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March 10, 2026 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol. LI No. 6

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

SPEAKER (Lane): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

I would like to welcome to the Speaker’s gallery today, former St. John’s mayor, former MHA, Shannie Duff, and might I just add, an individual who I have had the utmost respect for.

She will be the subject of a Member’s statement today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Accompanying Ms. Duff is Debbie Hudson.

Welcome.

Also in the Speaker’s gallery is someone who certainly does not need an introduction. Welcome to the pride of Newfoundland and Labrador, Brad Gushue.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Brad is the subject of a Ministerial Statement today.

Accompanying Brad are his wife, Krista, his parents, Ray and Maureen Gushue, his sister, Natasha, and he is also accompanied by a number of other family members including Parker Tipple, Spencer Tipple, Marie Tibbo, Harvey Tibbo, Ray Hanlon, Margo Hanlon, Judy Power, Brian Power, Donna Power as well as Team Gushue’s third, Olympic gold medallist and tremendous athlete in his own right, Mark Nichols.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Today, in our public gallery, I would like to welcome Colin Barry, who is the subject of a Member’s statement. He is accompanied by his Grade 5 class from École St. Matthews.

Welcome everyone.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: I’d also like to welcome individuals from the McSheffrey Resource Centre, which will also be the subject of a Member’s statement today.

Welcome to Justin Taylor, the program lead; Kathy Dicks Peyton, co-chair of the board of directors; and Jim Crockwell, executive director.

Welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Finally, today, we have individuals in our public gallery from the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture, which is the subject of a Ministerial Statement.

Welcome to Mr. Rick Carey, the general manager, and Ms. Chelsea Foley, Agriculture in the Classroom coordinator.

Welcome.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: I’d also like to welcome a new Page to the Chamber today, Ella Niblock, who is from Conception Bay South.

She’s currently enrolled in her third year of social work studies at Memorial University. Ella’s long-term goal is to be a lawyer, and she is scheduled to write her LSAT this July.

Best of luck on your exam, Ella, and welcome to our House of Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

SPEAKER: Today we’ll hear statements by the hon. Members for the Districts of St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi, St. John’s West, Virginia Waters - Pleasantville, Waterford Valley and Windsor Lake.

The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi.

S. O’LEARY: Thank you, Speaker, and – my heart.

I have known Shannie Duff for over four decades, and her outstanding contribution at the municipal level has been complemented by significant contributions at the national level. One of the most significant figures in Newfoundland’s municipal history, she linked urban development and housing issues, seeing it in both an economic and a social perspective.

I was delighted to attend the Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador Conference in November of 2025 for the inaugural Shannie Duff Inspiration Award. This award was recently introduced by the Women and Gender Equity Committee of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador, a committee I was privileged to be a part of. This award honours the former St. John’s mayor’s legacy of leadership, mentorship and community building by recognizing individuals who empower others and drive positive change in their communities.

Shannie was also a Member of this House of Assembly, representing the constituents of St. John’s East from 1989 to 1990.

So the first honourees of the Shannie Duff Inspiration Awards were Mayor Linda Chaisson, Mayor Kelly Power, Councillor Leann Goodyear and Mayor Tammy Fifield.

This award recognizes Shannie’s enduring impact on municipal politics and heritage conservation in Newfoundland and Labrador. I am so honoured to have received a share in her mentorship.

Thank you, and I ask all to congratulate this incredible woman, from this Chamber.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

K. WHITE: Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and celebrate Mr. Colin Barry, the 2025 recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award from Canadian Parents for French.

Mr. Barry is a Grade 5 teacher at École St. Matthew’s. His dedication to French education, passion for cultural enrichment and the community involvement make him a model educator and an inspiration for us all. Mr. Barry creates an immersive learning environment that encourages students, not only to learn French, but to also live it. He integrates Francophone culture, history, music and literature into his lessons, making French meaningful and enjoyable.

Beyond the classroom, he organizes French language activities, celebrations and exchange programs that connect students to Francophone communities both locally and globally. Mr. Barry is highly active in his school community. He coordinates Tigers Got Talent, an annual talent show; he organizes and mentors the Silly Squad, fostering school spirit and inclusion; and he attends many student extracurricular events.

Mr. Barry is a remarkable educator who has gone beyond simply delivering lessons. He has inspired, motivated and truly impacted students’ lives.

Speaker, I ask all Members of this House to join me in congratulating Mr. Colin Barry.

Merci, Monsieur Barry. Félicitations.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Virginia Waters - Pleasantville.

B. DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize an extraordinary woman from my district, Ms. Jaida Lee.

At just 19 years old, Jaida has built a legacy in the sport of baseball. This January, she was selected 14th overall in the league’s inaugural draft by New York to begin her professional career. She currently plays for the men’s UBC Thunderbirds and Team Canada. Jaida has also been inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for being the first female to play in a male baseball competition at the Canada Games, an honour and testament to her exceptional talent, dedication and work ethic.

This is an incredible accomplishment, not only for Jaida and her family, but for the entire community. Her success reflects years of perseverance and commitment, and it serves as an inspiration to young people across Newfoundland and Labrador who dream of pursuing excellence in sports and beyond. Jaida represents our province with pride. She is a powerful role model for young athletes, especially young women, and breaking barriers and showing that anything is possible with determination and support.

On behalf of this House, I congratulate Jaida Lee on her outstanding achievements and wish her every success as she continues to make history.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Waterford Valley.

J. KORAB: Speaker, in the spirit of International Women’s Day, I rise today to recognize an accomplished leader from my district, Karen Sherriffs.

Karen has dedicated much of her career to strengthening sport and recreation in our province. Karen most recently served as CEO of the 2025 Canada Games, an incredible undertaking that brought athletes, volunteers and communities together in celebration of sport and community spirit. Her leadership helped ensure the Games were a tremendous success and left a lasting legacy on athletes.

Building on that success, Karen was recently appointed Chef de Mission for the Team Newfoundland and Labrador for the 2027 Canada Games in Quebec City. Karen’s involvement in the Canada Games dates back decades. She worked with the host society for the 1999 Canada Winter Games in Corner Brook and, since 1999, Speaker, she has been involved in every Canada Games including multiple times as Assistant Chef de Mission.

Her dedication to sport community leadership was also recognized for the King Charles III Coronation Medal. For 21 years, Karen has worked with the City of St. John’s recreation division promoting healthy and active living.

Speaker, Karen Sherriffs continues to inspire through her leadership and commitment to sport, and I welcome all Members to rise to recognize this amazing person from my district of this province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Windsor Lake.

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

I rise in this hon. House to recognize the outstanding work of McSheffrey Resource Centre.

McSheffrey Resource Centre is a vital pillar of support within the District of Windsor Lake, providing essential services and programs that help residents gain access to information, support and opportunities in a welcoming space where individuals and families can connect with resources that strengthen well-being and inclusion.

Through partnerships with local organizations and the dedication of staff and volunteers, McSheffrey ensures residents have access to programs that support learning, social connection and growth. Whether hosting gatherings, offering outreach services or providing space for local initiatives, the centre plays a vital role in bringing people together. Spaces like McSheffrey help build stronger neighborhoods by encouraging collaboration, compassion and mutual support in programs that improve quality of life for residents in the District of Windsor Lake.

I ask all hon. Members to join me in recognizing McSheffrey Resource Centre, and thanking its dedicated team including Jim Crockwell, Justin Taylor, Liz Shallow, Benjamin Williams, Chantal Barron, Annie Warner, Pennie Spurvey, Sophia Rouah and Desiree Mackey, whose work helps strengthen our community and ensures that every resident of Windsor Lake has the support and opportunities that they deserve.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. FORSEY: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, we want to grow more of what we eat and eat more of what we grow, right here at home. This month, we celebrate the people who are making that goal a reality.

We lit the Confederation Building green on Saturday to mark Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month. Our friends at Agriculture in the Classroom are out and about in the province’s schools this month; through stories, music, art contests and other fun activities, they’re talking about the role agriculture plays in our daily lives.

One of the highlights is their new storybook, Hay! Have You Herd? The story follows Abby as she learns how veterinary care helps ensure the food we eat is safe and nutritious. Thank you to Agriculture in the Classroom NL for inspiring a future generation of farmers here at home.

March 15 to 21 also marks Canadian Agricultural Safety Week. Farming can be dangerous work; our farmers follow strict measures to ensure safe workplaces for all. We also offer funding to help them keep their farms safe and strong.

Speaker, join me in celebrating our province’s agriculture professionals for their important work.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune.

E. LOVELESS: Speaker, agriculture is extremely important in our province and, in particular, this month of March. It’s encouraging to see many initiatives highlighting the work of farmers, educators and industry partners.

Agriculture in the Classroom NL continues to do exceptional work, and their new storybook – Hay! Have you Herd? – is a creative way to help young people understand how veterinary care and food safety go hand in hand.

Speaker, as we mark Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month and Canadian Agricultural Safety Week, it’s also a moment to reflect on the broader picture. Farmers across Newfoundland and Labrador are deeply committed to growing more of what we eat, and they are eager to see continued progress toward that goal. Many are navigating rising costs, land availability challenges and the ongoing demands of maintaining safe operations. They appreciate the supports that exist and they also express a desire for programs that are easier to access and more responsive to the realities they face every day.

Speaker, we honour the people who feed us and we remain committed to working collaboratively to ensure agriculture in this province continues to grow.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker, and I thank the minister for an advance copy of the statement.

On behalf of the New Democratic Party, I want to thank all farmers who work tirelessly across our province to keep us healthy and well fed. We must return the favour with better supports, especially when times turn bad and crops fail due to the effects of climate change as we saw last summer.

We look forward to the government fulfilling its commitment to make more Crown land available to farmers and to the development of a 10-year agricultural strategy.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts; and Sport, Recreation and Parks.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

A. BARBOUR: Speaker, Brad Gushue’s retirement marks the end of an extraordinary

chapter in Canadian sports history, a journey that solidly establishes him as the greatest of all time in curling.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

A. BARBOUR: Brad started curling at the age of 13 in 1993, and first represented Newfoundland and Labrador as a junior champion in 1995, at the age of 15 years old. Over the past three decades, he has built a remarkable record as two-time Olympic medallist, a world champion, a six-time Brier winner and 15-time Grand Slam winner.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

A. BARBOUR: His success has made him a true ambassador for our province, as his achievements represent years of dedication, hard work and outstanding sportsmanship. He has changed the way curling is viewed in our province and our country and inspired countless fans.

His final Brier in St. John’s was a heartfelt celebration filled with emotion as fans gave a standing ovation to honour their hometown hero. This moment captured, not just a farewell, but an acknowledgement of how his journey has raised local pride and encouraged young curlers to pursue their dreams.

