;

we also have many areas that are still untouched in terms of exploration.

I'm confident we will get a second chance. We'll get another chance to do it

right if we learn from the mistakes we made in the past.

Madam Speaker, I've had an opportunity to talk to many people from my

district about some of the provisions that are in the budget. I've talked to

people by phone, by email, on Facebook, met them in their homes, went to

rallies related to the budget and talked to people individually. I want to

thank the people who've contacted me. I want to thank the organizers for

various events.

think it's important to have that type of dialogue in our province about

where we're going in the future, and to be able to bring those concerns to

our caucus table. That's what democracy is all about. It's about listening

to people, engaging people and bringing their concerns forward. It's not

about people yelling insults at each other or some sort of got you

politics. It's about really engaging people and hearing what they have to

say. It's about meaningful engagement, Madam Speaker. The path we're taking

is not an easy path, but I think it's a necessary path; a path that we have

to take.

was interested in hearing the comments from the Member for Corner Brook a

few days ago when he talked about kicking the can down the road or kicking

the problem down the road for our children to deal with. It's interesting

that we've reached the point where if we don't deal with this situation now,

in the future not the distant future but the near future, within six years

we will be in a position where we'll have to take much more drastic action

to deal with the circumstances we find ourselves in. I think we can move

forward and deal with the situation we have now, Madam Speaker.

started off by talking about the two things we have in common, Madam

Speaker: the fact that we're all here and selected by the people in our

district, and also the fact that we're all here motivated by the will to do

good things for this province and our district. I think working together and

taking those two things into account, we can treat each other with respect

and we can solve these problems we face.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER (Dempster):

Order, please!

The

hon. the Member for Mount Pearl North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MR. KENT:

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I'm

pleased to have an enthusiastic cheerleader with me today in the Opposition

benches. I'm not sure I'm going to get a lot of cheers from the other side

of the House but you never know. Stranger things have happened in this hon.

Chamber.

Madam Speaker, I'm happy to have a chance to take

part in the budget debate.

I think it's imperative that all MHAs stand and be counted, and have a say

during this budget debate. This is the third opportunity in this formal part

of the debate that I've had to speak. There will be other opportunities, not

necessarily as part of this formal part of the budget motion, but there will

be Concurrence debates, and there will be debates on bills that relate to

the budget. So I thank the Member for St. George's Humber for giving

people a bit of a sense of what this process looks like and feels like

because it can be somewhat confusing.

Before I get into my remarks, I do want to pay tribute to a group of

students and educators in my district and in my community of Mount Pearl,

and also in Paradise. Last night, the Member for Mount Pearl Southlands

and I had an opportunity to attend the

Etcetera show which is put on by students of Mount Pearl Intermediate

and Mount Pearl Senior High school. Students from the feeder elementary

schools also take

part in Etcetera .

The

reason I'm raising it and both the Member for Mount Pearl Southlands and

I at least once a year, at some point in this House, will congratulate the

students on an amazing Etcetera

performance. The reason I'm choosing to make special mention of it during my

limited time today, Madam Speaker, is that it was the 30th anniversary of

the Etcetera show 30 years.

want to salute the Goulding family. All members of the Goulding family are

intimately involved in the production and have been since its inception. In

particular, Carl Goulding, who is one of the music teachers at Mount Pearl

schools, has been running this show for 30 years. It involves hundreds of

students taking

part in a musical production each and every year. If you

haven't seen it, I say to hon. Members and also to people in the region,

it's on until Saturday night. There are tickets available each night. It

would be well worth your while to go to the Mount Pearl Glacier and see our

young people in action.

It's

not just a small group of choral students; hundreds of students take

part in

what is an amazing theatrical musical production. I want to commend,

particularly, Carl Goulding, but the entire Goulding family for their

tremendous commitment and leadership.

know the Member for Mount Pearl Southlands will join me in extending

congratulations to them as well. It was an amazing production again last

night. My family enjoyed the show. I know the Member for Mount Pearl

Southlands and his family enjoyed the show as well.

The

song he was most impressed by last night was a song called Jolene. I don't

know if any of you have heard it before, but we were both toe-tapping

together last night at the Glacier.

AN HON. MEMBER:

Sing a verse.

MR. KENT:

I won't sing it. I say to

the hon. Members, not now. Maybe at the next karaoke fundraiser in Mount

Pearl but not here in this hon. House.

