Newfoundland and Labrador Hansard — Members' Statements; Statements by Ministers — 1 May 2013 (47th General Assembly, 2nd Session, Vol. XLVII No. 13)
2013-05-01
Newfoundland and Labrador — Debates (Hansard)
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May 1,
2013 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS Vol.
XLVII No. 13
The House met at 2:00 p.m.
MR. SPEAKER (Wiseman): Order, please!
Admit strangers.
Before we start proceedings today, I want to welcome to our galleries the
Jewish Community Havura of Newfoundland along with their President, Mr. Jonathon
Richler.
Welcome to our Assembly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
Statements by Members
MR. SPEAKER: Today we have members' statements from the District of St.
John's North; the Member for the District of Bonavista South; the Member for the
District of Port de Grave; the Member for the District of The Straits White
Bay North; and the Member for the District of St. John's East.
The hon. the Member for the District of St. John's North.
MR. KIRBY: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this House today to thank the Larkhall
Academy community for inviting me to come to the school last week to attend the
third annual parent breakfast.
Staff at Larkhall originally started the event to provide parents with an
opportunity to engage with teachers, staff, and the school community in the
learning environment of their children. It provides a positive, casual, no
pressure way for parents and staff to interact in a relaxed atmosphere.
In addition to parents, Larkhall extends invitations to other community
members, including artists, community leaders, and individuals who volunteer at
the school. I, like many others, have been very happy to help out by joining the
serving line.
A small organizing committee of staff members does the initial planning for
the annual parent breakfast. All present, and some past, staff members of
Larkhall work together during the pre-day set up and at the breakfast itself to
make the event successful. Attendance numbers are up each year. This year we
served about 440 parents, children, and guests.
I ask all hon. members to join me in congratulating the staff of Larkhall
Academy for the continuing success of their annual parent breakfast.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Bonavista South.
MR. LITTLE: Mr. Speaker, hon. colleagues, I rise today to recognize
Bonavista native, and NHL player, Michael Ryder, who scored his 200 career goal
on January 26 of this year. Michael is the first and only resident of our
Province to reach this goal.
Son of Wayne and Debbie Ryder, Michael was the first drafted by the Montreal
Canadiens in 1998.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. LITTLE: He began his career playing for the Hull Olympiques of the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. During his three seasons in Hull, Michael
captured All-Rookies Honour, Top Scorer Honours, and was bronze medalist with
Canada's World Junior Team in 2000.
In 2003-2004, Ryder made his NHL debut with Montreal, finishing the season
leading all rookies in points, power play points, shots and goals.
In July 2008, Ryder signed a three-year contract with Boston Bruins, and in
2011, helped the team win the Stanley Cup. This was only the second time ever
that the cup was brought back to Newfoundland and Labrador.
In July 2011, he signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars and was
then traded back to the Montreal Canadiens during the 2012-2013 season.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. LITTLE: Next to me is the hon. Member for Bonavista North who is a
Toronto Maple Leaf fan and the hon. Member for Cape St. Francis who is a Boston
fan. We can all agree, when one of our own excels as a true Newfoundlander on
the national, international, and the world scene we are all proud and definitely
commend one of our own.
Mr. Speaker, hon. colleagues, please join me in congratulating Michael Ryder
on such a successful career.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. LITTLEJOHN: Mr. Speaker, I stand today in this House to congratulate
Amalgamated Academy on their production of Beauty and the Beast.
At the Western Region Drama Festival of the Eastern School District the
performers and production received numerous awards. Leading the way were three
young performers. Erin Mackey of North River won Best Junior Actress, Liam
Dawson of Bay Roberts won Best Supporting Actor, and the Adjudicator Award went
to Brady Snow-Bollard of North River for performing with a walking brace.
Certificates of Excellence were awarded to John Efford Jr. and Liam Healey, and
Phoebe Wilkins was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
The production itself won awards for the best musical, best use of light,
best set design, best backstage crew, and drew sellout crowds for its
performances prior to the festival.
We give accolades to those teachers and volunteers who worked so hard to make
this show such a success. Mr. Marc Warren was recognized with the Senior
Adjudicator Award for his continued support and involvement in both the
Amalgamated Academy and Ascension Collegiate productions.
I ask all members to join with me in congratulating Amalgamated Academy on
such an outstanding production.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.
MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise today to congratulate some really golden girls the Canon Richards
Wildcats.
The Canon Richards Wildcats earned gold at home in Flower's Cove in the
provincial Girls 2A high school ball hockey tournament this past weekend. Ten
teams from across Newfoundland and Labrador competed for the title.
The weekend event saw many hockey fans come out and show their support as
girls from across the Province displayed their dedication, skill, and talent. I
hope everyone was able to bring back memories of their experience in The Straits
White Bay North. Winning is terrific, but we must remember it is the
excitement of the game that keep the fans coming back.
The Wildcats advanced to the finals and defeated the King's Point Vikings 7-0
to win the provincial championship. Team members are: Allie Coles, Tana Genge,
Yvonne Genge, Jessica Gould, Alyx Lawless, Trisha Lawless, Morgan McLean, Alyson
Moores, Sandi Noseworthy, Jillian White, Megan White. Assistant coaches were
Tony Lavallee and Mark Whalen, and Emma Coles was the coach and teacher sponsor.
I ask that all hon. members join me in congratulating the Canon Richards
Wildcats, girls' 2A ball hockey champions.
Thank you.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.
MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
On April 7, the Jewish Community Havura of Newfoundland and Labrador, with
the co-operation of the Atlantic Jewish Council and the Beth-El Synagogue held
their annual Holocaust Memorial Service.
The service is always moving, but this one was special. Not only was this the
seventieth anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the community hosted two
Holocaust survivors who had made their home in this Province, Dr. Phillip
Riteman and Mr. Ernie Mauskopf. In the audience were two grandchildren of
Newfoundland soldiers who had helped liberate the European camps.
Almost 1,500 people came to the Sheraton Hotel this year to commemorate the
people lost in the Holocaust. Together all those people, and many who were
unable to attend, shared the grief, the hope, and all the emotions of this
year's Holocaust Memorial Service.
Today, I ask all House members to join with me and recall the 6 million
Jewish victims of the European Holocaust. We then also remember the millions of
other victims of Nazism: the Romani, the Sinti, also known as the gypsies, the
Catholics, homosexuals, mentally and physically disabled, the Social Democrats
and Communists, partisans, political opponents of the Nazi regime and others
slaughtered by the Nazis in those particular years.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Statements by Ministers.
Statements by Ministers
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. FRENCH: I rise in this hon. House to recognize athletes honoured at
Sport Newfoundland and Labrador's recent Stars and Legends Awards Gala. This
annual event involves the induction of new members into the Newfoundland and
Labrador Sports Hall of Fame and the presentation of sports awards that
recognize the athletic achievements in the Province.
Mr. Speaker, Raeleen Baggs, Linda Barrett, Alan Ross, Wayne Russell, and
Nicola Will are the newest members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall
of Fame. These women and men have achieved much throughout their sporting
careers and have set a wonderful example of our Province's up-and-coming young
athletes and our sports community.
In addition to the induction ceremony, Sport Newfoundland and Labrador
honoured the Province's top athletes. Basketball player Hannah Jardin, baseball
player Myles Vincent, swimmer Katarina Roxon, rugby player Ciaran Hearn,
baseball executive Robert Morgan, softball coach Jeff Kirk, gymnastics volunteer
Lindsay Rayner, and the 3Cheers Pub softball team are all to be congratulated.
All of these recipients are truly deserving of such an honour as they have put
forth tremendous effort and commitment to their chosen sport.
Mr. Speaker, the provincial government is committed to providing provincial
athletes with every opportunity explore their potential in sport performance.
This is done through the Premier's Athletic Awards Program, the Elite Athlete
Assistance Program, the National Travel Subsidy Initiative, and funding to
provincial sports organizations.
I am pleased to report, Mr. Speaker, that since the launch of Active Healthy
Newfoundland and Labrador, a recreation and sport strategy in 2007,
approximately $172 million has been committed to recreational and sport
infrastructure, programming, and athlete development throughout our Province.
Just this morning, Mr. Speaker, the Premier turned the sod on a brand-new $22
million facility in the Town of Paradise.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. FRENCH: That kind of investment helps our athletes compete at the
highest level, and we will support the members of Team Newfoundland and Labrador
at the Canada Games in Sherbrooke, Quebec, this August.
I invite all members of this hon. House to join with me in congratulating
these women and men for their hard work, dedication, and the significant role
they play in the advancement of sport throughout the Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The Member for Bay of Islands.
MR. JOYCE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the minister for an advance copy. I noticed the Premier turning the
sod on the new facility. She also turned the key to close the West Coast
Training Centre out in Stephenville. So, we might add that.
To all these athletes and coaches and volunteers, Mr. Speaker, I offer my
congratulations. I know a lot of the ones who were inducted into the Sports Hall
of Fame. Back when I was a real young fellow, I knew a lot of those people
playing in their sports. I remember Alan Ross. If anybody ever knew Alan Ross,
you were whipped in shape pretty quick with Alan Ross.
I look back at Hannah Jardine and I tell her dad Mike, the only way she got
to be such a good basketball player is because she started her roots at J.J.
Curling when she lived in Corner Brook. Myles Vincent and we are all so proud of
Katarina in her endeavours also out on the West Coast. So you can see this is
all across the Province. I congratulate all the athletes. I congratulate all the
people who inducted in their sports and the executive.
I see the government is taking a lot of credit, which they should because
there has been a lot of money invested in sports in Newfoundland and Labrador,
but we cannot forget the volunteers and the parents who make this a driving
force. We have the facilities, we have the funding, and we also need the
volunteers and the parents. I would be remiss if I did not recognize the
volunteers and the coaches who spend endless hours and endless time with these
athletes to ensure they can do the best they can when they can.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The Member for The Straits White Bay North.
MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I, too, thank the minister for an advance copy of his statement. These awards
and recognitions acknowledging the contributions of our provincial athletes and
coaches are so important, as they do incredible work and work so very hard and
inspire others. Our elite athletes need continued support from government to
travel outside the Province to compete on a higher lever, despite our own
infrastructure investments.
It is important to have a regional balance, as well, of high-calibre sports
training centres across the Province. This comes at a time when government is
pulling back in this year's Budget on the West Coast Training Centre and making
cuts at the community level, downloading more responsibilities to financially
strapped municipalities.
Congratulations, certainly, to these athletes and coaches.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Oral Questions.
