May 16, 2006 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

PROCEEDINGS Vol. XLV No. 21

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

MR. SPEAKER (Hodder): Order, please!

Admit strangers.

Before we begin our proceedings this afternoon, the Chair wishes to rule on a

point of order raised by the Government House Leader on Tuesday, May 9, relative

to a petition presented to the House by the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans. The

Chair thanks all members who made presentations on the matter.

Standing Orders

section 90-97 govern the presentation of petitions in our

House.

Section 91.(1) indicates: "A petition may be either printed or

written and if more than 3 petitioners sign it, at least 3 signatures must

appear on the page containing the prayer of the petition."

In her presentation, the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans spoke as follows,

quote: "I am giving this petition, again, petitioning this government, on

behalf of the people of the Buchans area." Our Standing Orders are silent

as to whether or not the petitioners must, in fact, be residents of the

community or region noted in the prayer. All petitions must be reviewed by the

Table Officers prior to presentation and, in this instance, under review, the

petition presented by the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans met that directive.

Points of order are designed to bring to the attention of the presiding

officer instances where a member believes the rules have been incorrectly

applied or overlooked during proceedings. In the matter under review, the

Speaker is satisfied that there has been no variations on the accepted practices

of our House and rules there is no point of order.

This afternoon we would like to welcome some very special visitors to our

gallery. To my left, we have some very special visitors, five students from Amos

Comenius Memorial School, Hopedale, in the District of Torngat Mountains.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: They are in Grades 8, 9 and Level I. They are accompanied by

their teacher Ms Debbie Harding. A very special welcome to our House.

To my right, we have thirty-two Level I and II students from Lumsden School

Complex in the District of Bonavista North. These students are accompanied by

their teachers: Mr. Darren Ellis, Mrs. Elvina Goodyear and Mrs. Iris Darcy.

Welcome to our House.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Also, joining us today are the Provincial Apprentice and

Certification Board and the Chair of the Board, Mr. Rex Cotter. I welcome the

Board and the Chair to the House as well this afternoon.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

MR. SPEAKER: This afternoon we have members' statements as follows: The

hon. the Member for the District of Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair; the hon. the

Member for the District of Trinity-Bay de Verde; the hon. the Member for the

District of Carbonear-Harbour Grace; the hon. the Member for the District of

Bonavista North; the hon. the Member for the District of Bay of Islands; and the

hon. the Member for the District of Windsor-Springdale.

The Chair recognizes the Member for the District of Cartwright-L'Anse au

Clair.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today in the House to congratulate one of our fellow members, a

colleague and a friend, Wally Andersen, the MHA for Torngat Mountains District.

During the week of March 23-28 of this year, the annual Youth Symposium was

held in Makkovik. Attendees were Aboriginal representatives from the coastal

communities of Northern Labrador and the Upper Lake Melville area who get

together to discuss the issues of the day, experience their cultural background

and work together for the preservation of their ethnic roots. Wally has never

missed one of these symposiums since his election to the House of Assembly in

1996. This year, for his dedication to the youth of Labrador and his never

ending support to all their endeavours, Wally was made a lifetime member of the

Youth Symposium.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, the youth of the north coast communities recognize

Wally for all for which he stands. He works tirelessly on their behalf, attends

the majority of functions, donates financially to their community and to youth

celebrations and in whatever way he can to ensure the success of these events.

If a school comes to him with a request for materials or funding, he will do his

utmost to secure the resources to ensure the children of the north coast are

given every opportunity to receive the best education for which they are

entitled. He was instrumental in assisting the youth and the RCMP to establish

the youth centre in Rigolet - a facility that has brought much enjoyment to the

youth of that community.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, Wally himself is a proud member of the Inuit

community, and he is equally proud of the young people of his district.

I rise today to congratulate my colleague, Wally Andersen, on his selfless

dedication to the young people of Northern Labrador and I ask all members to

join me in congratulating him on this great honour.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair should never comment, but the Chair will say that

it is the third time this House has given this hon. gentleman a standing

ovation, which is significant.

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS JOHNSON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, today I wish to congratulate Ms Denise Pike from New Harbour,

Trinity Bay who is this year's recipient of the Public Education Advocacy

Award, which will be formerly presented to her in Ottawa in July.

Mr. Speaker, Denise - who is in the gallery today - is the President of the

Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils and was nominated by the

Newfoundland and Labrador Teacher's Association for this award.

Mr. Speaker, this is quite a prestigious award presented annually by the

Canadian Teachers' Federation to an individual outside the teaching profession

who have greatly contributed to our education system.

All across Canada, nominations are filed on behalf of individuals who promote

the advancement of public education, provides support to teachers, and advocate

on behalf of our children.

Mr. Speaker, Denise who, quite familiar with the education system, as a

mother of three children, has voluntarily worked for the betterment of education

in our Province. Denise has served on several committees and has been the

president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Student Councils for

the past six years.

Mr. Speaker, the other day, I read a comment by Denise when referring to the

role of school councils wherein she was quoted as saying, "You have to be

respectful of the position and have to carry it out with integrity."

Mr. Speaker, I believe this comment to be quite appropriate, as I know Denise

and I can certainly say she is a distinguished model for this role and

personifies integrity.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all members join with me today in extending

congratulations to Denise on winning the Public Education Advocacy Award.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace.

MR. SWEENEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to congratulate Victoria Ralph, Carbonear's Junior Female

Athlete of the Year and a Premier's Athletics Award winner in recognition of

her athletic excellence among the athletes of this Province.

Of all the sports in which Victoria participates, including wrestling,

running, basketball, soccer and badminton, wrestling is probably her most

successful. Victoria is a tough wrestler who is a steady performer, not only at

provincial and regional levels but at the national level as well.

Mr. Speaker, recently she won gold medals at the 2006 Newfoundland and

Labrador Winter Games, the 2006 High School Provincials, the 2006 Provincial

NLAWA Championships, and the 2006 Atlantic CAWA Championships where she was

named outstanding wrestler.

Victoria is an accomplished runner who is one of the best in the Province for

her age group. According to the Newfoundland and Labrador Amateur Athletic

Association she was ranked first provincially in 2005 at the ten kilometer road

race for females.

Mr. Speaker, the list of accomplishments go on and on and on. Being a busy

athlete in the community requires a lot of time, but it doesn't seem to bother

Victoria as she managed to keep her academic average at 97 per cent while

attending St. Francis Junior High School during the 2005-2006 school year.

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

congratulating Victoria Ralph on her outstanding accomplishments and wish her

the very best.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bonavista North.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. HARDING: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and acknowledge the achievement of

Cadet Sergeant Samantha Batstone. Samantha, a fifteen-year-old resident of

New-Wes-Valley, recently separated herself from her peers by completing the Army

Cadet National Star Certification Exam with the highest grade in the Province.

Her overall mark of 91.8 per cent placed her at the top of a very impressive

list of 154 cadets who attempted the exam.

The exam, based on four years of cadet training, consisted of a written test,

a day of teaching, a physical fitness test, and a skills test in map, compass

and bushcraft. This is a test of intelligence, strength, endurance and

creativity. To excel at this exam, a person must possess a wide range of

abilities and talents; and, by completing the exam with the highest grade,

Samantha showed that she can hold her own with the very best.

To acknowledge her impressive achievement, the Newfoundland and Labrador

branch of the Army Cadet League of Canada presented Samantha with a gold watch.

The watch was presented to Samantha on May 6, 2006, at the Annual Ceremonial

Review of 2910 Lions Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps of Badger's Quay. This

was the thirty-fourth annual inspection of the corps, and it would be impossible

to congratulate Samantha without also acknowledging the truly tremendous efforts

put forth by that organization over the past thirty-four years.

Samantha is another impressive member of an exceptional group of young people

who have benefitted greatly from their time in 2910 Lions Cadet Corps. With her

recent accomplishment, Samantha has upheld a tradition of excellence and shown

that she has the potential to be one of the best.

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

congratulating Cadet Sergeant Samantha Batstone on her recent accomplishments.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize a group of

Grade 5 students from my district on winning the first "Fit for

School" competition for the Western School District.

A Grade 5 class of Templeton Academy in Meadows and their teacher, Ms Joy

Burt, who is a legend in athletics in Newfoundland and Labrador, has won a grant

sponsored by the Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. The

competition encouraged students to come up with their own solutions to the high

obesity rates in the schools of the Province.

Ms Burt's class will use the funds to implement a ten-week program which

incorporates dance, nutrition and art lessons. Their program, "Groovin and

Choosin", was chosen because it actively includes many of the outcomes of

the Grade 5 physical education, health and science curriculum, involving

activities of exercise, eating and art in a fun way to get young people

interested in fitness. The outcomes will be shared with all elementary and

primary students in the school.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to join with me in extending congratulations

to these students and their teacher on this accomplishment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Windsor-Springdale.

MR. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to congratulate Randy and Judy

Wiseman on opening a fun new business in the Town of Grand Falls-Windsor, called

Glo to the Extreme. Their grand opening is scheduled for June 10. I had the

extreme pleasure in visiting their establishment on Saturday past and had the

most fun I have had in a long time.

They have opened a unique indoor glo in the dark, 18-hole, 5,000 square feet,

total black light effects miniature golf course. It is designed for all ages and

group sizes. Because it is an indoor recreation activity, it will be year round

fun for everyone.

Statistics Canada states Grand Falls-Windsor is a popular town for

retirement. An indoor miniature golf course will certainly be a great

entertainment for our seniors, as well as all ages.

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleagues in this House, please join with me in

congratulating the Wisemans on their confidence in rural Newfoundland to begin a

new business.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

Before we proceed, I do believe I may have been a little premature in

welcoming one group to the House. It has now come to my attention that the

Provincial Apprenticeship and Certification Board and their Chair, Mr. Rex

Cotter, have now arrived in the House, and we welcome you to our House this

afternoon.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

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

MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform members of the House that my department

has approved seven new Junior Exploration Assistance contracts so far this

fiscal year, for a total amount of just over $730,000. These contracts represent

a total work commitment of $2.4 million for mineral exploration activity in the

Province this year.

This funding is made possible through the Province's Mineral Incentive

Program, which received an additional $1 million in this year's provincial

Budget. At $2.5 million this year, it is the largest budget in the program's

history, as we talked about.