Madam Speaker, I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on the previous speech by

the Member for St. George's Humber. I want to commend him in recent days

for standing up for his constituents and raising concerns in local media in

his district about the closure of libraries and how that's going to impact

communities he represents. I believe Stephenville Crossing is in his

district and I think there's a library closing there. I believe there's one

other in the area. I know there's a library closing in four libraries in

his district. There's one in Piccadilly, in the neighbouring district that's

closing as well.

commend him for speaking out, but my concern and I say this respectfully

is he just had an opportunity for 20 minutes to take

part in the formal

debate on the budget where we're debating the budget motion to adopt the

budgetary policies that have been presented by this government and he didn't

mention it. I think that's rather unfortunate, Madam Speaker.

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. KENT:

I know I'm being heckled.

That's fine. This needs to be said.

The

challenge I'm having with this entire process is that people are saying one

thing and doing another. So it's fine to go to Facebook or go to your local

newspaper or whatever and raise concerns on behalf of your constituents, but

you also have to stand in this House and be counted. We all have a

responsibility to raise concerns on behalf of our constituents. I hope in my

time today I'll raise some of the concerns they have with this budget.

commend the Member for speaking out. I hope when the time comes to formally

stand and be counted, when we vote on this motion, that he won't support

this budget and the impact that it's having on his district.

It's

not the only impact. The libraries are not the only negative impact on his

district. I also believe there are Child, Youth and Family Services offices,

at least one closing in his district. There's one closing in Stephenville

Crossing. I believe there's one in Piccadilly that's closing as well. This

wasn't mentioned in the minister's budget speech. There was reference to

offices closing in Port Saunders and Gambo, but the ones in Stephenville

Crossing and Piccadilly didn't get mentioned for some reason. I don't know

why that is but it's unfortunate.

I'd

encourage Members and I say this sincerely to not just take to the local

media and empathize and sympathize with your constituents when you're

talking to them in your communities, but also stand in this House, take the

opportunity during the various debates on the various aspects of this budget

to raise those concerns, because that's what we're elected to do, Madam

Speaker. That's why yesterday's recall motion was so important, because that

would have created another opportunity for constituents to have a greater

voice and have more of an opportunity to hold their constituents

accountable.

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible).

MR. KENT:

He has lots to say now, Madam Speaker, but he just had 20 minutes and didn't

raise one single concern.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MADAM SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MR. KENT:

He didn't raise one

single concern on behalf on his constituents. He gave a very informative

talk about budget theory, but he didn't raise concerns on behalf of his

constituents and I think that's rather unfortunate.

So I

do want to raise some concerns on behalf of mine, but one of the interesting

challenges we're having over here these days is that there are seven of us

representing seven districts and the New Democratic Party represents another

couple of districts, but we're hearing from government districts as well.

We're hearing from people who have concerns about what's going on in their

communities, but when Members stand they're not hearing those concerns being

brought to the floor of the House.

One

that I was asked to bring to the floor of the House, and I suspect the

Minister of Justice will participate in the debate at some point today and

he may be able to answer some of the questions on the issue I'm about to

raise. It relates to the closure of the court in Wabush, Labrador. I'm going

to share with you some of the concerns I've received directly from people in

Labrador West.

haven't been able to validate every single one of these concerns. I suspect

the minister does have the information, though, and he has been in the past

very willing to answer questions and provide information. I'm not raising

these concerns to be argumentative or confrontational. I've been asked on

behalf of constituents in Labrador West to bring these concerns to the House

of Assembly, which is what I'm now going to take a couple of moments to do.

They

say the closure of the Wabush court cannot be justified in their view. Now

the Justice Minister would have access to different information, of course,

than some of the folks who would be raising these concerns and they would

bring a different perspective to it as well. So he may be able to shed some

more light on why the decision makes sense in his eyes or in the eyes of

government.

One

of the points that has been made is that the physical building where the

court is located won't be closing, and there will be costs of maintaining

that building that will be more or less the same. So there are no major

savings as a result of shutting down a facility related to the court.

Interestingly enough, the building that these court services will basically

be relocated to in Goose Bay is a rented facility. So the one in Wabush is a

government-owned building and the one in Goose Bay isn't. Now I would argue

given the distance between Labrador West and Happy Valley-Goose Bay that

there's a need for two courts and for two locations. The minister may be

able to shed some light on that for us.

The

suggestion has also been made, and perhaps it's even been said, I'm not

certain, that the province will have to pay relocation costs for a number of

employees. They will be placed in a rented building. They'll be flown back

and forth to Labrador West for circuit court. So there will be travel costs

associated with this. There'll be hotels, flights and per diems.