Brad Gushue is a symbol of perseverance, and his impact, both on and off the ice, is significant. He has trained and motivated generations of curlers, proving that success can come from anywhere, especially in our beloved province. As he steps away from competitive play, his legacy will continue to shine as a source of inspiration for future athletes.

Speaker, I ask all Members of this hon. House rise and join me in congratulating Brad Gushue on an incredible career that has brought immense pride to Newfoundland and Labrador. His achievements and commitment to curling deserves our heartfelt recognition and gratitude.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Waterford Valley.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. KORAB: Thank you, Speaker.

It’s truly an honour to rise here today to join in the recognition from an extraordinary career of Brad Gushue. It’s great to see so many of his family and friends, and teammate, Mark.

For many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, Brad has been more than just a champion curler. He’s been a source of pride in our province; whether its the early days representing Newfoundland and Labrador at the juniors, winning multiple Briers, Grand Slam titles – I still have one of those cheques home in my garage, literally – become world champion curlers and, of course, becoming the first men’s team to win the gold medal at the Olympics, he’s constantly demonstrated his dedication, his resilience and team work, and what it can achieve.

Speaker, I have the privilege of not only being a Member here, of the House of Assembly, but as a former member of Team Gushue, playing alongside Brad in that 2006 Olympics.

Brad’s success was never accidental; they were the result of unwavering dedication, unmatched, hard work ethic and a deep love for sport, qualities I got to experience first hand. His influence reaches far beyond the curling sheets. He has inspired countless young athletes across Newfoundland and Labrador to get involved in sport and to believe that world-class success can happen right here at home.

Just as importantly, Brad has always represented our province with humanity and sportsmanship, making him not only a champion on the ice, but ambassador for Newfoundland and Labrador. As he steps away now from competitive curling, his legacy will continue through the athletes he has inspired and the pride he has brought to the communities across our province.

Speaker, I’d say he’ll go down as the GOAT – for Bernie, that means Greatest Of All Time, just in case you were wondering – but, on behalf of the Official Opposition, I want to thank Brad for what he’s given to the sport here in Newfoundland and Labrador. I look forward to continuing to see him at the Curling Club as we watch our daughters compete in the sport we both love.

Thanks, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi.

S. O’LEARY: Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for the advance copy of the statement.

On behalf of the NDP caucus, I want to congratulate Brad Gushue on his long and storied career in curling and note with pride how his achievements have been reflected on our people and our province.

I cannot help but wonder which young people in our schools might become the next Brad Gushue. That is why we repeat our call from yesterday for this government to make sports more affordable and accessible for everyone in this province, especially those living in more remote areas where travel can be particularly expensive.

Again, I express huge gratitude to Brad Gushue on his incredible athleticism and community inspiration.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

On February 17, the Premier advised the public through the media that the staffer that’s being paid in his office with health care funds was – quote – not part of his transition team.

Yesterday, the Premier gave a different version and said that the staffer was indeed part of the transition team; both can’t be true.

So I ask the Premier: Which version is true?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, while the Members opposite continue to focus on an individual, we are focused on the issues that our current health care system has that have been left over from 10 years of neglect.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Let me speak briefly about one of those.

Recently, I went to Labrador West and met with over 100 seniors and, while we just didn’t talk about cost-of-living and affordable housing issues, we also talked about health care, one of the things they brought up to me about health care was the fact that a significant number of them have to travel every month to St. John’s to have eye injections.

They asked me the question: Why is it not possible to have the specialist come to them instead of all of them having to travel out? Great suggestion; something we’re going to act on.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

I do agree with the Premier, we’re focusing on one individual. The individual that we’re focusing on is the leader of this province, and it’s the Premier.

So I ask again, and I’ll give him an opportunity, tell Newfoundlanders and Labradorians which version is true, because both can’t be true, Premier. You spoke two different facts, only one can be true.

When were you telling the truth, was it on February 17 or was it yesterday? It can only be one or the other.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, let me talk about some facts – the Member opposite wanted to talk about facts, let me talk about facts.

Under the Liberals, from 2016 to 2025, health care spending rose at a percentage of total spending from about 36 to about 40 per cent; total health care spending rose from about $3 billion a year to about $4.45 billion a year; Newfoundland and Labrador had one of the highest levels of per capita health care spending in the country, which sounds like a good thing, but it wasn’t.

Under the Liberals, after a decade in office, we had one of the worst health care outcomes in the entire country. That's exactly the legacy that we’re talking about, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: It’s zero for two on the answers, Speaker.

It’s very clear questions and yes or noes, and we’re not getting the answers and Newfoundlanders and Labradorians aren’t getting the answers.

The Premier has claimed, Speaker, that paying a political staffer from MCP funds is allowable because it comes from a pot of money for administrative purposes. Health care administration and political support are not the same thing, Speaker.

So can the Premier point to the exact language, either in the MCP legislation, the regulations or the NLMA MOU, that allows partisan, political advice in the Premier’s office from health care funds?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Once again, Speaker, let me talk about it. More and more spending; poorer and poorer outcomes. Obviously, something was wrong at the governance level, and that’s why our government was elected by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: The only way we’re going to do that is by consulting with the real experts, the people on the ground, the people who are delivering those systems, handling those issues on a day-to-day basis, and that’s exactly what we are doing. I make zero excuses for spending money to get the best health care service that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador deserve.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: I continue to look at the Premier’s words, zero excuses and zero answers. He’s zero for three, Speaker. Let’s try a fourth time. The political staff contract that this staffer had signed specifically says the political support staff pay plan on file with the Clerk of the Executive Council shall apply to political support staff. Let’s be clear: It does not say to pay from MCP funds; it says they are paid pursuant to the political support staff rules.

So why is the Premier not following the terms of this contract?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, yesterday the Leader of the Official Opposition talked about a letter they had received and referred to yesterday. We believe it is related to another staff member entirely. I would ask the Opposition if they would table that in the House, because quite frankly we believe that they brought misinformation on this particular individual that is quoted in that. Facts are clear and we’ll certainly be focusing on it.

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

We’ll happily table the letter that was written from a private email from the deputy chief of staff as we all know, who should be using government emails when they’re communicating, so we’ll happily table that. We’ll look forward to the information from the Premier about the individual that they did refuse to follow the public service rules on.

So we’re happy to put that information out here, but we look forward to the answer, because it’s not just from us if we’re going to ask those questions. If you want the information, I expect Newfoundlanders and Labradorians want answers as well.

Let’s try for a fifth time, because the Premier is zero for four. The pot of money that the Premier is shockingly comfortable paying political staff from out of MCP dollars is $129 million.

So I ask: Does the Premier think he can spend up to $129 million on political staff as long as they’re doctors?

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

L. EVANS: Speaker, one of the things we’re trying to do is we’re to clarify the misinformation, and the misinformation coming from the Opposition is that the dollars that this doctor, that they are questioning, is being paid for is under MCP money that goes to actually provide health services to patients.

Speaker, that’s not correct. It’s very important that people know that the money is coming out of administration dollars, and that at the end of the day, after 10 years, we look at the huge deficits that have been created by excessive spending with lack of actual service being provided.

We just got to look at the Family Care Teams, Speaker, $20 million for this year, over budget. Nurse practitioners –

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Waterford Valley.

J. KORAB: Thank you, Speaker.

We kind of got an answer there. I guess that’s why they call this Question Period and not question and answer period; but anyway, I digress.

Speaker, the Minister of TI keeps referencing Dr. Browne, a public servant that the minister claims to have learned about when he arrived in the department.

Did the minister not read the public service notification that went out announcing Dr. Browne’s bureaucratic role?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

That’s a moot point. I went in the department, there was someone that was down occupying a space. They never communicated with anyone in the department. When I asked who they were, they were a special advisor to the Premier. When I ask who was paying for him, they said the NLHS is paying for them.

That was my main concern and the Premier made the right move in January. We removed that person from that position because they were not providing any meaningful service to the people of this province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Waterford Valley.

J. KORAB: I guess when a minister takes a role over the department, everyone, should come up and say hello, introduce themselves and give their job description.

But anyway, Speaker, the fact that Dr. Browne continued to work after the change of government means that he was not political staff.

Why would the minister try to make false comparisons when he knows the difference, or does he also not understand the difference between bureaucrats who are not allowed to give political advice and political staff who are paid to give it?

Thank you.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Speaker, I’d guess to say, we’re only 130-odd days in, I would think there are lots and lots and lots of people poked away in this government and in these buildings that this crowd over here, when they were on this side, got them poked.

We haven’t found them all yet. We will get there eventually. They’ve done a great job of hiding them, but I assure you, when we do, we’ll take the corrective action.

We got elected on lower taxes, better health care and safer communities, and we will follow through on every one of those promises that (inaudible).

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

K. WHITE: Speaker, the president of NAPE, Jerry Earle, has said that they are – quote – outraged by the use of health care funds for political purposes. The union says that they’ve offered access to front-line members to provide consultation to the government at no cost, which makes this appointment even more insulting.

Why is the Premier insulting front-line workers?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Thank you, Speaker.

I must say, regarding NAPE and the president, when we met with the president and NAPE for the first time, we were welcomed, we were engaged and what we were told is that it was so refreshing to meet with government officials, Health officials, that were actually engaged in solutions –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: – engaged with working not only with the union, but looking after workers and respecting the workers that provide so much service to the people of this province who rely on access to good health care.

Speaker, I’ve never heard that it’s the staff that’s the problem. It’s always basically the investments and the lack of the investments in proper resources to meet the needs of patients in our province.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Thank you, Speaker.

I’m glad the Minister of Transportation brought up tax cuts because as everybody sees, the price of gas has absolutely skyrocketed over the past week due to the conflict in Iran – spikes which we haven’t seen since 1983.

When the price of gas rose due to the conflict in the Ukraine, our Liberal government cut the gas tax by 50 per cent. Given the increasing rising prices of oil that will continue into the future, will they not only keep our tax cut but lower it further?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, all of us in this House of Assembly are aware of what’s happening in the Middle East and the conflict, and all our prayers are with all of the people in that particular region.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: There are many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who find themselves over there in that region because of work or travel. So our prayers are for their safety as well.

But to the Member opposite’s point, absolutely, the Liberal government did cut the tax on gasoline by 50 per cent, but it was due to expire on March 31. That’s why last week the Minister of Finance introduced legislation to make that cut permanent, just as the Member has asked.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: That does not provide further tax relief to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians when costs are going up.

In a video posted to Facebook in 2022, the current Premier said, a premier – and I quote – controls the amount of taxation that he charges on a litre of gasoline.