Mr. Speaker, $1.9 million of this year's Mineral Incentive Program has been

earmarked for junior exploration and prospecting, which are critical elements in

Newfoundland and Labrador's mining industry. The seven Junior Exploration

Assistance contracts we are announcing today will support geophysical surveys in

Labrador and on the South Coast of the Island, and drilling programs in the

Buchans and Port aux Basques regions.

The department has signed contracts with Silver Spruce Resources, Pathfinder

Resources, Vinland Resources, Cornerstone Resources, Playfair Mining, and two

with Messina Minerals. The contracts range in amounts from $80,000 to $150,000

and we know that, for every dollar invested by government, $1.41 of private

capital is spent on grassroots exploration.

Mr. Speaker, exploration activity increases the potential for new mine

development, which leads to new business and employment opportunities for the

people of the Province. Messina Minerals, for example, is making a significant

investment in its Tulks South Property in the Buchans-Millertown area as a

result of discovering significant amounts of zinc, lead, copper, silver and

gold. The company is extremely encouraged by the results of its exploration

activity in this Province and is adding three new drill rigs to its operation as

I speak.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the contracts we are announcing today, forty-two

prospector grants have also been approved so far this fiscal year for a total of

$145,550.

Since 2004, 197 prospectors assistance grants have been issued totalling over

$600,000 to carry out grassroots and advanced exploration. To date, these grants

have led to at least twelve option agreements with junior mining companies,

resulting in combined work commitments in excess of $2 million.

During this same period, forty-nine junior exploration assistance grants were

awarded totalling over $3.4 million. These resulted in project exploration

expenditures in excess of $12.3 million for advanced exploration, diamond

drilling, geophysics and geochemical surveys.

Given where the marketplace is for base metals, and with the Mineral

Incentive Program, we are investing in economic development and job

opportunities that are being created in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that all members support the initiative.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day . It seems like every

twenty-four hours life repeats itself. I am sure we are here only a couple of

days ago when the minister was up touting the advantages and the positive

aspects of this program. I am not sure; I don't think the last one was during

a polling period, but this one certainly is.

I am very pleased again, and I echo those sentiments of a couple of days ago.

I appreciate very much that government has chosen fit now to put money back into

the Mineral Incentive Program, a program that was created by the former Liberal

Administration, which this government axed in its 2004 Budget. They are finally

getting around now to putting some money back into it.

I am very pleased to see that he is up every day now touting this very

exciting - and recognizes the benefits of this program. It is, indeed, on a

serious note, very good for the Province, it is very good for the mining

industry. Every new discovery, of course, if it becomes operational, will no

doubt have very positive advantages for whatever area of the Province we happen

to make a find in.

I certainly encourage the minister to keep the money that has been going into

that program, keep it going there, because these young prospectors and junior

companies certainly need the assistance and support in order to - they have the

guts and the determination to go out there. They just need a little help in

getting underway and getting the exploration done.

I hope we can look back a couple of years from now and say we were as

successful in our offshore exploration as we appear to be headed in the right

direction onshore.

Again, hats off to the people involved in this industry, and I urge

government to keep the money going for this program.

Thank you.

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

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

I thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement.

We, too, support the junior exploration assistance program, Mr. Speaker. The

potential for development of mines in this Province, with the vastness of the

interior of Labrador and on the Island portion of the Province, is very great.

It has a huge potential, Mr. Speaker, one that has to be tapped and developed.

Of course, the investment into the junior mining companies that leads to a

development, one development, I say to the minister, one development, will pay

back more than government can ever contribute to support the junior mining

exploration program.

With a development, Mr. Speaker, just one development, with the good paying

jobs that are associated with the mining industry, with the secondary business

that is required to support it, it leads to a healthy work environment, Mr.

Speaker, and anything that can be done to support junior exploration in this

Province we certainly are proud to support.

MR. SPEAKER: Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, I stand today to recognize a young man from Main

Brook on the Northern Peninsula. Mark Powell is the Province's winner of the

Canadian Securities Administrators annual contest "Test Your Financial

IQ." The CSA recently awarded regional winners for every province and two

of the territories a cash prize of $750 each.

In order to win this prize, participants ages fifteen to twenty-one had to go

online and answer a number of questions about the importance of budgeting,

saving and investing. In general, they are encouraged to learn more about

financial matters.

This year's "Test Your Financial IQ" contest was another success

with over 2,100 contestants. Mr. Speaker, this shows once again that young

Canadians are taking a greater interest in their future financial health. I

cannot stress enough how important it is for all Canadians to know the benefits

of proper budgeting, saving and investing. As with many initiatives, obtaining

financial knowledge at a young age is vital to ensuring that more and more

adults understand the importance of financial responsibility.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Mark for his success. He is a young man with a bright

future. He is currently a student at Mary Simms All Grade School in Main Brook,

and he plans to use his prize money towards tuition for his studies at Memorial

University.

I am sure that all Members of the House of Assembly will join me in

congratulating Mark on being Newfoundland and Labrador's winner of the

"Test Your Financial IQ" contest. I wish him all the best for the

future.

This contest will be offered again next year, and I encourage all young

people to participate to test their financial IQ.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace.

MR. SWEENEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of her statement.

The members on this side of the House, as well, congratulate Mark as this

Province's winner in the annual contest of testing your financial IQ.

Mr. Speaker, it is important, as the minister said, that people do recognize

the benefits of budgeting, saving and investing their money. Mr. Speaker, I want

to say, too, that in today's challenging times for our young people, having to

find employment and create futures for themselves in this Province, we hope, on

this side of the House, that they are able to do that here in this Province and

that when they are, indeed, budgeting, saving and investing, that they do it

right here in Newfoundland and Labrador and not in some other Province.

We, too, Mr. Speaker, want to wish Mark every success in his future, and I

hope his future does make sure that it is here in Newfoundland and Labrador and

not like a lot of young people who are presently migrating to other provinces.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We are very happy to congratulate Mark Powell on his achievement in being one

of the winners of this contest of testing your financial IQ, learning about

budgeting, saving and investing. It is certainly noteworthy that Mr. Powell is

from rural Newfoundland, being from the Northern Peninsula.

I will say, Mr. Speaker, that Mr. Powell and other young people from rural

Newfoundland who want to go on to university, like this young man will, will

have to learn a lot about budgeting as long as we have a student aid policy in

the Province which sees rural students in particular with such huge financial

burdens after completing university, that budgeting to try and pay those debts

off is going to be difficult.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The member's allotted time has expired.

MR. HARRIS: By leave, Mr. Speaker?

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: By leave.

MR. HARRIS: It is going to be difficult as long as we have the system

that we do, where rural students have to spend a lot more money than urban

students to get an education in Newfoundland and Labrador. We would like to see

the playing field level so everybody has the same chance of getting out of

post-secondary education with a modest debt as opposed to a huge debt that many

rural students face.

MR. SPEAKER: Further Statements by Ministers.

Oral Questions

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

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My questions are for the Minister of Fisheries.

Mr. Speaker, in 2004 this government took the fish plant from James Doyle

& Sons in New Ferolle because that company defaulted on a government loan

guarantee. The government then turned around and, without a public call for

proposals, gave that plant to a company by the name of Ice Cap Fish Company

Limited. In 2005, this government renewed the license for Ice Cap even though

the company owed Workmen's Compensation thousands of dollars in arrears.

Can the minister tell us today how much money the company owed Workmen's

Comp, who the principal owners of the company were, and why he reissued the

license even though this company owed the government money?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the issue of the fish plant in New Ferolle - there are some

inaccuracies in what the member just said. First of all, we didn't take the

plant from James Doyle & Sons in 2004. That took place in the late winter

and spring of 2005. Ice Cap had entered into a lease arrangement, partnership

arrangement, of some sort with James Doyle & Sons Limited in 2003, I believe

it was. They operated the plant in 2003 and in 2004. In 2005, because it took so

long to get approval through the courts for us to move on our asset in New

Ferolle, we were essentially, I believe, into the first week of April at the

time. There was considerable pressure from the community and from the workforce

in the community, at the time, to have some kind of an arrangement such that the

plant could open last year, so we very quickly entered into a one-year

arrangement with Ice Cap Fisheries, the owners of which are Dave and Peter

Eveleigh. I believe they are the two principals involved in the company. We

entered into a one-year arrangement.

Due to some financial problems last summer, we informed the company that we

would not be renewing that lease arrangement for this year and went to a public

call for proposals which has been essentially concluded now, I believe, Mr.

Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The minister didn't answer the question that I asked, and that was how much

money they owed Workmen's Comp.

Mr. Speaker, we requested information under the Access to Information Act,

all copies of correspondence between Ice Cap and the provincial government

regarding the plant in New Ferolle. On Friday, we were informed that we could

have that information from the Department of Fisheries if we paid seventy

dollars. Yesterday we were told to keep our money, that the information would

not be given to us.

Can the minister tell us today why an open, accountable and transparent

government would deny us this information if there is nothing to hide?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I am sure the member might appreciate, I am not intimately

familiar with the details of what is happening right now in the Department of

Fisheries and Aquaculture as it relates to this file. I can only speak to what

happened when I was the minister.

As I just laid out to the member and to the House and to the people, what

happened last year happened as I explained it just then. This time last year -

or not this time last year, a month before this or so last year - there was

considerable pressure, not only from the community and from the workers to enter

into an arrangement to see the fish plant in New Ferolle open, but there was

also considerable shouting and heckling and questioning from across the floor

here in the House of Assembly by members opposite about what we were going to do

for the people of New Ferolle, and why hadn't we taken some action in New

Ferolle and what have you. At the time, we took very quick action. Were there

mistakes made? Undoubtedly, there may well have been. But, at the time, we took

the action that we took in order to try and facilitate an opening of the fish

plant at New Ferolle under the operation of an operator who had operated for two

years previously and who was, at that time, very much supported by the fishermen

and plant workers in the region.

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

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Obviously, the minister did not answer the question again. Maybe the Minister

of Justice, who is responsible for the Freedom of Information Act, can tell us

why we were denied the information.

Mr. Speaker, it is our understanding that in 2005, while the company Ice Cap

held a licence on the plant in New Ferolle, a company by the name of North

Atlantic Shellfish paid the employees and purchased the fish from fishermen. It

is also our understanding that this company, North Atlantic Shellfish, owed

hundreds of thousands of dollars to workman's compensation and, yet, this

company was still permitted to operate the plant in New Ferolle.