Effectively, for a couple of weeks a month, these staff will go back and sit

at the very same desks in Wabush that they're sitting at today.

The

other thing I've been asked to raise, Madam Speaker, is that the jobs being

relocated to Happy Valley-Goose Bay doesn't provide a solution for many

families in Labrador West. We're not talking about communities that are

close together. We're not talking about St. John's and Mount Pearl, or

Conception Bay South and Paradise; we're talking about communities that are

hundreds of kilometres away from one another.

moving to Goose Bay isn't an option for many of these families. They have

families in Wabush or in Labrador City. They have spouses who are working in

Labrador West, and many are locked into mortgages. Frankly, given the

downturn and given the closure of the mine, it isn't a great time to be

trying to sell your house in Labrador West.

know there are efforts being made to get the mine reopened in Wabush. I'm

hopeful the future for IOC and Labrador City will be bright, but right now

it's a very tough time to try and sell real estate in Labrador West.

Now

there are people on the ground in Wabush who are saying that when the

decision was made to close the court the minister didn't have the

information that the family court actually took place in Wabush. I don't

know whether that's accurate or not. The minister is saying it isn't, and I

respect that. Again, what I've been asked to do is raise concerns that have

been brought to me by constituents in Labrador West and I know the minister

appreciates that.

It's

been stated as part of the debate on this issue publicly that a lot can be

done via the Internet today, and I'll acknowledge that. The Member for St.

George's Humber mentioned that we have a vast geography to cover. I know

during my brief time in the Department of Health and Community Services we

were constantly looking on how to better avail of Telehealth and modern

technology to better connect people in the province and to provide them with

a similar level of service, no matter where they live in the province.

acknowledge that the use of technology to better provide services to rural

areas is important, no doubt, but it's a two-way street. Perhaps if there

are some services that are being moved to Goose Bay, perhaps people in that

region could also, through technology, access those services if they were to

be maintained in Wabush.

Another argument that's been put forward by the people of Labrador West is

that it makes sense to have a court located near the border of our province

in Labrador, near the Labrador boarder. I think that's an interesting point

that needs to be raised as well.

One

of the most emotional arguments that's been presented by people I've talked

to in Labrador West is they can't afford to lose any more jobs. The region

has been hard hit. I know the previous administration was working with the

region. I know the new administration is working with the region to try and

ensure a strong economy for that region of our province which generates

incredible economic activity that benefits not just that region of Labrador,

but of course the entire province. So it's a region right now that can't

afford to lose more jobs.

On a

related note, another question that's been asked to me by people in Labrador

West is about some jobs that are being eliminated in other departments.

Apparently, there are some vacant positons in Natural Resources that are

being cut. There are some safety officer jobs in Wabush that are being cut.

So at a really critical time for the Labrador West region, these cuts are

taking place.

know government has really tough decisions to be made and some of those

decisions probably feel impossible, but these concerns that are being raised

by the people in Labrador West, I feel, are ones that are worthy of

consideration.

have some other notes here that were sent by another resident of Labrador

West. Some of them are the same, so I'll try not to be repetitive, Madam

Speaker. There was concern about the statistics that had been presented to

support the decision to close the court in Wabush.

What's being suggested by people close to the court in Wabush who don't wish

to be identified because they perhaps are employees of government or

employees of the court, they're saying the numbers look so low for the

Wabush court because some of the activity of the Wabush court is being

logged under Happy Valley-Goose Bay. What I mean is some of the video

conferencing that is being done by the Wabush judge has been logged under

the Goose Bay court.

push back on that point because I have no doubt there would never be a

deliberate attempt to misrepresent the facts and figures, but the people

providing me with this information seem very confident that this is the

case.

Any

circuit court completed by the Wabush judge and staff is logged under Goose

Bay's court. So of course if that's happening on a daily basis or a weekly

basis, it's going to look like the Goose Bay court is far busier than the

court in Wabush, if some of Wabush's activity is being logged under Goose

Bay's.

Along with the judge and the court staff, as I mentioned previously, the

sheriffs will also have to travel to Wabush. There are currently two

sheriffs who are scheduled to lose their jobs in Wabush. So maybe there's a

better way forward to make that work, and the minister may be able to

comment on that as well, if he does get an opportunity during the debate

today or next week.

Wabush also has a heavy load of transcription work that's being completed,

often for other courts throughout the province. So again, that may not be

reflected on the number of cases on the docket in Wabush, but I'm being told

there's a considerable amount of transcription work being completed by the

Wabush court that would benefit the whole court system throughout the

province. So keeping that work in Labrador West is good for everybody,

potentially.