Oral Questions
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Over the last decade, this Province has lost its marine rescue sub-centre, we
have seen the downgrading of services in our Coast Guard services, and of course
we have seen significant tragedies, those being the loss of Burton Winters, the
Ryan's Commander , the Melina and Keith II , Cougar Flight 491, and
the Check-Mate III . The recent federal AG is recommending that search and
rescue services need to be improved across this country.
I ask the Premier: With all of this information, what more do you need to
convince yourself that we need an inquiry?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I stated in this House yesterday, we are extremely concerned
by the matters raised in the AG's report on search and rescue. Everyone in this
Province is seriously concerned because all of us, to this day, are still
connected in some way or other to the sea, and the health and safety of the
people who earn their livings on the sea or who play on the sea are extremely
important to us.
Today, as a result of this independent, objective, and systematic review of
air search and rescue by the Auditor General, we are asking the federal
government to immediately begin implementation of all of his recommendations.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, these departments have already agreed with the
recommendations; that is clearly outlined in the AG's report. Concern is not
enough. What we need, Mr. Speaker, is courage from this government. We need will
from this government. We need a public inquiry.
We did that with the Wells Inquiry. We have seen that in our history. Our
history has shown that we get positive results from inquiries. We remember the
Cameron inquiry and we remember the Wells inquiry. It is obvious now, with all
of this information, that we need an inquiry into search and rescue services in
our Province.
I ask the Premier again: Will you call for an inquiry, a full inquiry, into
search and rescue services in our Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Auditor General of Canada has done an independent, objective, and
systematic review of our search and rescue services in this country, Mr.
Speaker. The matter has been well studied and well reported on, too, I might
say, and recommendations have come about as a result of it.
The time for study is done, Mr. Speaker. What we need now is action. The
people of our Province, the people of our country, who earn their living on the
sea, could be at risk because of the lack of capacity that has been clearly
identified in search and rescue, Mr. Speaker. That is why we are calling on the
federal government not to study more, but to act.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We have seen enough tragedies in our own Province for our own government to
call for action. We need to see action from this government, not more study, not
calling on the federal government to implement and just call for action. We need
to see more action from our own government.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. BALL: As an example, the minimum standard response time for the
Canadian Forces is, what, 8:00 to 4:00 o'clock, Monday to Friday it is thirty
minutes. On the weekends, it is two hours. I say, Mr. Speaker, globally the
response time is fifteen to thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day.
I ask the Premier: Your lobbying
efforts with this federal government have failed; will you now commit to
making improvements to response time a priority for your government?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has just pointed out inadequacies
in search and rescue, inadequacies that are clearly identified in the Auditor
General's report. I expect that is where he lifted that passage from.
Mr. Speaker, the review has been done. It has been independent, it has been
systematic, and it has been extremely thorough. It certainly does identify
issues around scheduling, Mr. Speaker, because the services are not focused
around the busiest times commercially or recreationally. There are issues with
task time; there is issue with aging infrastructure, aircraft and vessels. There
are problems with communications technology. What we need now we know what the
issues are, we need action.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
What the federal Auditor General's report did not do is study the provincial
responsibilities. It did not study the impact of, for instance, the closure of
our Coast Guard offices. One of the most glaring deficiencies identified by the
Auditor General is with the search and rescue information systems. It is near
the breaking point he called it, and we cannot even effectively track search and
rescue operations.
In your full court press, Premier, that was mentioned yesterday: What steps
have you taken to address this vital service to ensure the safety of
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General does address communications and aging
communications technology within search and rescue, and recommends that it be
replaced. He talks about task time, Mr. Speaker, and recommends that be totally
reviewed. He talks about any number of systemic issues that run throughout
search and rescue.
He has done an independent, objective, systematic review outlining under
capacity, the need for more training, more technology, and more infrastructure
in search and rescue, Mr. Speaker. He does talk about the Marine Sub-Centre and
those communications. You should read the whole report, I say to the Leader of
the Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier has made comments about lobbying and communications with the
federal government. As a matter of fact, last year I believe it was on April 3,
there was mention of a call going to the federal minister.
I would ask the Premier: Will you please table in this House of Assembly the
communications that you have had with the federal government?
We know that it has not worked. We need to see the information, the people of
this Province need to see the information. Will you please table that
information, I ask the Premier?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious issue for the people of this Province. I
do not know of any issue that is more important to the men and women of
Newfoundland and Labrador and to the children of Labrador who have their parents
earning their living on the water.
Mr. Speaker, every opportunity that we have to talk about search and rescue,
which is every meeting with the Prime Minister, every meeting with the minister,
we raise this important issue.
AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, we talk in meetings. We do not write
notes back and forth to one another, I say to the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Speaker, we raised this issue because it is important to us, it is
important to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. We have a solid report
here, Mr. Speaker. We are saying to the federal government, act on it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains .
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. EDMUNDS: Mr. Speaker, the federal Auditor General's report is very
alarming. The reports on search and rescue finds that while minimal standards of
readiness have been met there are still two factors which present significant
risk, the availability of trained search and rescue personnel and aging
equipment, including aircraft.
I ask the Premier: Are you asking the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to
be satisfied with minimum standards, or will you push for the best search and
rescue standards in the world for this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, search and rescue is a clear responsibility of the federal
government. We are not responsible for air search and rescue.
Mr. Speaker, like all other services that the federal government are
responsible for, we demand the same quality and the same excellence of services
here in this Province as anywhere else in the country, anywhere else in the
world. We want the gold standard. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador
deserve the gold standard, Mr. Speaker. That is our position with the federal
government. It is a position we are going to continue to press and there should
not be any division between both sides of the House on this matter.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. EDMUNDS: Mr. Speaker, minimum standards for search and rescue should
never be acceptable when it comes to saving lives. The Auditor General clearly
states that national standards need to be improved upon, especially when it
comes to availability of resources and equipment. Since the audit, Mr. Speaker,
this Province has a downgrading of service, potentially putting us below minimum
standards.
I ask the Premier: Will you lobby Ottawa to reinstate the Maritime Rescue
Sub-Centre in St. John's and prevent other Coast Guard stations from closing?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, our position on the Marine Sub-Centre has not changed. We
believe that service should not have been moved out of Newfoundland and
Labrador. Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General in his report does speak about the
Marine Sub-Centre, how it happened to be put here in the first place and why it
has been drawn back to JRCC, and why Quebec's Marine Sub-Centre to date has not
been called back to JRCC. The Auditor General speaks at length about it.
Mr. Speaker, we expect a gold standard. It is important to the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador. We have had a report that is very objective, that is
very comprehensive, and makes recommendations. We are not calling for more
study, we are calling for action.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. EDMUNDS: Mr. Speaker, the time for rhetoric and spin is long overdue.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. EDMUNDS: Mr. Speaker, the Premier cannot push responsibility back on
the federal government alone. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians deserve and need
concrete action on search and rescue now. Mr. Speaker, the federal government
has opened the door, now it is up to the Premier.
I ask the Premier: Will you call this inquiry to ensure the protection and
safety of the people of this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador takes its
responsibilities very, very seriously. This is a very serious issue for the
people of Newfoundland and Labrador and there will be no rhetoric and spin on
this side of the House and if there is none to be on the other side of the
House, I recommend that the member stay in his seat.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, I can assure you that this is not about rhetoric
and spin on this side of the House. This is indeed a very serious issue. I asked
a question about tabling documents and letters from the federal government, in
this particular case Minister MacKay.
Last year on April 3 we asked a question in this House, and this was the
response from the Premier. "I have immediately put in a call to Minister MacKay
to have him confirm that the federal government is prepared to engage in a joint
inquiry because that is what we would need, Mr. Speaker"
It goes on to say, "Mr. Speaker, I am looking forward to hearing back from
him, as well as hearing back from him on the questions we posed to him in our
letter. Once that is received, Mr. Speaker, I will have more to say on the
matter."
I ask the Premier: Will you please table this letter.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we did ask the federal government to participate. I had a number
of conversations with Minister MacKay. I had conversations with the Prime
Minister. I asked them to participate in a joint inquiry and they refused to do
so, Mr. Speaker.
Now, Mr. Speaker, it was a very important issue to us. It was not quite so
important to the Leader of the Opposition. When he had the opportunity to meet
with Minister MacKay himself, he did not go. He sat outside the door while his
House Leader went inside and met with Minister MacKay, and even then she did not
ask for an inquiry. Now, that is the action that speaks for itself and the
motivation from that side of the House.
The people of Newfoundland and Labrador know this is an important issue. We
call on the federal government to act.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL: Mr. Speaker, you talk about rhetoric and spin. The Premier
knows that is not what happened with Minister MacKay last year in April. She
knows the difference. I did speak with the minister, this was brought up, and it
was addressed there in Hansard on the same day.
I ask the Premier, she should apologize for that statement. That is not the
case. For her to suggest that this is not important to me, she should be ashamed
of herself she should be ashamed. We represent the people of this Province and
she does not take ownership of this. That is a shameful statement to make, I
say, and she should retract that statement, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I am not going to dwell a great deal on this part, but I had a
conversation with Minister MacKay and I asked him yes, you met him in the
corridor and you had a chat with him. I understand that.
I asked Minister MacKay: What was the representation from the Leader of the
Opposition when he met with him in Ottawa? He said: I did not meet with the
Leader of the Opposition; he was outside my office while I met with the Member
for Cartwright L'Anse au Clair. I said: Did the Member for Cartwright L'Anse
au Clair, on behalf of her Liberal Party here in Newfoundland and Labrador, ask
for a joint inquiry? No, Premier, he said, they did not.
Now, if you have an issue with that, you take it up with Minister MacKay. We
talked about it here in the House at that time, Mr. Speaker. It is in the
record.
This issue is bigger than this. This is important to the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador. We call on the federal government to act as the
Attorney General has recommended.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.
MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, Monday night in Budget Estimates it was
revealed that government will save $600 by cutting the circuit court in
Bonavista and just $1,000 by cutting the court in Burgeo. These miniscule
savings cannot compare to the hundreds of dollars in costs incurred by people
who will travel hours to attend circuit courts at tremendous cost.
So I ask the minister: Are these so-called efficiencies in cuts to our
justice system what was intended or is government really just trying to download
the costs onto the residents of this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, as people would recall here, this issue was raised
in this House actually pre-Budget. It was not connected to the Budget. It was
raised before Christmas.
The Provincial Court the chief judge did a thorough review of the circuit
courts and court delivery in the Province, looking at best practices, looking at
ways to find efficiencies. Last year, I am advised by the judge that there was
more than $200,000 spent on the circuit courts, and that is for travel costs and
rental of locations only. It does not factor in the salaries of judges, the
salaries of lawyers, and security and other personnel who may have to travel
from time to time
This decision, Mr. Speaker, was not taken lightly, I am told, by the judge,
but the chief judge is the one who made this decision on behalf of the courts,
independent of government.