Can the minister tell us who the principal owners of North Atlantic Shellfish

are and how much money they owed workman's compensation?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we did a deal last year to try and make sure that an

operation continued in New Ferolle. That deal did not work out. Since then,

there has been a public process that has been engaged in. A public Request for

Proposals was issued. A number of companies in the Province, three or four, if I

am not mistaken, responded to that Request for Proposals. The proposals were

evaluated by the Fish Processing Licensing Board and a decision has been made on

that, as far as I know. That is what happened.

As for the issues that the member raises, I can only say, Mr. Speaker, I am

not intimately familiar with the details that he is putting forward here right

now. If he is -

MR. JOYCE: (Inaudible).

MR. TAYLOR: And I say to the member who is heckling from the Bay of

Islands in the backbench where he spent all of his life, Mr. Speaker, that if he

knows anything about the Cabinet process, all details like this do not come to

the Cabinet table. They are dealt with in the department, in many instances.

On this one, Mr. Speaker, I will take the member's questions under

advisement. I will endeavour to find an answer from the Department of Fisheries

and Aquaculture and Justice, and any other relative departments, and report back

to him.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, I say to the minister, you should know, you were

the minister when the licence was issued. Here we see another example today, no

information coming under the Freedom of Information Act. No information coming

into the House. Nobody seems to know what is going on around them.

Mr. Speaker, it is also our understanding that the principals of both of

these companies, North Atlantic Shellfish and Ice Cap, are both the operators of

a plant in Little Bay Islands in the minister responsible for workman's

compensation district.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister: Why is he continuing to issue

fish processing licences to these companies while they owe hundreds of thousands

of dollars to workman's compensation?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, as for the issue in Little Bay Islands, it is my understanding,

and I could be wrong - I will check this out also - but I do not believe that

there has been any licence issued in Little Bay Islands this year thus far. I do

not think the renewal application has come in. I do not think that the licence

has been issued. I am pretty certain that was the case last week, I am not sure

if it is the case this week, but I will also check on that.

As a former Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture would know, the requirement

of the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Department of Fisheries and

Aquaculture when it comes to issuing licences, Mr. Speaker, is to ensure that

the operators are in compliance with the Fish Inspection Act; that the

facilities are in compliance with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's

policies; that the licence renewal application comes in and the licence fee is

paid. When those requirements are met, Mr. Speaker, the licence gets issued.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, I say to the minister who was the Minister of

Fisheries, if it is something as simple as sending in a fee and getting a

licence: Why wasn't the licence given to Cliff Doyle in New Ferolle back in

2004? We get a lot of non answers here in the House of Assembly from a minister

who was responsible for issuing licences. He might say that the plant is not in

operation today, the question is: Has there been a licence issued for that plant

for this year, because we know there was one issued for last year?

Mr. Speaker, this government took the plant in New Ferolle from its original

owners because it owed money to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and

gave it to another company that currently owes government hundreds of thousands

of dollars to workers' compensation; yet, this company or these companies are

still permitted to operate in this Province.

I say to the minister: Why the double standard?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Mr. Speaker, if the member wants to find out the answer to

that question he can go to Hansard, because I am pretty certain that I answered

that question last year as to what happened with Cliff Doyle and James Doyle

& Sons, Mr. Speaker.

The fact of the matter was, James Doyle & Sons could not have a licence

issued to them because they did not have control of the facility. The facility

was leased in a long-term arrangement to Ice Cap Fisheries.

As he would know, being a former minister, the licence has to be issued to

the people who will have control of the facility. Mr. Doyle did not have control

of the facility; Ice Cap had control of the facility. The licence had to be

issued to Ice Cap in the first instance, if it was going to be issued at all.

We could not issue it to Ice Cap because we had a letter from a lawyer, on

behalf of creditors who had served judgement on James Doyle & Sons, that if

we did anything that would undermine their ability to collect the debt that was

outstanding by James Doyle & Sons to these companies then they would very

quickly haul us in court. So, Mr. Speaker, we could not do either one of it in

order to move it forward because there was $2.2 million lent under that

government to James Doyle & Sons.

We demanded payment and forced the operator into receivership, took

possession of the asset and entered into a short-term agreement on a lease

arrangement with Eveleigh's.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So, we are getting somewhere. The minister admits that he took the plant from

James Doyle & Sons because there was money owing the government on that

plant. Yet, he gave the licence to Ice Cap, or North Atlantic shellfish company,

who owes Workers' Compensation, who is responsible to the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador, thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars. When

are you going to do the same to those owners of those plants, I say to the

minister?

A final question, and it is to the Minister of Fisheries: Can the Minister of

Fisheries confirm that he received a political donation from the principal

owners of these companies, and that the wife of one of the principal owners of

these companies was just selected by the Progressive Conservation Party to sit

as their representative on the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, that is almost too low to even respond to, but I will say this:

First of all, we did not give anything to anybody. Unlike them, we did not give

$2.2 million to the Eveleighs. We did not give $2.2 million to Ice Cap

Fisheries. We did not give a fish plant to Ice Cap Fisheries, like they did with

Cliff Doyle; $2.2 million is what they left in the James Doyle operations. That

is what happened there.

We entered into a short-term lease agreement. That lease expired on December

31, if I am not mistaken. They have no assets whatsoever as it relates to New

Ferolle. The only thing that they have, in my understanding, is the cold storage

that they bought from James Doyle & Sons.

As for the plant, as for the licences, right now, if I am not mistaken, they

are still in the possession of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador unless

they have, in the last little while, been dispensed of through the public

process that we went through in the last little while.

As for donations, I am sure that every fish company in Newfoundland and

Labrador made a donation to all or one or both, and in most cases both,

political parties over the course of the last couple of elections.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.

MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's report released earlier

Guitar Works. Officials in the Department of Finance and the Department of

Innovation, Trade and Rural Development recommended against any additional

investment because the loan could not be secured. The loan would not generate

additional employment in the Province. The revised business plan from the

company was not ready, and existing investors were not willing to put forward

more money.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Can he confirm that he ignored the advice

from officials in these two departments and overruled two ministers when he

personally made the decision to put an additional $300,000 of government money

into Griffiths Guitar?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can confirm that I overruled the advice of the departments. I did not

overrule the advice of the ministers, under any circumstances.

You are very familiar with Griffiths Guitar. You are very familiar with the

principal, Chris Griffiths, because I think you were probably minister - I think

it was under Mr. Tobin's reign, basically, when Mr. Griffiths started up his

business. There was a lot of money put into his business by your government over

the series of a couple of years. He was a poster boy for young entrepreneurs in

this Province. It was very, very important that he be successful. We wanted to

take him to the next leg and we did not want to see this failure as a blemish on

the Province. You helped him start his business and we allowed him to continue

it.

Yes, I did overrule and I am proud of it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.

MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General has raised concerns about the

approach taken here. With this in mind, the Official Opposition filed an Access

to Information Request asking for background information to find out more about

the questions raised by the Auditor General on the use of these taxpayer

dollars.

Our requests were met with stonewalling from government, as one department

refused to release any information and another would charge the Official

Opposition excessive fees for information that should be readily available.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: What is so sensitive about the information,

that you are insisting the Official Opposition go through the Access to

Information to get that particular information?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, there are thousands of requests for

information in government. I am not aware of any sensitive information as to why

any particular information was refused; nor am I aware of any sensitive

information in the request by the Leader of the Opposition.

I certainly will undertake to this House that we will look at those requests.

I will find out personally as to if there is any problem with it. If there is,

in fact, any confidential information that is proprietary commercially to any of

these organizations then obviously we cannot do it. I am sure the Member for

Grand Bank, and a former minister, is perfectly aware of that.

With regard to the Opposition looking for information, they have to go

through a process and a procedure, and that is a normal procedure. If this is

being withheld for any other reason, the fact that it is proprietary or

something to do with the act, then I would certainly undertake to report back to

this House and we will get to the bottom of it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.

MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, I would also ask the Premier to find a way of

ensuring that we do not have to pay for the information, which we are now being

charged for.

Mr. Speaker, because of the Auditor General's report there is a cloud of

suspicion over this expenditure of taxpayers' dollars and the people of this

Province have a right to the information so they can decide for themselves if it

was a good use of their money. It would also lift the cloud hanging over

Griffiths Guitar.

I ask the Premier: What jobs have been created in this Province as a result

of that funding? What repayment

schedule did the government arrange with the

company, and have they been meeting their payments? Not difficult questions to

answer, Mr. Speaker, for a government that claims to be transparent and

accountable.

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

Board.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Griffiths Guitar received in the millions of dollars, prior to us coming into

office, from the former government and from Atlantic equity investment. It was

in the millions. They had private investors into the company, too, and numerous

others; it is several million dollars.

They came to a government looking for $300,000 to be able to carry forward.

That $300,000 has been added to the money given by the former government when

they were in power. What we have done in the past year, it is in the budget

here, and I have never gotten one question on those items in the Estimates so I

will give it now. I am prepared to answer anything on that.

What we have done in this fiscal year, we have allowed for a delay of the

repayment of the money plus interest for one year, and they will have to start

paying that then, because they needed an opportunity to be able to carry on

their business.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. SULLIVAN: They needed to be able to carry on in the Province, Mr.

Speaker, and be able to do business there. We have delayed it. We have not, in

any way, written off or changed anything. I might add, it is very minuscule,

$300,000, in comparison to millions that went through under a former government.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair recognizes the Member for Grand Bank.

MS FOOTE: Mr. Speaker, I am sure everyone can see the irony in the

Minister of Finance standing to defend something the Premier did when he,

himself, refused to acknowledge the request from Griffiths Guitar as being one

that, in fact, they should do as a government.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Can he confirm that Griffith's Guitars,

which has on its Board of Directors such noted businessmen as John Risley, use

the money they got from the government to set up production in China and to set

up a distribution centre in the United States?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I can quite honestly say, I have no idea

who is on the Board of Directors of Griffith's Guitars. No idea.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair will have to recess the House if we do not get co-operation.

The Chair recognizes the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair recognizes the hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question is for the Minister of Finance.

Just a few short years ago the minister was outraged in the House of Assembly

because ambulance operators were operating with only four ambulances and

paramedics in daytime and only two units on night duty. The only thing that has

changed is the minister is no longer the Health critic but now the Minister of

Finance boasting surplus budgets. So why the change of heart, minister? Why do

you not honour your commitment to the paramedics in the St. John's region?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. OSBORNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are a couple of things that have changed, I say, Mr. Speaker. One of

them is that in 2003 there was additional ambulatory services added. This year,

outside of what was budgeted because there was no representation in the previous

three years to any of the Health Ministers, we added an additional $400,000 to

put a transfer service on and additional dispatch services. So, there is a great

deal that has changed, Mr. Speaker. Since 2003, when the additional ambulatory

services were put on, there has been no representation made to any of the Health

Ministers between then and now to ask for more.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: They are asking now, minister, in case you have not noticed.