People have been wondering where the new staff will come from for the new

judge and where the files will be stored. I don't know if the minister will

be able to comment on that level of detail at this point, but again I'm

raising the concerns that have been brought to me on behalf of people in

Labrador West.

So,

overall, people are feeling it hasn't been demonstrated there will be

significant savings as a result of some of these issues that are being

raised. Someone even said to me the numbers are being cooked to make Goose

Bay look busier than it is. I don't believe for a second that the Department

of Justice would do that; I honestly don't. But perhaps because of how those

numbers are being tracked and administered that there is a legitimate issue

here, and that the numbers that are being presented don't really paint the

full picture of the level of activity at the court in Wabush. The concern is

that the workload is not properly being reported when speaking about Wabush.

Anyway, I thank you for the opportunity to raise those concerns on behalf of

the people of Labrador West. I appreciate the Justice Minister's attention.

He has been taking notes and listening as the concerns have been raised, so

I'm hopeful that we'll be able to get some answers for the people in

Labrador West.

Madam Speaker, unfortunately, I only have a couple of minutes left, but I do

want to raise some concerns on behalf of yet another school in my district

that has been brought forward. The building is not technically in my

district I'm sure the Member for Mount Pearl Southlands will correct me,

but a good percentage of the students that go to St. Peter's Junior High

feed into the school from my district. The students from Mary Queen of the

World, for instance, all go to St. Peter's Junior High. They're French

immersion students at St. Peter's Primary and Newtown Elementary that would

ultimately feed in.

The

school council and the parents at St. Peter's Junior High have a number of

concerns. I'll raise them again next week because I only have a couple of

minutes now. I'm looking at the clock if the people watching are wondering

what I'm doing.

The

junior high changes to class-size caps are causing a real concern. There's a

fear that will significantly impact curriculum outcomes and

classroom-management issues. As well, there's a concern about whether junior

high students will be adequately prepared to enter senior high based on

these changes. Junior high doesn't have the option to stream students, nor

are there online distance education options available. Junior high is a very

challenging time in students' lives, as I know all Members of this House

would appreciate.

The

school has some real concerns about inclusive education. Class-size changes

combined with the lack of resources that have been allocated to inclusive

education will further impede the success of children in our school.

I'm

not going to blame the Liberal government of under-resourcing when it comes

to inclusive education. This budget makes things far worse, no doubt about

it, but I would acknowledge that resourcing inclusive education in our

schools has been a challenge for a long time, through various

administrations of government. It's a real issue that does need to be

addressed, given some of the changes to education that are now being made.

Teaching units are being eliminated that were used in a curriculum or a

support manner, including in intensive core French and French immersion.

Those programs shouldn't be cut harder than the rest of the system. French

programs in our schools are under-resourced as it is. There's no new

investment in pervasive needs or the IRT allocation, no change in guidance

counsellor supports and much more.

Madam Speaker, I'm out of time. Next week, I will raise more concerns on

behalf of people in my district.

want to wish all mothers in the province and those who play a motherly role

in the lives of people a Happy Mother's Day this Sunday as well.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MADAM SPEAKER:

The hon. the Member

for Harbour Grace Port de Grave.

MS. P. PARSONS:

Thank you.

think this would be my second time rising in this hon. House, my first time

speaking to the budget. I have yet to give my maiden speech which I look

forward to doing I guess sometime before we close our spring session.

Before I start off, I would like to acknowledge the folks in Alberta and

Fort McMurray. As mentioned here previously, this province, of course, has a

deep connection with those in Fort McMurray. A lot of my constituents'

family members are currently there. I spoke with a constituent this morning,

her daughter and her husband and two small children, of course, had to

travel a significant distance and are now staying in other accommodations.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MADAM SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Can

I ask Members to take their conversations outside so we can hear the

speaker?

Thank you.

MS. P. PARSONS:

Thank you for your

protection, Madam Speaker.

Yes, as I was saying, I'm also happy and proud that our minister and our

government have made contact with the Province of Alberta to let them know

we have resources, personnel and equipment on standby upon request.

It's

really interesting, Madam Speaker, hearing all the budget debate, hearing

the Opposition Members and whatnot and the pleas they are putting forward. I

do believe that it's important to go back and review some of the very recent

actions of the government, the previous administration.

want to bring us back to Bill 29. As we know, Bill 29

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MS. P. PARSONS:

That's right. Bill

29, as we know How long ago was that? It was two to three years back for

Bill 29. If I'm not mistaken, I believe it was the longest filibuster in the

history of Newfoundland and Labrador. There was severe opposition by the

Opposition Parties, by the members of the public and even the media for that

matter. It was said that Bill 29 put us back in the category of Third World

countries with regard to rights and access to information.