MR. SPEAKER: The Member for Burgeo La Poile.
MR. A. PARSONS: Minister, you will recall Monday night you saved $50,000,
and the figures do not lie here $600 you save by cutting it in Bonavista;
$1,000 by cutting it in Burgeo; and maybe $4,000 if we cut it all in Labrador.
The previous Minister of Justice for this government said that access delayed
is access denied. The elimination of these courts in many areas of the Province
will delay justice for hundreds who have to travel long distances for their day
in court. Travel expenses, child care, loss of work, and other costs come out of
the pockets of residents of this Province.
I ask the Minister: Why are you denying timely access to justice so you can
save a few hundred dollars?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Justice.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, as I said a few moments ago, first of all, that is
not my decision to make. It was a decision that is made by the judiciary on
behalf of the Provincial Court.
I would also remind the member that as I outlined any number of factors that
would have been considered as part of the decision to realign the circuit court
process, equally as important was maximizing the use of resources. So, the chief
judge advises me that he would have certainly considered the amount of downtime
that would have occurred in Stephenville the busiest court, I am told, in the
Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the justice that may have been
denied and delayed for the people there, who would have had to wait while the
judge was away tending to other business.
MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Third Party.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
There is immediacy to search and rescue. When people are in peril, they are
in urgent need of help right away. The Premier here in the House today is saying
that she is calling upon the federal government to put in place all the
recommendations of the Auditor General. What I want to say to the Premier, Mr.
Speaker, is calling on the government is one thing, what the people from this
Province are going to be looking for is actions.
What is he going to do to impress upon Stephen Harper the urgency of
immediate improvement to search and rescue capabilities? Actions, not words, Mr.
Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I have said yesterday and again today in this House, this is
a very important issue to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. There is not
a family in Newfoundland and Labrador who is not somehow connected to somebody
earning their living on the water.
This is a serious issue when we understand that the capacity that should
exist to help people if they are in trouble is not there. Thus, we have the
recommendations coming from the Auditor General which we absolutely accept.
Mr. Speaker, we are calling on the federal government to implement all the
recommendations. I have tasked my minister to write immediately to the minister
responsible to reiterate our position, and to ask for a meeting as soon as
possible to discuss these important issues with him.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I hear what the Premier is saying and now my question for the Premier, Mr.
Speaker is: Doesn't she as the Premier of this Province, as the leader of the
people of Newfoundland and Labrador, have the power to get the Prime Minister on
the phone and meet with him herself?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I said, I am not about to play political football with an
issue that is this important to the people of the Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, the minister has primary responsibility
for this portfolio. This is the appropriate place for us to start. We are moving
immediately; we expect a response from the minister in short order. If we do not
receive the meeting in a timely manner, then we will take other steps.
Mr. Speaker, all sides of the House ought to be united in our voice, calling
as one voice to the federal government on an issue that is extremely important,
calling not for study, but for action for the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
MS MICHAEL: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
That is what I am calling for. I want us to have one voice around these
recommendations, but the Premier is the leader of the government here and has a
leadership role to play.
Mr. Speaker, the men and women who work at sea do not keep banker's hours.
The current federal air force search and rescue response time standard is to
dispatch a search plane within thirty minutes of receiving a distress call, but
only during business hours. After 4:00 p.m. or on weekends they require two
hours to respond, which everyone in this Province knows is absolutely
ridiculous.
I ask the Premier, Mr. Speaker: What immediate actions is she planning to
impress upon her federal counterparts that people working on the water, as she
knows, need best safety and rescue practices of thirty minutes wheels up,
twenty-four seven?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, absolutely, we absolutely endorse all of the recommendations of
the Auditor General. He talks about these things. He talks about aging vessels
and aging aircraft. He speaks of a lack of capacity in human resources so that
people are not able to have the state-of-the-art training that they need. He
talks about lapses in scheduling, Mr. Speaker, so that when the oceans are most
busy with commercial activity and recreation the search and rescue have not the
capacity to respond. They have not scheduled properly.
He talks about communications, Mr. Speaker. He talks about our former Marine
Sub-Centre. He talks about Quebec's Marine Sub-Centre, the JRCC, and he talks
about communications technology. We agree with all of it, and we call on the
federal government to act on his recommendations.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Third Party.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS MICHAEL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The thirty minute standby for eight hours a day, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m.
to 4:00 p.m. means that only 17 per cent of the incidents requiring search and
rescue services occur during that period. Over 80 per cent of the tasking for
search and rescue aircraft happened during the so-called quiet hours after 4:00
p.m. before 8:00 a.m. and on weekends.
Mr. Speaker, I am asking the Premier to tell us: What is she going to do to
make sure that people in Newfoundland and Labrador are not going to have to wait
months and months and maybe years before these recommendations of the Auditor
General are put in place?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, not only are we calling on the federal government to implement
these recommendations immediately, we are asking the federal government for a
timeline so they can tell very clearly the people of Newfoundland and Labrador
when they can expect these recommendations to be fully implemented.
Mr. Speaker, we are always engaged with the federal government. Whether they
listen to us or not is not something we always have a great deal of control
over, but that does not stop us from being engaged. We do not do social visits
once a year or once every couple of years like the crowd opposite, Mr. Speaker.
We engage on a daily basis and we push these issues that are important to the
people of Newfoundland and Labrador, as we are doing now, Mr. Speaker. With one
voice I hope Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are saying to the federal
government act now.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.
MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Town of Torbay is looking for an alternate water supply. Its first choice
was South Pond only to have the town discover that the water supply is tainted
with hydrocarbons.
As the damage caused falls under federal jurisdiction, what measures is the
department taking to remediate the damage in the area, and will the government
be asking the federal government to clean up its own mess?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: The hon. member should know, Mr. Speaker, that we support
municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador to the tune of $650 million since
2008. Certainly, I will be assisting the Town of Torbay in regard to the federal
responsibility in regard to the issue that he has just outlined, as well as
anything that we can do to support the community, as well to offset any issue in
any community in Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. John's East.
MR. MURPHY: Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear that. He may have a bigger
mess on his hands. There are other ponds closer to the airport than South Pond.
Island Pond and Western Island Pond to name a few, not to mention as well the
various rivers and streams in the area.
Will the minister consider testing these waters for hydrocarbons to see how
extensive the damage to our water may be in these regions where the damage has
occurred?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Environment and Conservation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Mr. Speaker, as all municipalities around this Province
should know that we from Environment and Conservation have great expertise in
doing the testing that is required, especially to maintain a good sense of
comfort for the people who are using any water supplies. We have offered that
support to the Town of Torbay, as we do to any town, because again we realize
the importance of a water supply for any town in this Province of Newfoundland
and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.
MR. MITCHELMORE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Seniors, people with disabilities have to climb nineteen stairs at family and
rehabilitative services with no elevator at the Mission Store building at the
St. Anthony hospital properties. I have been asking for the relocation of this
office to a more accessible site, eleven months later in writing, the answer was
still the status quo.
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services saw fit to
move months ago. I ask: When will the Minister of Health remove this barrier for
my constituents?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, we have had discussions around
this. It is not as simple as just moving out of a building and finding another
building, especially in small communities, Mr. Speaker.
Through our repairs and reno budget, Mr. Speaker, we have committed to
looking at that issue. We are always looking at issues of that nature and it is
very much a concern of ours. I have spoken with the member opposite as well
around clinics that we are opening up in that area and around looking at space
around those areas as well. These are concerns of ours, concerns that we intend
to address.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for The Straits White Bay North.
MR. MITCHELMORE: Mr. Speaker, The Strait of Belle Isle Health Centre has
an individual trained as a nurse practitioner who is being underutilized,
impacting continuity of patient care. Since February, 2012, I have asked for the
full utilization of this position with regular clinics so patients would receive
improved service and Labrador-Grenfell Health would get better value for their
dollar spent.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Health: Why is she not interested in
getting better value for our health dollars?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I can hardly believe the question that he just asked. I do not
know if he has been in this House in the last few months or not, Mr. Speaker,
but one of our biggest concerns in this House is around driving efficiencies
within the health care system.
Mr. Speaker, that is why we implemented a benchmarking service within the
Newfoundland and Labrador Health Authorities. That is why are going to go
forward with a clinical efficiency review, and that is why we are going to go
forward with a management efficiency review. We are very much concerned about
finding all of the efficiencies that we can in this Province, Mr. Speaker, so
that we can have more money to invest in the programs and services for the
people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The Member for The Straits White Bay North, time for a
quick question without
preamble, please.
MR. MITCHELMORE: Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of Health: When we can
expect to have regular nurse practitioner clinics started that other areas of
the Province already enjoy?
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services, time
for a quick response.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I do not know if the member opposite was in the House the other
day when I presented a particular statement around nurse practitioners. We have
more nurse practitioners practicing in this Province right now than we have ever
had in our history, Mr. Speaker. We have the highest number of nurse
practitioners operating in Canada per 100,000 population.
We are very proud of the work that our nurse practitioners do in the
Province, Mr. Speaker, and we are very much intent on seeing to it that they
move about the Province into other areas as well.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The time for Question Period has expired.
Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.
Tabling of Documents.
Notices of Motion.
Notices of Motion
MR. SPEAKER: The Leader of the Official Opposition.
MR. BALL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I hereby give notice, seconded by the Member for Bay of Island, that on a
future day we will move the adoption of the following resolution:
WHEREAS Newfoundland and Labrador has many seasonal industries; and
WHEREAS the climate of our Province determines when work can be done in
agriculture, forestry, the fisheries, highway construction and tourism; and
WHEREAS workers in these industries have become skilled employees whom their
employers value; and
WHEREAS many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians rely on the Employment
Insurance program to sustain them for part of the year during the off-season or
where their employer is functioning at a reduced capacity; and
Insurance system through the provisions of Bill C-38,
An Act to implement
certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and
other measures; and
WHEREAS some of these changes have had a disproportionately negative impact
on our Province as well as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians; and
WHEREAS the reforms may force these skilled workers to find year-round
employment in trades other than in their own making them unavailable for
seasonal work, which will be devastating for seasonal industries;
BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador
employment and industry; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Newfoundland and
Labrador urge the federal government to review its employment insurance reforms
with the intent of eliminating the aspects that negatively impact the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador and our Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.
Petitions.
Petitions
MR. SPEAKER: The Member for Torngat Mountains.