They have been trying to get a meeting.

I was appalled on April 12, Mr. Speaker, to hear the Minister of Health say

that his government has addressed breast cancer in the Province. His own words

in Hansard. The Cancer Society feels that a tracking system needs to be put in

place to ensure repeat contact with women of breast cancer so that we may meet

the targeted rate of 80 per cent screening amongst all women in our society. Is

this something that the government will commit to?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, I work very closely with the Canadian Cancer

Society, and Peter Dawe at the Canadian Cancer Society, who have told us that he

has been very impressed with the funding that has been put forward in this year's

Budget to address cancer issues.

Additionally, Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Cancer Society and myself, as

Minister of Health, and the officials in my department are working on a cancer

strategy, and that issue will be addressed as part of the cancer strategy.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, breast screening in this Province starts for most

women at age fifty. Yet, anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that this cancer

is becoming more prevalent amongst younger women. Is the government considering

reducing the age recommended for women to have breast cancer screening in

Newfoundland and Labrador?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, as part of the cancer strategy that is now

being worked on - and, hopefully, we will have a draft copy of that strategy

this year - we will look at all areas of cancer to see how we can better improve

cancer services in the Province. As we did in this year's Budget, we have had

tremendous improvements to cancer strategies in the Province and cancer services

in this Province in this year's Budget.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, I was contacted by a thirty-eight-year-old woman

who found a lump in her breast in January. She tried to have a mammogram done in

this Province and was turned away because of her age. Now, four months later,

she has another and is finally able to have the important medical testing done.

Will this government undertake a study of breast cancer in younger women in

our Province to determine if there is a statistical trend developing and to see

if they can be more proactive in improving this particular health issue?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we are just as

concerned about cancer and the prevention of cancer as anybody in this Province.

Certainly, part of the cancer strategy, and even outside of the cancer strategy,

we will look at ways of trying to reduce cancer. What the member has put

forward, we will certainly look at that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, evidence exists from a professor at Trent University that there

is a connection between those who live near transformers and those who develop

cancer. Mr. Gerald Higgins of Norris Arm has brought forward much information on

this issue, as the minister knows. I ask him whether he or his department have

investigated a possible link and if he will make his findings available to the

public?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, as far as I am aware there has been no

investigation into that particular issue. I can look into it to find out if

there has been an investigation, and if there was I will certainly make those

findings available.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair.

MS JONES: Mr. Speaker, an ad hoc survey that was conducted in the

Province of 4,000 people indicated that only nine of those with cancer did not

live near transformers. Furthermore, there were 150 municipalities that were

contacted for the survey, and all of them indicated that the majority of those

diagnosed with cancer in their communities did, indeed, live near a transformer.

I think this is evidence enough to suggest that your department launch an

independent study into this to assess if there is a definite concern for those

people who are living near transformers in our Province, and I ask the minister

if he will have an investigation of this.

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. T. OSBORNE: Mr. Speaker, as one example, it is very difficult to find

any house in the City of St. John's that is not near a transformer. There have

been studies done in other jurisdictions that I am aware of. Those studies have

come back without conclusive evidence that transformers cause cancer. That is

not to say that they don't, Mr. Speaker, and I am certainly not prepared to

say that they don't. We will look at whatever evidence is available in

determining whether or not cancer is indeed connected to transformers.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MR. HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question is for the Premier.

The new government in Ottawa has taken nearly $1 billion out of energy

conservation programs for people such as EnerGuide for houses, and New Brunswick

has shown an average of 37 per cent reduction in energy consumption for a home

retrofit. Mr. Speaker, Quebec and New Brunswick are determined to carry on

without the feds with New Brunswick offering a $10,000 interest free loan for

consumers.

Will his government step up to the plate to ensure that Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians can have access to this kind of program that would save money on

higher energy costs and create needed jobs?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Officials from my department and from HLRE are in consultation right now with

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, and that is exactly what we are looking at,

to see how we can supplement the program that was already in place and see if we

can find ways to enhance the program provincially.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

MR. HARRIS: Mr. Speaker, we understand that there are two kinds of

programs, the low-income program and the regular program, and that NLHC are

looking after one.

I do have a follow-up supplementary question on a different matter, regarding

the protection of ponds in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen that Aur Resources is determined to do in two ponds

out in Central Newfoundland as part of its Duck Pond development. Mr. Speaker,

we now hear that Inco plans to use a pond -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. HARRIS: - called Sandy Lake, the size of Quidi Vidi Lake, as a

tailings pond in Long Harbour.

I just want to ask the minister to answer a simple question: Is his

government prepared to let people like Inco or Aur Resources destroy ponds, are

they going to let them do it or are they going to put a stop to it?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. JACKMAN: No, Mr. Speaker, we are not prepared to let anyone destroy

any ponds or any type of environment. It goes through an entire process. The

process is as wide as it can be so that people can have input and then decisions

will be made on forthcoming information.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. JOYCE: Mr. Speaker, flood victims in Stephenville have experienced a

great deal of turmoil and stress. Twenty-three families living outside the flood

zone are experiencing high levels of anxiety. They are seeking copies of the

petroleum technology report, which the town has in its possession. Government

admits they have it also. The Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs

stated he will get them a copy. The Member for Stephenville East told them to

apply under the Freedom of Information Act.

I ask the Premier: After this runaround, would you order your ministers to

show some compassion and give these families a copy of this report?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. J. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the member for his question.

With respect to the environmental report that was done, I have already

committed to my hon. critic a few days ago that we would have a look at that. My

department is reviewing it at this point in time. There was some confusion out

there of who should release and make the report public. The work was done for

the Town of Stephenville, the government paid for it, Mr. Speaker, and we will

be releasing that report to those individuals in the very near future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

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

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will just let the minister know that the town council is releasing bits and

pieces to the residents. You can see their frustration, that here is a report,

the council are releasing pages by pages, and here is the minister now saying

that he is going - they need the report, Mr. Minister, they really need the

report.

There is a second report, some call it the emergency report, some call it the

flood zone report. The twenty-three families are once again getting the

runaround, in addition to all the stress they are living with. The Town of

Stephenville is saying that the report belongs to the Department of Municipal

and Provincial Affairs, the department is saying it belongs to the town as the

government only paid for the report.

Will the Premier, again, show some compassion and order the release of this

report to the affected families to know what they are dealing with and why they

are outside the affected flood zone area?

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

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. J. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly welcome this question because I do want to clear up

some confusion with respect to a report that the member is talking about.

First of all, I will say that this government showed more compassion for

victims of floods in this Province of Newfoundland and Labrador than that

government ever showed when they were the government, I can tell you that.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, Oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. J. BYRNE: By far, Mr. Speaker, with respect to their response and the

amount of money that we are putting into it.

Now, with respect to the so-called report that the hon. member is talking

about, there was an environmental report done for the Town of Stephenville. I

said we would release that. The report that he is talking about, the flood

control zone, the engineers were asked to determine where the flood control zone

would be. Through normal engineering practices in the field, they made that

determination. That boundary has been plotted on a map and it has been made

public, at least a month ago, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The time allocated for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

MR. SPEAKER: Recognizing the hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to table two documents today, or reports: The Newfoundland and

Labrador Hydro Annual Report, and the Report on Mineral Licences, Mining Leases

and Surface Leases issued for the period April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006.

MR. SPEAKER: Further tabling of documents?

The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to table for the hon. members

the Activities Report for the Real Estate Foundation of Newfoundland and

Labrador, and the Embalmers and Funeral Directors Board, as well as the annual

report on operations carried out under the Automobile Insurance Act.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Notices of Motions.

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.

MS THISTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today I am standing on behalf of the people of the Buchans area and it is

becoming abundantly clear, according to the debate that ensued last night, that

this government has no intention of investing any money in the highway in

Buchans.

I listened to the Minister of Natural Resources today, and I looked at the

statement that he made. He talked about Messina Minerals making a significant

investment in Tulks South Property in the Buchans, Millertown area and they are

adding three new drill rigs this year. Now, Aur Resources are investing $90

million in the Duck Pond, Millertown area. The Barite plant is in operation.

When I look at the Tory Blue Book, the Premier is saying that investment

infrastructure is one of the most effective ways government can stimulate job

creation in the short and long-term. Do you know something? That is a statement

that got this government elected, but it is only lip service because they have

no commitment to rural Newfoundland and Labrador. I do not understand it. I have

made the case day after day for upgrades to the Buchans Highway. I think anyone

who is listening would say: Yes, she has made her case. There is a lot of logic

in the evidence to support why infrastructure money should be spent.

We have a government here now that is crying out for new job creation and you

have three companies that have invested millions of dollars in the Buchans area

and they are going to be spending thousands, and hundreds of thousands, millions

of dollars in service products all over Central Newfoundland and all over our

Province. Yet, we have a government that will not invest $1 million to upgrade

the Buchans Highway so people can get to their work, so jobs and services can be

produced in that particular area.

The Minister of Finance will not need to have a heart attack when he stands

up talking about the Budget. The money is coming easy, revenue from Central

Newfoundland. Still, today, he stood up and talked about $300,000 invested in

Griffiths Guitars was a minuscule amount of money for jobs that are outside our

Province. Now, today, I am asking for $1 million to upgrade the Buchans Highway.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS THISTLE: I see the Minister of Transportation and Works has no

compassion. Even though he is from rural Newfoundland, he has no compassion for

people who are trying to live there and conduct their business and contribute to

the provincial economy. There is no logic to confirm why the Minister of Finance

is not seeing fit to invest in this highway.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The member's allotted time has expired.

MS THISTLE: May I have five minutes?

MR. SULLIVAN: No, sit down.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been denied.

MS THISTLE: The Minister of Finance has denied my leave. Typical of an

arrogant government three years on the job.

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

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I stand again today to offer a petition concerning the Wild Cove dump site in

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair would ask members for their co-operation.

The hon. the Member for Bay of Islands is presenting a petition. We ask for

everybody's attention so we can hear what the gentleman has to say.

MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thought I was denied leave by the Minister of Finance again, because he

does not want to hear the stuff that should be done around the Province, I

guess.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to offer a petition again on behalf of the

residents, this time of the Town of Cox's Cove, concerning the dump site on

the North Shore of the Bay of Islands. Mr. Speaker, I will read the prayer of

the petition because this may be the last petition.

There is a meeting with the two ministers on, I think it is, May 16, with the

two ministers - the Minister of Municipal Affairs and the Minister of

Environment and Conservation - with the mayors on the North Shore and other

interested councils involved with the Wild Cove dump site.

WHEREAS Council is opposing the continued use of the Wild Cove dump site; and

WHEREAS the site creates a mess of garbage along the roadway from Wild Cove

to Ballam Bridge; and

WHEREAS the smell is particularly bad in summer; and

WHEREAS any tourists who visit our area do not have a good impression of the

area right from the start, having to drive through the litter along the roadway

and ditches;

WHEREUPON we the undersigned are opposed to the Wild Cove dump staying in

operation for another twenty years.

Mr. Speaker, I just advise the two ministers that, in the meeting on May 16,

those residents, and the councils representing those residents, will be asking

to have the dump site removed, somehow; go on to the regional disposal site

somewhere outside the area, somewhere outside the municipal boundary.

It became more evident again, and I always knew it, that I can walk up to the

dump site with a bag of garbage out of my car and throw it in, no problem.

Someone who is about twenty feet boundary just down has to pay $20 to have the

garbage dropped off.

It is getting so strict now with the City of Corner Brook that if I walked in

there, or any resident of the City of Corner Brook, they have to have an ID or

they are not allowed to drop off their garbage, or they have to pay their funds.

It is just unbelievable, Mr. Speaker.

Then you talk about the road hazard coming up. Granted, the residents did put

up with this hazard for the last number of years. Granted, there was always a

problem there, but they always saw the light at the end of the tunnel because

the commitment was made to have the dump site closed, not extended for another

twenty or thirty years.

I just put the two ministers on notice that the councils they will be meeting

will be asking to have the dump site shut down, a regional disposal site built

somewhere, and follow the recommendations that were made in the report to the

Great Humber Joint Council to have it outside a municipal boundary so that

people who come in from outside will be able to use the site -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The member's allotted time has expired.

MR. JOYCE: By leave, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: By leave?

MR. E. BYRNE: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave is granted.

MR. JOYCE: I thank the hon. House Leader for leave to clue up.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very important issue. It deserves a great deal of

consideration and thought, and I can assure the ministers that I know the City

of Corner Brook is moving full steam ahead to try to close this, but the people

on the North Shore do have legitimate concerns. They should be addressed; they

should be adhered to.

I know the Minister of Municipal Affairs said what a regional dump site is

going to look like, a disposal site, and I agree - I agree - but without the

little information being shared with the mayors and the residents, it is going

to cause confusion.

So, I thank the two ministers for coming out and meeting with the councils. I

look forward to the meeting with the councils. If the two ministers want to

visit the dump site beforehand, I will gladly bring them down to the dump site,

to show them the dump site, and express the concerns so they have first-hand

knowledge of the concerns facing the residents of the North Shore.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace.

MR. SWEENEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to present this petition signed by the residents of Harbour

Grace, and it simply states:

We, the undersigned, fully support the stand of the Town of Harbour Grace, to

stop the closure of Harbour Grace Primary scheduled for 2010 by the Eastern

School Board.

This decision for closure is unprofessional, inappropriate, and obviously

personally mandated. Failure to reverse this decision will leave us no other

choice but to call for the immediate resignation of our zone representative,

Milton Peach, and the Director of Education for the Eastern School District,

Darin King.

It says, "Speak up for your future, your children's future and your

Town's future. Don't be part of the silence, let's be heard."

Mr. Speaker, Harbour Grace has been dealt a number of blows over the past

number of years. One of the major ones has been the closure, of course, of their

fish plant. You know, the education system and the infrastructure in the

community is very important to the growth and lifespan of a community. Harbour

Grace lost a school some time ago, and yet they are afraid that there is going

to be another school lost. Mr. Speaker, the school slated for closure, Harbour

Grace Primary, is one of the newest in the district. It was built in 1989.

Mr. Speaker, some time ago -

MR. JOYCE: Built when?

MR. SWEENEY: In 1989.

Some time ago, the council and the mayor wrote a letter to the Minister of

Education asking for a meeting with her to discuss their concerns regarding this

school closure. As of this morning, there has been no reply back. The mayor has

asked me to see if the minister would consider meeting with him and some of his

councillors in a friendly, cordial way to discuss this issue.

Mr. Speaker, the mayor says here that he cannot personally believe the

theoretical differences between the previous and current education boards. He

has spoken with members of the previous boards, and they find that the new

recommendations are hard to believe considering all of the discussions and

public input that was received.

The current board speaks of the value of the community schools; yet, they

will not consult with the community. There was a short meeting. The town had ten

minutes. It was almost like The Gong Show. After the alarm went off, they were

shut down. There was no dialogue allowed afterwards. There was no input from the

people. A ten-minute report, a ten-minute presentation by, I think it was, the

deputy mayor of the town, and he gave some of the rationale why this school

should not be closed.

The interesting part of it was that this presentation -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's time has expired.

MR. SWEENEY: Leave, Mr. Speaker, to conclude?

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been requested.

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave is granted.

MR. SWEENEY: Mr. Speaker, the interesting part of this was that there

were only two of the fifteen trustees present. Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister:

How can this be a valid meeting and a valid decision, with such a small minority

of the board?

Minister, I ask you again: Would you please entertain the notion of having a

meeting with the mayor and some of his councillors?

Mr. Speaker, hopefully tomorrow I will get an opportunity to continue on, on

another issue. I certainly hope not, because the mayor and council were good

enough - he closes off by saying: In the meantime, please accept this T-shirt as

a token of the pride of the people of Harbour Grace

MS FOOTE: For who?

MR. SWEENEY: For the Minister of Education.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible) laughing.

MR. SWEENEY: I hope she is not laughing and wearing the T-shirt that the

Town of Harbour Grace sent in to her.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Grand Bank.

MS FOOTE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise again today to present a petition on behalf of the constituents in the

District of Grand Bank and, I guess, on behalf of a lot of people on the Burin

Peninsula. Of course, I refer to the closure of the fish plant in Fortune.

The petitions that I have been presenting throughout the last couple of weeks

have, in fact, been signed by people from Grand Bank and Fortune.

Today, I am presenting a petition - the same petition, actually - signed by

people from Lord's Cove, Point May, Lamaline and Point au Gaul. These people,

of course, are impacted as well.

I have said time and time again in this House of Assembly, the closure of the

fish plant in Fortune does not only impact on the Town of Fortune and the people

who live in Fortune, but on people from all of these communities because they

all have worked at that plant and, of course, what happens in terms of a loss of

employment for individuals from those communities, that impacts as well on local

businesses in the communities that are impacted.

Mr. Speaker, the prayer of the petition is, in fact, calling upon government

to acknowledge that the fish that has been traditionally processed in Fortune,

at the plant in Fortune, should continue to be processed there. People who have

signed this petition are calling on the government to make sure that FPI is not

allowed to walk away with a quota that has been traditionally processed in

Fortune. They have been very callous. The company has been very callous in their

actions. They have completely disregarded their responsibility as a corporate

citizen in this Province. They certainly have not been a good corporate citizen

in the last little while, given the impact that their decisions have had on the

people who worked for them. It is not only the people who worked on the floor of

the fish plant, but we have the management of the fish plant as well who have

been hung out to dry.

I had a call the other day from one of the managers who said they have not

been able to get any answers at all in terms of what the future holds for them.

They have tried to get meetings and they have been brushed aside. So, we have

the management of the FPI plant in Fortune, as well as all of the people who

were employed at the fish plant in Fortune, as well as the fisherpeople who sold

their product to FPI. All of these people are calling on the government now and

saying, you must do whatever you can to ensure that a quota that was

traditionally processed in Fortune continues to be processed in Fortune. Because

that is the only way, Mr. Speaker, that they see any future for themselves in

rural Newfoundland and Labrador. Unfortunately, many are leaving today. They

have left in weeks gone by, months gone by, ever since FPI decided to be as

callous as it has been and move to other parts of this country.

There is a cost associated with that, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, these

people who have been on EI now for a period of time, the EI is running out. They

will have absolutely no income, so they have no choice but to leave our

Province. In fact, come June, I expect we will see many more leaving and taking

their families with them. The hardship that this is posing on the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador is unheard of. In fact, I would say it is probably -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's time has expired.

MS FOOTE: Leave to clue up, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been requested.

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.

MS FOOTE: I appreciate the leave.

I think it is important to make the point that what we are seeing happening

in rural Newfoundland and Labrador today as a result of the actions by FPI and

the inaction of this government is that we are probably seeing a crisis that is

having a severe impact, probably greater than the closure of the cod fishery

when we saw the moratorium imposed.

Mr. Speaker, I again call on the government to acknowledge that it is a

serious issue here. FPI should never, ever be allowed to sell off whatever they

are going to sell off and leave with a quota.

Thank you.

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

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to present a petition on behalf of a number of residents on the

Great Northern Peninsula. I will read the petition, Mr. Speaker, and I will have

a few words. If I do not finish it today, I will be presenting another petition

tomorrow from the same residents of that general area.

The petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:

WHEREAS the Great Northern Peninsula has suffered extreme amounts of high

unemployment over the last five years; and

WHEREAS fish plant operations have been the primary employment generator

along the Northern Peninsula; and

WHEREAS many fish plants have been closed as a direct consequence of

government action, such as New Ferolle, Englee, Black Duck Cove and Anchor

Point, as well as others; and

WHEREAS this has put fish plant workers out of work; and

WHEREAS the current operating fish plants are teetering on the edge of

bankruptcy, attributable to government action or inaction;

WHEREUPON the undersigned petitioners humbly pray and call upon the House of

Assembly to strike an all-party committee of the House of Assembly to come and

meet with the Great Northern Peninsula Concerned Citizens Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present the petition on behalf of all those who

have signed it. From communities like: Shoal Cove west, Reefs Harbour, New

Ferolle, and so on. What they are asking, simply, is that the government

establish an all-party committee to go visit the residents of the affected

region on the Northern Peninsula to try and determine what we can do, what

government can do to help them out. Because as they said in their petition, Mr.