If the Premier still believes his words, will he further cut the gas tax for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Speaker, it was those of us and some of my colleagues on the opposite side of the House who stood in this hon. House and voted against the carbon tax which the Liberal government introduced, voted against the sugar tax which the Liberal government introduced, and yes, we fought to make sure that the gasoline tax in Newfoundland and Labrador was cut in half and we’re now going to make it permanent.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. HOGAN: Speaker, at some point in time, they’re going to have to get over the past and recognize that they are the government and they control the levers. Focusing on Liberals – and we all know that the Minister of Energy is a big fan of Prime Minister Carney – but they need to deliver for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians on the promises that they made.

So I’ll put the words of the Premier to him. He said that government does have levers that it can pull to help the people of our province.

Premier, you are running the government. Will you help Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: I’ll repeat it again.

Last week, this government, our government, has introduced legislation to make a commitment, a permanent reduction – not a reduction that was scheduled to expire March 31, but a permanent reduction to gas tax for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

That’s why we’re committed to making sure that people no longer have to pay for medical transportation. That impacts cost of living too, when they have to take out of their pockets to pay for medical transportation. That’s why we’re also going to make sure that no Newfoundlander and Labradorian has to pay to see a nurse practitioner, which they’ve had to do under this former Liberal government for years. That’s going to be taken care of, Mr. Speaker, and we are going to increase the Seniors’ Benefit by 20 per cent.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. the Member for Mount Scio.

S. STOODLEY: Thank you, Speaker.

I have to go off script for a minute. I’ve heard from public servants who need help and are afraid for me to advocate on their behalf to this government, that they will be fired. I just heard the Minister of TI in this Question Period say, in response to public servants, that we haven’t found them all yet.

So I ask the Premier: Are you governing through fear and are you –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Shame!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

S. STOODLEY: I’m flabbergasted that you would say such a thing, Minister.

Should the public servants be afraid here, Speaker?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

AN HON. MEMBER: Shame.

SPEAKER: I said order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

I say to the Member opposite and I say to anyone in this public service, if you’re hired on and you’re doing your job, you have no worries; unlike the previous administration. There was a parade of people being led out by security every day. That will not happen under this administration.

But I will tell you, if you’ve got your political appointees put in different areas, that are just there as a political appointee, well maybe we need to have a deeper look, because we’ve got to try to wrestle down a $1-billion budget deficit you left us, and we’ll do everything in our power to do what’s right.

If they don’t belong there, they will go. If they belong there and they’ve got a meaningful employment, they will stay where they’re to. It’s a pretty simple answer.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia - St. Mary’s.

S. GAMBIN-WALSH: Speaker, last week the Minister of Health called on ‘someone’ to increase mental health care beds. She seems to continue to not acknowledge her responsibilities.

Minister, who are you calling on?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, I’d just like the Member to repeat her question, because either I didn’t hear it correctly or it didn’t seem to….

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia - St. Mary’s.

S. GAMBIN-WALSH: I said, last week, the Minister of Health called on someone to increase mental health care beds. The minister seems to continue to not acknowledge her responsibilities.

Who are you calling on?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, I’ll have to go back through Hansard to actually understand what she said; because, in actual fact, I, as the Minister of Health and as the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Speaker, we will be working to actually increase access to mental health, and not just through virtual, not just through phone, not just through a revolving door of walk-ins, Speaker. We want to make sure that we actually meet the needs of people who need services for mental health supports.

That is actually a diverse spectrum of services. What we’re going to do now is we’re actually going to increase the access to adequate and proper mental health services, Speaker, that people have been calling for the last 10 years, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Placentia - St. Mary’s.

S. GAMBIN-WALSH: Speaker, in the media, the Minister of Health called for extra beds for mental health, but across the country and here in Newfoundland and Labrador, there has been a call to provide supports in the community.

Minister, what is your plan?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, there has been an increase. I recognize there has been an increase in mental health beds. There’s been actually six in Labrador-Grenfell Health region and there has been five in Eastern-Urban region as well; but, Speaker, that’s not enough and that’s what I was talking about, I guess, last week in the House.

The number of beds that are available has not been addressed. We have not looked at the needs, Speaker, and we need to increase the number of beds, but we also have to increase the engagement. When people go in trying to access mental health supports, we need to make sure they have proper engagement because, a lot of times, Speaker, calling or going virtual is not a solution for (inaudible) service.

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Gander.

B. FORD: Thank you.

Speaker, I ask the Minister of Tourism, what is her plan to ensure that the rising cost of fuel will not negatively impact our tourism industry?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts.

A. BARBOUR: Speaker, our new government, the Progressive Conservative government, are focused on making tourism and Newfoundland and Labrador the capital of Canada.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

A. BARBOUR: The economy will fluctuate, and that is a normal thing. It happens on a regular basis and we will assess as we need.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Gander.

B. FORD: Thank you, Speaker.

Given the rising cost of fuel and plans for year-long European flights, will the Minister of Tourism be providing subsidies to airlines?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

A. BARBOUR: Speaker, as I continue working with the proponents, I work with the airlines and the airports, I will continue to have these meetings and assess things as we go so that we can rise Newfoundland and Labrador as the capital of tourism in Canada.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Corner Brook.

J. PARSONS: Speaking of rising, Mr. Speaker, rising oil prices driven by the war in the Middle East are already increasing transportation and shipping costs, and that will impact flights, freight and groceries in our province.

What is the minister’s plan to mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices on groceries and keep them from skyrocketing?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Speaker, I thank the Member for the question.

We know that the gas pricing is very volatile. We know that we see peaks and we see valleys that would occur. We’re not sure as to where this one is going to be.

The minister says, about the affordability measures – and I think they all read our platform several times because I know by the questions, they cite it quite often. They would know that we’ve got many affordability items that would be there. The Premier just addressed the gas tax permanent reduction. That is an investment from the taxpayers to make permanent – $80 million to make it permanent that, in 21 days, gas tax does not rise.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Corner Brook.

J. PARSONS: Speaker, many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are concerned about the rising cost of home heating oil.

Will the government commit to continuing the Liberal government’s home heating supplement and potentially expand it, given the rising costs and expanded revenue that the province may gain?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Again, Speaker, I’d like to refer the hon. Member to our platform book as well, with the myriad of affordability issues that would be there. We know that if we raise the Seniors’ Benefit by 20 per cent, we know that that is going to help out the affordability of the seniors in our province. If we add more than 3,000 children in the Child Benefit, we know that’s going to help families out with affordability.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: We know that if we raise the basic personal exemption, we know that there are 285,000 tax filers out there (inaudible) –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: I’m unsure how many more affordability measures that the Member would suggest that we would have in there.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

SPEAKER: Order, please!

C. PARDY: That is a significant number that we do have in our platform.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burin - Grand Bank.

P. PIKE: Speaker, early childhood educators are raising alarms that they haven’t been provided time to give feedback on the new policies before their contracts end on March 31. They’re worried rates may have to increase to $50 to $100 per day if this is not addressed.

Will the minister allow additional time for consultation?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. DINN: Thank you, Speaker, and I thank the Member for the question.

As I said, children, most valuable resource. Consultations have occurred on this program. Feedback has been received. The documents that have been sent out are based on the feedback, so there’s no determined, concrete contract yet. In fact, we’ve actually extended the feedback period. Going forward, we will have this ready to roll out March 31, and everyone will be happy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burin - Grand Bank.

P. PIKE: Speaker, we’re hearing that the new policies don’t include sick leave provisions.

Can the Minister of Education advise when early childhood educators will be getting the pensions and sick leave they were promised during the Conservative campaign?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

The consultations we’ve had and what’s gone out to the stakeholders is what they brought to the table. So everything that’s included in that is what they brought to the table.

Part of our plan, which I believe they’ve read quite closely, looks at pensions and the like for early childhood educators. That’s a four-year plan. We will be looking at that. We know that early childhood educators are very, very important to our education process and to ensuring that our children are educated at an early age.

So, as we go forward, we will continue to have consultations with the stakeholders. We will honour any commitments we make to them and, hopefully, we’ll have a better system.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, transparency cannot be just rhetoric; it needs action.

So I ask the Premier: When will he release the report of the All-Party Committee on Basic Income to the public?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

C. PARDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand to answer that question as a Member of that Committee. I would see no problem why we wouldn’t release that report, and just an anecdote or a comment on that report is that the first recommendation in the report is that we would lobby the federal government in order to help out with a guaranteed basic income, and that was our request.

We’re going to make that request, knowing that Prince Edward Island, two years ago, made the same request to the federal government and were denied.

So we know that we may not have a lot of optimism for the first recommendation to be achieved, but we will certainly look at releasing that report in short course.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, it has been six months since that report was signed off on – six months – and it sounds like the PCs are following the example of the predecessors and shelving the report to gather dust.

So I will ask this: Will the minister, will the Premier, commit to releasing the report this month, March?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Social Supports and Well-Being.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. WALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member opposite for the question.

I can tell the Member opposite that our government is committed to making lives more affordable for the people of our province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. WALL: We will be releasing that report, Mr. Speaker. I cannot give the Member opposite a time frame but, as my colleague, the Minister of Finance, just said, that report will be released soon. This government has been nothing but transparent and we will continue that when it comes to the basic income report.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

J. DINN: Thank you, Speaker.

Speaker, in light of a former premier being appointed as vice-chair of the National Bank of Canada, his second board position since leaving politics, will the Premier commit to extending the cooling-off period and include board appointments to align the province with the federal standards?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Thank you, Speaker.

It’s something that we’ll certainly take under advisement from the Member opposite. I don’t disagree with him in his recommendation. There are a number of things that we need to clean up around former MHAs, former premiers and stuff, including the provision of office space which we intend to make sure we clean that up as well.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi.

S. O’LEARY: Speaker, right now Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province in Canada that does not make their MHA conflict of interest disclosures publicly available online.

In the spirit of transparency, I ask the Premier when will he make these public and bring us up to the national standard?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WAKEHAM: Again, Speaker, that’s something that we’ll absolutely look at and see the reasons why we’re not similar to what other jurisdictions are and certainly take that into consideration.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi, a quick question.

S. O’LEARY: Speaker, the Premier told the media yesterday that Dr. Whalen was part of the transition team, even though he said the opposite back in February.

If Dr. Whalen had been advising the Premier on health care since the transition, why did it take 100 days to write the federal government advocating for pharmacare?

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services for a quick answer.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

L. EVANS: Speaker, one of my first responsibilities as Minister of Health was actually engaging in a meeting with the federal minister. Then I actually went to Ottawa and had a meeting with the federal minister, along with the Premier, and then I had another meeting, Speaker.