MR. EDMUNDS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
A petition to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents
humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS students of Adult Basic Education program at the College of the North
Atlantic do not wish to attend privatized educational facilities; and
WHEREAS College of the North Atlantic has the most accredited ABE program in
Newfoundland and Labrador; and
WHEREAS students are concerned about the availability of private institutions
and whether or not they can accommodate additional students;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the
House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to reverse
this damaging decision to students and reinstate the Adult Basic Education
programming at the College of the North Atlantic.
As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, the concern over access to adult education is growing and the
frustration is growing. A lot of this stems from students, instructors, and
other groups around the Province not knowing how Adult Basic Education is going
to unfold.
There are 600 students in three communities in Labrador, Sheshatshiu,
Rigolet, and Nain. They do not know if private institution access is going to be
available in remote areas. If so, if it is, they do not know if the seats are
going to be available.
One thing, Mr. Speaker, that the College of the North Atlantic did supply to
Adult Basic Education students, I guess you could call it in kind, was access to
guidance counsellors, access to student development officers, technical support,
and library facilities. Certainly these things are being questioned by students
and we hope to hear some answers from this government fairly soon.
Thank you.
MR. SPEAKER: The Member for St. John's East.
MR. MURPHY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland
and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS recently it was announced that the West Coast Training Centre in
Stephenville will lose its annual funding from the Department of Tourism,
Culture and Recreation and will close at the end of June; and
WHEREAS the West Coast Training Centre is a training centre for the region,
not just the immediate area, and has regularly hosted provincial training
programs; and
WHEREAS closing the centre will affect the training of hundreds of young
people in Western Newfoundland and beyond who will have nowhere to train but St.
John's, reducing the number of elite athletes coming from outside the St. John's
area; and
WHEREAS closing this facility will mean lost opportunities for young people
to obtain skilled coaching and for the public to enjoy regular sporting events
and activities;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the
House of Assembly to urge government to maintain funding to the West Coast
Training facility in Stephenville, and work with user groups to develop a
sustainability plan.
As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, this is representative of about 335 names from the Port au Port
region. This centre means an awful lot to those people in that particular
region. We all saw the pictures of the protesting that was happening. It is
representative as well as to what this Budget can do and what the Budget cuts
were actually doing to smaller regions, rural regions of the Province.
These people have a right, Mr. Speaker, to be heard and to have government
listen to them. We are talking about $200,000 in funding; about $90,000 of which
was coming from the Tourism department and about $100,000, $110,000 from
Transportation and Works to keep the building open.
Mr. Speaker, this was a very small budgetary item that has a huge effect on
the people of the Port au Port area. This is a centre where young people were
going. This is a centre where it gave younger students, younger people in the
area, something to do on a Friday night. It would get them out there and
socializing.
Besides that, Mr. Speaker, we also have the instance here where you had
low-cost physical activity that was happening here, lower than probably what you
would find in the City of St. John's. This was also a cornerstone of the
community that the government was dumping. These people want to know why.
These people are signing because they want to see that sustainability plan
put in place, Mr. Speaker. They do not want to lose their centre and we wholly
support them in their efforts.
Thank you very much.
MR. SPEAKER: The Member for St. Barbe.
MR. BENNETT: A petition to the hon. House of Assembly for the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the
undersigned residents humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS home care allows the elderly and people with disabilities to remain
within the comfort and security of their own homes, home care also allows people
to be discharged from hospital earlier; and
WHEREAS many families find it very difficult to recruit and retain home care
workers for their loved ones; and
WHEREAS the PC Blue Book 2011, as well as the 2012 Speech from the Throne,
committed that government would develop a new model of home care and give people
the option of receiving that care from family members; and
WHEREAS government has given no time commitment for when government plans to
implement paying family caregivers;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the
House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to
implement a new home care model to cover family caregivers.
As in duty bound, your petitioner
will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, this is actually a petition that came through from last year and
the petitions keep on coming in. Admittedly, the government now seems to have
made some feeble steps to outline some funds that they may advance for this
particular program sometime during this year. Mr. Speaker, that does not give
much comfort to the people who require the service, the people to whom the
service was provided.
If the government made a promise, if the political party made a promise that
the government is supposed to follow through on, it would seem much, much better
for them to then follow through on their promise instead of having to be dragged
kicking and screaming up to almost like drag them up the bar and say look, you
made this promise a year ago, two years ago, three years ago, when will you
satisfy your promise.
Ultimately, nobody likes someone who makes a promise and ultimately,
begrudgingly decides to go along with it. It does not mean that they made it
willingly; it does not mean that it was made in good faith. It means that they
made a promise, they benefited from a promise at the polls, and finally they are
being held accountable.
Mr. Speaker, the people are watching and really want this promise to be
satisfied as soon as possible.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The Member for St. John's Centre.
MS ROGERS: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
To the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in
Parliament assembled, the petition of the undersigned residents of Newfoundland
and Labrador humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS transgendered people face high risk of discrimination, violence,
underemployment, and a lack of access to housing and other services; and
WHEREAS a recent EGALE Canada survey found that 90 per cent of transgender
youth hear transphobic comments regularly from other students and one-quarter
hear such comments from teachers; and
WHEREAS the Public Health Agency of Canada reports that nearly half of trans
youth seriously considered suicide and one-fifth attempted it in the previous
year; and
WHEREAS all individuals should have equal opportunity to live their lives and
meet their needs without being hindered or prevented by discriminatory practices
based on gender identity or gender expression;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the
House of Assembly to urge government to amend the Human Rights Act to include
gender identity and gender expression in the list of prohibited grounds of
discrimination.
As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, I have such mixed emotions to stand today and to present this
petition. I think it is only fitting to stand and present it when we were so
honoured to have members from the Jewish Community Havura here in the House, as
we honour the work that they did in their Holocaust memorial. The Jewish
community constantly has to remind us the cost and the effects of bigotry, of
hate, of discrimination, and of intolerance.
They are constantly reminding us that we have to be vigilant, and this is
what we are dealing with here with transgendered folks. They are among the most
vilified, bullied, and discriminated against people in our society. They are
still without explicit rights and protection in our provincial Human Rights Act.
Without full co-ordinated health services, many groups and individuals are
making a difference by pushing for change that is long overdue. I am also
urgently asking the Minister of Justice to consider this, particularly because
he has cut the budget of our Human Rights Commission in half in the last two
years in half, Mr. Speaker. This is not the time to be cutting the budget for
that.
I find it profoundly disturbing that at this point in our history when the
human rights law is telling us that this needs to be done, that this Province is
dragging its heels. I find it profoundly disturbing. It is time for this
government to do the right thing.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The Member for Burgeo La Poile.
MR. A. PARSONS: Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to the hon. House of
Assembly of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled,
the petition of the undersigned residents humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS students of the Adult Basic Education program at the College of the
North Atlantic do not wish to attend privatized educational facilities; and
WHEREAS College of the North Atlantic has the most accredited Adult Basic
Education program in Newfoundland and Labrador; and
WHERAS students are concerned as to the availability of private institutions
and whether or not they can accommodate additional students;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the
House of Assembly to urge government to reverse this damaging decision to
students and reinstate the Adult Basic Education program at the College of the
North Atlantic.
As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, this is something I have received numerous e-mails on. I know
that members on the government side are getting them, too, because I see their
names in the CC section. I know they are getting it. I hope that they are
reading it and perhaps even responding and explaining to these people the
rationale behind the decision.
Certainly, I have not had any opportunity to find out why. I have listened to
the answers given by the Premier and the minister. The numbers do not add up.
They do not agree with the report they paid $150,000 for, so I find it hard to
figure out who is right or wrong here. Is it John Noseworthy or is it the
Minister of Advanced Education and Skills?
Again, some of the decisions made by government, they have instituted their
own duplication. They have contradicted themselves in many ways. All of this is
doing is hurting the students and the teachers in the communities in which ABE
is involved. I still have not seen the RFP; I am looking forward to that and.
Hopefully at some point we will get some answers. I know there are certainly a
lot of students and teachers out there in this Province who would like to get
some. So far none have been forthcoming.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for St. Barbe.
MR. BENNETT: A petition to the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled, the petition of the
undersigned residents humbly sheweth:
WHEREAS there is no cellphone service in the Towns of St. Pauls, Cow Head,
Sally's Cove, or Trout River, all of which are enclave communities in Gros Morne
National Park; and
WHEREAS there is either very poor or no cellphone service in most of Gros
Morne National Park; and
WHEREAS visitors to Gros Morne National Park, more than 100,000 annually,
expect to use cellphones when they visit the park; and
WHEREAS cellphone service is an important safety feature for numerous
travellers, hikers, and others in the park; and
WHEREAS cellphone service is necessary to modern business development;
WHEREUPON the undersigned, your petitioners, humbly pray and call upon the
House of Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to partner
with the private sector to extend cellphone coverage throughout Gros Morne
National Park and the enclave communities within the park.
As in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.
Mr. Speaker, if this government would move forward with proper regulation for
fracking, and if the exploration companies will be permitted to do the
exploration where they want to do the exploration in certain enclave communities
near and adjacent to the park, then the economic development that would be
generated would generate a commercial need for the services that these people
are being denied. It is a real irony that these people, sixty-two of them from
St. Paul's, and I see one from Reefs Harbour, who signed the petition would like
to have cellphone service. They would actually like to have cellphone service in
their communities. Cellphone service bypasses them.
The type of economic development that the park has brought has been good
economic development, but very short term, summertime. It certainly does not
serve all of the residents that well. In fact, it may now be a hindrance because
others may oppose any further development in the park, which would be a
downside. These people would then be left without services that would surely
come if the government would move forward, bring in proper regulations related
to fracking, and permit development to proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Orders of the Day
Private Members' Day
MR. SPEAKER: Today being Private Member's Day, I now call on the Member
for St. John's West to introduce the motion that is in his name on the Order
Paper.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. CRUMMELL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is my privilege to move the following private member's resolution,
seconded by the hon. Member for Bonavista North.
BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House supports this government's actions to
ensure public programs and services for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are
designed and delivered in ways that are results-focused and effective as well as
innovative, efficient, and affordable.
Mr. Speaker, I am quote pleased to rise today and speak on this motion. As a
government, we have a mandate and responsibility not to a single community or an
organization, but to residents of all communities across the Province
collectively.
Mr. Speaker, this government has done a lot of great work over the past
number of years. We have introduced and expanded many innovative programs and
services, and we have made significant and smart investments across the board;
significant and smart investments in areas such as health, education, social
programs, and infrastructure. We did all this while still being able to pay down
the provincial debt by $4 billion.