Speaker, a lot of this can be attributed to the actions or the inactions on

behalf of this current government. I will talk about Anchor Point and the plant

in Black Duck Cove today, and if I get a chance I will also mention New Ferolle,

as we talked about already in the House of Assembly today, and Englee.

The plants, I believe, in Black Duck Cove and Anchor Point are not open today

and the residents of that area are not employed in those two plants simply

because of government's inaction to enforce a policy that has been on the

books in the Department of Fisheries for the Province for the past ten or twelve

or fourteen years.

Mr. Speaker, when Vic Young and FPI built the plant in Port au Choix, they

built it under one condition, that shrimp harvested in the Gulf had to remain on

the Northern Peninsula for processing. Shortly after that, Daley Brothers went

up and built a fish plant in Anchor Point, the one that is not open today, and

they were included in that. Fish harvested in the Gulf - shrimp harvested in the

Gulf had to be processed then in those two plants, Anchor Point and in Port au

Choix. Later, in came Black Duck Cove, St. Anthony and later Charlottetown.

Mr. Speaker, the reason those plants are not open today is because the

government won't enforce a policy that has been on the books down there. I

tell you, Mr. Speaker, I know enough about that fishery to know that if the

minister said today that shrimp that is harvested in the Gulf had to be

processed on the Gulf, then the fish wouldn't be trucked off the Peninsula and

those people who are unemployed in that region of the Province, one of the most

severely hit areas when it comes to out-migration, those people -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's time is up.

MR. REID: Just a couple of seconds to clue up, Mr. Speaker, because I

said I will be back again tomorrow?

AN HON. MEMBER: To clue up.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted to make some concluding comments.

MR. REID: I am firmly convinced, all the Minister of Fisheries has to do

today is make the proclamation, according to the policy in his own department,

that shrimp harvested in the Gulf has to remain on the Northern Peninsula, and,

Mr. Speaker, I bet you dollars to donuts the plant in Anchor Point and the plant

in Black Duck Cove would be opened within a matter of days. The owners of those

two plants will not open them if they are giving an opportunity to take that

shrimp that came out of the Gulf and take it to other plants that are located on

the Avalon Peninsula, while those on the Northern Peninsula are home and the

plants are remaining idle.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MR. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate an opportunity to present a petition again on behalf of the

citizens and the students of the Rose Blanche, Harbour Le Cou and Diamond Cove

area in the Burgeo-LaPoile District.

This is, I believe, the ninth petition of its sort that I have been

receiving, and have received, from that particular area. It concerns the

intended meeting, I should say at this point, to take place on Thursday night in

Rose Blanche in St. Michael's concerning the possible closure of St. Michael's

School.

I have issued to the Minister of Education, who represents the district just

next door to mine, a personal invitation to be in attendance at that meeting. I

feel it would be very beneficial to her. Of course, I copied that to all the

local media and the students and the teachers and the residents of Rose Blanche,

Harbour Le Cou and Diamond Cove, to let them know that the Minister of Education

has been invited. If you are going to make these decisions, and you are the

minister ultimately responsible for the administration of education in this

Province, you ought to actually see, firsthand, how these types of decisions are

made, the deliberations that take place, and exactly what the impact of a

decision of this nature will be; not only on the students in K-6 who will end up

being put on a bus and bused up the road to another community, but also on the

community itself.

There are all kinds of issues here. It is not just a case of a physical

building that we, for whatever reason, might not want to keep going anymore. You

have to consider the social fabric of the community. We haven't seen a lot, in

this government in some cases, about the social fabric of some communities.

Schools, I am a firm believer, the same as our churches, are one of the

cornerstones of our communities. If we start removing schools from our small

communities in rural Newfoundland, actually that is not a bleeding, that begins

the hemorrhaging from these communities. You cannot expect people to stay there

if their kids cannot get educated.

For the cost that is involved, there is very limited cost, particularly in

this case, because St. Michael's is in great physical condition. The teachers

are all from that area and want to live there, and the students certainly want

to stay there. They have some particular programming, in fact, in place in that

school that they are not going to get up the road even though they are going to

a bigger school.

The board is going to be in Rose Blanche on Thursday evening to discuss all

of these considerations. The parents will be well prepared. They will be very

orderly and logical. Again, I sincerely invite the Minister of Education to

educate herself as to what happens in these types of motions, how boards deal

with them and how the parents deal with them, because you have a very rational,

logical group of parents in Rose Blanche who, no doubt, when the chips are down

and the meeting is over on Thursday night, will have made their case why St.

Michael's should not be slated for closure.

Again, we invite everybody in that particular area to come out and support

the people in that area, and the students in that area, who desperately want

their school to stay open.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to present this petition on

behalf of the residents of Rose Blanche-Harbour Le Cou and Diamond Cove.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: The Chair recognizes the hon. Member for Carbonear-Harbour

Grace.

MR. SWEENEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to present this petition on behalf of residents from Victoria to

Bay de Verde, Red Head Cove, on the North Shore.

The petition states, Mr. Speaker:

WHEREAS conditions on Route 70 passing through Victoria and Salmon Cove is in

bad need of repair; and

WHEREAS the traffic travelling over this road includes school buses,

commercial trucks and patients going to hospitals by private vehicle or by

ambulance; and

WHEREAS this route is part of the Conception Bay North Highway and it has

deteriorated over the past number of years;

WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, call upon all Members of the

House of Assembly to see that this

section of road is brought up to proper

standards.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SWEENEY: Mr. Speaker, I am trying to speak over the Member for

Trinity-Bay de Verde over there. She is making a few comments. She is talking

about her mechanic again.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The Chair recognizes the hon. Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace.

MR. SWEENEY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your protection.

The other night, going home, I received the greatest body blow - voting

against the Budget. This is one of the reasons why I voted against the Budget,

Mr. Speaker. There were a number of very inadequate things there. I would also

like to add the fact that when the vote was taken, Mr. Speaker, I was attending

a function in my district. I wish the hon. member would get her facts straight.

Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting that this particular stretch of highway

serves a large number of people. The particular highway itself serves a number

of senior homes. It serves a couple of fish plants in that area. It also serves

a couple of parks: Northern Bay Sands and Salmon Cove Sands, two very busy spots

during the summer months. A high number of tourists travel the area. The area is

called, Going around the Loop', where they leave, go down through Victoria,

down around the shore, and come back again over Heart's Content and Heart's

Content Barrens, back to Victoria.

Mr. Speaker, what is interesting to note is that, since these petitions have

started, there are notes being added to the petition, such as: In desperate

need. Another one here: Please help my sick mom. Give her a decent road to drive

to the hospital on. Fix the road. There are all sorts of footnotes added to a

petition, which I have not seen very often.

Mr. Speaker, this particular road also brings people from that area, from the

North Shore area, to the Carbonear General Hospital. There are also people who

are visiting family and friends at the Harbour Lodge and the Interfaith nursing

home. Carbonear is also a shopping area, a service center, where many people

from that particular area go to obtain various goods and services.

Mr. Speaker, all these people are asking for is some repairs to the road. If

it cannot be resurfaced - and, judging from what I received last week in the

press release from the Minister of Transportation, it does not look like it is

going to be resurfaced this year - I certainly wish -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The hon. member's allotted time has expired.

MR. SWEENEY: Just to conclude, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been requested.

AN HON. MEMBER: By leave.

MR. SPEAKER: Leave has been granted.

MR. SWEENEY: Mr. Speaker, all they are asking for is, if the road cannot

be resurfaced, at least for it to be repaired in a timely manner before the

tourism season ends.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

MR. E. BYRNE: Orders of the Day, I believe, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

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

MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to move Motion 2, pursuant to Standing Order 11, that the House not

adjourn at 5:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, May 16.

MR. SPEAKER: The motion is that this House, under Standing Order 11, not

adjourn at 5:30 p.m. of the clock today, Tuesday, May 16.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Motion carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

MR. REID: (Inaudible) your mouth so (inaudible). You speak volumes.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

MR. E. BYRNE: It is interesting; the Leader of the Opposition just sang

out to my colleague, the Member for Trinity-Bay de Verde, to ask if she has ever

heard the saying: Open thy mouth so we may know thee.

I say to the Leader of the Opposition, you have done a great example of us

coming to know you, and so have the people of the Province.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. E. BYRNE: Mr. Speaker, Motion 3, to move, pursuant Standing Order 11,

that the House not adjourn at 10:00 o'clock tonight.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The motion is that -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

The motion is that, pursuant to Standing Order 11, this House not adjourn

today, May 16, 2006, at 10:00 o'clock p.m.

All those in favour, aye'.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Aye.

MR. SPEAKER: All those against, nay'.

Carried.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

MR. E. BYRNE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Order 6, I move second reading of a bill,

An Act To Amend The Student

Financial Assistance Act. (Bill 29)

MR. SPEAKER: It is moved and seconded that Bill 29,

An Act To Amend The

Student Financial Assistance Act, be now read a second time.

Motion, second reading of a bill, "An Act To Amend The Student Financial

Assistance Act." (Bill 29)

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Education.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS BURKE: Mr. Speaker, the Province continues to move forward with the

one student-one loan concept introduced under the Canada-Newfoundland and

Labrador Integrated Loan Agreement signed in March, 2004. To this end, the

Department of Education is introducing legislation to adjust the Student

Financial Assistance Act to permit integrated collections with the federal

government. These legislative changes or amendments are necessary in order to

further this agreement.

Integrated collections being set, the federal and provincial governments will

combine collection efforts on the defaulted student loans. This will result in

one collector contacting borrowers, and one repayment which will be applied to

both the federal and provincial defaults of the student loan. This will

certainly introduce a more streamlined process for the students who are in

default - I guess they are not students at the time - the people who are in

default of their student loans, because at this time there would be two

collections of these defaulted loans: one for the provincial and one for the

federal system.

Government is concerned about the rate of recovery on defaulted student

loans. There are approximately 9,700 provincial defaulted loan accounts nearing

$69 million, and increasing at a rate of approximately $1 million a month. These

loans must be collected to ensure students with defaulted student loans are

treated the same as students in good standing who are repaying their student

loans.

Upon implementation, once a student has defaulted for more than nine months,

the collection process will be handled solely by the federal government. Rather

than being contacted by two agencies, the process will be streamlined and the

borrower will only have to deal with one collector.

Through these integrated collections with the federal government, the

Province hopes to develop a process to collect defaults of loans in a more

efficient and cost-effective manner.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Order, please!