This

went on for some time. We know some big legislation was pushed under the

cloak of Bill 29 such as Muskrat Falls. Again, it blocked access to

information because legislation was put forward.

ask over there, despite the pressure that was received from constituents and

members of the public, how many Opposition Members now, which were

government at the time, stood up and voted against Bill 29 despite the

pressures they were hearing? How many I wonder. Madam Speaker, I wonder how

many.

The

Opposition is so keen now to stand on a soapbox and say: Stand with your

people and vote this way, vote against your government, stand up.

AN HON. MEMBER:

A voluntary recall.

MS. P. PARSONS:

Absolutely, but you

know I'm very confident that every elected Member in this House is here for

their constituents. I can speak for myself. I am in touch with my

constituents every day and every evening. Since the budget has been

discussed here I have been on the phone until about 10:30 or even later

every evening.

Not

only that, my weekends are dedicated to my constituents and the activities

going on. I'm a very big part of the community and I support them 100 per

cent. That is exactly why I got involved with politics in the first place.

It was always part of my long-term plan at some point in my career to put

myself up for public office.

Prior to my journalism days, I studied political science and completed my

political science degree at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax.

Following this, I went on to complete the radio and television arts program

in the Annapolis Valley for the NSCC with a major in journalism. I guess,

given my schooling, it was about a decade in the journalism profession.

Then, of course, I made the leap

was actually approached to get involved earlier than when I did. At the

time, the timing wasn't right. It was, of course, during this time which I'm

here now. I'm very grateful for my constituents who put me here as their

representative. I will represent their concerns.

Being on the phone with them every night, meeting with them; I've been

having meetings with smaller groups because I find that to be very

productive, to meet with crowds, smaller crowds, organizations and town

councils to hear their concerns. I am bringing their concerns back to the

ministers and back to the Premier. That's what we do as a team and I will do

that. They're my first priority in this and you can mark that down. Every

day and night as the day is long that will be my priority, to represent the

people of Harbour Grace Port de Grave District, the 15,000 constituents

that I represent. I will certainly continue to do so.

Every day I get a chance you'll hear the words Coley's Point Primary in this

hon. House because this is a top priority for the District of Harbour Grace

Port de Grave. As I mentioned here recently in a petition, with some

research we found a letter dated back in 2007. It was a recommendation by a

consulting firm that the current building had exceeded its usefulness and

that it was a top priority and a recommendation to replace this building.

This

is in a community. We have an expanding population. The school, Coley's

Point Primary from K to 3, services children from Port de Grave, Bareneed,

Coley's Point, Bay Roberts, Shearstown and Butlerville. Currently, we have

over 350 students attending Coley's Point Primary.

mentioned, this school is a 60-year-plus facility, a 350 student population.

I've been to the school many times, especially getting involved on my

political journey. These students currently are using closet space. There is

no cafeteria in Coley's Point Primary. The children are eating on their

working desks. We all know at that age with crayons, the pencils and leads,

the germs that are there.

understand, with all due respect, with the oncoming of all-day kindergarten

that students in other areas of the province will now have to use their

classrooms as eating spaces, but unfortunately, this is what the students of

Coley's Point have been used to. That's all they know, actually.

will continue to work with the minister on this. We know there's been money

allocated for Coley's Point Primary in multiple budgets. I ask the Member

opposite: Where was the priority for Coley's Point Primary? It was listed to

be replaced but what happened? It got shuffled down the list.

Every child in a school deserves to learn and grow in a healthy, optimal

education facility, but I have to ask: What happened with the children in

Coley's Point Primary? Where was the former Member on Coley's Point Primary

in the past three budgets? For years to come this is a passionate issue. I

will not give up this fight for Coley's Point Primary.

Also

a big concern I am hearing in my district, obviously, is the slated closure

of the courthouse in the Town of Harbour Grace. We know there have been

court services provided since the 1800s in this town. It services districts

such as Harbour Port de Grave, Carbonear Trinity Bay de Verde,

Placentia St. Mary's and Harbour Main. Some 50,000 people come through the

doors of these court services. The concerns are being brought to me, and I

will continue working with the minister, and representing and voicing the

concerns of my constituents. There is work to be done and I am 100 per cent

committed to that.

course, going back to the list of things I also want to bring forth because

I really believe since the Members opposite are so adamant about educating

or informing the public, not necessarily factual information is being put

forward. Before I leave, let's talk about Bill 29. Finally, they

caved after the public pressure. They hired a panel at the expense of

taxpayers, and a whopping million dollars plus, unfortunately, to then

remove legislation that was put forth. It was then removed, after the work

had been done, mind you. After Muskrat Falls had been pushed through it was

removed, at a cost of a million dollars.