Mr. Speaker, that is sound and responsible fiscal management. To continue our
great work, to ensure our future prosperity, and to ensure that our economic
development continues, this government has developed a strategic approach and a
sound plan to ensure that public programs and services for Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians are innovative, efficient, and affordable. This includes
investments in people and in skills development.
Through Budget 2013, the provincial government is allocating $466 million to
enhance skills and training at the post-secondary level, including the
continuation of a tuition freeze at the College of the North Atlantic and
Memorial University for the 2013-2014 academic year. Mr. Speaker, speaking of
affordability, it is worth noting that Memorial University undergraduate tuition
fees are approximately 53 per cent lower than the national average, while the
College of the North Atlantic tuition fees are approximately 49 per cent lower
than the national average.
Just a point of reference, Mr. Speaker, I know the Member for The Straits
White Bay North rose yesterday and said he was twenty-seven years old.
Twenty-seven years ago, almost to the day, I graduated from Memorial University.
At that time, I graduated with a significant debt. I come from a humble
household. The tuition fees of today are not that significant compared with what
they were twenty-seven years ago. The challenges we faced back then as students
were incredible in terms of getting ourselves through university. The challenges
we faced as graduates was even more incredible in terms of getting ourselves
attached to the workforce.
Mr. Speaker, today, going to university today with the tuition freeze the way
it is now, it is so much more affordable and so much easier on our students. The
opportunities today that exist versus twenty-seven years ago are absolutely
incredibly amazing in the difference, and I hold that for sure.
Mr. Speaker, securing educational opportunities, encouraging life-long
learning, and advancing literacy throughout Newfoundland and Labrador are key
priorities of our government, because they open the door to long-term success.
In recognition of the importance of effective adult learning and quality
post-secondary education, we are working with students to advance our long-term
plan to provide better, viable, more effective supports to help people overcome
challenges and barriers to employment.
Mr. Speaker, as part of this approach, the Department of Advanced Education
and Skills is changing changing, I say, Mr. Speaker the delivery of the
provincial Adult Basic Education Program, which will include moving the program
out of the College of the North Atlantic and engaging new training providers,
both in the private and non-profit sectors through a Request for Proposals
process. It is important to note, Mr. Speaker, that 60 per cent of all Adult
Basic Education students in Newfoundland and Labrador today currently receive
their education through third-party providers.
So, really, the change is not that significant for most of the students
receiving ABE training. In spite of the fears that are circulating, mostly from
misinformation, it is important for students to know that ABE curriculum itself
is not changing, and the eligibility requirements for funding will also remain
the same at private providers and non-profit organizations as they have been at
the College of the North Atlantic.
In the coming weeks, Advanced Education and Skills staff will be meeting with
the students to develop a transition plan that will ensure the switch to a
different training institution is as smooth as possible. Working together, we
will continue to empower people through quality adult learning and help them
seek opportunities in our thriving economy. Ultimately, Mr. Speaker, we want to
build an Adult Basic Education Program that supports the need to ensure a more
effective delivery of services for students.
Mr. Speaker, annually, it costs approximately $5,000 more to provide ABE to
students at the College of the North Atlantic than at private institutions, and
the average cost of ABE per student in this Province is about three times the
cost of other Atlantic provinces. Mr. Speaker, for anybody to suggest that we
should accept that and move forward with the status quo, I find that
unacceptable.
I think we need to be looking at efficiencies and effectiveness when it comes
to whatever programs we deliver, and for anybody to suggest otherwise, Mr.
Speaker, are not handling the public purse as well as they should be. These
numbers, combined with the fact that the graduation rate in 2011-2012 for ABE
was approximately 37 per cent, clearly shows that a new plan for Adult Basic
Education was needed to strengthen accountability, improve results, and ensure
adult learners get the education and skills they need.
Mr. Speaker, just speaking about graduation rates, we obviously understand
there are many people doing ABE who are facing barriers and challenges. Mr.
Speaker, we need to provide the supports to help them through that. We know, for
instance, that in the private institutions, and I have gotten calls from
operators of private institutions who said their success rates were even higher
than what has been reported. In fact, some of the colleges have been out in the
media talking about 80 per cent and 90 per cent graduation rates and success
rates.
Mr. Speaker, we know the private institutions are delivering good service. We
also know the challenges and barriers facing some of the people who are out
there are significant in achieving their ABE. We need to put quality control in
place. We have to be results-oriented as we move forward, and that is part of
the RFP process that we are going to go through. We want to make sure people
graduate in a timely fashion when they are doing their ABE program so they can
attach themselves to the workforce, skill themselves up and get a job sooner and
quicker, and contribute to the economy.
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to ensure that ABE is offered to people across
Newfoundland and Labrador and we will ensure graduates will have the confidence,
self-sufficiency and knowledge to contribute to our economy and, again, to help
ensure a sustainable future. Students will receive the same standard and content
of ABE at private institutions and not-for-profit organizations as they received
at the College of the North Atlantic. This is very important, Mr. Speaker.
Eligibility requirements for funding will also remain the same. Mr. Speaker,
that is as equally as important.
Just to clarify again, some of the private institutions and organizations
have been offering ABE and the exact same curriculum as the program at the
College of the North Atlantic for more than twenty years. I know of at least
three institutions that I spoke with that, indeed, are doing that and have done
that. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the Rabbittown Learners Program, which now offers
ABE Level I, is about to celebrate twenty-five years of success. I am going to
be happy to attend that ceremony this weekend coming up.
Mr. Speaker, our plan through Budget 2013 is a plan focused on developing new
approaches that will better prepare people to find work and establish a career.
Over 230,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are working, the most in our
history. There are 70,000 job openings that are going to come over the next ten
years.
Mr. Speaker, just to qualify that, I read reports in the media and some
columnists have said: Where are these jobs coming from? Simply, Mr. Speaker, we
are an aging demographic. We have people who are going to be retiring. There is
going to be attrition. Ninety per cent of the 70,000 jobs are going to come
through that attrition through retirements. The other 10,000 or 15,000 jobs will
be coming through new economic opportunities.
Mr. Speaker, the provincial government is committed to maximizing this
pivotal time in Newfoundland and Labrador's history to benefit all residents, to
improve our financial position and to deliver effective programming for the long
term.
Mr. Speaker, what an exciting time it is to be exploring possibilities in
Newfoundland and Labrador. Just last week I attended an ambitious conference
featuring that very message. Hosted by the Office to Advance Women Apprentices,
and officially opened by Premier Dunderdale, Exploring the Possibilities was
held on April 18 and April 19 in Mount Pearl.
Mr. Speaker, over 1,300 women and young people attended the conference, which
included an interactive trades' expo and sessions with female role models
already in the industry. Feedback on the conference was beneficial, enlightening
and very positive. In fact, I am told by the office that five female apprentices
received offers of employment after connecting with employers' right in the
room.
Mr. Speaker, I was there with my son, and he spoke to a millwright who is in
training. The millwright who is just coming out of school, he was an apprentice,
had three job offers. When he told my son what the job offers were and how much
he was going to get paid, my son made the decision on the spot that he is going
to become a millwright now. We are still investigating where he wants to be in
two years from now but he sounded pretty excited. The passion he heard from
these students who were graduating, or in the process of graduating was just
amazing and inspiring to him.
Mr. Speaker, when the Office to Advance Women Apprentices office opened in
2009, there were ninety female apprentices registered and nine female
journeypersons after its first year of operation. Today, there are 613 female
apprentices registered and forty female journeypersons. That is absolutely an
incredible, impressive jump in a short period of time, and that is what we talk
about when we talk about results-oriented, Mr. Speaker.
In a time when education skills and creativity are key, the provincial
government is helping our young people explore rewarding lives and career paths,
and making sure young people are ready for the growing needs of industry. At the
high school level, for example, Mr. Speaker, we have expanded the Youth
Apprenticeship Program which provides high school students in participating
schools the opportunity to gain skilled trades work experience for five schools
to ten.
Mr. Speaker, fostering an interest in skilled trades for our next generation
of women and young people has been of paramount importance over the last decade
for this government. After building on diversity and gender equity agreements
for those under-represented in the skilled trades and generating apprenticeship
opportunities and journeyperson mentorship, we are investing a further $42
million this year, Mr. Speaker, through Budget 2013 for the development of our
skilled workforce. This includes $5.2 million to support apprenticeship and
trades.
Mr. Speaker, nothing happens by chance. It takes sound and decisive plans to
help provide employment for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and help secure
prosperity for the future.
Mr. Speaker, a few minutes ago I mentioned about misinformation around the
ABE changes. Similar misinformation has been circulating around the College of
the North Atlantic. The truth of the matter is that the College of the North
Atlantic will continue to help people realize their full potential and will do
so more effectively by adapting to meet per province's skilled labour demands.
Mr. Speaker, to ensure existing programs are run more effectively and
efficiently, the delivery of programming at the College of the North Atlantic is
evolving. Mr. Speaker, it is evolving so that the college is responsive to a
growing demand for the skilled labour in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, last week seven new programs at the College of the North
Atlantic were introduced for the fall semester. They are range from Primary Care
Paramedicine course in Bay St. George; Personal Care Attendant in Baie Verte;
Office Administration certificate and Cook in Bonavista; Construction Industrial
Electrician in Grand Falls Windsor; Personal Care Attendant in Placentia; and
Powerline Technician in St. Anthony.
As post-secondary programs that no longer meet student labour market
requirements are reduced, new responsive programs will be introduced by the
college to address the gaps that exist. Mr. Speaker, this is an ongoing process
with the college. They are always examining what programs they are providing and
what programs they need to provide for the future. What is happening here is
nothing strange, Mr. Speaker. It is consistent with what has been done in the
past.
Mr. Speaker, I see I have about a minute left so I would like to just close.
Across the Province there are positive examples of how many investments this
government is making that are improving lives, creating jobs, and making our
future a very exciting one. From the Historic Skilled Trades Conference for
Women and Youth, new course offerings at the College of the North Atlantic, and
to the approved delivery of Adult Basic Education, I am optimistic for the
future of Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. CRUMMELL: Ultimately, our investments are innovative, efficient, and
affordable programs of services are investments to people, Mr. Speaker. We are
doing this because their individual successes will be instrumental to the
overall success of Newfoundland and Labrador into the future.
Mr. Speaker, it is going to be a great pleasure to get input from the
Official Opposition on this particular motion, as well as the Third Party. I am
pleased to open up the debate on this motion today and I look forward to hearing
their views.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER (Verge): Order, please!
The Member for St. Barbe.