The thing is every time I met with the federal minister, I brought up the fact that Newfoundland and Labrador is excluded from that pharmacare pilot project that they started. We want to be engaged; we want to actually sign on, Speaker.

In actual fact, it’s misinformation to think that we’re not interested. We are. It was the past government, Speaker, that allowed the door to close, basically putting us on the other side of the door and not having the option to actually join in on it, Speaker.

SPEAKER: Order, please!

The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The time for Question Period has now expired.

Orders of the Day – oh, sorry, never mind.

I’m ahead of myself. I’m anxious to get to all this great legislation I’m sure we’re going to be….

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

SPEAKER: I got excited that time.

AN HON. MEMBER: You’ve got to do more homework.

SPEAKER: Yes, I’ve got to do more homework.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

It is my pleasure to table a cost estimate of the cancelled Kenmount Crossing hospital and the infrastructure technical briefing that went along with that announcement.

It’s my pleasure to table those documents here in the House today for all to see.

Thank you much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Any further tabling of documents?

Notices of Motion.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave.

P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.

This petition is calling for more supports for police officers.

WHEREAS our province has experienced significant retention challenges that place a substantial strain on existing police resources, including longer response times to urgent calls for service across the province; gaps in patrol coverage, particularly during peak hours; reports the RNC police force is 80 officers short of an ideal complement;

Therefore, we petition the hon. House of Assembly as follows: We, the undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to increase police staffing to meet the current and projected needs of our communities, recruit more RNC and RCMP officers, improve retention of the hard-working RNC and RCMP officers in our province and engage with the RNC and RCMP on strategies to decrease burnout and improve work-life balance.

Speaker, as we know, just yesterday, it was a lead story actually on NTV news that the RNC are calling that we are significantly below the national ratio on where we should be with regard to our RNC officers. So certainly, we’re calling on government to fulfill their promises. The promise was made, they were going to go above and beyond to hire more police officers, but now they’re walking that back, as we know, to simply focusing on filling vacancies. Well, that’s not what was said, of course, in their election platform. So we’re calling on them to step up and fulfill that promise, one of the many, many promises that was certainly made on the campaign trail.

Also, we’re calling on them to continue the work of the Liberal government, the previous administration, to take actions such as what we did: five new RCMP positions were funded by the Liberal administration for deployment in Happy Valley-Goose Bay as recommended in the Public Safety Review complemented by the Police Transformation Working Group, which I know my hon. colleague is very proud of, and $10 million was allocated for the creation of a Joint-Task Force Unit comprising of both the RCMP and RNC officers.

This unit targets weapons, drugs, contraband enforcement and critical incident response activities, aiming to bolster coordinated enforcement efforts province-wide, Speaker. We provided over $180 million annually for policing services in Newfoundland and Labrador, in both the RCMP and RNC, and, in the last five years, we invested nearly $40 million in additional funding to support RCMP and RNC policing; supports for ongoing police training, equipment, fleet and operational requirements. It was our Liberal government that launched the Police Transformation Working Group in 2023 and its extensive engagement with community partners which continues to help enhance public safety.

I also met recently with the Joint Council of Conception Bay North. They are certainly working on building on these resources. They’re calling for more. We certainly need more policing in this region.

SPEAKER: The Member’s time has expired.

P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety for a response.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

H. CONWAY OTTENHEIMER: Thank you, Speaker.

I’m very pleased to stand here to address this issue of crime; of the issues that we have with respect to escalating crime in our towns and communities throughout the province.

I can assure residents of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador that our government is working closely with our partners, with communities and with police agencies to ensure that public safety is a priority.

I can also say, in regard to that, I’ve met regularly with many organizations. I’ve met with MHAs. I met with the opposite Member who has raised this petition. I’ve met with the town council as well in Conception Bay North. I was at that very meeting that the Member for Harbour Grace - Port du Grave was in attendance. I’ve met with the RNC leadership, and I’ve met with the RCMP as well. I’ve met with the RNC Association.

I want to assure the people that we support the law enforcement in our province who are working very hard, and we are addressing the national trend that we see that police have been leaving policing, but we are encouraged in our province by the number of recruits and those training specifically in the RNC.

We will acknowledge it’s demanding work and we recognize that people’s priorities change as well, as their home-work life does as well, but that’s not unique to policing. So we are committed to ensuring that there are investments in law enforcement in our province.

SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John’s East - Quidi Vidi.

S. O’LEARY: Speaker, I respectfully stand to table the petition removing the provincial portion of the HST on children’s products. These are the reasons for this petition:

Parents of young children already face tough economic pressure. The government should not be taxing parents for items that are of necessity.

The current cost-of-living crisis has made a challenging situation dire for low-income families and single parents.

The Provinces of Ontario, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island provide a point-of-sale rebate on children’s goods such as children’s car seats, children’s clothing, children’s diapers and children’s footwear.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to remove the provincial portion of the HST from children’s car seats, children’s clothing, children’s diapers and children’s footwear.

Speaker, raising kids is expensive, and the cost-of-living crisis is making it harder than ever. Families shouldn’t be nickel and dimed on the essentials that their children need. Children grow fast and so do the cost, and parents are already stretched so thin. They shouldn’t be punished every time their child needs a new pair of shoes or outgrows a jacket.

No parent should have to chose between paying the bills and buying their children what they need to grow, learn and thrive. The government shouldn’t be profiting off kids essentials, taxing diapers, car seats and school clothes is unfair to families. Affordability is about dignity, and families are the backbone of our communities. Supporting them with real relief, like removing HST on children’s goods, is how we build a stronger Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Waterford Valley.

J. KORAB: Thank you, Speaker.

These are the reasons and background of this petition:

WHEREAS the current bus stop on Route 23-167-1, run 23-167-1B, at the corner of Walsh’s Lane and Bay Bulls Road requires young students to cross a very busy street at peak rush hour to board their bus; and

WHEREAS several older students living on Walsh’s Lane and Bawnmoor Street are picked up and dropped off on Walsh’s Lane; and

WHEREAS there is a growing level of concern for student’ safety;

Therefore, we petition the House of Assembly as follows: We, the undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to investigate this matter further, explore all options and make any necessary changes to the route to ensure student safety.

Speaker, I’ve talked to multiple parents that live in this area. One of the biggest concerns here is that Walsh’s Lane is used as a shortcut. So it’s not just local residential traffic; they’re shortcutting, and shortcutting at higher speeds. The residents have brought forth solutions, suggestions – very plausible, very simple solutions – to staff, and they’re not really getting anywhere with it; hence why I’m bringing it forward here now, Speaker.

I’d just like the department to look at this. I believe the minister when he says he cares about our children and wants to make improvements. I would just hope that if a resident puts forward a reasonable solution that staff look at it reasonably and not just say, no, for the sake of saying no or fear of setting some precedent that they made a mistake. It’s not about making mistakes; it’s about the safety of children.

I’ll table this here now and ask the department to look at it.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, for a response.

B. PETTEN: Thank you, Speaker.

I just wanted to respond to the Member’s petition. I made it clear in this House, I’ve been there for a lot of years, and I’ve always said child safety is paramount to me. I’ve never shied away from that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

B. PETTEN: Nor would I shy away from this one, but this is the second petition now in the last week on school bus stops and, respectfully, I think in fairness to everyone, this should be submitted to my department. These gentlemen know that.

Put it over to the department officials, let them review it and I’ll give them my word that, when they review it, they all come through me. I requested that no bus letters go out to anyone without coming to me, because sometimes they go out and people come back and they’re upset that they got denied.

I want to make sure that if it’s at all possible, it’s your best interest to let it come through me. Submit it to the department, go the proper stage, let them do a review, because we’re not the experts. Let them do a review and then, when we discuss it, we’ll do everything in our power for the safety of children.

I don’t think the House of Assembly needs to be the spot. We have department officials over dealing with those things. If I deny it or we deny it and you’ve got a bigger issue, bring it to the House of Assembly by all means. Give them a chance to review it first.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

L. PARROTT: Orders of the Day.

SPEAKER: Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

SPEAKER: The hon. the Government House Leader.

L. PARROTT: Speaker, I call from the Order Paper, Order 5, second reading of Bill 5.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. George’s - Humber.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

H. CORMIER: Thank you, Speaker.

I stand today to talk about this tax bill to amend the Revenue Administration Act No. 2.

Speaker, many people across our province, the rising cost of living continues to be the biggest challenge they face. One of the biggest things that we can control is the cost on fuel.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

H. CORMIER: Thank you.

This bill will make the gas tax permanently at 7.5 cents, and that’s so important. That makes it the second lowest in diesel and the lowest in gas.

My district, Speaker, is probably one of the largest geographically, somewhere in the vicinity of 260 to 270 kilometres long. Many of my residents, people that supported me and people who didn’t, have to travel 20, 30, 40, sometimes 60 kilometres just to get gas, groceries, attend appointments; we use our vehicles.

In Canada, in most places, using a vehicle is a choice, but in rural Newfoundland it’s not. People rely on their vehicles to get around.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

H. CORMIER: Any time that government, this House, can make a decision to make life more affordable for the people of this province, we have to do it.

Speaker, we look at the cost of goods coming into our Island, gas effects it and, fortunately right now – I know someone spoke on the other side about fuel prices and reducing – but oil is starting to come down. It fluctuates. It’s a commodity. It fluctuates up and down. It’s down somewhere around 10 per cent right now, today; it could be up 20 per cent by 5 o’clock, but it could be down another 20 per cent come 5 o’clock. So it’s important that we put something stable in place, that the residents know that we have their backs. We, as a House, got their backs.

Speaker, the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board talked last week about collaboration; we in the House working together to make life more affordable, more pleasant for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. This side of the House is doing just that. The gas tax, again – I give full credit where credit is due – on the other side of the House, when they were in government, they reduced it. Well done, but we’re taking it to the finish line, Speaker. We’re making it permanent. We’re taking it to the finish line for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

H. CORMIER: I guess this is the second thing, much like Bay du Nord, it was started but we got it across to the finish line and we got it signed up.

Speaker, we’ll go back to collaboration in this House. I came from a background of working together with people, finding the best incomes. It’s how I was brought up. I was always brought up with being kind, being kind to whoever. They might not be kind to me, but I’ll be kind to them. Working together, working collaboratively, we can do that. We can make life more affordable for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and this gas tax is going to do it. It’s going to put more money back in their pockets.

I remember the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands spoke yesterday about the ministers he had meetings with over on this side of the House. He had more meetings in the last five months than he had in three years – three years. The last three years is not collaboration; this is collaboration. This is working together for the betterment of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

H. CORMIER: Speaker, it’s important. I know it’s my first time up talking to a bill, and I appreciate it, but anybody who knows me knows I like to take a lighter side to life, and I’d like to talk about the Member for St. John’s Centre. He spoke last week about the fish he caught, the salmon, and the cost of catching that salmon and only sharing the fin with his brother.