I also have to bring forward now we can't forget the

infamous Humber Valley Paving fiasco. What happened

at Humber Valley Paving? Is it a coincidence, Madam Speaker, that Humber

Valley Paving had a direct connection to one of our candidates for the

candidate for the PC leadership? What happened?

understand Mr. Bill Barry, a big player in the fishery here in the Province

of Newfoundland and Labrador, was also interested in running, putting his

name forward here for the PC leadership. That didn't happen; however, Mr.

Coleman graciously came forward. We do know hours before that paper was

submitted, magically the contract for Humber Valley Paving disappeared, but

it didn't disappear for free. It disappeared at a cost of $19 million to

taxpayers' money.

AN HON. MEMBER:

How much?

MS. P. PARSONS:

Nineteen million

dollars. Right there, that is the cost for Coley's Point Primary school. We

were looking at our Coley's Point Primary school in comparison to Humber

Valley Paving.

MS. MICHAEL:

(Inaudible.)

MS. P. PARSONS:

That's right. The

Member for St. John's East Quidi Vidi is vocal as she always is. We

appreciate that, Madam Speaker.

Again, the $19 million and there's something else,

too, that we want to

bring forward I stand to be corrected on this, Madam Speaker, but we were

due in the legislation in 2016 to review boundaries changes

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh, oh!

MADAM SPEAKER:

Order, please!

MS. P. PARSONS:

for the electoral

districts because we know this was something the then Opposition leader, now

the Premier, of course, committed to reviewing; but as we know, the Members

opposite, the government of the day, jumped the gun on that one and oh, yes,

at this time now we need a boundary change. We need to slash eight seats

were slashed in the Legislature. Absolutely, the districts were removed.

AN HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

MS. P. PARSONS:

I wasn't in this

government at the time last year. The hon. Member who I admire, by the way,

I wasn't here to vote on that one; but, as we know, all of a sudden this

became very urgent to do this. This came at a hefty cost, unfortunately. As

I said, eight seats were slashed. Each Member has now taken on significantly

more constituents; however, I'm grateful for the district I represent.

Magically, the Town of Harbour Grace got moved to the Port de Grave

District. They have never been in the same district in the time of history

in Newfoundland and Labrador, to have Harbour Grace grouped with Bay

Roberts. They're both large centres; however, Harbour Grace has a special

place in my heart. It always will. I was educated down there in the Catholic

system at the former St. Columba's Harbour Grace Primary. The support that I

continue to receive in Harbour Grace is phenomenal. I appreciate their

support. As a matter of fact, I work closely I'm touch with those

constituents daily. I spend a lot of my time in beautiful Harbour Grace.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

MS. P. PARSONS:

Which, I add, was

slated to be the capital of this province at one time. It would be wonderful

if that was the case today.

Also, in the dying days of the government, the previous administration,

there was no question there was $25 billion in oil royalties over the past

decade came through. Where's that money now? Where was the diversifying of

our economies?

were born and we live on the fishery here in Newfoundland and Labrador. The

fishery is paramount here in this province. Where was the diversification

for our natural resources when we were flooded, when we were rich with oil

money? Where is it gone now?

really want to point out that it's important, of course, to voice the

concerns of all constituents, but I would have much more respect and more

peace of mind if the Member's opposite would please take responsibility for

where you've brought the province's finances. It's an insult to the

electorate to stand there waving and bringing up claims and pleas that have

never been mentioned previous until now when you find yourself in

Opposition.

Back

to the fishery, this is definitely a difficult budget. It's an ugly budget.

I'll call it an ugly budget. I continue to get concerns daily. Again, I will

voice the concerns of my constituents with the ministers and with our

Premier. But it is encouraging that amid the spending reductions in other

areas, we are investing $2 million in the Seafood and Aquaculture Innovation

and Transition Program with the aim of supporting technology innovation in

this critical part of the economy.

ultimately, it's an entire investment of $18.2 million and that includes

aquaculture, innovation, licensing, enforcement, industry renewal and

marketing. It's important to note again how important the fishery is. It's

very important to my Dist