MR. BENNETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
When I saw the private member's resolution, the two or three little lines
that it is, I thought that the talent scouts who recruited Shawn Majumder and
Rick Mercer missed the funniest people in the Province, because the funniest
people in the Province are the ones who would write this private member's
resolution and expect this government to be congratulated on the last ten years.
Good grief, there is a litany of losses and an absolute spectacle of
incompetence for the last ten years. It is just completely unbelievable, and
then they want to be congratulated on wasting money. Good grief.
Anyway, Mr. Speaker, there is a story in January from The Canadian
Press . It says, "Newfoundland and Labrador's auditor general says provincial
expenses have skyrocketed in recent years and are now about 50 per cent more per
person than the average of all other provinces." They are supposed to be
congratulated for spending 50 per cent more than all other provinces.
He goes on to say, "Per capita expenses are the highest in the country". Good
grief, we went from a have Province to a we-have-money-to-waste Province. He
goes on to say, "there might be some room for looking at reductions or
efficiencies."
"His departmental review includes some eye-popping examples of what his
report describes as excessive salaries, lax accounting and breached funding
guidelines."
"For example, the vice-president of human resources and strategic planning
was paid $125,835 last year an increase of 119 per cent" since 2008, over
double the salary from 2008 to 2012. Good grief.
"The auditor's review notes that the centre's government-appointed board
wrote to the provincial health minister on March 4, 2008" five years ago
"about plans to adjust salary scales. It never got a response." I think adjust
would mean to come down, or maybe get in touch with reality. Instead of that, we
have this ridiculous private member's resolution, which makes you absolutely
hysterical just to read it. I pity the poor taxpayers. They will get their
chance in 2015.
In spending so much money, then the government trumpets how well it is doing,
but how well is it doing? How well is it doing in health care? How well is it
doing in education? How well is it doing in business development? Not very well,
Mr. Speaker.
In April 2012, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, CIHI, released
results from the Canadian Hospital Reporting Project and said that our largest
hospital, the Health Sciences complex, had below average performance in
twenty-eight day readmission for stroke, thirty-day mortality after stroke, and
five-day mortality after major surgery. This is what we are getting for our
money, Mr. Speaker. It is absolutely disgraceful that the government would spend
so much money, get such poor results, and then expect to be applauded for it.
Mr. Speaker, the way that they save money in this Province, this government
does, is by merging health boards. Now they are merging school boards again
after the second time around. In 2007, the Auditor General reviewed the merger
of the health boards and noted that in 2004, when this Province merged their
health boards, this government claimed they would save $7 million. Over the next
two years the cost for administration went up by $51.8 million. Yet, they are
supposed to save $7 million over the two-year period for 2004-2005 to 2006-2007.
Let's say we were getting good results for this extra money that we are
paying, all of this money that is simply going out the door and down the drain.
If you look at the state of health of the people of this Province and, Mr.
Speaker, it has been ten years. If this government had decided to take money and
be proactive in preventive medicine and in lifestyle choices, what would we
have?
Would we have that Newfoundland and Labrador has the most obese population
per capita in Canada, 63.2 per cent more than a body mass index of twenty-five?
We should not be there. If we did something about our transportation and
promotion of good eating habits, we would not say that only 28.6 per cent of our
population gets five servings of fruit and vegetables per day, compared to 43
per cent for the national average. The only two places to do worse in fresh
fruit and vegetable consumption are Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. They
are practically in the North Pole.
We are sitting along side of the rest of Canada with all sorts of
transportation, ferries galore, and we still cannot provide fresh fruit and
vegetables for our population. What is the outcome, Mr. Speaker, when you have
an obese population without adequate access to fresh fruit and vegetables? To
start with, the heart attack rate is the highest in the country. The heart
attack rate ten years after this government is 320 hospitalizations for 100,000
people, compared to the Canadian average of 209. We are 50 per cent higher than
the Canadian average and the highest in the country. Not something to be proud
of, not something to be congratulated for.
Then there is high blood pressure. We have the highest rate of high blood
pressure in Canada. Then there is also diabetes. We have one of the highest
incidents of diabetes. If you do not take care of your health if this
government had embarked ten years ago, instead of trying to consolidate
hospitals and just throwing away money, had it embarked on preventive medicine,
had it embarked on appropriate promotion for people maybe for exercise, health,
and eating habits, maybe our diabetics would not be the highest in Canada. When
we have a sky-high rate of diabetes and even then the AG points out that this
may even be under-reported in diabetes. Mr. Speaker, the complications from
diabetes over a lifetime are horrific. They are absolutely horrific, from
amputations of toes and feet to macular degeneration, all sorts of complications
from diabetes, and the government yet congratulates itself and spends more money
than any other province to govern us and more money than any other province for
health care with such abominable results. It does not end there.
Mr. Speaker, the education system is simply not performing, and this comes
from the government's own statistics. This is nothing invented by anybody else.
I noticed yesterday in Question Period the Minister of Education failed his
math exam when he missed four classrooms of students when he is trying to build
a school. I do not know how many that is, probably seventy or eighty or a
hundred kids. I think a course in demography might help.
What we also have not seen yet, is this government provided a school climate
survey in 2012 of Grade 12 students all across the Province. It was put online,
downloaded and printed. The school climate survey says only 48 per cent of the
Grade 12 students in Eastern School District were able to get help regarding
scholarships. Well, Mr. Speaker, if scholarships are available and students are
interested in applying for scholarships for higher education, shouldn't they
have the assistance from guidance and from teachers? Only 48 per cent of them
said they received any help regarding scholarships.
Now we have more education cuts. How will this further impact students, who
are seeking to go on to university and technical schools? It does not end with
scholarship applications. Only 48 per cent of them said they could participate
in science projects, and this is before we collapsed the boards 48 per cent.
This is Province-wide, Mr. Speaker, 48 per cent had an opportunity to
participate in science projects and this government congratulates itself.
Yesterday the Minister of Education said that we are looking for a broader
type of education, a broader type of student. A broader type of student is not
one with a bigger body mass index. It is one with a better education, and we are
simply not getting it. The performance is not here with this government. Is
science important? Clearly, science is important to most schools.
Then we go on to school violence, anti-bullying. In the same school climate
survey conducted last year of Grade 12 students in this Province, 39.4 per cent
of the students admitted they had seen another student bullied within the last
thirty days. How will collapsing school boards and getting rid of more teachers
improve the school climate for our students in our schools?
Mr. Speaker, the tenor of this government has been to promote, promote,
promote. This government is all sizzle and no steak. In fact, if this was in
Western Canada if it was in Alberta and somebody was commenting on this
government, they would say: this is like all hat and no cowboy; all cowboy and
no hat. They just do not get it.
This government is intent on promoting itself. How does it promote itself? It
promotes itself by underhandedly manipulating public opinion polls on the radio.
Well, Mr. Speaker, never mind the obvious. Why are public resources being used
by elected officials on the other side of the House to make the government look
good?
Some of the quotes that go back is, if you clear the history and cookies each
time you start the Internet again, you can vote multiple times. To vote multiple
times is to convince people that things are not the way they are. Mr. Speaker,
it is improper, unethical, and in my view a corrupt way to manage public opinion
to make people think that more people are on the side of an argument than there
is.
Then we have another quote saying: Another awesome week on Open Line and
the member is looking right at me thanks to everyone who participated. We will
be in touch with you some time in the next day or so to arrange a
schedule for
next week.
Mr. Speaker, this is the people who are elected to represent us and who are
elected to govern us, and what do they do? They say: well, I realize this has
been constant and I am sure many of you are probably sick of these PINs,
however, this is very necessary in order to counter the political spin put forth
by the Liberals, and particularly the Third Party. These guys are hungry, we
must be hungrier.
I would suggest, Mr. Speaker, if government after ten years would simply
govern and do a good job in governing, they would not have to worry about public
opinion polls. The tenor of any organization comes from the top. It is the tone
from the top.
On December 17, 2012, the Premier said: I am always happy when the polls are
stable or good, and I am not happy when they are not but I can't govern by
polls. Mr. Speaker, if you manipulate the polls to get the outcome you want by
overloading the system and having people call and bypass a legitimate poll, than
clearly it must be important to the government to pour these public resources
into getting false positives.
September 11, 2012, the Premier also said: responsible leaders do not govern
based on polls. I agree, absolutely. Responsible governments do not either, and
properly performing governments do not need to. If the performance was there we
would not need this waste of PMR, we would not need the self-congratulations, we
would not need the members on the other side so bent out of shape clapping
themselves on the back that probably by tomorrow they will all have to go off to
a chiropractor to get straightened out. We certainly would not need that.
To show you how this government looks at governing, the Premier compared
voting in online polls to TV shows like Canadian Idol and the annual CBC sports
competition, Kraft Hockeyville. I would say, Mr. Speaker, that is exactly where
we are with this government. This government is all show and no go, all sizzle,
no steak, complete window dressing and that is what this PMR is for. They treat
governing like a game show. They try to manipulate public opinion. This PMR is
just one final step.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will not be supporting this PMR.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Minister of Finance.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I have the opportunity to speak to this resolution today, but last night I
had the opportunity in the House to talk about the years between 2003 to the
current Budget. Then I had the opportunity to talk about the current economic
situation in the Province.
Mr. Speaker, the situation is anything but the doom and gloom that the
naysayers on the other side would have us believe. We knew when we brought in
this Budget, Mr. Speaker, that there would be criticism. We knew any time there
are layoffs and people's lives are impacted adversely that there would be
outcry. We knew there would be politics played on the other side in terms
outlining all of the negatives that are in the Budget and negatives around the
government.
Mr. Speaker, this government is about sizzle. On the other side, contrary to
what the member said, it is about fizzle. That is what I am going to demonstrate
to you today, Mr. Speaker, are the good things in this Budget. Because what
happens, Mr. Speaker, is that and perhaps it is as a result as a people having
lived on this rock in the North Atlantic for so many years that we do not expect
a lot from life.
Maybe it is as a result of having to scrape by over the years that we have
had to have a sense of humour and always look perhaps more at what might have
been than the what is, but it is the what is, Mr. Speaker, that is so positive
in our Province today. Although there are, I accept there are criticisms of the
Budget. The reasons behind the Budget are to ensure a bright and sustainable
future for our children and grandchildren.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: There are a lot of good things in the Budget. I am going to
concentrate on two areas today, Mr. Speaker, and hopefully I will have the
opportunity to speak again. I am going to talk first about those areas that most
important to the people of our Province, at least that I heard during the
pre-Budget consultations. Those are the health care system and the education
system.
Let's talk a little bit about the investments in health care in Budget 2013,
Mr. Speaker. Let's talk about our investment of $138 million in the Newfoundland
and Labrador Prescription Drug Program, including $5.1 million to allow for
twelve new drug therapies, Mr. Speaker.