So with this gas tax, hopefully his next fish he catches will be lower cost; however, I’m beginning to think that catching of the fish is more about productivity and ability versus the cost, and I’ll do this: I love the rivers. I love fishing. I’ll extend an invitation to the Member for St. John’s Centre, if he’s out on the West Coast in late June, early July, I’ll bring him to the rivers. I’ll put him on his fish, but if he promises he has to take it home and share it with his brother, we’re all good.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

H. CORMIER: Speaker, I’ll finish up this way.

When we collaborate, not just in this House, but we listen to the people. The Members opposite have to listen to their constituents. We have to listen to our constituents. We have to bring it together for the betterment of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. This gas tax can do this. We’ll make it happen. We listen to the people. We’re listening to the other side. I said it in my maiden speech that a good idea can come from any side of this House. We have to be prepared to listen, and we do listen. Both sides of this House listen.

With that, Speaker, I’ll finish up, but I will be supporting this bill. I think it’s a great idea and it’s the right move for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER (Dwyer): The Chair recognizes the MHA for Corner Brook.

J. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’d like to thank the Member for his sentiments about co-operation. I also want to say, I guess as a new Member of this House, that there has to be a place for criticism and challenging government. That is our role on this side of the House. So if we advocate for new ideas and you to do more, that is our role, Mr. Speaker.

The people of this province face extraordinary cost-of-living challenges. Some of these costs affect everyone, rich or poor, but some are particularly difficult for low-income families and seniors with fixed incomes. Groceries, home heating, child care, gas, they’re things that affect everyone, everywhere. Keeping the gas tax low is something I welcome. Freezing gas tax is one way in which we can help people with the cost of living, but it’s only one of many other levers.

Home heating fuel, for example, as mentioned during Question Period, the previous government introduced a home heating supplement to help people who rely on oil to heat their homes.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. PARSONS: One way that the new government can provide immediate relief to people is by extending this program and possibly even expanding it, especially given the volatile price of oil that we’re seeing now all over the world.

Another measure we can take is child care. Affordable, accessible child care is essential to supporting families and strengthening our workforce and enabling parents to participate fully in the economy. The $10-a-day program that was introduced was a great success, but there is more to do. There is a shortage of affordable daycare, Mr. Speaker, in my area. I’ll give you one example.

At the City of Corner Brook when I was there, they built a beautiful, new community recreation centre that includes daycare. Unfortunately that daycare has yet to get funding, the $10-a-day funding for the YMCA’s daycare at the Marina Redmond Centre. So this is something, again, that our new government could do. I hear hints of it coming in the budget. I really hope that we see that through.

Electricity costs – this is something that’s been a topic of great discussion in the campaign. I know that our party proposed removing the PST on electricity. Something I know that my colleagues in the Third Party also would support. That is something that affects, as I mentioned, transportation, groceries, everything. So let’s look at energy costs.

But the issue of the moment, of course, is the gas tax freeze. I’d like to congratulate, first of all, the previous government for lowering the gas tax to the lowest levels in Canada –

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

J. PARSONS: – previously, in 2022. And, of course, we know gas affects more than just your drive. There are expenses that we pay weekly or daily, and gas is one of them; every time we go to fill up, we notice how much it costs.

Lower gas taxes provide immediate relief to families, there is no doubt. But as the Member before mentioned, it is also really important in rural areas – places where we have no choice but to drive to get where we’re going. There is no mass transportation; there is no other way to get. Everyone is spread out. Our services are spread out. Our health care is spread out. People have to travel for work.

Again, taxes and the price of gas affect rural residents more than anyone. And, of course, our small businesses, Mr. Speaker. Gas affects our contractors, our fish harvesters, our tourism operators, delivery companies – you name it. Again, a lower gas tax is always beneficial to them.

Mr. Speaker, in order to stabilize the cost-of-living pressures on our families in this province, I think it is important that the government take measures to keep the gas tax low and look at other ways in which we can make sure the price of gas remains stable for everyone.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Lewisporte - Twillingate.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

M. BUTT: Thank you, Speaker.

When I was elected, the people in my District of Lewisporte - Twillingate, not only did they believe in me, but they believed in the pillars of this government: better health care, safer communities and lower taxes. With this introduction of the permanent reduction of the gas tax, it resonates not only throughout my district, but throughout this province.

First when I was asked to speak on this bill about reduced gas tax, a good friend of mine, a resident of Lewisporte came to mind. I won’t say his last name, but Paul. Every morning when I get a chance to stop at the local Tim Horton’s in Lewisporte, there’s usually a group of gentlemen sitting around having their morning coffee. I call them the unofficial Tim Horton’s caucus.

The one gentleman I mentioned, Paul, was concerned about the price of gas. Like the rest of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, he’s hardworking, and recently, the last couple of years, he purchased a boat – not for fishing, but for pleasure. Nothing better than going out the bay when the water is flat and calm.

Now, for Hansard, back in my hometown, Twillingate, we call it flat ‘cam.’

AN HON. MEMBER: Like the oil.

M. BUTT: Like the oil.

With the increase of fuel, you know, it’s harder and harder to justify going out for the day. With this reduction of fuel tax, it eases that pain because now he can take that simple joy after working, and on the weekend when the water is flat ‘cam,’ he can go for a ride. There’s nothing better than going out the bay in a boat on a beautiful day.

This introduction is a permanent reduction of the gas tax.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

M. BUTT: Permanent. Not just a pause that everybody has to wait on bated breath on March 31 to see if it’s going to continue or not. This ensures better affordability for all.

As the Member opposite mentioned last week about the increase in tax revenue, you know, the more tax, the more revenue for our coffers. Well, after the last 10 years of reckless spending – let’s just say what it is – we need more money, but as the Premier has mentioned before, we won’t balance the budget on the backs of Newfoundlanders. We’ll put more money in their pockets.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

M. BUTT: With the introduction of this permanent reduction, it would help many industries. Fishery for example. I’ll just take a few. The lobster fishery, for example, because you have inshore boats and there’s fuel for boats. Nobody hauls lobster pots by arm anymore; we use pot haulers or lobster haulers. Everything runs by gas, gas for the trucks, gas for transportation.

I have a friend of mine who doesn’t live in the district, Cory. I was talking to him this past weekend. He does participate in the lobster fishery. Has no children, but he had a concern. He said, with the price of gas, he doesn’t know how the ordinary person in rural Newfoundland can do it. He said it’s a struggle.

I also thought of a good buddy of mine in Twillingate, Craig. Born on the water, forever; participates in the offshore fishery, but also does the inshore. He goes at codfish and the squid, and it’s the same thing. Everything cost money. It is money out of his pocket to go out and make a living for him and his family.

Forestry is another example. For Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who burn wood, it’s a cheaper option than burning oil. Growing up with wood heat, there’s nothing like it. A beautiful heat.

A. BARBOUR: Loves it.

M. BUTT: Loves it; but there’s a cost because you still got fuel, trucks and chainsaws and transportation costs.

Tourism is another big proponent of this fuel tax reduction. You have tour boats; especially in my hometown of Twillingate, this past summer with the multitude of icebergs that were around, tour boats were in constant motion all running on fuel. This increase of tax, if it came back on the 31st of March, it would have to be passed along to the customer. I know that being on family trips of four, everything is budgeted. Now, when you have to budget for fuel, you have to limit on your activities that you can take. A lot of families just choose not to go.

Transportation – everything that we use day to day from dry goods to food, is transported, usually by a truck, by diesel fuel. If the tax increases, well this extra cost is passed on to the consumer.

The Leader of the Third Party mentioned last week about the price of a bag of groceries. Nobody has to be reminded about the price of groceries. It’s getting to the point now, Speaker, that going to the store now you’ve almost got to ask if there’s a payment plan for two litres of milk. This reduction of fuel tax – permanent reduction of fuel tax – will affect everyone in our province, from Nain, located in the wonderful Big Land, to Lamaline on the Burin Peninsula.

My colleague here mentioned, with rural residents, they are more impacted by this tax than anybody else because of the distance they have to travel for work, for appointments and the lack of public transportation. So with this, rather than living in a big town like this, a big city where there’s busing, you can walk to work, we don’t have that luxury in rural Newfoundland. Also, like my colleague mentioned, with this introduction of the permanent reduction of the gas tax, we will have the lowest gas tax in Canada and the second lowest in diesel in Canada.

In conclusion, Speaker, I’d like to quote from my colleague from the wonderful Torngat Mountains: Speaker, this is what action looks like.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the MHA for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave.

P. PARSONS: Thank you, Speaker.

It’s also my pleasure to stand and talk to this bill, Bill 5,

An Act to Amend the Revenue Administrative Act No. 2, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on the previous speaker’s comments.

Perhaps he could reach out to the former Member for Twillingate to school him and to remind him about – you know, he talks about reckless spending – about the Muskrat Falls and the rate mitigation which this province heavily relies on. A lot of people don’t know and forget that we receive a half-billion dollars from Ottawa each and every year to offset our power bills, and that is because of a PC, Conservative, government Muskrat Falls, which we are still digging out of debt for which I might add.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

P. PARSONS: So when the speaker talks about reckless spending, I ask him to reflect his memory back to the Conservative government prior, which we’re still in debt for. So just some food for thought there to the previous speaker, new Member, and congratulations on his election.

That said, Speaker, we know that families and businesses and communities across Newfoundland and Labrador are still feeling the squeeze from the high costs, especially at the pumps. We know what’s happening in the Middle East – also, I would like to extend our thoughts and prayers as well to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who are currently in the Middle East, one who is actually a friend of mine.

A local person from Bay Roberts is currently living over there in the Middle East. He’s actually been in the news to give updates. It’s Mr. Darren Butt and his family. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them, of course, that they will return home safely and continue to live safely, those Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who are currently in the Middle East.

But we’re also hoping that the government is not going to stop there. We do know that this is not new legislation. This has been done for multiple budgets now to support cost-of-living measures, which we’ve done for years and years. As well, we didn’t stop there, we also cut the registration price in half for when people want to register their vehicles. That’s another measure that we did.

L. PARROTT: (Inaudible.)

P. PARSONS: Speaker, the Member for Terra Nova is chirping and it’s hard to stay focused now. So, again, this is my time to speak. I’m sure he’ll be getting up and speaking, because he likes to speak as well here in this hon. House. He’s my friend but I’ll ask him to keep his chirping at a minimal while I’m talking.