MR. SPEAKER: Further speakers?

The hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Buchans.

MS THISTLE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased today to stand to respond to Bill 29,

An Act To Amend The

Student Financial Assistance Act.

Now, this is one bill that I can remember very well. What we are finding out

today, this is a continuation of a bill that this government brought to the

House of Assembly in a panic mode April of 2004 - actually, it was March 30.

There was a real panic by the new government when they brought down their first

Budget.

One of the bills that was brought to the House of Assembly was

an act to

allow the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador to be the financial institution

for those wanting a student loan in our Province. For months prior to that, the

Province had been contacted by the financial institution, the Canadian Imperial

Bank of Commerce, and the Province had been notified that they were going to get

out of the business of providing student loans to the students in our Province,

as well as all the other provinces in Canada. Our government, the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador, were set to frighten the whole population at that

time. They wanted to grab onto any amount of money that would look like the

former Administration - which I was a part of - had left this government in

financial straits. So, they used the taking over of the student loan portfolio,

which was in excess of $250 million, to add to the so-called one billion deficit

that was in our Province in 2003.

Now there was a real panic mode in this House of Assembly at that time. The

first piece of business that was conducted - I think it was March 30. It had to

be done for March 31, and I remember it well, standing in this House of Assembly

and saying: Well, you know, there is no need to panic. The Bank of Commerce are

not going to cut off all the students in this Province who have loans on their

books, because everyday the Bank of Commerce does not get paid, students are

paying more interest. They are going to pay interest, whether they pay it to the

Bank of Commerce or the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

There was almost euphoria in this House of Assembly with that first piece of

legislation. The government were hell-bent on getting it through by March 31 so

they could say that they inherited a debt of almost $1 billion. They rushed

around like crazy, and everyone who sat in the new government caucus on that

side of the House were told that they had to vote for this bill - because they

were in panic mode - because it had to match the amount of debt that was

supposedly owed by the Province. For that reason, that was the first piece of

legislation ever brought to this House of Assembly by the new government. They

could take over the student loans of the students who had attended university in

the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and those outside who had gotten

loans. They wanted to do this all before March 31, 2004, and it was done.

I remember the Minister of Natural Resources, who is the Government House

Leader - I know there were a few little glitches in the process of who was going

to do what and what the Speaker was going to do. It took them a while before

they got their sea legs here in the House of Assembly, but they had a bit of -

MR. E. BYRNE: (Inaudible).

MS THISTLE: I am not providing you with advice. I am recounting the

history of this piece of legislation. This is only added to what was already

done on March 31, 2004.

At that particular time it was so important to add to the Province's debt

load so they could say that the former Administration had left them a debt of

almost $1 billion. This piece of legislation, the student loan portfolio, was

the jewel in the crown because that really helped to ramp it up. That really

helped to ramp it up and add to the total debt so they could match up the

figures by saying that all the communications were out saying that they had

inherited a debt of $1 billion.

That was not the only piece of legislation that came in towards education.

The next piece of legislation was to cancel, immediately, an opportunity that

the former Administration had provided to students who chose to live and work in

our Province. As a government investing in youth, we saw fit to provide an

opportunity for those young people who wanted to stay and live and work in our

Province, that they would get a tax credit for every dollar they paid on their

student loan if they had a job in Newfoundland and Labrador; an incentive to

keep them here. That was the first piece of legislation. After the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador put the student loan portfolio on their books, then

they proceeded to cancel the opportunity for those young people in our Province

to get a tax credit. So that was the unfortunate part about it.

There was a lot of interesting debate last night that took place in our House

of Assembly, and particularly, when I heard the Member for Mount Pearl talking

about the injection of money into education in our Province this year. He

thought it was probably the largest in the history of the Province. I had a look

at the graphs that are attached to our Budget Book every year. It was

interesting to note that the first time Roger Grimes, who was the Premier of our

Province from 2001 to 2003, the first Budget that he brought down was in 2001.

That was labelled an education Budget. It was interesting when I looked at the

graph from 2001 and 2006 today. At that particular time, 19.2 per cent of the

Province's entire Budget was spent on education in our Province in 2001. This

year, 2006, it is 18.7 per cent. So, that is an interesting statistic.

MR. SULLIVAN: (Inaudible).

MS THISTLE: It makes no difference. We are looking at the overall Budget

and -

MR. SULLIVAN: (Inaudible).

MS THISTLE: No, I heard you today say it was a minuscule $300,000, a loan

to Griffiths Guitars. The other day when the paramedics were looking for

$200,000 that was insurmountable, but today $300,000 is minuscule. So, we have

to tell it like it is.

I look at the fact that in 2001 there was a lot of money spent on education

because that was an education budget. It is interesting, the total amount spent

in school buildings, just school buildings alone, since educational

reorganization. That was when all denominational schools went public in our

Province. Up to 2001, there was $160 million spent just in buildings alone. One

hundred and sixty million dollars, now, that is a lot of money. For instance, at

that particular time, in 2001, there was a huge increase in hydro rates in

schools, and a lot of the school boards were finding it very difficult to pay

their energy bills. Because of that, the government of the day, at that time,

injected almost $4 million to school boards to look after the cost of paying the

extra costs for utilities for electricity.

It was actually at the same time that I heard the Minister of Finance say

that, if he ever became the government, the first thing he would do was make

sure that those who burned electricity would get a subsidy. That was the very

first time, I think, I heard him say it in Hansard, and I have the record.

That has all changed since then. I think it was the current Minister of

Intergovernmental Affairs now who said that those who burn electricity should

never have to pay tax on their light bills.

These were the kinds of things the present government said while they were in

Opposition. Of course, then again, the present government also said that there

were not enough paramedics, and now today there are plenty of them, and $200,000

is insurmountable. They cannot find $200,000 to pay the paramedics.

When you look at the changes that were made in the education system under the

former Administration, it is absolutely amazing. There was a total revamp of

student loans in our Province. We listened to young people right throughout our

Province, and we met with them. There was a group, just an advisory committee on

education for our young people. It was interesting, the changes that came out of

that advisory. It led to a total revamping of our student loans in this

Province, and there has been absolutely nothing done since we were the

government, which is almost three years ago. There have been no new changes to

students, and the debt that they have to pay in this Province by this new

Administration. That is three years, almost. Well, it will be three years in

October since the new government took over.

In 2002, young people going to college and university in this Province were

able to take advantage of the debt reduction grants. For the first time in our

history, young people going to college or university had an opportunity to have

the full entire amount of their student loan paid off. The full amount of their

student loan paid off. Debt reduction grants were earned on a semester, and

students did not even have to apply; they were notified annually.

They had enhanced interest relief up to a maximum of thirty months, and that

was available any time during the repayment of the loan. They were able to keep

more of their money that they earned while they were doing their summer

employment. That is another issue that comes to mind. There was always a $9

million program for student employment in our Province, and when the new

government came into power they reduced that to $6 million. That had a huge

effect on employment, particularly in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. There is

not the same opportunity to get a job when you are living in rural Newfoundland

or Labrador. You do not see too many McDonald's or Tim Hortons in Nain or

Makkovik, and you sure don't see them in Buchans Junction. Those areas

certainly depend on government grants for jobs for the summer for their

students. Government has an obligation to provide rural students with the same

employment experience as those in urban centres.

That was a big blow when this government came to power and I do not know why

that has not been ramped up to $9 million again, because government are

certainly in a financial position right now to be able to offer even beyond the

$9 million, but they have kept it back at $6 million.

The former Administration even increased loans for MUN medical students.

Those group of students were increased from $200 a week up to $365. So, these

are the kinds of enticements to keep students in our Province and once they

graduate to keep them back here.

I must say, in the Central West Health Care Board we have had great success

in attracting our med students back to Grand Falls-Windsor. I think there might

be probably at least six couples right now who are doctors in Grand

Falls-Windsor, husband and wife teams, who have come through the MUN medical

school, have been contacted and recruited by the Central West Health Care Board

and have taken up residence in our community, which is adding so much to the

specialties that we need in our hospital and also to stability. We all know, of

course, that once a doctor and their family take up residence in a community

they get involved. There is a valuable asset by that alone, besides the fact

that once they set up roots they are more inclined to stay there, which is a

good thing.

In fact, it was our government that provided grants for early childhood

education students, non-repayable grants, because we all realize that students

who graduate and get into early childhood development careers are not always

paid large dollars starting out. As a result of that, the former administration

provided grants for early childhood education students that were actually

non-repayable grants. That is what we have heard mostly from students around the

Province as of late, that they are not interesting in being able to borrow more

money. That is not the answer. Students are not interested in being able to

borrow more money.

I think that was the only offer that the federal government made recently as

well, being able to extend the federal student loan program for those requiring

more money to complete their education and so on. That is not the answer,

providing students with more of an opportunity to borrow more money. Naturally,

if a student borrow more money they are going to have great difficulty repaying

that money. To take on a debt of $50,000 or $60,000 and try to live, work and

establish yourself, you are handcuffed. You are basically handcuffed for years

to do that. What students all over this country are asking for is the fact of

being able to get more of those non-repayable grants.

I remember Premier Williams early on, when taking over this government, was

impressed with the Irish model of free education. He often said, that type of

education system works, and he would be looking at the potential of that. I

would say to this government that they are now in a position to give that

serious consideration. When you look at the fact that we are not on equal

footing, if you look at students who are coming in from rural communities around

our Province, and Labrador too, having to travel and look for accommodations,

you know they are already at a disadvantage before they even step into class at

Memorial University or the College of the North Atlantic or even a private

college, just because of the fact of having to pay for all these extra costs

that someone living in the St. John's area would not have to do. These are the

kinds of financial disadvantages if you are from rural communities.

So, it is time for the government to recognize these inadequacies that exist

between urban and rural Newfoundland communities. They have lots of opportunity

now. For a government that proposed or said they had taken over a $1 billion

debt, and in the matter of three Budgets they are debt free, even though they

tried hard at the end of March to spend whatever money that was around so they

would not have to declare a surplus. After the end of all that process, they

still had $76 million that they could not spend by the end of March. Now, that

says a lot.