Let's talk about the $30 million in dialysis services annually to support
fourteen existing dialysis sites, seven of which have been added since 2004, Mr.
Speaker. There is $4.4 million for new cancer drug therapies; $2.5 million for
the Breast Cancer Screening Program, which will allow women aged forty to
forty-nine who are referred by their primary health care provider to be part of
the program; $2 million for the continuation of the Newfoundland and Labrador
Colon Cancer Screening Program; and $2 million to address endoscopy wait times
and wait-lists.
These are the kinds of good things that we are not hearing much about today,
Mr. Speaker. It is somewhat understandable. I am hoping, though, that over the
next few weeks our members will get up and they will talk about the good things
that are happening in their district, and the good things that are happening
throughout this Province, as I will try to demonstrate today.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Let's look at a couple of these good things that are
happening. Let's look at the $14.4 million in Budget 2013 for the continued
construction of the Labrador West health centre. I do not have the numbers right
now, but the last figure I was aware of, Mr. Speaker, was $90 million for a new
hospital in Labrador West; $12.5 million for the continuation of the PET scanner
project at the Health Sciences; $11.5 million for the continued redevelopment of
the Central Newfoundland Regional Health Centre in Grand Falls-Windsor.
What we have, a new hospital in Labrador West, a PET scanner in St. John's at
the Health Sciences, continued redevelopment in Central Newfoundland. What we
are seeing is as a government we are ensuring that the wealth is spread
throughout the Province as it comes to health care.
This is an area that I also want to talk about because we have not heard much
about this; $8.4 million in this year's Budget for the construction of the new
Adult Addictions Centre in Harbour Grace, Mr. Speaker $8.4 million.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Mr. Speaker, $6.5 million for the continued construction of
the treatment centre for youth with complex mental health needs in Paradise; $4
million for the continued construction of the treatment centre for youth with
addictions in Grand Falls-Windsor. This year alone, Mr. Speaker, there will be
close to $20 million spent to build new addiction and mental health treatment
centres in this Province.
This is a government that looks to helping people who have problems. Mr.
Speaker, by doing that, we ensure that they have the opportunity to become
contributing and functioning members of society. That is what we are trying to
do, a government with a social conscience.
Then, Mr. Speaker, $700,000 for the continued planning for the replacement of
the Waterford Hospital in St. John's with a new specialized mental health
facility. We are seeing addictions Central Newfoundland, in Labrador, Eastern
Newfoundland and Labrador and then the Waterford Hospital. Those are just some
of the programs in health.
Then we have $227 million announced over the next three years for the new
acute care facility in Corner Brook.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: So those figures alone are $300 million or $400 million I
have talked about there invested in health care this year. At this point, 39 per
cent of our total Budget is going to the health care system. That is a priority.
That is all in Budget 2013. It is all good news.
Now, let's then get to education, Mr. Speaker. What are we doing in education
in Budget 2013? All we have heard about is the negative, the naysayers. Let's
just look at what we are doing: $102 million in Kindergarten to Grade 12
infrastructure over the past nine years excuse me, there will be $102 million
for new and ongoing school infrastructure projects.
Twenty-five million dollars is for planning for a new school in Gander, an
extension to Elizabeth Park in Paradise, Coley's Point, Portugal Cove-St.
Phillips, Torbay, Paradise, and G.C. Rowe in Corner Brook. All over the Province
the wealth is being spread, Mr. Speaker.
Then $77 million for ongoing capital improvements; a new west end high school
in St. John's, $18.3 million for that, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Ten million dollars to continue construction of the new St.
Teresa's school in St. John's; $8 million to continue the extension and
renovation at Roncalli Elementary in St. John's; $6.6 million to develop the
former Regina High in Corner Brook; $4.6 million to continue construction in St.
Anthony, Exploits Valley High in Grand Falls-Windsor, Virginia Park Elementary
in St. John's; $3.7 million to continue construction of a new school in
Carbonear, then Torbay, Conception Bay South, Paradise, and Portugal Cove-St.
Phillips.
What we have, Mr. Speaker, is money is being spread throughout the Province
to build schools and to ensure good facilities for the education of our
children.
We have heard the Minister of Education, who is doing an admirable job, stand
up in this House and talk
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: about the thirty-nine schools. I have said to myself: No,
it cannot be; that figure must be wrong. I have to go and add this up for
myself. So I had a look at it. What do we have?
Since 2004, $620 million has been allocated for K-12 infrastructure in
Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Nine new schools have opened; ten more are in various stages
of planning or construction, that is nineteen; twelve are undergoing major
extension and renovation projects, that is thirty-one; and eight more are
underway or in the planning stages thirty-nine, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Thirty-nine schools either built, being built, or in the
planning and construction stages. Mr. Speaker, how can anyone in this Province
doubt the Premier's commitment or this minister's commitment to education in
this Province?
The minister himself, who has been under attack, has been an educator all of
his life. I remember so clearly, Mr. Speaker, we were sitting there during the
school board's press conference. I remember this because it really struck me as
to what MHAs bring we bring our life experiences; we bring our beliefs and
morals to the job. The minister said: I have been teaching all my life. I have
been an educator, a principal all my life. Why would I do anything that would
hurt the children of our Province? That defines the approach we take as a
government. Thirty-nine schools, I think, is a very good example of this
approach.
Now, let's look at student debt, let's look at post-secondary, what we are
doing there. Budget 2013 provides $25.8 million to reduce student debt; an
additional $3.8 million to Memorial to continue the tuition freeze for
2013-2014. Mr. Speaker, over $186 million since 2004, the tuition freeze has
cost at MUN and at the College of the North Atlantic; $19 million for the
continuation of up-front, needs-based grants and interest-free student loans; $3
million for continued debt reduction grants.
Mr. Speaker, Memorial University undergraduate tuition fees are approximately
53 per cent lower than the national average, and the College of the North
Atlantic tuition fees are approximately 49 per cent lower than the national
average.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Now, faced with the situation we were in the Budget, Mr.
Speaker, we could have raised tuition fees. We could have said we need to get
some money; Memorial needs more money. We chose not to again, showing the
Premier's commitment and our government's commitment to ensure that the students
of our Province receive a good education at a reasonable cost.
Do you know what has happened, Mr. Speaker? Memorial University has become
the largest university in Atlantic Canada with almost 20,000 students right now.
Drive by the parkway, look at the buildings going up; and, when we talk about
buildings, $88.3 million, a total investment to complete the opening of the new
residence at Memorial St. John's and Grenfell campuses.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Look over there, Mr. Speaker, as you are driving down the
Parkway. So we have lowered tuition. We have maintained the tuition freeze. We
are building new residences. Is it any wonder that students in Atlantic Canada
want to come to Memorial, want to come to St. John's, and want to come to Corner
Brook to continue their education?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Now, I only have a couple of minutes left. I want to talk
about our roads and our communities because that is another big area, Mr.
Speaker, another big area of investment in our Province: $59 million this year
for provincial road construction projects; $43.1 million to complete the last
full season of paving on Phase I and commence widening and paving sections of
Phase II and III of the Trans-Labrador Highway, $43.1 million
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: $26.5 million to support several major Trans-Canada
Highway rehabilitation projects near Stephenville and Gander; $20.6 million, if
we get there, for the first year of construction of the Placentia lift bridge;
$10.4 million to finish the Conception Bay South Bypass and the Team Gushue
Highway; $12.3 million to begin construction of the replacement of the Sir
Robert Bond Bridge, and the list goes on.
Now I want to move to our communities, Mr. Speaker, and to outline again. We
have the Minister of Transportation and Works, but I also want to pay special
attention to the work done by our Minister of Municipal Affairs, Mr. Speaker,
who continuously meets with our municipal leaders throughout this Province. He
communicates with them and he says: How can we help you help yourselves and help
us make the Province a better place?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. KENNEDY: Let's just have a look at what we are doing this year in
Municipal Affairs: $130 million for the second year of a Municipal Capital Works
Program to support water and waste water treatment, regionalization projects,
municipal buildings, recreational facilities, and one of his favourites,
firefighting equipment. What the minister has shown, Mr. Speaker, is he goes to
every fire department in this Province. What he shows is that we recognize and
accept the important role played by volunteer firefighters, and if we can do
anything to help you, we will. That is what the minister has done, Mr. Speaker.
Also, we are moving into a new area now, so there was some trepidation but
the minister went out and explained to the communities. We have $25 million, in
2013, for a capital works program for our seven municipalities with more than
11,000 people. Then we have the Municipal Operating Grants that someone spoke
about last night.
What we are seeing, Mr. Speaker, is a situation where health care services
have not only been maintained, but have again been increased and enhanced. We
have our transportation, which is continuing to rebuild our roads to ensure that
the money is spent throughout the Province. We have our education system which
is second-to-none. Then, we have our municipal affairs in terms of our
communities.
We have our families, we have our education and health care system, we have
our roads, and we have our communities. That is not a bad start to a Budget that
is supposed to be so negative, Mr. Speaker. I am sure you are going to hear over
the next few weeks all of the work that has been done and you are going to hear
the positive things that are going to happen, that have happened in Budget 2013.
So, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to support this motion
today, and it is very important to recognize that even in tough times this
government is doing good things, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Burgeo La Poile.
MR. A. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the opportunity to stand in this House and speak to this private
member's resolution. I appreciate the words spoken by the members opposite.
The Minister of Finance is certainly on a roll, a very rousing speech today
and a rousing speech tonight. I am trying to inject a sense of reality into
the good news that is coming out, there is another side. We are going to bring a
bit of the other news that is coming out of this Budget as well.
The fact is this private member's resolution is really just a code, I guess,
for a pat on the back. It is actually a case of breaking your arm off to pat
yourself on the back, is what it really does to you. The fact is, we can talk
about some of the investments but we should talk about the resolution says
public programs and services. I want to bring up some of those public programs
and services and some of the things going on here in this government's
resolution. I guess self praise is better than no praise.
One of the things I want to talk about, the minister mentioned education and
health care and roads. Do you know what? Those are all important things, but one
important area that was not brought up is our justice system, which is a
fundamental part of this system as well. I do not see anything coming from the
other side talking about how we have improved our justice system in this
Province.
We could talk about the fact that we actually cut a circuit court in
Bonavista for $600 savings, a $600 savings to cut the court in Bonavista; or we
could talk about the court in Springdale that was cut; or we could talk about
the court in Burgeo cut for $1,000. The coffee budget for one of your offices
could pay off what it cost to keep a court open in rural Newfoundland and
Labrador so people could have access to these services.