We talk about seniors; this would not only support the overall cost of living, but the other initiatives, you know, we want them to go further. Again, this is not in the new legislation. This is something that we’ve done for quite some time and there were reasons, perhaps, why it wasn’t done permanently by a previous administration; because, as we know, we often work in conjunction with other levels of government, in particular the federal government, and there’s continuous mention of a federal carbon tax with a backstop, and there were reasons preventing our administration from doing such things.

Again, we’re happy to see them continue the work that we’ve started for the past decade because, as we know, a lot of times, much of the legislation and much of the cost and the funding and the budgets that are carried over takes time. They’ve been in office over 100 days, or 130 days I think, whatever that number is, so they are getting to, I guess, come in and continue the work and actually announce the work that this previous administration has done.

So we’ll certainly support this bill, as we do everything and we can do everything to support the cost of living, to support Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, but again, we’re calling on them to go further with their other cost-saving measures; again, the registration of vehicles. We do know that there was a promise made, of course, in our platform to double the Seniors’ Benefit from $400, which we brought in, and we were going to double that to $800.

We haven’t seen that happen just yet, but we’re hoping that there are going to be initiatives like this come down in their budget, because as we know a lot of people are suffering right now and, again, we see the cost of everything is going up, whether it be fuel, whether it be groceries, insurance payments, you name it, all the payments and obligations that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have on a monthly basis, it is getting tougher but, unfortunately, salaries and pensions are not going up; those are not changing.

So I hear from my constituents, of course, and these are people who have good jobs and two people working in the household. Again, it certainly is a challenge. We applaud to see them going in the right direction, you know, that they’re continuing the good work that we did start, but we ask them to take it further; because, as we know, the bill repeals and replaces

section 51 of the Revenue Administration Act to set out a clear, itemized list of per-litre tax rates on different grades of gasoline.

Section 51 of the Revenue Administration Act is repealed and the following substituted: “(

a) on propane fuel grade of gasoline, a tax of $0.07 per litre;” and “(

e) on all other grades of gasoline, a tax of $0.075 per litre.”

But again, this is good to see this go in the right direction, but we certainly will be looking for more initiatives to support Newfoundlanders and Labradorians on cost-of-living measures here in our province. So it is good. Again, I applaud them for continuing the work that we started, and we will be certainly supporting this bill.

Thank you, Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Lake Melville.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

K. RUSSELL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s an honour and a privilege again to stand at any time in this House, and I’d like to speak to the gas tax here right now. It’s been an interesting 10 years, Mr. Speaker. Here we are inheriting this province now and taking government on the billion-dollar hole almost to dig our way out of. Yes, we do have a war going on in the Middle East and we’re seeing a sharp rise in gas prices and all that stuff, but it is this volatility, Mr. Speaker, that makes us put this move into this legislation here in the House.

The freezing of this number in the gas tax helps us to combat that volatility over in the Middle East, and it allows us to say right now no more, no further; we’re not going to put this on the backs of the people anymore; we’re going to hold steady. That’s what we’re going to do in this government here, Mr. Speaker, is hold steady.

Of course, I appreciate the commentary from the Members across the way, and they’re saying go further, go further. But I mean, isn’t that just the Liberal way, though, isn’t it? Nobody worries about hundreds of millions going astray, but then they’ll focus on the salary of one staffer – a little bit much, Mr. Speaker, if you ask me.

Talk about a gas tax now, Mr. Speaker. Yes, it’s at 7.5 per cent; it was at 14.5 per cent. Yes, I give the Liberals credit; they brought it down in hard times, sure, but we’re taking it a step further and we’re moving it over the finish line. What we’re doing is we’re going to freeze that right where it is because we know that global events can affect us right here at home in Newfoundland and Labrador.

That’s a fact, Mr. Speaker, and we’re going to make sure that we address that. So you will never be able to control volatility in other parts of the world, but we can certainly do what we’ve got to do here at home in order to protect Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and that’s what our government is all about.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

K. RUSSELL: Mr. Speaker, I guess there’s about 42 cents a litre that affects us from all levels of taxation, most of that being federal of course. This government will continue to work with the federal government to do all we can to take any type of tax burden off the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Of course, in taking government, what do we have to do? We have to look at all of the tax structures within our government and evaluate them all, and this is just one more piece of that. And again, what is that? It’s a Blue Book promise kept, another one of those. Everybody is loving our Blue Book, especially the Members across the way. We can see in Question Period, they’re all over that Blue Book, up one side of her and down the other, Mr. Speaker.

We’re very proud of that Blue Book and we’re going to deliver on the promises set out herein. With that, I’m going to put a Labrador spin on today’s debate if I may . Born and raised in the Big Land, there’s a Labrador way of life. When I had Minister Ottenheimer and Minister Evans and I had everybody up in the district and Minister Wall, we were blessed with a bright, sunny day, which we call a large Labrador day. That means you can’t see from end of her to the other. It’s so beautiful you got to have your shades on. It’s so bright in Labrador on a large Labrador day, Mr. Speaker.

In saying that, we have a Labrador way of life and when you’re up in the Big Land, we’ve got a big cabin culture. We don’t call them cottages or nothing fancy like that. We’ve got a place now to put our nets so that when we get down there, we can put them in the water, Mr. Speaker. That’s what it’s about in Labrador, but when you’re travelling all over the Big Land, geographically it’s called Big Land for a reason.

When you’re going to your cabin, or when you’re going up north or you’re going south, you’re going into the other great districts of Torngat Mountains and south, I would say as well, and over the course of Labrador West, we travel all around, but those distances are so vast that fuel and its price is very important to Labradorians, I’ll tell you that. Whether out fishing – and we’ve seen what the last 10 years has done to every single household in this province. You can’t go out and afford anything, Mr. Speaker. There’s no way – you can’t get Campbell’s soup no more; you have to go with the no name – too darn expensive now.

In saying that, Mr. Speaker, we have to be vigilant as a government and I ask all MHAs from all sides be vigilant in your districts, talk with your people, a good idea is a good idea. We always say that on this side of the House. What I mean by that is if you’ve got any good ideas to help this government reduce the cost of living and to do whatever we can for people, we’ll listen. We’re not going to say that we know all and we’re the be all and end all here, what we’re saying is we’re open to any suggestion that improves the lives of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

K. RUSSELL: In saying that, Mr. Speaker, I’ll go back to that Labrador way of life. When you head out of Lake Melville and you head out and it depends where you’re going, you can go down towards North West River and go towards Dry Island and (inaudible) and all those places, or you can go straight up, come down and past Mud Lake and then go out across out into Kenemich and Kenamu river is there and then out around Adam’s Point, of course, then you’re in my world in Gitters Bite, Mr. Speaker.

That is truly, truly one of my favourite places to be and I’ll say this, because it is such a long distance. It is a three-hour round trip on snowmobile with ideal conditions, from Goose Bay to Gitters Bite where we go fishing and where I grew up and my family grew up along with a lot of other people on our street as well. I just say that it’s a beautiful experience. It’s just what we do.

Somebody mentioned here earlier in the House about going out wooding and it’s so darn expensive for fuel, oil. It’s so darn expensive for everything. If you have the ability and you’ve got the family members to help and especially if you have some young kids that you can put to work in your family, it’s great to go out. It’s just a healthy exercise.

It’s part of our way of life here in Newfoundland and Labrador. It’s just about wooding; you call it whatever. You go out and you get that wood, and it saves on the family’s expenses. Like I said, it’s also offsetting the cost that could be contributed to the high cost of food or any of the other bills that you have to have in the household, Mr. Speaker.

I’m certainly not going to sit here on this side of the House and say that we’re not proud of this. We’re going to be proud of every single cost-saving measure we put out to the families of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Premier himself said it, that we’re not going to balance the books of this province and this gigantic hole we’ve been left by the former government on the backs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that had nothing to do with that. We’re going to put as many measures in place as we can to make life easier to people, and like I said, write your MHA. Send emails in. Get on Facebook; tell people what your ideas are because these times are definitely hard.

We’ve watched the regression in my district, in Lake Melville, over this last 10 years. It’s absolutely shameful, Mr. Speaker, and it's a host of things. It’s the former government; it’s federal decisions that are made; it’s realities; things happen across the world. That’s just the way it is, Mr. Speaker.

We have to have fiscal responsibility here on this side of the House. We have to, especially when we’re starting in the red, and there’s a hell of a lot of red – no pun intended – but in terms of that, when we’re in the red, we have to be vigilant, and I use that word over and over again. It’s about fiscal responsibility.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh

SPEAKER: Order, please!

If I can’t hear the speaker, I will call order.

Thank you.

K. RUSSELL: Thank you for your protection, Mr. Speaker, definitely needed, definitely appreciated. I can’t hear anything over here right now, but I’ll rise above, like we always will on this side of the House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

K. RUSSELL: So in saying that about fiscal responsibility, at some time – okay, we’re out in the boat now. My cabin, great time to talk about that. So we pull up the boat because it’s a little rough down there, and we take the little boat out. We go out and check our nets. When we’re checking our nets, you know what I mean, if we see that it’s leaking, you’ve got to patch that up.

Well, I’ll tell you what, Mr. Speaker, we have a pretty leaky little boat on our hands right now. A lot of patching has to be done on this side of the House, but we’re good to go, and the people know that because that’s why they put us here because we’re going to be fiscally responsible, we’re going to do what’s right by the people, and we’re not going to be afraid to explore and be creative when it comes to the solutions that we need in order to address the challenging times that everybody is facing right now.

Again, Mr. Speaker, we’ve heard on this side of the House. We hear it at Question Period. We hear it from every constituent we all have: the cost of living, the cost of living, the cost of living. I just want to talk a few minutes since we’re taking about reducing this, keeping this tax reduced permanently, we’re talking about what it takes to run a family, run a household in Newfoundland and Labrador right now.

I just want to say, Mr. Speaker, that we came onboard; sugar tax, out the door, no sweat. We’re reviewing all the other ones as well. We have to make sure that when we talk about the way that trends are continuing, and we’re seeing that right now – we’re seeing fuel, we’re seeing food – and everybody’s worried. They have a right to be worried in their household about what follows this conflict in the Middle East and the rising of everything, because obviously the food has to be transported. I mean, it’s got to get to your local grocer and all of those things take trucks, boats, planes and all that stuff – planes, trains and automobiles as they say, Mr. Speaker.

But in saying that, I want to talk about something this could really – we have some mention about fishermen, of course, and one of my favourite shows has always been Deadliest Catch . That is a dangerous job, but then again, it doesn’t have to be crab though, does it? If you’re at the shrimp or you’re at the halibut, whatever you’re at, it’s a dangerous job. So the very least we can do is try and offset the monumental costs associated with running those enterprises. It’s near and dear to us because fishing, of course, is a way of life.