We have turned an important corner in our history in this Province. A lot of

it, of course, is because of federal money that we are going to get because of

the Atlantic Accord and also the high price of oil. Our oil industry has

certainly taken front and center, but in recent days I almost think that it is

taking too much of the limelight and our fishery is put on the back burner. That

is worrisome, because even when you look at the fact that today, as well as

other days in this House of Assembly, colleagues of mine, the Member for Burgeo

& LaPoile, the Member for Bellevue, the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace,

all of these members have stood in their places and asked government to review

the idea of school closures in their districts. It is getting to the point now

that - I do hope the issue is settled for the Member for Bellevue because I was

shocked when that group came here to the House of Assembly and we learned that

those school children would have to be on the bus for an hour-and-a-half

everyday in order to attend high school.

These are not the kinds of things that this government should be doing,

insisting that school children travel over sometimes not-too-good roads either,

go off from their families, probably start out at 7:00 in the morning and come

back at 6:00 in the night. These are the kinds of petitions that have come to

this House in the past couple of weeks. Many of those issues will probably be

met head on by school boards around our Province during the summer and early

fall. It is alarming when you consider that you are losing the main focus of

your community, which is always the school. All activities generally take place

in the schools in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. When you lose your school it

brings into question: How can we stay here as a family if our children are

having to commute to school? Then people start to think: Well, maybe we should

all move as a family if that is what is going to happen. Then you look at the

fact, by the time that child starts university then there is more expense. Lots

of times decisions are made by people in rural Newfoundland and Labrador to

accompany children. For one reason, their main school is closing in their

community and, as a result, children are having to travel further.

Not even that was a consideration day after day when I gave my petition

regarding the Buchans Highway. There was no consideration given to children who

are travelling from Millertown or Buchans Junction, riding in a school bus

everyday over the Buchans Highway. That consideration was not taken into account

either when I petitioned everyday in this House looking for improvements - when

you look at the fact that the former Administration made all of the changes to

education in this Province, brought in an education Budget, lived up to their

word. In fact, when you look at tuition across Canada, we, in this Province,

through the help of the former Administration, brought about the lowest tuition

in the country.

I used to marvel at how the current Minister of Finance used to stand in his

place until he was red in the face - I thought he was going to have a heart

attack many times. He used to try to argue with me, when I was the Minister of

Post-Secondary Education, that we did not have the lowest tuition in the

country. Now he stands up in his place and says he is proud to announce that the

Province of Newfoundland and Labrador has the lowest tuition in the country. Isn't

that something? Twenty feet makes all the difference in how a person in this

House of Assembly reacts.

The only Province in the country that had a tuition lower than ours was the

Province of Quebec. The only way you got that lower tuition was the fact that

you must be residing in Quebec. That must be the place where you are living and

you are from Quebec. Now, that was the only Province. If you were a student from

Newfoundland and Labrador and you were attending university in Quebec, you would

not get that low tuition. You would have to pay the going rate as for every

other student.

It is interesting, we made three different changes to tuition at Memorial

University. We started out with a 10 per cent reduction one year, it was

followed by another 10 per cent and a 5 per cent, for a total of 25 per cent

reduction in tuition fees for our students. We made a conscious decision to

freeze tuition at the College of the North Atlantic. Now, this current

government has not done anything in the past three years. They have continued to

freeze tuition but they have not lowered tuition, status quo. They have not done

anything to enhance student loans in this Province. All the overhaul was done in

2002 under the former Administration.

It is interesting when we talk about schools in this Province that were built

in the past few years. One thing that the former Administration agreed to and

did was that any money which was derived from denominational education was put

back into public schools - every cent would be put back into public schools.

That was done. In fact, a new department was established just for post-secondary

education and youth services.

At that particular time, in 2001, education spending was $6,434 per student.

Even though the population was declining in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, the

amount of money that was spent in the education of our children was not. In

fact, it was increased. School board grants were increased. All school boards

that had a large population of students in the past attending their schools,

their grants were kept intact. There were no teacher layoffs; absolutely no

teacher layoffs, despite the declining enrollment. Even though the enrollment

declined by 3,500 students, there were no teacher layoffs.

All this was done because there was a ministerial panel report on education

reform, and if the government at that time had listened, they would have lost

218 teaching units, but they decided to reinvest $11 million. The

student-teacher ratio was 13.3 students. When you look at school busing in the

Province, there was a guideline adopted that students who live more than one

point six kilometres from their school would be able to take advantage of school

busing.

When you look at the fact that schools were built all over the Province, $160

million in school buildings when our school population was declining, and you

look at the fact - it was only a few weeks ago I stood in this House and I

talked about how Lakeside Academy in Buchans had been chosen again as one of the

best schools in the Atlantic Provinces for different criteria from the AIMS

group. That is a school that is in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, a school

that makes the most of every dollar placed into education. It is a school that

has a lot of energy and a lot of school spirit. If you talk to the teachers or

the students in Buchans - and I am sure it is the same throughout all of rural

Newfoundland and Labrador - they will tell you that they have the best school

anywhere. When students stay that, you know, that says a lot about their

commitment to the school and to the community.

When you look at what has been invested into MUN over the years, the MUN

Opportunity Fund, year after year the grant has been increased so Memorial

University can attract new research dollars. Of course, new research dollars

bring new activity into our Province. It brings new jobs, it brings new

expertise, it brings new services, and a whole generation of new individuals

wanting to come to our Province.

Just recently, the federal government passed a new law that says

international students can now work in our country via student employment. That

is a good thing, because up until now, of course, we know that we are one of the

universities, here in this Province, where we have been trying to attract

international students. We all know that international students have to pay more

when they come into our Province. We have been able to maintain a good student

population at Memorial University, in excess of 17,000 students a year. Now that

these students are permitted to work in the summertime or whenever, between

semesters and so on, they will now be able to live and work in our communities.

As a result, you might find that a lot of these students will probably want to

stay here.

This harmonization of the federal and provincial arrangement for the student

loans will ensure that students are dealing with - I think the bad news that the

Minister of Natural Resources just found out is that I am going to be able to

speak for an hour. I would say to the Minister of Natural Resources, this should

be a very enlightening hour that you would spend here in this House of Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, the thought that this student loan will now be able to be

administered by one agency, that means if you have a student loan that you are

unable to pay on and you are running into difficulty, you will not be hounded

from the provincial government and the federal government. There will only be

one agency that is going to hound you now. You will have a chance of probably

losing your Income Tax return. You will probably have a chance of losing your

Income Tax refund. These are the kinds of things. As a result of that, you will

only be dealing with one agency.

A lot of governments pay lip service to the importance of education in our

system, but a lot of governments do not live up to that commitment. I remember,

for instance, when schools were being built in communities that, from an

economic point of view, people would say, well, there is no industry in a

particular community. Still, for all that, we, as a former government, had

decided to put schools in a lot of places. Just because there wasn't an

industry there we felt we had an obligation, on the government's part, to make

sure that those students had a proper education. I think back now to schools -

my colleague, the member next to me here - there were three schools, I remember

one year, built in Labrador. The Member for Torngat Mountains was so proud to

stand in this House, and my colleague, the Member for Cartwright-L'Anse au

Clair, today acknowledged his wonderful contribution to the children of

Labrador, that he is very unselfish in his commitment to doing his best for the

children of Labrador. I remember how proud he was when he was able to take

part

in the opening of a particular school in Labrador. I remember there were three

one year that opened in his district and how proud he was. These were schools

that were built in areas where there was absolutely no industry and no way to

get into the next community.

I remember, too, when there was an issue in my district, and it was in

Buchans. The issue then was air control. We had problems with our school. There

had been pieces built on, there was mold, and it was not a healthy environment

for the children in that area. Of course we could not bus them to Badger, that

was 100 kilometres. It was unheard of at that particular time to bus students

that distance, so as a result a decision was made to build a new school in

Buchans. I remember at that time there were 189 students in the school and we

decided, as a government, at that particular time, to build a $3 million school

in Buchans. That is the same school that I talked about a few weeks ago that won

the awards from AIMS about their high calibre of education at Lakeside Academy

in Buchans.

This is the kind of commitment that you need to give to children. Every child

has the right of a good education. You cannot expect children to sit in front of

a computer and get their education by way of long distance learning. That is not

the ideal situation. Every child has a right to a proper education, and you try

to discourage long distance education whenever you can. I notice that in recent

years the biggest fear of all is having to get on a school bus and drive for an

hour or an hour and a half. I think now about the children in Salvage. It is a

pretty treacherous road going to Salvage in the winter time. They are going to

have to get on a bus in Salvage right now and travel to Glovertown. Is that on

the rails now or is that off the rails? That is what I would like to know. There

was a new school constructed in Eastport and I thought everybody had the idea at

that time that they would all go to Eastport school. I hope the government has

reconsidered that plan, because that would have been a bad move.

Children all over our Province are faced with the dilemma, and some of these

schools are brand new schools, like the Member for Carbonear-Harbour Grace just

said today. There is a school there in Harbour Grace that was built in 1989, and

that is going to be closed up.

I was looking at a school when I was over in Corner Brook on the weekend and

I noticed that one in Deer Lake is boarded up, which is a new school. I know our

population is shifting. In fact, in the government's own material this year

they were talking about an exodus from our Province in excess of 2,000 people.

Now, the 2,000 people who are going to leave, more than likely they are the ones

who will be seeking work, not retirement. If you are seeking work, more than

likely you will have school children with you. That would be a blow to any of

the schools in this Province, to lose children.

Of course, what we are seeing now in the larger centres, we are seeing an

exodus of people from rural communities going to the larger centres. We have

noticed that ourselves in Grand Falls-Windsor, but mostly on the retirement

scale. We see a lot of people coming to Grand Falls-Windsor, interested in

retiring in Grand Falls-Windsor, because we have the services there. Of course,

we are glad to expand our community, but we are also seeing the people who will

be working at the mine in Duck Pond next to Millertown. Some of those have moved

to Grand Falls-Windsor and the hope is that a lot of them will move to other

parts of the district like Badger, like Buchans, and like Buchans Junction.

Millertown is the exception, because in Millertown you cannot find a place to

rent or buy right now, and that is a wonderful feeling.

I remember when I was first elected, in 1996, there were less than 100 people

living in the community of Millertown and now every house that is there is

occupied and there have even been rental units brought in. That is what can

happen when an industry comes to town. That is what can happen when a new life

is injected by way of a new industry. Even the barite plant in Buchans that

started off had some real glitches. The material that they were providing to

offshore drilling -

MR. SPEAKER (Fitzgerald): Order, please!

I ask the hon. member if she would contain her remarks to the relevance of

the bill that is now being debated, please.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS THISTLE