I am going to talk about some of those other positives that are out there.
Again, we could talk about the positives I do not know if it is a positive
when over 1,000 people lose their jobs in this Province. That is not a positive,
but it is a reality, and that reality needs to be brought up here.
We are going to get back to some of the other things that came out of this
Budget. I have a lot of stuff here. One of the things here I want to talk about,
again, I go back in justice. The other thing too, it is not only are we cutting
courts but we are cutting legal aid, cutting the guts out of it so people have
less access to legal aid. I think everybody in this room appreciates the fact
that we all have that right. Some people, lower-income people, people with
disadvantages, the vulnerable people, their access to this service cut.
I want to move on. Let's talk about health care. Do you know what? I will
never doubt about the significant investment that has been made in health care;
however, there are some drawbacks. I did not hear anything in the Budget talk
about the children in this Province who are suffering from cancer and need a
drug called ondansetron. It is actually recommended by pediatric oncologists.
They are not getting it.
We could talk about the other one, mutagen I think it is, that they need. It
is recommended. Again, I would say to the minister, I am going to stand and
speak. You will have all the opportunity in the world to stand and address and
correct me if I am wrong.
We could talk about the dental plan, the one where you can get dentures
one-half at a time. This year pick your choice, are you going to get the top
half or the bottom half? Next year you will get the other end. If I am wrong, I
think that was something that was said in the Estimates. We could talk about
that. Again, I asked the minister in Estimates and it was not contradicted.
Absolutely amazing!
We talk about the public programs and services and how they are planned and
delivered.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
MR. A. PARSONS: I hear the Member for Terra Nova, the parliamentary
secretary. I suggest when you plan something, why don't you actually plan it? If
you put aside $6.7 million and it costs you $20-odd million, you are probably
playing. One of the things I would also suggest is you talk to the dentists who
are going to do the work, the ones that were not consulted. That is what I
suggest I would put out there.
If we want to talk about the investment, let's see, we are going to go back
to patting ourselves on the back. The Fraser Institute, again, they have been
applauded depending on some stuff they said because they have said good stuff
about this government. They have said good stuff, but another thing they said
is: 2013, overall Newfoundland and Labrador, worse bang for your buck in terms
of health care spending. We are spending the most per capita in Canada, yet
outcomes do not reflect this.
In 2008, a report was done by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy that
could serve as a score card for consumers. Let me see: It was the most glaring
case of throwing good money after bad in Canadian health care. I just want to
reference that.
I hear the minister chirping over there. I hear the minister chirping. She is
going to get a chance to stand up. Do you know what? I will sit there and I will
listen to what she has to say. I certainly listened to what the Minister of
Finance had to say. He makes a lot of good points. I do not always agree with
him, we all know that for sure, but I listened.
I say to the minister, again, we could also talk about the hospital in Corner
Brook, a great investment. Now, she actually spends her time putting out press
releases saying we do not want the hospital in Corner Brook the most
ridiculous thing you could ever say. What we want is the hospital that was
promised.
Now again, not just promised in 2012 and 2011 and 2007. Fool me once I am
going to leave that to the Member for Bay of Islands. He has no idea. He does
not represent the people on the West Coast. He does not know what is going on
and does not talk about acute care beds.
It was promised once. It was great. We are all for it. It was promised twice
never got it. Again, 2015, I cannot wait, a banner year for this Province,
because we are going to get the rightsized hospital with less acute care beds in
it, absolutely fantastic absolutely fantastic.
I will go off health care
MS SULLIVAN: A point of order, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services, on a point of order.
MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to listen to anyone talk in this House of Assembly
and that is what we ought to be doing in here. When we stand to speak, we need
to make sure that what information we are putting out there is accurate.
AN HON. MEMBER: There is no point of order.
MS SULLIVAN: As far as I understand, Mr. Speaker, you get to make the
ruling after I have spoken.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
There is no point of order.
MS SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The Member for Burgeo La Poile, to continue.
MR. A. PARSONS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again, Minister, you are going to have all the opportunity in the world and
you are going to tell us all about the hospital that you are rightsizing for the
people of the West Coast, absolutely fantastic.
I see the Member for Springdale, he is directing me. He is not going to
direct to the courthouse that was cut in his district that is for sure.
I am going to continue on. Because do you know what? This Budget the one we
hear all about the thousands of jobs lost for people all over this Province,
rural, urban, does not matter where you are, one of the things I want to get to
and that is the Parliamentary Secretary for Advanced Education and Skills. He is
the Parliamentary Secretary for a department that we paid John Noseworthy
$150,000 to do a report.
AN HON. MEMBER: It was a great report.
MR. A. PARSONS: It was a great report, and I am going to educate the
Parliamentary Secretary for Twitter now in a second.
Here are some of the words that John Noseworthy uses in his report:
duplication, lack of integration, no priorities, no evaluation, no tracking
mechanism, more reactive than proactive, gaps in services, inconsistency, low
uptake, delays, program disincentives, and no strategic approach. That is just
one-third of the way in. Yes, it was a great report because it shows what a mess
of a department was created. It was created with no thought and no process
whatsoever. It was tossed together; it was cobbled together.
I was on the record on CBC as saying I like where we are going, I think it is
the right step, but I will reserve judgment until I see what the results are. I
can give my judgement now. It is a colossal failure according to the people who
they paid for the report. John Noseworthy was paid a good sum and came with a
very heavy report.
So we can talk about some of the other stuff in Advanced Education and
Skills. Again, I remind you, Mr. Speaker, just to go back for the people who are
watching out there, we create a department, then we pay the failed candidate
$150,000 to write the report after we put it together, then we get the report in
December but we do not read it until February, and then we send it back for more
information but we say we are not going to incorporate this in the Budget. Then
we get it back and release it on the day of the Budget, and there are clearly
some things that were taken out of the report. We have approached this report
and this department just like everything else: reactive rather than proactive.
Now, we can talk about the cuts to Adult Basic Education, something that is
affecting all of us here in this room because it is in all of our districts. I
am waiting for the RFP that comes out and says how we are going to do things. I
have been hearing a lot from people out there who are involved in the system,
people in CNA, actually the same people who were never consulted along the way,
which is another benchmark for this government. It is where we make decisions
and then we consult with the people after, whether it is the Justice department,
whether it is the Department of Health with the NLMA and the NL Dental
Association, or whether it is Advanced Education and Skills.
We talk to them after we have made the decision, and it is not the way to go
forward. It is not the way to deliver services to the people of this Province.
We should go and listen to them first.
I have talked to administrators out there, administrators who want to
contribute. They want to find efficiencies. They know that if there are issues,
they would love to work together, but they were not given the opportunity. The
scary thing is they are not allowed to say anything after. They are muzzled.
That is another interesting thing. This Budget Estimates process is
interesting because one of the things we also found out there was no money spent
for this year was any research into whistle-blower legislation. That was
something else that was promised in 2007 and 2011. Oh, we are going to do it. We
are going to get there. No money and it is not gong to happen. The reason is
they do not want it. They do not want to hear the people involved in the system
have any say.
We talk about this labour shortage. When you look at all the other cuts made
in this department, whether it is EAS and all these acronyms, there is JCP,
there is CNA, and ABE. There are all kinds of cuts there; it is amazing. This
was all done without the benefit of looking at the $150,000 report absolutely
amazing.
I am going to continue on here because there are so many things. Actually I
found a couple of more terms from the Noseworthy report talking about this
department and how we deliver: inefficient, ineffective, slip through the
cracks, duplicate payments, no formal case management process, and inequity. A
great department, a great report, it would have been nice if we got the report
before we formed the department. That would have been a step in the right
direction.
I am going to continue on because I have so many other things I want to talk
about, and I am missing a few things. There have been a lot of comments; one of
them was how we try to lessen the burden on people. The social conscience is not
limited to the people on this side; we are trying to lessen the burden on
people. That is why those people who were laid off out in CNA who are dealing
with ABE through this redundancy process, they are not actually getting the
redundancy package. There has been a grievance filed there. There was a member
across in the back there who said that yesterday and the e-mails I received on
that were absolutely amazing. They have all quoted him here; it is fantastic to
see.
AN HON. MEMBER: What did he say?
MR. A. PARSONS: He said, "We try to lessen the burden on people" and we
go through the process. "They are not easy to swallow, and nobody has more
sympathy to people who have been through it than I do." That is why these people
who have just found out their jobs are eliminated; they have no consultation, no
say in the process. That is why they are not being given redundancy packages.
Something that I believe was negotiated through their union and there is a
grievance filed now. We should probably not say these things without actually
knowing what we are talking about.
I am going to continue on here because we are talking about, let me see
ensure that public programs and services are designed and delivered in ways that
are focused and effective. I have asked numerous times about how we are going to
deliver ABE. They do not know. We do not know; the RFP is not out. The private
colleges are saying we need some time here. We do not know. There is
duplication.
We talk about EAS, Employment Assistance Services. A great way to put people
in the labour market is to take away the people who help people get into the
labour market. They were cut and they are all on the way out now. We could see
that coming because last year they were brought to the edge, the brink of
getting their pink slip and they were given a six-month reprieve. They are all
gone now.
It was brought up here, we are creating jobs. How can you say that with a
straight face at the same time you just gave pink slips to thousands of people
in this Province? When we have conservation officers cut, we have teachers who
are going to be walking out, resource people, how can we talk about creating
jobs? It just blows my mind.
AN HON. MEMBER: Poacher's paradise.
MR. A. PARSONS: Yes, poacher's paradise. That is just the conservation
side now, where we have an officer in Stephenville who is expected to cover off
the entire Southwest Coast all by himself now. We are putting him in a great
position.
These are people for whom we ordered uniforms in the Department of Justice,
got the uniforms, and then we cut the people. So we have all these uniforms that
are actually sitting in boxes. Where is the planning in there? Where is the
delivery there?
Mr. Speaker, my time is running short here and there so much I would like to
get at. One of the things goes back to the health care too, these knee-jerk
reactions. The knee-jerk reaction was something we saw in Justice. I have to
come back and end off on that note because there was a lot of time put into
these core mandate reviews and Budget analysis. We made a decision and under
public pressure caved. We put together a super committee, gone. We reversed it.
How can I trust in that planning if those are the results that are going to come
out of it?
Mr. Speaker, I say in closing here, I am pretty sure my sentiment on this
motion is evident to the people out there, and I certainly will not be
supporting it.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!
The hon. the Member for Bonavista North.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
MR. CROSS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to express my thanks to the Member for St. John's West for
bringing this motion forward. The resolution refers to a design and a delivery
of programs