So in saying that, Mr. Speaker, I also want to talk about farmers; because, on this side of the House, we know we’ve got our work cut out for us, especially on the Labrador side, because we have a very short growing season and food security, from a provincial standpoint, has to be paramount in terms of producing as much as we can right here at home by our own people. That means supporting the fishermen, farmers, right down from the egg farmers right through to the people that are doing our turnips and our cabbage for our Jiggs’ dinner on Sundays.

What I’m saying is we’ve got to be aware of all of the trials and tribulations that people in these industries, so farming and the fishery and all that, everything they face.

What you’re going to see on this side of the House, Mr. Speaker, is always going to be continued pressure on the federal government and continued work from within this House and within our own caucus to make sure that we offset the crazy costs that are coming up and being sprung on families seemingly out of nowhere.

I just want to say a little bit about the dangerous work as well. As a lover of seafood, I just want to say, to people that engage in these activities, like farming – that’s dangerous as well. There is a lot of heavy equipment, and I believe it was mentioned here, the amount of fuel it costs to run a farm, to run a vessel. You’re not just talking about gasoline and all that, you’re talking about other associated products as well, so everything from the oils and the greases to have to make it all happen.

Mr. Speaker, we have to be vigilant – I keep using the word over and over again – but we have to make sure that whether it’s talking about a sugar tax or whether we’re talking about a gasoline tax or whether we’re talking about even new projects such as Bay du Nord or whatever like that, we have to make sure that we put the interests of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador before politics. We have to make sure that families are successful in our province. As families fall, communities fall. When communities fall, provinces fall. I mean, we’re never going to fall because we’re so resilient and strong, but I say it as a cautionary tale just to say that we have to do everything we can.

Every move that’s made on this side of the House will have that lens put on it from our Minister of Finance. We want to talk about making sure that we respect, during this process, those people in the offshore and everybody in the oil and gas industry, Mr. Speaker, because those are the people that are putting their lives – just like those fishermen for that bit of crab, and just like those farmers driving those big combines and all that stuff – the people offshore and the oil workers, these are the people that are delivering this stuff to shore; these are the people that are keeping this industry going, and we want to make sure that they’re respected in every way, shape or form.

I will tell you this, just at the hotel, we ran into a bunch of offshore workers and we ran into a couple of people we met from – I can’t remember the district right now.

AN HON. MEMBER: Twillingate.

K. RUSSELL: Twillingate?

AN HON. MEMBER: Yes.

K. RUSSELL: Twillingate was the district?

We met a couple of people from Twillingate who, only days after the announcement, got the call from the engineers, from their people, and they came back and they’re so excited. Just the amount of energy into that – do you know what we did? They were like: We got calls. Kind of like coming out of hibernation, we’re back in the game.

One gentleman told me, he said, well, I’m going to retire offshore in the oil and gas and, he said, my son is ready to go to work and start his first years in there too, and this project is right on the horizon.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

K. RUSSELL: They’re all so happy to have that, Mr. Speaker. Thousands and thousands of people are going to be in that same spot with the Bay du Nord announcement as well.

In saying that, it’s about families, it’s always been and you hear that over and over again on this side of the House. It’s about doing whatever we can as legislators, and that’s not just us on government as well. We know that we got hard-working MHAs from all flavours, Mr. Speaker, in this House that are here for the right reasons too. They love their districts. They love the people in their districts. You’re here to serve them and you’re here to do whatever you can. So hopefully that means supporting our legislation in this House when it comes to doing this stuff and making sure that we all work collectively in the best interests of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

I will thank the Minister of Finance, again. You know, we get a little chuckling, a little barbs, a little chirping across the way, that’s all find and dandy, but when you make a move like saying, okay, the first $15,000 of anybody’s income is going to be tax-free, that’s huge. When you put that out exponentially to every member of the province, and then you talk about, okay, sugar tax and revamping other taxes, you talk about then freezing this tax, these are progressive moves, Speaker, that will ensure the success of the family in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The family means more than anything in the world, as we all know. We all come from these big families. Newfoundland and Labrador is not so big that you don’t know anyone from every single district, and we truly do. That’s the way it is.

I’d like to thank the minister for time to speak on this. I’d like to thank the Members across the way for their commentary. I look forward to seeing them support us wholeheartedly and making sure that we do the very best in freezing this gas tax for the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: Just before I acknowledge the next speaker, I just want people to understand that this bill is not a money bill, so I would expect there be some relevance to the tax.

I’m giving some leeway because we have new Members that would like to talk about their district, but in the meantime, it’s not a money bill; it is a tax bill.

The Chair recognizes the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands.

E. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m just going to have a few words on this permanent gas legislation, to take off the tax permanently, because it has been ongoing for a number of years, as we know. It’s a great time to say, okay, let’s make it permanent so we don’t have to come back every year and go through it again. I applaud the government for doing it.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring it up, Mr. Speaker, about the Muskrat Falls. There may be one person over there, and myself, that were there in Muskrats Falls – period.

So look at the other 21 Members – and I don’t even think that person was in Cabinet to make the decision at the time, if I remember correctly – and take the other 21 Members and throw it as if those people, men and women, did something wrong with Muskrat Falls, and keep throwing it back at people who had no knowledge of it, who weren’t involved with it?

I was involved. I was here for five days with it, but I don’t say 21 of the Members that are over there that had any involvement with it. They might have heard it on the radio and heard when we were in the House of Assembly for five days. So this idea, keep throwing out Muskrat Falls – look what you did – one person, that was it, wasn’t even in Cabinet at the time. It’s time to put that to bed because it’s easy to go back in the past and we all can do that. But it’s time to take it and move it forward.

Mr. Speaker, I’m just going to speak on history again. I can tell you, I’ve been there on many occasions, no matter what government is in, there are going to be tough decisions that have to be made. I don’t care what government is in. I’m going back with Clyde Wells in his day. I’m going back to 1988, first when I declared that I was going to be a candidate. You come right on through, even with the PC government when they won in 2003, is that they had to make tough decisions. The Liberals had to make tough decisions. This government here is going to have to make tough decisions. There’s absolutely no doubt about it.

I’m just going to give a bit of history about this, Mr. Speaker. In 2015, when we won the government, in 2016 we brought down a budget. It was a terrible budget. I was one of the ones who said it’s going to be tough to sell. But we had to make the decision because we were left with such a huge deficit. I was the one who went out publicly and said give us a chance to work at it. Give us a chance. Let us see what we can do over the next four or five years to get this done because it was a big deficit and we didn’t realize how big the deficit was and I was the one saying give us a chance.

So, Mr. Speaker, my point on that, this government inherited a huge deficit. I’m saying to people here, there are going to be tough decisions, and the Members opposite, the Liberal Party and the NDP has to hold the government accountable. I understand that, and I’m a part of that also. But for me to stand here today and just criticize with a billion-dollar deficit, and I was in the same boat in 2016, and say give us an opportunity, give us a year, give us two years to see what we can do with it.

Then that’s what I’m saying to this government here, is that you deserve that opportunity. You deserve it, because I went through it. I went through that hard time of making tough decisions. Maybe we went a bit too tough. That’s up for debate. But we had to make the decisions that we had. Then I know some Members of the government brought up some of the fees and that. We had to do it at the time. It was tough. It was tough; we had to do it.

So when I look at the Members opposite now, you’re in the exact same boat as 2016, didn’t realize the deficit was going to be so big. Everybody expects, with a new government, things are going to change overnight. It is not. I’m telling you right now that decisions that you’re going to make, when you’re in Cabinet, there’s going to be very frank discussions of what should be done in Cabinet to bring to the public. That’s part of being in Cabinet, that’s part of the decision-making and that’s part of being in government. That is the whole part.

I’ve been through it. I always use this statement and I think it’s one of the best lines that I could ever get from a teacher, from anybody. It was Clyde Wells. It was 1989 when we ran and he had to make tough decisions. Back in 1992, they were going through a budget and there was a big fight with the teachers and teachers were out saying we’re going to get rid of the government and everybody was trying to speak to Clyde Wells, saying we can’t make those changes because they’re going to be out against us and everybody was trying to convince the premier at the time.

I remember they came to me and they said, well, you got his ear; he listens to you; talk to him. I remember we were driving out to McIvers and I was speaking to the premier and I said, Premier, you know we got an election coming up; you know a lot of people are nervous about the election in 1993 and about decisions that you’re making. I remember Clyde Wells looking at me, he said, Eddie, I rather lose with honesty than win with dishonesty. In 2003, we won more seats than we did in 1989, because Clyde Wells spoke to the people and he always said don’t underestimate the intelligence of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to know what position we’re in.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

E. JOYCE: My advice to the government is be honest with the people. I know it’s going to be tough. It’s just got to be, because everybody, human nature, wants their road paved. Everybody wants cheaper gas. Everybody wants cheaper food. Everybody wants health care. It’s tough. No matter what, it’s tough; but if you’re honest with the people and very concerned about the people and you put it out in such a way and then whatever you say you’re going to follow up on, I can assure you that people will respect it. Some may not like it but they will respect it, and I’ve been there. On two or three different occasions, I have been there.

I can tell you when you go back with the previous government and when you talk about the sugar tax – and I’ll just give you a little history on the sugar tax, because a lot of people weren’t even here then.

This was stalled in the House and they’re going to keep going. I went outside here and I said, I’m going to work out a deal here, and I did. Part of the deal was any money came in – at the time, if you go back and check the sugar tax, the amount that the government was going to collect was $3 million. It went up to $11 million, $17million – went way beyond that; it was $3 million. The deal was not to use the money for general revenues, to put it in, say, heart and stroke, diabetes, so it would be an education program across the province. So it’s not a money grab. Find some way to do that.

That was what we agreed to out there. I brokered the deal, and we came in the House and next thing you know, we all voted for it, no problem, pass it on through, get it done. They changed it. Once you change that, and then you’ve got people over here who agreed to that change at the time, it was the PC Opposition over here at the time, changed it, and then that’s where that’s become such a big issue.

Then when it goes from $3 million revenue, up to $11 million, up to $17 million – I think the last I heard was $21 million, $22 million. My point on that is if you’re going to do something, follow through on it. If you don’t, your credibility won’t start. Then I look at the carbon tax. Again, I know, I was the minister actually that first brought in the carbon tax. But the part of the carbon tax was that we’re going to spend the money here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

So that’s why I agreed with the carbon tax. That’s why I agreed. What happened is the rules changed. That we could put up backstops for Newfoundland and Labrador, that we could spend the money here – anything we collected here we could spend it here, with the environment. Which is a lot of good reasons, we could keep it in Newfoundland and Labrador. Then it changed. When it changed, and then we didn’t have the ability to create a Newfoundland-and-Labrador product here, how to spend the money, how we’re going to collect and spend the money, that’s when it changed. That’s when things went off the rails on that.

So this idea, that the Liberal government at the time took the carbon tax and they supported it all, it’s not true. You could make your own made-in-Newfoundland product on how to spend that money. It changed, and that’s where the Liberals got caught in a bind. Right up until 2018, I was a part of it. They changed it after 2018 when the federal government changed it. They said here’s what you’ve got to do. If you don’t do it, we’re going to take it and we’re going to direct the money, and that’s what happened.

So I’m defending both sides here because I have the history of both sides. But the sugar tax one was one that was supposed to be used for education, but the carbon tax, that was a federal government that forced the provincial Liberals at the time to make sure that they follow their rules from Ottawa, not the rules that was first initially – because I stood up and answered questions on it.

I stood up and answered questions that we’re going to make it stay in Newfoundland and Labrador. We’ll develop a plan to keep the money in Newfoundland and Labrador to spend it the way we want to spend it. That’s the true history on it.

So I’m just going to say to the Premier and to the Minister of Finance, one of the biggest concerns that you hear, besides health care and a few other things, is what are you going to do with the deficit? In my opinion, you have to show the leadership, that for some way that you’re going to help people out, but you’re going to say we can’t keep spending and increase the deficit. It’s a balancing act and it’s tough. I look at the Minister of Finance; I don’t envy you. I don’t envy you one bit.

I’ll just say that when it comes out, I’m sure the people are going to look at their health care and they’re going to look at other things that’s going to affect them personally, the cost of food, the cost of gas, the cost of prescriptions, that’s the kind of stuff that hits people personally. But many people in Newfoundland and Labrador are educated enough to know that we cannot just keep spending and spending and spending.

So I say to the Minister of Finance, there is room there to help people out personally, but it’s going to be a tough decision by the Cabinet in this government. It’s going to be tough. I can assure you that it’s going to be tough. But I said before, and I used it from Clyde Wells’s day, is that be honest with the people and explain why you got to do what you got to do and you’ll be surprised how many people will understand it. I’ve been in that situation also.

Then we’re talking about the MOU for Upper Churchill. I’ll get into that story later about the MOU for the Upper Churchill. I’ll get into that story, and I can tell you, there is a story there. I’ll tell you why I’m going to get into it later. I’m not going to get into it right now, Mr. Speaker, because I don’t want to get off too far about – it’s not a money bill. I was the one with the NDP and the Speaker at the time who said, look, they’re going to pass this. The Liberals got enough that will pass that. Let’s find some safeguards.

That’s when we came up with restrictions on the Oversight Committee. He said, let’s set it up, parameters of the Oversight Committee. I’m going to get into that story later on and I’m going to have documentation. The reason why I’m going to bring it up, once that debate starts on the MOU, because the minister at the time, when it was over, when there were changes, he wasn’t even in government.

So when I put my name to sign it, to establish an Oversight Committee and then behind my back the Terms of Reference of what we agreed to in this House of Assembly was changed, I can tell you, it’s not right. I have the letters, I have the documentation and I can tell you that what we agreed to here that day, what we voted on in this House, about the oversight Committee, it was changed.

I’ll take my seat, Mr. Speaker, and that’s just a bit of history because I’ve been through it and I’m going to say the government is going to have tough times here. It’s going to be tough. But hang in there for the people of the province. I say to the Opposition and the NDP, and I’ll be part of it also, hold the government accountable, that’s your role. If you don’t hold the government accountable, what happens then is the whole credibility of the electoral process stops. If there are issues, bring it up. That’s what we do.

But let’s bring it up for the betterment of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. When you look at the permanent gas tax, especially what is happening over in the Middle East right now – and God bless them all. It’s sad to see so much, not just over in the Middle East, all around the world. It’s just sad. When you bring in something like this here, the gas tax, which is permanent that people don’t have to worry about every year, asking us questions, are we going to get relief – now it’s going to be permanent relief. This is a positive. It might be a small step, but it’s positive.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

E. JOYCE: It is positive.

If you find that there’s going to be a lot of small, positive steps that’s going to help people, you’re going to find that people on both sides of the House have to agree to it. Because that’s what we’re here, to make the betterment of Newfoundland and Labrador for every individual that we can in this province.

I’ll take my seat, Mr. Speaker. Again, when I hear the Muskrat Falls, trying to blame it on 21 of the people who weren’t even in this House of Assembly, it just shows that the argument is getting a bit thin. There’s no doubt that there was a major flaw in the Muskrat Falls, but I can tell you that 21 of those people over there were never in this House of Assembly. They weren’t here.

So let’s put things forward that this government is doing now, because the Liberal government – and give them credit. I was part of it. Even up until this government formed, they handled the Muskrat Falls issue. It was tough. But they did handle what they had to put in to keep the rates down. Give them credit. It was done – it was done. Now it’s the government to handle that.

But for us, as a group over here, to continue throwing that up to 21 people that it was your fault, it wasn’t your fault; you weren’t here. But you have to deal with. The Liberals dealt with it at the time. When we took over in 2016, we had to deal with it until 2025. The mantel is passed over now.

So I’ve been in that boat. I’ll say it once more, I’ve been in that boat in 2016, and then we asked people to give us a chance. I know the PC Party is going to say give us a chance because we’re new. There are a lot of issues there. I can tell you, be honest, be upfront, and I’m sure you’re going to make the right decisions.

When you’re in Cabinet – and I’ve been there – and there are some really contested issues coming up, just remember one thing, that you’re doing it for the betterment of people of Newfoundland and Labrador. Stick to your values, stick to your guns because when you don’t have a robust argument, a robust discussion about how we’re going to make this go forward, what happens is it’s going to slide on through.

I say God bless you all for being in that position of government because I know we were over here too and there had to be tough decisions made by the Liberal government. But I think that if we all come together, the Opposition, the NDP and myself, to keep government accountable, to bring up issues, I think we’re going to have a better Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

So that’s why with the putting the tax in, the gas tax permanent, I will be supporting that because it’s going to help the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Carbonear - Trinity - Bay de Verde.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

R. BALSOM: Thank you, Speaker.

It’s a great honour to rise to my feet here today in representing the people of the District of Carbonear - Trinity - Bay de Verde. Speaker, it’s a pleasure to get up in support of this bill here today. It’s something that I heard a lot of when I was campaigning here this past year, people struggling with affordability, the cost of living.

Something that came up a lot, as well, was that people were wondering if this was going to be something that was continued. It’s something that I’ve heard over the last couple of years, especially around this time of year, is the gas tax reduction going to be permanent, or are we going to face another 7.5-cent increase at the pumps at the end of this month?

I’m pleased to see that this piece of legislation is something now that we’re putting forward to make sure that this is going to be a permanent reduction for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

R. BALSOM: I can echo some comments from Members earlier that families, workers and businesses all across our province, they rely on their vehicles every day. Whether it’s going to work, transporting their children to school, or transporting goods. So it’s going to have a larger impact to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, and we made a clear commitment to the people of this province that we would permanently lower the gas tax, thus delivering on part of our campaign platform to deliver lower taxes for all of us.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

R. BALSOM: Not only that, it delivers clear direction to the people of the province. Again, I mentioned early about people wondering, is this going to go up? Are the taxes going to go up on gas again? But no, it’s not. It’s going to be permanently reduced, so this gives the people clear direction – exactly what they’re looking for. It’s predictable, ongoing relief rather than short-term measures, and residents wondering if the cut will be permanent.

It’s especially important for rural districts like mine. For rural districts in Newfoundland and Labrador, where you have no choice but to use your vehicle. Speaker, for me, myself, I know it’s approximately two hours to travel from one end of my district to the other, going the long way – going right around the perimeter of the district. I look back on when this tax cut was first introduced in 2022, and I worked in St. John's, and I drove a little car, and every two days I had to put $100 worth of gas in my car to come to work.

It came to the point where, not only for myself, but for other people who had to do the same thing, it got to the point where you had to look at it and say, can I afford to go to work? Can I afford to put gas in my car to go to work? That’s a question a lot of people ask themselves during that time. So I’ll give credit where credit is due – good job to the Members opposite for introducing the tax cut. Thank you.

And now, instead of having it come up yearly, we’re going to permanently reduce the taxes. Our focus remains clear: making life more affordable and supporting our economy and building a stronger future for Newfoundland and Labrador, and permanently reducing the gas tax is a step in the right direction.

So with that, Speaker, I don’t think I can add much more to that. A lot of my colleagues have already said what I’ve been echoing, so with that I’ll take my seat.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the hon. Member for Burgeo - La Poile.

M. KING: Thank you, Speaker.

It’s certainly always a pleasure to stand up in this House and rise to represent the good people of Burgeo - La Poile, one of the best districts in the province, if I do say so myself, but I’m sure my colleagues here would have to say otherwise.

Today, obviously we’re talking about Bill 5,

An Act to Amend the Revenue Administration Act No 2. Just to provide some more context, obviously to the listeners at home who are watching, this bill would amend the Revenue Administration Act to maintain the reduction of tax on certain grades of gasoline by seven cents per litre.

Mr. Speaker, I just have to make a couple comments, obviously listening to the debate in the House and as one of the first-time Members, I’ve been watching – or as a new Member, I should say, I’ve been watching the House of Assembly for a number of years, though, in my previous life and it’s so interesting to hear how obsessed the government is with us on this side.

I reflect back to the campaign when we heard over and over and over the government was focused on the future of Newfoundland and Labrador but, Mr. Speaker, I would say they’re spending an awful lot of time living in the past.

Speaker, let’s be real about the permanent change here. This change in taxation on gasoline has not changed since the introduction in 2022. The repeated reduction has stayed in place since 2022. So while we certainly support this bill, it is good to remind the listeners and the people of this House that there has been no increase in this gasoline price on the tax side of things since 2022.

That means that when this bill receives Royal Assent and comes into effect, there actually will be no current change unless obviously fluctuations in gas prices that happen over time; but, from the taxation side, there’s not going to be any changes. So it will be interesting to see what the government does going forward on that matter.

Speaker, I want to speak also from my district point of view, obviously, from a rural perspective. I represent a number of communities, as I’ve mentioned before, that travel long distances to access a lot of services, most of the services that are provided in our more urban centres, so I just want to reflect on some of the communities that I represent.

Obviously, in my hometown of Burnt Islands, a community on Route 470, there are also a number of communities along that stretch of road that connect to Port aux Basques. There is no store in those areas. There’s one store in Burnt Islands that has a gas station, so people have to travel long distances every d